Share via

Why can't I change the icons on my desktop?

HannahAngel 0 Reputation points
2024-08-13T22:24:37.4966667+00:00

I drew my own icons (ico format) that I want to apply on my laptop. I created a zip file will all the icons and downloaded it onto my computer. But everytime I try to change a icon my laptop gives me this message: "The file file name contains no icons. choose an icon from the list or specify a different file". I would really appreciate a explanation on how to change all the different types of icons on my desktop please. I really need help figuring this out, thanks.

Windows for business | Windows Client for IT Pros | User experience | Other
0 comments

2 answers

Sort by: Most helpful
Most helpful Newest Oldest
  1. S.Sengupta 30,261 Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2024-08-15T00:18:54.6233333+00:00

    Try rebuilding the Windows icon cache:

    1. Open the Command Prompt as an administrator.
    2. Type the following commands. Once done reboot. 
         ie4uinit.exe -ClearIconCache
   taskkill /IM explorer.exe /F
   DEL /A /Q "%localappdata%\IconCache.db"
   DEL /A /F /Q "%localappdata%\Microsoft\Windows\Explorer\iconcache*"
   shutdown /r /f /t 00

    1 person found this answer helpful.
  2. Jacen Wang 1,000 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff
    2024-08-25T19:00:46.6533333+00:00

    Hello,

    May I know if the zip file you downloaded has been unzipped? Try to extract the.ico file into a separate folder, and then select from that folder. Make sure the file path is correct.

    If that still fails, you can try the following steps to set the icon for a specific application:

    Step 1:

    Create a subkey named DefaultIcon :

    For an application assignment, HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT_ProgID_

    Step 2:

    Assign the DefaultIcon subkey a default value of type REG_SZ that specifies the fully qualified path for the file that contains the icon.

    Step 3:

    Call the SHChangeNotify function to notify the Shell to update its icon cache.

    The following example shows a detailed view of the registry entries that are required for an application icon assignment. The .myp file name extension is first associated with the MyProgram.1 application. The MyProgram.1 ProgID subkey is then assigned the custom default icon（.exe file）.

    HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT
   .myp
      (Default) = MyProgram.1
   MyProgram.1
      DefaultIcon
         (Default) = C:\MyDir\MyProgram.exe,2

    For more information please refer to: How to Assign a Custom Icon to a File Type - Win32 apps | Microsoft Learn

    Best regards

    Jacen

    —————————————————————————————————

    If the Answer is helpful, please click "Accept Answer" and upvote it.

    0 comments

Your answer

Answers can be marked as 'Accepted' by the question author and 'Recommended' by moderators, which helps users know the answer solved the author's problem.