Windows 7 How-To-Change Hard Drive Icons Windows 7 & Vista

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This guide contains Registry changes,
Do so at your own risk and back up the registry before making any changes.


First thing to do is make a new folder for your icons in a place of your choosing and name it "HardDriveIcons".
Next, collect your icons and place them in the "HardDriveIcons" folder.
Note; All icons should be 256x256 in size w/ .ico extension.

Now, open "Regedit" and navigate to; HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes
Expand "Classes" and scroll down to "Applications" (if that key does not exist, create it by right clicking on "Classes", then "New", then "Key", name it, then hit Enter)
Under "Applications" expand "Explorer.exe", then "Drives" (if neither of those sub-keys exist, create "Explorer.exe" by right clicking "Applications", then "New", then "Key", name it, then hit Enter, create "Drives" by right clicking "Explorer.exe", then "New", then "Key", name it, then hit Enter)
Now, under "Drives" create new keys for each drive using the drive letter as the name, then under each drive, create a new sub-key and name it "DefaultIcon"
When finished it should look like this;
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Now, to change the icons;
Click on "DefaultIcon" and in the right pane, right click on (Default), then click on "Modify", then in the "Value Data" box, enter the location of your hard drive icons,
ie: J:/HardDriveIcons/cobalt.ico.
Do this for each drive icon you wish to change and that's it, your done.
Close the Editor.

Before: Standard Windows Drive Icons:
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After: Custom Hard Drive Icons;
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This guide provides instructions on how to customize hard drive icons in Windows through Registry changes. It's important to approach Registry editing with caution and always back up the Registry before making any changes. Here's a breakdown of the steps outlined in the guide:

1. Create a Folder and Gather Icons:
   • Create a new folder in a location of your choice and name it "HardDriveIcons."
   • Collect your icons and place them in the "HardDriveIcons" folder.
   • Ensure all icons are 256x256 in size and have the .ico file extension.
   []Navigate to Registry Editor (Regedit):
   • Open the Registry Editor by searching for "Regedit" in the Windows search bar.
   • Navigate to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes.
   []Create Necessary Registry Keys:
   • Expand the "Classes" key and locate or create the "Applications" key:
     • If "Applications" does not exist, create it by right-clicking on "Classes," then selecting "New" -> "Key" and naming it.
     []Under "Applications," expand "Explorer.exe" and then "Drives":
     • If either "Explorer.exe" or "Drives" do not exist, create them using similar steps as above.
     []Create new keys under "Drives" for each drive using the drive letter as the name. []Under each drive key, create a new sub-key named "DefaultIcon."
   []Set Custom Icons:
   • For each drive icon you wish to change, click on the "DefaultIcon" sub-key.
   • In the right pane, right-click on "(Default)" and choose "Modify."
   • In the "Value Data" box, enter the location of your hard drive icons (e.g., J:/HardDriveIcons/cobalt.ico).
   • Repeat this process for each drive icon you want to customize.
   []Visualization:
   • Upon completion, the Registry should reflect the changes made to the drive icons.
   []Finalize and Close:
   • Once you have set the custom icons for the drives, close the Registry Editor. These steps will help you customize the icons for your hard drives in Windows. Remember to exercise caution when editing the Registry, as incorrect changes can potentially harm your system. If you encounter any issues or have questions about the process, feel free to ask for further assistance.