After selecting the file, the “Change Icon” window will show the icons contained in the file you selected. If you browse for your own icons, you can select any EXE, DLL, or ICO file. In the “Change Icon” window, you can select any icon you want from the built-in Windows icons, or you can click “Browse” to locate your own icon files. To change an icon, select the icon you want to change and then click the “Change Icon” button. Use the checkboxes in the “Desktop icons” section to select which icons you want on your desktop. In Windows 8 and 10, it’s Control Panel > Personalize > Change Desktop Icons. In Windows 10, you can access this window through Settings > Personalization > Themes > Desktop Icon Settings.

To do so, you’ll need to access the “Desktop Icon Settings” window to turn these icons on and off or to change the associated icons. For a complete rundown, check out our guide to restoring missing desktop icons in Windows 7, 8, or 10.īut you can still change how these icons appear elsewhere on your system.

Windows 8 and 10 don’t show any of the desktop icons except for Recycle Bin, and even Windows 7 doesn’t show them all. Icons like This PC, Network, Recycle Bin, and your User folder are all considered “desktop icons,” even though modern versions of Windows don’t show them all on the desktop. Change Your Desktop Icons (Computer, Recycle Bin, Network, and So On) In other cases, you’ll probably want them there just in case something goes wrong and you have to re-apply them. Once you have the icons of your dreams, save them in a safe place-some of these processes will require they stay in a particular location on your PC.

Change windows explorer icon