How to Stop Windows XP Pro From Changing Icons When Moved to Folders

This is a guide to help those who have icons that change when they are moved within Windows XP professional. There are a few reasons that Icons may change when files are moved throughout your computer, and I am going to cover the most likely reasons for this problem. If the steps that I lay out do not cover your own individual situation, then you may have a larger problem that needs specific help from a professional.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Your Computer
• Patience

1. The First step is to ensure that your Icons are not changing because they are associated with a specific program. If, for example, your MP3's are all associated with Itunes, then the Icon for MP3's will all show up as Itunes files. This is because Windows XP identifies your file extensions (.mp3) and assigns it your default program.
2. To Change your default program for specific files,
   * Right click on the icon.
   * When the menu list pops up, select Open With...
   * Click on choose program.
   A list of programs on your computer will appear. You can then choose to have the new program always open that particular type of file (for example .mp3) by checking the box marked, "Always use the selected box to open this kind of file." Now, if you changed your mp3's to be opened with Windows Media Player and selected it as your default program, all of your mp3 files should change from Itunes Icons to Windows Media Player Icons.
3. The second situation is that your icons are randomly changing in My Computer, Windows Explorer, on the desktop, or in the Quick Launch toolbar. This is because your icon cache has not properly updated.
4. WARNING. DO NOT EDIT YOUR REGISTRY IF YOU DO NOT FEEL COMFORTABLE. PROBLEMS MAY ARISE IF REGISTRY IS INCORRECTLY EDITED AND MAY RESULT IN YOU HAVING TO RELOAD YOUR OS TO FIX THE PROBLEM
   
   This comes directly from the Microsoft knowledge database. The link is at the bottom of the page under resources
   
   To fix this problem, open the folder with the Icons you wish to view.
   * Press the F5 Key to refresh your current Icons
   * Close, and then reopen the folder containing the incorrect icons
   * Restart your computer
   * Re-create the ShellIconCache file by
   1. Right-click the desktop and then click Properties
   2. Click the Settings tab
   3. Change the color depth from the current setting to a new setting. For example, change from Highest (32 bit) to Lowest (16 bit)
   4. Click Apply, and then click Yes to accept the changes.
   5. Change the color depth back to its original setting
   6. Click Apply, and then click Yes to accept the changes
   *Using Registry Editor, add the Max Cached Icons string value with a value data of 2000 to the following registry key, and then restart your computer:
   HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer
   *If the icons are still incorrect, delete the ShellIconCache file. The Max Cached Icons value data range is between 100 and 4096. The default value is 500

Tips & Warnings

• Never Edit your Registry if you feel uncomfortable doing so. Changing or deleting entries in your Registry can cause significant problems in your system that may result in having to reload your OS. DO NOT ATTEMPT REGISTRY EDITS IF YOU NOT WILLING TO ACCEPT THE CONSEQUENCES