How to Change the Internet Explorer Icon for Windows XP
Microsoft Internet Explorer is one of the more popular Web browsers available, and the "e" icon for Internet Explorer is almost instantly recognizable. Many Windows XP users like to customize the look of their computer components, and the icons that their common programs use are no exception to this. The Internet Explorer icon can be easily changed in Windows XP if you want something different than the standard "e" icon; all that you will need is a few moments and a new icon in mind.
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Instructions
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Right-click on the Internet Explorer icon. This will cause the right-click menu to open, showing you the options that are available in Windows XP for how you can interact with the IE shortcut.
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Click the "Properties" item in the right-click menu. It should be the last item of the right-click menu options, located at the bottom of the menu. This will cause a new window to open up, listing the properties for Internet Explorer and its shortcut.
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Select the "Shortcut" tab if it isn't already selected. You should see several items in this tab, including the target location (which is the location of Internet Explorer in the Windows XP file directory), comments about the program, and three buttons beneath all of the text input boxes. It is the buttons that you are interested in.
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Click the "Change Icon..." button, which is the button in the center. This will open another new window that will display the file location for Internet Explorer (since the icons for the program are stored within the program itself) and the default icons that are available from the program. If you see another IE icon that you would prefer to use, select it and click "OK." If you would rather use a different icon, however, click the "Browse..." button to search for a different file that contains the icon that you prefer.
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Click the "Apply" button after you have selected the new icon that you want to use for Internet Explorer. This will apply the change so that Windows XP will know to use the new icon instead of the default IE icon. Once the change has been applied and XP has updated the icon where it is displayed, click "OK" to close the properties window.
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Tips & Warnings
Should you decide to go back to the default Internet Explorer icon later, the same process can be used; simply make sure that "iexplore.exe" is the file that Windows XP looks in for the icon and select the default "e" icon.
