How to Change Drive Icons on Windows 11 and 10?

Microsoft rolls out several changes to the operating system to keep up with the changing technology trends and the users’ requirements. From the basic settings to the appearance of your Windows computer, you can change it to how you like. We all enjoy changing the way Windows looks, which explains why there are so many paid and free software online. A few free applications are available to alter drive icons on Windows 11 and 10 PCs, despite the abundance of Folder Icon Color Changer software for these operating systems.

Without using a third-party program, you can modify the Windows disc icon if you don’t like it and want to alter it. However, we will discuss both manual and third-party software techniques for changing the drive letter icon of the drive: in this risewindows article.

How do I Change Drive Icons in Windows 11 or 10 without Software?

Use the following steps to change Drive Icons in Windows 11 or 10 without the Software:-

Step 1: First, copy and paste the icon file (.ico) into the drive’s root directory. Give the icon file a new name: Drive.ico.

For instance, copy the icon and paste it into C: to modify the “C” drive icon.

Step 2: Copy and paste the following code into a Notepad file that is open and located in the root of the [“C” drive]:-

[autorun]
ICON=Drive.ico

Step 3: Select the Save As option from the File menu in Notepad by clicking on it now.

Step 4: Type Autorun.inf next to the File name box in the dialogue box that appears. Choose All Files from the “Save as type” drop-down menu. Lastly, press the Save button.

The screenshot below shows how it looks:-

Step 5: Restart your computer to view the new drive symbol.

You must repeat the preceding procedures for each drive if you wish to change the icon for all drives that are listed in File Explorer. In the future, simply delete the autorun.inf file you made and restart your computer to get back to the original icons if you change your mind.

Once you are done with the above steps, you should give your drive a new icon or set it back to default.

How to Change Drive Icons in Windows 11 or 10 using Drive Icon Changer?

Drive Icon Changer is a software created specifically to modify the File Explorer drive icons on Windows operating systems. Along with the altering, this shareware includes a tonne of cool drive icons.

Step 1:  First, download the software called Portable Drive Icon Changer on your computer.

Step 2: You can use any archiver tool to extract the ZIP file.

Step 3: Next, select Run as administrator from the context menu when you right-click on Drive Icon Changer. When the User Account Control dialogue appears, select Yes to proceed.

Step 4: After choosing the disc you wish to alter the icon on in the Drive Icon Changer application, pick the icon (.ico) file. Click the Save button to finish.

Step 5: Restart your computer to view the new drive icon.

After taking the aforementioned actions and still seeing an outdated drive icon, you must rebuild the icon cache.

The methods above have all been tried on Windows 11/10, but the identical process will also work on Windows 8.1/8 and Windows 7.

Download Drive Icon Changer

You can download the latest version of Drive Icon Changer from here.

How do I Change Drive Icons in Windows 11/10 through My Drive Icon?

Another free program to modify the drive icons in Windows 11 and 10 is My Drive Icon. Because it is portable, you don’t need to install anything to alter the drive icons on your computer.

Use the following steps to change drive icons on a Windows 11 or 10 computer:-

Step 1: Download the My Drive Icon application.

Step 2: Use RAR Opener  or any other archiver of your choice to extract the file’s contents into a folder.

Step 3: Next, right-click on the executable file and choose the Run as administrator from the menu.

Step 4: Click on the Folder icon in the “Select icon file” box to choose an icon from your computer.

Step 5: After that, choose the drive whose icon you wish to modify.

Step 6: Press the Apply Changes button to finish.

There is no need to restart your computer because the adjustments take effect right away. The selected drive icon will change after File Explorer has been opened.

Download My Drive Icon

My Drive Icon is available for download at softpedia.com.

How to Change Drive Icon Using Registry Editor?

The following steps help to change the drive icon on Windows 11 and 10 using Registry Editor:-

Step 1. First, open Registry Editor.

Step 2. When the Registry Editor window shows up on your computer, search for the key listed below on the left side:-

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\DriveIcons

Step 3: After that, select New > Key by right-clicking on the DriveIcons folder.

Step 4: After that, give the new key the desired local drive’s desired drive letter. For instance, we designated the key “D” because we were intending to establish a custom change for the drive’s icon.

Step 5: Next, select New > Key with a right-click on the newly formed key. Give the new key the name DefaultIcon.

Step 6: After that, click twice on the (Default) entry in the right pane.

Step 7: Next, fill out the “Value data” box with the complete path (in quotes) of the “.ico” file you want to use as your new drive icon.

Step 8: Click on OK as the last step.

The above mentioned steps must be followed in order for File Explorer to display the new drive icon. Simply delete the DriveIcons key to restore the default drive icon if you want to undo the changes.

That is it.

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