Deleting .ICO Files Does Not Delete Icons in Windows

Last reviewed: November 23, 1994
Article ID: Q75041

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Windows operating system versions 3.0, 3.0a, 3.1, 3.11

SUMMARY

After you set up some third-party icon files from an icon library and change the icons in Windows, the icon (.ICO) files are deleted from the hard drive. Even if you exit and restart Windows, the third-party icons still appear in the groups where they were placed for specific applications.

MORE INFORMATION

The icon (.ICO) file is merely a visual representation of the icon itself. The actual association for the icon is retained within the specific group (.GRP) file where the icon resides. Any time an icon is changed, that change is written to the group file. As long as the icon is not replaced with another icon, the association remains and Windows continues to use that icon representation.

KBCategory: kb3rdparty
KBSubcategory: win30 win31
Additional reference words: 3.00 3.00a 3.10 3.11 3rdparty

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Last reviewed: November 23, 1994
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