Incorrect Icons Displayed for .ico Files

• Microsoft Windows 95
• Microsoft Windows NT Workstation version 4.0

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious, system-wide problems that may require you to reinstall Windows to correct them. Microsoft cannot guarantee that any problems resulting from the use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use this tool at your own risk.

SYMPTOMS

When you view icon (.ico) files, the icons may display the default Windows system icon instead of the actual icon image.

CAUSE

The .ico file association is missing, or is damaged.

RESOLUTION

WARNING: Using Registry Editor incorrectly can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall Windows. Microsoft cannot guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of Registry Editor can be solved. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

NOTE: For information about how to edit the registry, see the online Help in Registry Editor.

To resolve this issue, follow these steps:

1. Double-click My Computer, and then click Options on the View menu.

2. Verify that the Icon file type appears on the File Types tab. If the Icon file type does not appear in the Registered File Types box, skip to step 10.

3. Click Icon in the Registered File Types box, and then click Edit.

4. Verify that the following settings exist, and then click OK:

       - The Description Of Type box contains "Icon" (without the quotation
         marks).
       - If there is a Confirm Open After Download check box, it should
         be selected.
   

5. If the settings do not appear exactly as listed in step 4, click Remove, click Yes, and then click OK. If the settings do appear as listed in step 4, skip to step 10.

6. Click New Type.

7. In the Description Of Type box, type "Icon" (without quotation marks).

8. In the Associated Extension box, type "ICO" (without quotation marks).

9. Click OK, and then click Close.

10. Use Registry Editor to view the

          HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.ico
    

    key, and then verify that the default string contains the following value:

          icofile
    

    If the .ico key does not exist, create it, and then insert the value listed above. If any other values exist in the .ico key, delete them.

11. Use Registry Editor to view the

          HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\icofile
    

    key, and then verify that the default string contains the following value:

          icon
    

    If the icofile key does not exist, create it, and then insert the value listed above. If any other values exist, delete them.

12. Create a new key in the icofile key called "DefaultIcon" (without quotation marks), and type "%1" (without quotation marks) as this key's default value.

13. Quit Registry Editor, and then restart your computer.

MORE INFORMATION

When this issue occurs, the default system icon may be displayed for all the icons on the desktop.