How to Change Disk Drive Icon in Windows 11

Change Disk Drive Icon in Windows 11: A Detailed Guide

In this article, we will provide a comprehensive guide on how to change the disk drive icon in Windows 11. Although the option to change the disk drive icon is not directly available in the Windows 11 settings, you can still achieve this by following the steps outlined below.

Customize Section Missing in Drivers Properties

You may have noticed that the "Customize" section is missing in the drivers properties window, which was previously available in older versions of Windows. This is because Microsoft has removed this option in Windows 11. However, you can still change the disk drive icon using the registry editor.

Changing Disk Drive Icon Using Registry Editor

Before we begin, it's important to note that editing the registry can be dangerous if not done correctly. Always back up your registry before making any changes. Here are the steps to change the disk drive icon using the registry editor:

1. Press Win + R to open the Run dialog box.
2. Type regedit and press Enter to open the registry editor.
3. Navigate to the following registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\DriveIcons
4. If the DriveIcons key doesn't exist, you can create it by right-clicking on the Explorer key and selecting New > Key and then naming it DriveIcons.
5. Under the DriveIcons key, you will see several subkeys named after drive letters, such as A: or C:.
6. To change the icon for a specific drive, right-click on the corresponding drive letter subkey and select New > String Value.
7. Name the new string value DefaultIcon.
8. Double-click on the DefaultIcon value and enter the path to the icon file you want to use. The path can be either a local file path or a URL to an icon file on the internet (e.g. C:\path\to\icon.ico or https://example.com/icon.ico).

	


	
Change Disk Drive Icon in Windows 11: A Detailed Guide

	
In this article, we will provide a comprehensive guide on how to change the disk drive icon in Windows 11. Although the option to change the disk drive icon is not directly available in the Windows 11 settings, you can still achieve this by following the steps outlined below.

	
Customize Section Missing in Drivers Properties

	
You may have noticed that the "Customize" section is missing in the drivers properties window, which was previously available in older versions of Windows. This is because Microsoft has removed this option in Windows 11. However, you can still change the disk drive icon using the registry editor.

	
Changing Disk Drive Icon Using Registry Editor

	
Before we begin, it's important to note that editing the registry can be dangerous if not done correctly. Always back up your registry before making any changes. Here are the steps to change the disk drive icon using the registry editor:

	

		
Press Win + R to open the Run dialog box.
		
Type regedit and press Enter to open the registry editor.
		
Navigate to the following registry key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\DriveIcons
		
If the DriveIcons key doesn't exist, you can create it by right-clicking on the Explorer key and selecting New > Key and then naming it DriveIcons.
		
Under the DriveIcons key, you will see several subkeys named after drive letters, such as A: or C:.
		
To change the icon for a specific drive, right-click on the corresponding drive letter subkey and select New > String Value.
		
Name the new string value DefaultIcon.
		
Double-click on the DefaultIcon value and enter the path to the icon file you want to use. The path can be either a local file path or a URL to an icon file on the internet (e.g. C:\path\to\icon.ico or https://example.com/icon.ico).
	






In this article, we have learned how to change the disk drive icon in Windows 11 using the registry editor. By following the steps outlined above, you can easily customize the appearance of your drives in File Explorer.

References



	
Book: Windows 11: The Complete Guide to Microsoft's Newest Operating System
	
Author: Mark Edward Soper


	
Article: "How to Change a Drive Letter or Icon in Windows 11"
	
URL: https://www.howtogeek.com/759451/how-to-change-a-drive-letter-or-icon-in-windows-11/


	
Online Resource: Microsoft Documentation: Registry Editor
	
URL: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-hardware/drivers/devtest/registry-editor