How to Change Default Control Panel Icons in Windows 10
In addition to Settings, you can use the Control Panel to change settings for Windows 10. These settings control nearly everything about how Windows looks and works, and you can use them to set up Windows so that it's just right for you.
This tutorial will show you how to change the default icon of items in the Control Panel to any icon for your account or all users in Windows 10.
Contents
- Option One: Change Default Control Panel Icons for Current User
- Option Two: Change Default Control Panel Icons for All Users
EXAMPLE: Default Control Panel icons
This option will override Option Two.
This option will only be applied to the current user, and no other user account on the PC.
1 Press the Win + R keys to open Run, type regedit into Run, and click/tap on OK to open Registry Editor.
2 Navigate to the key in the table below for the icon you want to change in the left pane of Registry Editor. (see screenshot below)
If you do not have the GUID (ex: {9C60DE1E-E5FC-4of4-A487-460851A8D915}) key, right click on the CLSID key, click/tap on New, click/tap on Key, type the GUID (ex: {9C60DE1E-E5FC-4of4-A487-460851A8D915}) for the name, and press Enter.
If you do not have a DefaultIcon key, right click on the GUID (ex: {9C60DE1E-E5FC-4of4-A487-460851A8D915}) key, click/tap on New, click/tap on Key, type DefaultIcon for the name, and press Enter.
Control Panel Icon Registry Key Location Administrative Tools HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{D20EA4E1-3957-11d2-A40B-0C5020524153}\DefaultIcon AutoPlay HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{9C60DE1E-E5FC-40f4-A487-460851A8D915}\DefaultIcon Backup and Restore (Windows 7) HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{B98A2BEA-7D42-4558-8BD1-832F41BAC6FD}\DefaultIcon BitLocker Drive Encryption HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{D9EF8727-CAC2-4e60-809E-86F80A666C91}\DefaultIcon Color Management HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{B2C761C6-29BC-4f19-9251-E6195265BAF1}\DefaultIcon Credential Manager HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{1206F5F1-0569-412C-8FEC-3204630DFB70}\DefaultIcon Date and Time HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{E2E7934B-DCE5-43C4-9576-7FE4F75E7480}\DefaultIcon Default Programs HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{17cd9488-1228-4b2f-88ce-4298e93e0966}\DefaultIcon Device Manager HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{74246bfc-4c96-11d0-abef-0020af6b0b7a}\DefaultIcon Devices and Printers HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{A8A91A66-3A7D-4424-8D24-04E180695C7A}\DefaultIcon Ease of Access Center HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{D555645E-D4F8-4c29-A827-D93C859C4F2A}\DefaultIcon File Explorer Options HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{6DFD7C5C-2451-11d3-A299-00C04F8EF6AF}\DefaultIcon File History HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{F6B6E965-E9B2-444B-9286-10C9152EDBC5}\DefaultIcon Fonts HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{BD84B380-8CA2-1069-AB1D-08000948F534}\DefaultIcon Indexing Options HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{87D66A43-7B11-4A28-9811-C86EE395ACF7}\DefaultIcon Infared HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{A0275511-0E86-4ECA-97C2-ECD8F1221D08}\DefaultIcon Intel Rapid Storage Technology (if installed) HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{E342F0FE-FF1C-4c41-BE37-A0271FC90396}\DefaultIcon Internet Options HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{A3DD4F92-658A-410F-84FD-6FBBBEF2FFFE}\DefaultIcon Keyboard HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{725BE8F7-668E-4C7B-8F90-46BDB0936430}\DefaultIcon Mouse HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{6C8EEC18-8D75-41B2-A177-8831D59D2D50}\DefaultIcon Network and Sharing Center HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{8E908FC9-BECC-40f6-915B-F4CA0E70D03D}\DefaultIcon NVIDIA Control Panel (if available) HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{0bbca823-e77d-419e-9a44-5adec2c8eeb0}\DefaultIcon Pen and Touch HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{F82DF8F7-8B9F-442E-A48C-818EA735FF9B}\DefaultIcon Phone and Modem HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{40419485-C444-4567-851A-2DD7BFA1684D}\DefaultIcon Power Options HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{025A5937-A6BE-4686-A844-36FE4BEC8B6D}\DefaultIcon Programs and Features HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{7b81be6a-ce2b-4676-a29e-eb907a5126c5}\DefaultIcon Recovery HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\ClassesCLSID\{9FE63AFD-59CF-4419-9775-ABCC3849F861}\DefaultIcon Region HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{62D8ED13-C9D0-4CE8-A914-47DD628FB1B0}\DefaultIcon RemoteApp and Desktop Connections HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{241D7C96-F8BF-4F85-B01F-E2B043341A4B}\DefaultIcon Security and Maintenance HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{BB64F8A7-BEE7-4E1A-AB8D-7D8273F7FDB6}\DefaultIcon Sound HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{F2DDFC82-8F12-4CDD-B7DC-D4FE1425AA4D}\DefaultIcon Speech Recognition HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{58E3C745-D971-4081-9034-86E34B30836A}\DefaultIcon Storage Spaces HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{F942C606-0914-47AB-BE56-1321B8035096}\DefaultIcon Sync Center HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{9C73F5E5-7AE7-4E32-A8E8-8D23B85255BF}\DefaultIcon System HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{BB06C0E4-D293-4f75-8A90-CB05B6477EEE}\DefaultIcon Tablet PC Settings HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{80F3F1D5-FECA-45F3-BC32-752C152E456E}\DefaultIcon Taskbar and Navigation HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{0DF44EAA-FF21-4412-828E-260A8728E7F1}\DefaultIcon Troubleshooting HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{C58C4893-3BE0-4B45-ABB5-A63E4B8C8651}\DefaultIcon User Accounts HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{60632754-c523-4b62-b45c-4172da012619}\DefaultIcon Windows Defender Firewall HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{4026492F-2F69-46B8-B9BF-5654FC07E423}\DefaultIcon Windows Mobility Center HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{5ea4f148-308c-46d7-98a9-49041b1dd468}\DefaultIcon Windows To Go HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{8E0C279D-0BD1-43C3-9EBD-31C3DC5B8A77}\DefaultIcon Work Folders HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\{ECDB0924-4208-451E-8EE0-373C0956DE16}\DefaultIcon
3 In the right pane of the DefaultIcon key, double click/tap on the (Default) string value (REG_SZ) to modify it. (see screenshot above)
4 Type the full path of the .ico file wrapped in quotes you want to use for the icon, and click/tap on OK. (see screenshot below)
To restore the default icon, delete the DefaultIcon key.
5 When finished changing Control Panel icons, you can now close Registry Editor if you like.
6 If the Control Panel is currently open, close and reopen it to apply.
You must be signed in as an administrator to do this option.
If any user uses Option One, it will override this option for their account.
1 Press the Win + R keys to open Run, type regedit into Run, and click/tap on OK to open Registry Editor.
2 If you used Option One, delete the DefaultIcon key for the same icon like below. (see screenshots below)
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Classes\CLSID\<GUID>\DefaultIcon
3 Navigate to the key in the table below for the icon you want to change in the left pane of Registry Editor. (see screenshot below)
Control Panel Icon Registry Key Location Administrative Tools HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{D20EA4E1-3957-11d2-A40B-0C5020524153}\DefaultIcon AutoPlay HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{9C60DE1E-E5FC-40f4-A487-460851A8D915}\DefaultIcon Backup and Restore (Windows 7) HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{B98A2BEA-7D42-4558-8BD1-832F41BAC6FD}\DefaultIcon BitLocker Drive Encryption HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{D9EF8727-CAC2-4e60-809E-86F80A666C91}\DefaultIcon Color Management HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{B2C761C6-29BC-4f19-9251-E6195265BAF1}\DefaultIcon Credential Manager HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{1206F5F1-0569-412C-8FEC-3204630DFB70}\DefaultIcon Date and Time HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{E2E7934B-DCE5-43C4-9576-7FE4F75E7480}\DefaultIcon Default Programs HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{17cd9488-1228-4b2f-88ce-4298e93e0966}\DefaultIcon Device Manager HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{74246bfc-4c96-11d0-abef-0020af6b0b7a}\DefaultIcon Devices and Printers HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{A8A91A66-3A7D-4424-8D24-04E180695C7A}\DefaultIcon Ease of Access Center HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{D555645E-D4F8-4c29-A827-D93C859C4F2A}\DefaultIcon File Explorer Options HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{6DFD7C5C-2451-11d3-A299-00C04F8EF6AF}\DefaultIcon File History HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{F6B6E965-E9B2-444B-9286-10C9152EDBC5}\DefaultIcon Fonts HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{BD84B380-8CA2-1069-AB1D-08000948F534}\DefaultIcon Indexing Options HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{87D66A43-7B11-4A28-9811-C86EE395ACF7}\DefaultIcon Infared HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{A0275511-0E86-4ECA-97C2-ECD8F1221D08}\DefaultIcon Intel Rapid Storage Technology (if installed) HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{E342F0FE-FF1C-4c41-BE37-A0271FC90396}\DefaultIcon Internet Options HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{A3DD4F92-658A-410F-84FD-6FBBBEF2FFFE}\DefaultIcon Keyboard HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{725BE8F7-668E-4C7B-8F90-46BDB0936430}\DefaultIcon Mouse HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{6C8EEC18-8D75-41B2-A177-8831D59D2D50}\DefaultIcon Network and Sharing Center HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{8E908FC9-BECC-40f6-915B-F4CA0E70D03D}\DefaultIcon NVIDIA Control Panel (if available) HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{0bbca823-e77d-419e-9a44-5adec2c8eeb0}\DefaultIcon Pen and Touch HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{F82DF8F7-8B9F-442E-A48C-818EA735FF9B}\DefaultIcon Phone and Modem HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{40419485-C444-4567-851A-2DD7BFA1684D}\DefaultIcon Power Options HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{025A5937-A6BE-4686-A844-36FE4BEC8B6D}\DefaultIcon Programs and Features HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{7b81be6a-ce2b-4676-a29e-eb907a5126c5}\DefaultIcon Recovery HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{9FE63AFD-59CF-4419-9775-ABCC3849F861}\DefaultIcon Region HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{62D8ED13-C9D0-4CE8-A914-47DD628FB1B0}\DefaultIcon RemoteApp and Desktop Connections HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{241D7C96-F8BF-4F85-B01F-E2B043341A4B}\DefaultIcon Security and Maintenance HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{BB64F8A7-BEE7-4E1A-AB8D-7D8273F7FDB6}\DefaultIcon Sound HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{F2DDFC82-8F12-4CDD-B7DC-D4FE1425AA4D}\DefaultIcon Speech Recognition HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{58E3C745-D971-4081-9034-86E34B30836A}\DefaultIcon Storage Spaces HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{F942C606-0914-47AB-BE56-1321B8035096}\DefaultIcon Sync Center HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{9C73F5E5-7AE7-4E32-A8E8-8D23B85255BF}\DefaultIcon System HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{BB06C0E4-D293-4f75-8A90-CB05B6477EEE}\DefaultIcon Tablet PC Settings HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{80F3F1D5-FECA-45F3-BC32-752C152E456E}\DefaultIcon Taskbar and Navigation HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{0DF44EAA-FF21-4412-828E-260A8728E7F1}\DefaultIcon Troubleshooting HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{C58C4893-3BE0-4B45-ABB5-A63E4B8C8651}\DefaultIcon User Accounts HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{60632754-c523-4b62-b45c-4172da012619}\DefaultIcon Windows Defender Firewall HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{4026492F-2F69-46B8-B9BF-5654FC07E423}\DefaultIcon Windows Mobility Center HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{5ea4f148-308c-46d7-98a9-49041b1dd468}\DefaultIcon Windows To Go HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{8E0C279D-0BD1-43C3-9EBD-31C3DC5B8A77}\DefaultIcon Work Folders HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{ECDB0924-4208-451E-8EE0-373C0956DE16}\DefaultIcon
4 Change the owner of the DefaultIcon key to the Administrators group.
5 Change the permissions of the DefaultIcon key to "Allow" Administrators "Full control" of it.
6 In the right pane of the DefaultIcon key, double click/tap on the (Default) string value (REG_SZ) to modify it. (see screenshot above)
7 Type the full path of the .ico file wrapped in quotes you want to use for the icon, and click/tap on OK. (see screenshot below)
The .ico file will need to be saved at a location (ex: "C:\Windows" or "C:\Users\Public") that all users have access to. If it's not, the icon may show as a blank icon for some users instead.
Control Panel Icon Default Icon Administrative Tools %SystemRoot%\System32\imageres.dll,-114 AutoPlay %SystemRoot%\System32\autoplay.dll,-1 Backup and Restore (Windows 7) %SystemRoot%\System32\sdcpl.dll,-1 BitLocker Drive Encryption %SystemRoot%\System32\fvecpl.dll,-1 Color Management C:\Windows\System32\colorcpl.exe,-5 Credential Manager %SystemRoot%\system32\Vault.dll,-1 Date and Time %SystemRoot%\System32\timedate.cpl,-50 Default Programs %SystemRoot%\System32\imageres.dll,-24 Device Manager %SystemRoot%\system32\devmgr.dll,-201 Devices and Printers %systemroot%\system32\DeviceCenter.dll,-1 Ease of Access Center %SystemRoot%\System32\accessibilitycpl.dll,-1 File Explorer Options %SystemRoot%\system32\imageres.dll,-166 File History %SystemRoot%\System32\FileHistory.exe Fonts %SystemRoot%\System32\fontext.dll Indexing Options %SystemRoot%\System32\srchadmin.dll,-201 Infared %SystemRoot%\System32\irprops.cpl,-129 Intel Rapid Storage Technology (if installed) C:\Program Files\Intel\Intel(R) Rapid Storage Technology\IAStorUI.exe,0 Internet Options C:\Windows\System32\inetcpl.cpl,-4487 Keyboard %SystemRoot%\System32\main.cpl,-200 Mouse %SystemRoot%\System32\main.cpl,-100 Network and Sharing Center %SystemRoot%\System32\netcenter.dll,-1 NVIDIA Control Panel (if available) C:\Program Files\NVIDIA Corporation\Control Panel Client\nvcplui.exe,-128 Pen and Touch %SystemRoot%\System32\tabletpc.cpl,-10201 Phone and Modem %SystemRoot%\System32\telephon.cpl,-100 Power Options %SystemRoot%\System32\powercpl.dll,-1 Programs and Features %SystemRoot%\system32\imageres.dll,-87 Recovery %SystemRoot%\System32\imageres.dll,-1022 Region %SystemRoot%\System32\intl.cpl,-200 RemoteApp and Desktop Connections C:\Windows\System32\tsworkspace.dll Security and Maintenance %SystemRoot%\System32\ActionCenterCPL.dll,-1 Sound %SystemRoot%\System32\mmsys.cpl,-100 Speech Recognition %SystemRoot%\System32\Speech\SpeechUX\speechuxcpl.dll,-1 Storage Spaces C:\Windows\System32\SpaceControl.dll,-1 Sync Center %SystemRoot%\System32\SyncCenter.dll,-1000 System %SystemRoot%\System32\imageres.dll,-149 Tablet PC Settings %SystemRoot%\System32\tabletpc.cpl,-10200 Taskbar and Navigation %SystemRoot%\system32\imageres.dll,-80 Troubleshooting %SystemRoot%\System32\DiagCpl.dll,-1 User Accounts %SystemRoot%\System32\usercpl.dll,-1 Windows Defender Firewall C:\Windows\System32\FirewallControlPanel.dll,-1 Windows Mobility Center %SystemRoot%\system32\mblctr.exe,0 Windows To Go %SystemRoot%\System32\pwcreator.exe,-2001 Work Folders C:\Windows\System32\WorkfoldersControl.dll, 1
8 When finished changing Control Panel icons, you can now close Registry Editor if you like.
9 If the Control Panel is currently open, close and reopen it to apply.
That's it,
Shawn
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