changing the little icon next to files in win xp

ok, so if you have windows explorer set to 'view details' you see a little icon next to each one of your files depending on what the extension is... well, some graphics program for win 95 got installed on my computer somehow and usurped all the 'open with' permissions for .jpg, .gif, .bmp, etc... well, i unistalled the program and they all open with thier proper progams now, but they all have that same damn icon next to them... i was wondering how i can reset it....

Well, the icon is "attached" to the program it is associated with. In other words the program it opens in. By default in Win2k (and I think XP) it is Microsoft's photo editor. If you want to change that , right click any image file you are refering to, for example a jpg file. Select properties. In the general tab you will see a line that says "Opens with" and you should have an option to "change". Then you can select your prefered program, which should also change the icon to whatever the prefered program's default icon is.

Just be carefull when changing file associations. Bottom line is after you change them, that is the default program that will be used to open them. If you screw it up you can always go back and change it via this method.

Skip that. I overlooked your primary question. I see now you have them associated with your preferred program/s. Not sure what the deal is on the icons, then.

I think i no what you mean ?
open explorer.exe .
And highlight one of the files that you want to change.
Then go up to tools , then folder options, then hit the
file type tab, scroll down the list untill you find the correct
file name , highlight that , then in the same menue down below file types were
hit the advanced tab in the lower part of that block.
When that opens ,you have the choice of changing the icon ,
to whatever you want (it will open all the file looking types) or if you
If you hit default button ,it will change them for everyone thats on
your H/D that are same file

ok, i have no idea what the hell i did, but i changed itself back now.... i just walked away for a few hours, came back, and poof! the icons had changed.... *shakes head* *sigh*....

Icons are funny in explorer. I've remember having similar problems in the past with certain icons. I think explorer just takes its time refreshing them.

This file relates: "documents and settings\USERNAME\local settings\application data\IconCache.db"

Deleting this file and then rebooting will sometime fix icon problems. It's safe to delete and windows will rebuild this file after reboot.