Tech Tips for Catholics

This is a short tutorial that will show you how to change your desktop icons in Windows Vista and Windows XP.

Step 1: Start by either creating your own icon (future tutorial to come)  or download some from the internet (be sure to choose sites that are trustworthy).  It helps to put them in a folder called “Icons,” somewhere you can find them.

Step 2: Right-click the desktop and select “Personalize” (Windows XP users: right-click the desktop and go to “Properties,” followed by “Desktop” tab, and then click “Customize Desktop” in XP).

Step 3: Next, click on “Change desktop icons” under the Task menu (Windows XP users can skip this step).

Step 4: Choose the desktop icon that you would like to change and click the “Change Icon” button.

Step 5: Locate the folder where you have saved your custom icons, choose the icon you want to replace the default icon, and click “OK.”

Note: If you change the empty or full recycling bin, you’ll want to change the other.

Below are some related links to this topic:

• Question: How do I get back my accidentally deleted recycling bin?
• Clean Up Your Desktop, for Pete’s sake!

Q. I accidentally deleted my Recycling Bin!  Help!!!  How do I get it back?  I’m using Windows.

A. I’m sure you’re not the first person to do this.  I remember this kid, on the first day of college, who threw the hard-drive icon into the trash (it was his first time on a Mac and he didn’t think it would let him do it — it did).  It was pretty funny, and we became pretty good friends after that.  My point is that it is not the end of the world.  So how do you get it back?  Well, it is not as difficult as one might think.

If you are using Windows XP:

1. Right-click on the desktop and select “Properties”
2. Click the “Desktop” tab
3. Click the “Customize Desktop” button
4. Click “Restore Default”
5. Click “OK”

If you are using Windows Vista:

1. Right-click on the desktop and select “Personalize”
2. Under the Tasks munu, you should see “Change desktop icons.”  Click it
3. Click “Restore Default”
4. Click “OK”

Note: Instead of clicking the “Restore Default” button, you could check the box in front of “Recycling Bin” and then click “OK.”  If you have customized the look of your desktop icons, then this is the way to go.  Clicking the “Restore Default” button will restore the standard look of all desktop icons.

If you have a computer question, let us help!  Contact Catholic Tech Tips.