Customizing Vista Icons

Hi there! Not sure if this is meant to be in Vista discussion or Icon/Cursor section but, I've recently upgraded to Vista Home Premium and had alot of trouble attempting to customize program desktop icons. When I right click > Properties > Change Icon then select an .ico it squashes it then puts a crappy little box around it eg:

When I try to resize program icons using CTRL+MouseWheel the box gets bigger and the icon stays the same. The icons I'm using are 256 x 256 so there really shouldnt be a problem.

On the other hand, when I try to change icons that are already part of the default Vista Aero icon set like a drive it works flawlessly eg:

I've done abit of research to find a solution and still can't find a solution, this page seems to suggest that I need to add the new larger icons to the "new icon resource" but with many programs I can't find the icon that needs to be replaced and some I can't find any .ico within their program files folder.

Anyway thanks in advance for any help with this and if possible I would prefer a solution that does not involve a 3rd Party icon program.

#464028

Unfortunately, all I can recommend for you in Axialis IconWorkshop 6, but this program is well worth it, it can make you icons for all major platforms (Windows, Mac, Linux), and does what you're looking for in Vista. Yes, you do need a 256×256 sized icon, but you also need to add like a "digital signature" of sorts to tell Vista that it made the icon. (Sorry, don't know how to explain this.) Anyway, just import whatever image you want, export it as a .ico, and it will give you the option of making a Vista icon. (Should be enabled by default.) Now, once you make it a desktop icon, it will be full size without the border.

#465261

Couldn't agree more with Quillz, Axialis is the way to go. You'll be really happy you did in the long run.

#465262

Thanks for the advice, on your recommendation I'll try out Axialis IconWorkshop 6.

#465321