You can change the icon used for a Windows 2000 Professional shortcut by right-clicking the shortcut, choosing Properties, and then clicking Change Icon. You can browse for the file or specify the path to the file containing the icon (.ico, .dll, or .exe files).

Desktop objects like My Computer behave differently, however. You can change the icons for these objects through the Display Properties sheet. To do so, follow these steps:

1. Right-click the desktop and choose Properties.
2. Click the Effects tab.
3. In the Desktop Icons group, select the object whose icon you want to change.
4. Click either Change Icon to assign a different icon or Default Icon to return to its default.

You can also change the icons used to display a specific type of file, although the change takes a little more effort than changing desktop object icons. Here’s how:

1. Open any folder and choose Tools | Folder Options.
2. Click the File Types tab, and locate and select the file extension for the file type whose icon you want to change.
3. Click Change Icon and select the file and icon you want to use.

Whether you’re changing icons for desktop objects or documents, you’ll find several to choose from in the files Shell32.dll and Moricons.dll, both located in the %systemroot%\System32 folder.