How To Set A Custom Icon And Label For The Removable Drives In Windows

Setting Custom Icon For Removable Drives In Windows

Whenever you connect a removable drive to your computer or laptop, the OS will recognize it quickly. After recognizing the drive, it will display the default icon and its name. In many cases, the operating system can even exactly detect the device connected. It then downloads the custom icon that suits the physical design of the detected device.

It’s possible to customize the default icon and name of the removable drive whenever you want. You can change the icon when you’re bored of seeing the same icon every time, or you want to add some more fun or see an icon that matches the content inside the drive.

Here is how to customize the default icon and name of the removable drive. This applies to Windows 7, Windows 8.1, and Windows 10.

Step 1: Fix an icon and a name for the removable drive

first, you need to have an icon with an extension of .ico and a name to your removable device. For instance, you want to have your memory device inspired by Mario, take the icon and name accordingly.

If you like the Mario icon, you can find it here: Super Mario icon. If you want something else for your memory device, you can choose your own. After you’ve selected a nice icon and a suited name, we can get into the work.

Step 2: Create an autorun.inf file on the root of the removable drive

Autorun.inf is a text file used by the AutoRun and AutoPlay components of Windows operating systems. This simple file describes the AutoRun behavior of the drive on which it’s found. In order to work, autorun.inf must be located in the root directory of the removable drive.

First of all, create a new text file. For now, you can create it anywhere on your computer, as we will move it on the memory device later. For instance, I created the text file on my Desktop. For that, right click on the desktop, tap on New and click on Text document from the drop-down.

Then, rename the text file to autorun.inf and confirm that you are OK to change its file name extension.

Now you can notice that the icon of the file changes as shown below soon after you renamed it.

Then, copy the autorun.inf from the desktop and the icon file (from where you have saved it) to the removable drive. Make sure that the autorun.inf file and the icon are placed in the root of the removable drive.

Now edit the autorun.inf file.

Open autorun.inf in your favorite text editor and enter the following lines:

“[Autorun]

Icon=icon name

Label=the new name of the drive”

If you have placed the icon in a special folder, you must specify the location to the icon, relative to the root of the drive. For instance, I have placed my icon in a folder named Mario. In my case, the icon text line will be: Icon=Mario\Super Paper Mario.ico

Finally, you might want to set the properties of the icon file and autorun.inf so that they are hidden and not displayed when you open the contents of the drive.

By doing this, they will never be deleted even by mistake. Your removable drive will keep on looking clean and neat.

The next time when you plug the removable drive in a Windows computer, it will show the new name you chose. Even the icon changes to that one what you have set.

This is the way to set the custom icon and the name of the removable drive in Windows.