Open Notepad, and type the following:

[autorun] icon=PATH,#

..where PATH is the path of the icon you want to use and # is its number in that file.

For example: In any icon file, such as SHELL32.DLL in the Windows\System folder, the icons are numbered from zero to whatever. To view the icons in these files, right-mouse click any folder shortcut, choose Properties, click the Shortcut tab, and click the Change Icon button. The Change Icon dialog box displays all the icons in the SHELL32 file.

So, if you wanted to use the fourteenth icon, the globe, in the C:\Windows\System\SHELL32.DLL file, your Notepad file would read:

[autorun] icon=c:\windows\system\shell32.dll,13 (It's fourteenth in the list, but remember, you have to start with zero.)

Once you've created the .INF file, choose Save As under Notepad's File menu, name the file AUTORUN.INF, and save the file on the root of the hard drive where you want the change to take place. (This is necessary.) Close Notepad. To see the new icon, open a My Computer window, click the old icon once, then hit F5 on your keyboard.

If you have multiple drives on your system, you can change the icon for each of them. Just follow the steps above, creating an AUTORUN.INF file on the root directory of each drive. If at any time you'd like to get rid of your customizations, simply delete the .INF file.

Also, if you have an individual icon file (.ICO) that you'd like to use, simply use that path. (eg. icon=e:\plus!\themes\Science Network Neighborhood.ico)

Check out our previous tip on "More Icons" to see where else you can look for icon files.