Program Icons

[Buddha]

Does anyone know why the icons from the .COM and .EXE files for so many
pre-Vista apps and games are not recognized by Vista? I have literally
dozens of old games and apps that for some reason still work with Vista
(Unlike most things that won't run at all), but when I try to change the
icon, Vista says no icons were found in the file. I know for a fact the
icons are in there, but Vista refuses to recognize them.

Buddha

 

[Tim Slattery]

Does anyone know why the icons from the .COM and .EXE files for so many
pre-Vista apps and games are not recognized by Vista? I have literally
dozens of old games and apps that for some reason still work with Vista
(Unlike most things that won't run at all), but when I try to change the
icon, Vista says no icons were found in the file. I know for a fact the
icons are in there, but Vista refuses to recognize them.

If that dialog says there are no icons in the file, that's pretty good
evidence to me that there are none.

I know for a fact that *.com files do not have icons. They are
extremely simple files that contain only 16-bit, real-mode code that
is simply copied into an 8086 machine (these days, a virtual 8086) and
run. *.com files were widely used in the early DOS days.

*.exe files can contain icons, as well as several other things. IIRC,
the earliest exe files contained relocatable 16-bit real-mode DOS
code, and therefore no icons.

You can create shortcuts to these files, of course, and associate an
icon with that.

 

[BlueGlide]

If that dialog says there are no icons in the file, that's pretty good
evidence to me that there are none.

*.exe files can contain icons, as well as several other things. IIRC,
the earliest exe files contained relocatable 16-bit real-mode DOS
code, and therefore no icons.

Don't believe that is true. I have this same problem here with
SEVERAL old .exe files (not the very early ones that Tim excluded).

Example: I have an old RPN claculator app that came from the Norton
Desktop suite (looks like the old HP 35 or 45) that I first used under
Windows 95. I moved to Windows 98, copied the NDW folder that
contained the .exe as well as support .dll files, created a short cut
to the .exe and it worked fine. Same original icon was still attached
to the .exe file as viewed in windows explorer as well as for any
shortcuts subsequently created.

Moved to Windows NT.... same procedure and results... worked fine and
original icon present.
Moved to Windows 2000 ....same procedure and results... worked fine
and original icon present.
Moved to Windows XP.... same procedure and results... worked fine and
original icon present.

Moved to Vista..... TILT!!! Ugly pale green icon!! App still works
however but cannot figure out how to get the original icon back. Its
gotta be in the .exe file! Sure would like to see it again.

 

[Tim Slattery]

Example: I have an old RPN claculator app that came from the Norton
Desktop suite (looks like the old HP 35 or 45) that I first used under
Windows 95.

So it's a Windows graphical program, right? That would have one or
more icons, as well as cursors, images, etc, in the exe.

Moved to Windows NT.... same procedure and results... worked fine and
original icon present.
Moved to Windows 2000 ....same procedure and results... worked fine
and original icon present.
Moved to Windows XP.... same procedure and results... worked fine and
original icon present.

Moved to Vista..... TILT!!! Ugly pale green icon!! App still works
however but cannot figure out how to get the original icon back. Its
gotta be in the .exe file! Sure would like to see it again.

My guess is that Vista doesn't bother with icons that are smaller than
some arbitrary number or have a color depth less then some arbitrary
number, or maybe some combination of the two. But that's only a guess,
I really don't know what's going on here.

 

[BlueGlide]

So it's a Windows graphical program, right? That would have one or
more icons, as well as cursors, images, etc, in the exe.

Yes, a neat little app that looks just like the old HP-35 calculator
and uses RPN notation.

My guess is that Vista doesn't bother with icons that are smaller than
some arbitrary number or have a color depth less then some arbitrary
number, or maybe some combination of the two. But that's only a guess,
I really don't know what's going on here.

You are probably right about it "not bothering" with an icon that is
old and does not meet current enhanced standards. Disappointing
though. The guys in charge for upgrades to 98, NT, 2000, and XP all
got it right. Only with Vista did someone drop the ball.

On my XP computer if you do a "Change Icon" on a shortcut created to
this sicalc.exe file, it shows you in the large square window in the
dialog box, the original little calculator icon" and it has that file
name and path entered in the "Look for icons in this file:"

In Vista however, when you do the same and hit the "Change Icon"
button, it simply states as the original poster said, "There are no
icons in ......\sicalc.exe.

It is pretty clear from our experience with XP and before, that this
"no icons" statement is false. A more honest, "the icon in this file
does not meet Vista's new standards for......." would be more
appreciated. The "no icons" statement makes me feel like Vista is
attempting to "put one over on me"! Maybe even calling me a dummy.

If you do hear of a way around this, please let me know. Vista SHOULD
be smart enough to use an old icon file. Note that this old app STILL
WORKS FINE. Vista just cannot handle the icon format, and then is
less than honest about why it can't.

 

[BlueGlide]

Well, here is a workaround that is a little cumbersome, but it works
nevertheless.

The problem appears to be that these old icons are 16 x 16 pixels and
Vista only supports 32 x 32. So the workaround involves extracting
the 16 x 16 image from the old .exe file, resaving it as a 32 x 32
pixel .ico file, then using properties on a shortcut you create to the
old exe file, to use the new 32 x 32 pixel .ico file. Proceed as
follows:

1.Download one of the free icon editors. (I used IcoFX available at
http://icofx.ro/) It's freeware with a suggested donation.
2.Install it on a non-Vista machine that still displays the old icons
properly, I used XP.
3.Use the File>Extract option of your icon editor on the .exe file
that contains the old 16 x 16 pixel image. IcoFX protested that "This
is not a 32x32 bit file. Only the 32 x 32 image will be extracted and
the transparency will be lost!" Click OK anyway.
4.If desired tweak the image in the icon editor and add transparency
as needed using the cross-hatched selection under the color selection
boxes.
5.Save the result as a .ico file
6.Copy the .ico file to the Vista machine, to the folder that contains
the troublesome .exe file.
7.On the Vista machine, create a shortcut to the .exe on your
desktop. It will still be the old, ugly pale green generic Vista
icon.
8.Right-click the shortcut, select properties and select "Change Icon"
As anticipated, Vista will complain that there are no icons in
the .exe file. Go ahead and click ok, then browse to the .ico file
you just created in your icon editor. Click OK, and OK once more, and
you're done! The shortcut on your desktop will now be the old,
original 16 x 16 icon in a new Vista compatible 32 x 32 pixel format.
Now drag the shortcut to wherever you need it - maybe the Start
button, or wherever.

Couple of notes:
1.The first 5 steps must be accomplished on a computer NOT running
Vista. If you try it under Vista, even IcoFX will state that "there
are no icons in the file"!
2.The IcoFX help file (which resides on the IcoFX website) contains a
wealth of information about icon formats, from 16 x 16 up to 256 x
256!

Good Luck.