Changing the Windows XP Start Button Icon
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This is part two of my "Hacking the Windows XP Start Button" series. This time we’re going to learn how to change the graphic icon in the Start button. You won’t want to miss this, because I’ll be revealing a secret you won’t find anywhere else on the Internet—how to add transparency!
For those of you who followed along with the last article, you’re all set to go. Any new readers need to stop by Part 1 and learn how to back up the files we’ll be editing and how to unprotect Explorer.exe.
Once again you’re going to need a resource editor. I’ll be using Resource Hacker. I’ve provided the example graphic that I’m using in the component pack for this article, but if you want to create your own you’ll need a graphics editor capable of editing Windows bitmaps. You can use any one you like, but I’ll be using Photoshop CS because it’s one of the few that can handle the secret that I’ll be revealing a little later on.
Once you’re all set, go ahead and open Explorer.exe in Resource Hacker. For those new readers, just choose Open… from the File menu. Explorer.exe will be in your Windows directory. This is typically C:Windows but may be C:WINNT on upgraded Windows 2000 machines.
Once you have Explorer.exe open in Resource Hacker, expand the Bitmaps heading and navigate to 143. Expand that and choose the entry for your installed language; in my case it's 1033. You should see the Windows graphic in the pane to the right.
It’s a 25x20 32-bit Windows bitmap. You can create your own from scratch if you like, but I’m going to show you how to edit this one instead. With it showing in the right pane, choose Save [Bitmap 143 : 1033]… from the Actions menu. Give it a name like start_orig.bmp and save it to your Desktop.
If you're using the Windows Classic theme, you'll want to change the 16x16 bitmap at 176:1033 instead.
Next: Editing the bitmap. >>
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