In environments where Google Chrome is used as the default browser, a recent version update has caused link shortcut icons to have a white border around them.
After investigating whether this issue was a bug on the Windows side or on Google Chrome side, we were able to find the cause.
Why Chrome link shortcut icons have white borders and how to fix them
Cause
The reason why the outline around the link shortcut icon in Google Chrome has turned white is because a recent version update changed the registry value related to the link shortcut icon.
First, open the properties of the link's shortcut icon and click "Change Icon" on the "Web Document" tab. An icon with a white border will be selected.
In Windows, you can change the icons used by some apps using the registry.
In the image above, the selected icon is the 11th of the 12 icons contained in "chrome.exe" (counting from top left to bottom).
However, since the first icon is always numbered "0," in this case the tenth icon would be selected.
When specifying an icon for a shortcut or other purpose in the registry, the icon is specified by the value data of the "Default" key called "DefaultIcon".
So I started the Registry Editor, searched for the "DefaultIcon" key, and checked the "Default" value data, and confirmed that the 10th icon for "chrome.exe" was specified.
C:\Program Files\Google\Chrome\Application\chrome.exe,10This "DefaultIcon" key was located under the "ChromeHTML" key, so I was certain that this was the cause.
My personal guess is that Google made this change to differentiate between Chrome shortcuts and link shortcuts.
How to revert to the old icon
*Compatible with Windows 10 and Windows 11
If you operate the registry incorrectly, it may cause problems such as the system being unable to start. Please make a backup in advance using system restore or similar, and proceed at your own risk.
- How to create and restore a system restore point
- How to open and back up the Registry Editor
- Windows 11/10 Registry Basics: Concept, How to Open, and Internal Structure
- How to Take Ownership and Change Permissions in Windows 11 Registry
Pochip
1. Press Windows key + R to open Run, type "regedit" and press Enter.
2. The Registry Editor will open, so open the following key:
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ChromeHTML\DefaultIcon
3. With the "DefaultIcon" key selected, double-click the value "(Default)" in the right column to open it.
4. Change the "10" at the far right of "Value data" to "0" and click OK.
5. Once you have confirmed that the value data has been changed, close Registry Editor and sign out.
Once you sign in, Google Chrome's link shortcut icons should revert to the traditional icons.
If it doesn't work, try clearing your icon cache.
