Double-click the "My Computer" icon in Windows and find your Zip drive listed among your computer's drives. Verify the letter assigned to this drive, as you will need it later.
Select an .ico file that you want to use to represent the drive. You can use an .ico file already stored on your hard drive, or you can download one from any website offering free icons. Find a link to one of these sites in "Additional Resources," below.
Locate your desired .ico file on your hard drive and make sure you know its full file path. For example, your file may be located in "C:\My Documents\My Pictures\icons." If you do not know the file path by heart, write it down or leave it open on your desktop. You'll need it for future steps.
Open the Windows Registry Editor. To do this, click the "Start" button and select "Run." Type "regedit" in the Run window and click the "OK" button.
Navigate the directory in the left side of the Windows Registry Editor to find this path: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer. Make sure you left-click the "Explorer" category to highlight it.
Right-click in an open area of the right side of the Windows Registry Editor, and select "Create new key." When the new key appears, type "DriveIcons" and press "Enter" to name the key.
Left-click the newly created "DriveIcons" category in the directory on the left side, then right-click in an open area of the right side and select "Create new key." When this key appears, type the single letter assigned to your Zip drive and press "Enter."
Left-click the drive letter icon you created in the directory on the left side, then right-click an open area of the right side one more time and select "Create new key." Type "DefaultIcon" when this key appears, and press "Enter."
Right-click the "DefaultIcon" key in the right side of the Windows Registry Editor, then select "Set value." In the value field, type the full file path location of your chosen .ico file, then press "Enter." Make sure you get the file path exactly right, or else this won't work.
Close the Windows Registry Editor and reboot your computer.