Icon Constructor - advanced icon maker
Icon Constructor converts BMP, JPEG, GIF, PNG, PSD, TGA and TIFF formats into Windows icons. You can find many images on the Internet and convert them to icons for use on your Windows desktop, in applications and much more. It supports Windows XP icons in 32-bit color depth with an alpha... This robust program works like the Swiss Army knife of icon creation! ... With just a few clicks, any image you find on the Internet or create in a paint program can be turned into an icon. ... The simple Icon Constructor interface makes it easy to change the look of an individual folder.
http://www.iconconstructor.com/download/iconconstructor_setup.EXE - 3Mb - Download - Screenshot

IconPackager
The world's best, easiest way to change the icons on Microsoft Windows! IconPackager is a program that allows users to change nearly all of their Windows icons at once by applying "packages" of icons. A package of icons contains icons to replace most of the common icons on your Windows PC. ... It is designed to make it easy to navigate through libraries of icons and view them easily in different sizes and formats so that you can get an idea of how an icon looks and decide if it's one you would want to use.
http://storage.stardock.com/files/iconpackager_public.exe - 3Mb - Download - Screenshot

Change Folder Icons
Change the standard icon of folders to another found icon fast and simple with this small utility for Windows. You can do this pressing right mouse button on a folder and selecting the item "Change Folder Icon" from popup menu. You can search for icons with specified parameters in all types of... ico-files; - change an icon for a drive (HDD, FDD, CD-ROM); - manage your changed icons; - make icons, changed earlier by another methods (with Windows'XP or another program), independent from source files; - search icons with specified parameters "Number of colors" and "Size in pixels"; -...
http://www.nesoft.org/changefoldericon/cfisetup.exe - 954Kb - Download - Screenshot

Perfect Icon
Perfect Icon is an easy tool for creating icons from pictures and photos. Various graphic formats are supported: BMP, JPEG, TIFF, GIF, WMF and more. Perfect Icon generates stylish semi-transparent icons for Windows XP. Various effects and styles allow you to make unusual pictograms too. ... Perfect Icon: the rapid icon creation tool! ... Perfect Icon provides an easy solution. ... Simple, intuitively intelligible interface makes working with the program a snap. ... Perfect Icon is the ultimate tool for customizing the icons on your desktop, in Windows Start menu, and in icons of folders...
http://www.iconempire.com/downloads/perfecticon.exe - 1Mb - Download - Screenshot

Icon Collector
Icon Collector searches files and directories for icons. Found icons are listed and can be copied, extracted and saved as icon or bitmap files. In addition, the Collector makes it easy to create icon libraries via drag & drop and to work on them. Therefore the program was especially written for...
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/michaelbrick/icoll100.exe - 464Kb - Download - Screenshot

ArtIcons
ArtIcons provides great opportunities for working with Windows XP and Windows Vista icons. You will be able to handle Vista Icons with ease. In order to make Vista icons compatible with Windows XP you can save them without any compression. Vista Icons introduce a new style of iconography that... A picture of a maximum size of 256 x 256 to be used as an icon, in principle, is supported by XP, yet such an icon occupies 400Kb of disk space, which is far more than standard 25Kb of an XP icon. ... That technology reduces the size of an icon only, leaving the quality invariable.
http://www.aha-soft.com/articons/aicon.zip - 2Mb - Download - Screenshot

ArtIcons Pro
ArtIcons Pro provides great opportunities for working with Windows XP and Windows Vista icons. You will be able to handle Vista Icons with ease. In order to make Vista icons compatible with Windows XP you can save them without any compression. Vista Icons introduce a new style of iconography... A picture of a maximum size of 256 x 256 to be used as an icon, in principle, is supported by XP, yet such an icon occupies 400Kb of disk space, which is far more than standard 25Kb of an XP icon. ... That technology reduces the size of an icon only, leaving the quality invariable.
http://www.aha-soft.com/articons/aipro.zip - 2Mb - Download - Screenshot

Icon Catcher
Finding necessary icon images for your shortcuts/documents is not easy task. Before downloading one of those gigantic icon collections, consider that one probably already exists on your hard drive! Average computer contains hundreds, even thousands of different icons "hidden" in a variety of... The program extracts icons from any source files, including . ... The program does not require any special skills or knowledge and can be used by virtually anybody. ... The new version of software has a brand new improved user interface that is intuitive and very easy to navigate through large icon...
http://www.helexis.com/ic/iconcatc.zip - 670Kb - Download - Screenshot

IconChanger
Does your desktop look plain and boring? Get Icon Changer! Icon Changer is a software application that makes changing icons fun and easy. It's a hassle-free way to personalize your desktop without having to open up any computer manuals. Simply click the icon you want to change, point at the one... Then you know that all the documents created with these (and other) applications "inherit" the icon from the program from which they were created. ... Icon Changer automatically scans for all icons available on your hard-drive and extracts them even from executables and DLL files.
http://www.shelllabs.com/IconChanger35.exe - 1Mb - Download - Screenshot

Icon extractor package
The Icon Extractor Package includes two programs: an icon viewer which is able to extract icons from executables or libraries and copy or save them as icon or bitmap files; an additional configuration software which makes it easy to distribute large icon libraries. ... A configured extractor can become your own icon viewer which appears in your preferred language, presents your About box, your help or readme file and includes links to your website, registration center or e-mail address.
http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/MichaelBrick/icons100.exe - 599Kb - Download - Screenshot