How to create a high quality icon for my Windows application?

Question

If you are running Windows with a higher DPI setting you will notice that most application icons on the desktop look terrible. Even some high profile application icons such as G

Answer 1

easiest way is to open a copy of one of those ms .ico files in gimp, and replace those 72dpi pics with yours and scale them for each layer in the .ico file.

The attached screenshot is the windows media player icon oped up in GIMP