Where Does Windows Store Its Wallpaper?

Have you ever seen a picture that you really liked while browsing the web, and wanted to set it as your Windows wallpaper? This article will explain exactly how to do this and where the file is saved.

Have you ever seen a picture that you really liked while browsing the web, and wanted to set it as your Windows wallpaper? This article will explain exactly how to do this and where the file is saved. Then when your friends at the office see your cool wallpaper photo and ask if you can send it to them, you’ll know exactly where to find it on your system.

Windows stores its default wallpaper image files in C:\WINDOWS\Web\Wallpaper on Windows XP. There you’ll find the default wallpaper images that came loaded with Windows.

You can also set your own custom wallpaper images in a few different ways:

1. From Internet Explorer:

   If you right-click on an image in Internet Explorer, you can select “Set As Background” from the shortcut menu, and Windows will store the image in the following folder:

   C:\Documents and Settings\YourName\Application Data\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Internet Explorer Wallpaper.bmp (replace YourName with your actual Windows logon)

2. From Windows Display Settings:

   You can access the display settings dialog by right-clicking on your desktop and selecting Properties from the short-cut menu. Next select the Desktop tab and click the Browse button to choose a photo of your choice.

   Windows will store these images in the following location, depending on the file type:

   C:\Documents and Settings\YourName\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Wallpaper1.bmp
   C:\Documents and Settings\YourName\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Wallpaper1.jpg
   

   

3. From Windows Paint:

   You can open Windows Paint by selecting Start — All Programs — Accessories — Paint. Open your image with Paint and then select the File — Set As Background menu (with options for tiled or centered layout). You’ll be asked to first save the file to a folder on your system, and then Windows will use that file as your background.