Desktop background images are a great way to express your love for a favorite character, or showcase your collection of favorite quotes. The new feature also allows you to switch to a different desktop background. However, sometimes there are too many desktop background images that you don't want anymore. Here's how to remove it in Windows.
Step
Method 1 of 2: Windows 7
Step 1. Right click on the desktop and select "Personalize"
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At the top left of the window that appears, click "Control Panel Home".
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Step 2. Under the Appearance and Personalization heading in the right column, click "Change desktop background"
Step 3. You will see a screen showing a list of all the desktop backgrounds that are currently available
Look for the unwanted background, then uncheck it to remove it as your preferred desktop background.
Step 4. To completely delete the file from the computer, look at the subtitle above the desktop background thumbnail and note the location of the image folder
In this example, the unwanted desktop background is on the desktop.
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Open the folder from the explorer window and right-click on the image to delete it from the computer.
Method 2 of 2: Windows XP
Step 1. Open My Computer from the Start menu
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Select Tools then Folder Options.
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Click the "View" tab then click "Show Hidden Files and Folders" and click "OK".
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Step 2. Open drive C:
and look for the Windows folder. If a warning appears about modifying system files, click the 'Show files' link to continue.
Step 3. While in the Windows folder, locate and double-click the Web folder
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Then double click on the "Wallpapers" folder.
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Find the background image/image you want to delete.
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If you are using Firefox, the image is stored in C:\Documents and Settings\Application Data\Mozilla\Firefox
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If you are using Internet Explorer, the image is stored in C:\Documents and Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Internet Explorer
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Step 4. If you still can't find it, go to Start Menu, Search
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Click "All files and folders", then enter a background name to find it.
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Step 5. Once the file is found, you can delete it or move it to a new folder
Create a folder called Moved Backgrounds. After moving the files to this new folder, the images will be removed from the list but will still be available on your PC if you change your mind.
Tips
- A popular issue in XP is that the images in My Pictures are somehow added to the Background Images list. Uniquely all images have a.bmp format. Whenever a.bmp image is added or created, it is automatically added to the Background list. For that, you can create a new folder (eg the "My Pict" folder) and move all the pictures into the new folder. This should clear the list of photos.
- Alternatively, you can re-save each.bmp file as a-j.webp" />
- If you're having trouble finding the images folder, look for the name of one of the wallpapers, such as Stonehenge. Once met, left click and open the folder.
- The image files listed in the Background screen options are the images stored under the …\Windows\Web\Wallpapers folder, plus the background used if selected via the 'Browse' button.
