How to change your desktop wallpaper in Windows

Tired of the wallpaper on your computer desktop? Then change them to wallpaper downloaded from the Internet, or to one of your favorite photos.

Steps

Method 1 of 11: Windows 98

Step 1. Right click on a blank space on the desktop

Step 2. Click "Properties"

Step 3. In the "Wallpapers" section, select the wallpaper you like

Step 4. If necessary, select the position of the image from the three options

Stretch (used when the screen resolution is 640x480), Center, Tile.

Method 2 of 11: Windows 98 (custom wallpaper)

If you are satisfied with the selected wallpaper, click "OK"; otherwise, click Browse and do the following:

Step 1. Navigate to the folder containing the desired image or HTML document

Step 2. Highlight the image and click OK

Step 3. Click OK to set the wallpaper and close the dialog box

Method 3 of 11: Windows XP / Windows 2000

Step 1. Right click on a blank space on the desktop

Step 2. Click "Properties"

Step 3. Go to the "Desktop" tab and in the "Desktop Background" section select the wallpaper you like

Step 4. If necessary, select the position of the image from the three options

Stretch (used when the screen resolution is 640x480), Center, Tile.

Method 4 of 11: Windows XP / Windows 2000 (custom wallpaper)

If you are satisfied with the selected wallpaper, click "OK"; otherwise, click Browse and do the following:

Step 1. Navigate to the folder containing the desired image or HTML document

Step 2. Highlight the image and click OK

Step 3. Click OK to set the wallpaper and close the dialog box

Method 5 of 11: Advanced Desktop Customization (Windows XP / Windows 2000)

If you are satisfied with the selected wallpaper, click "OK"; otherwise, click Browse and do the following:

Step 1. Under the list of wallpapers, click "Desktop Settings"

You should now be able to customize additional desktop options, such as changing the icons on the desktop.

Method 6 of 11: Windows Vista

Step 1. Right click on a blank space on the desktop

Select "Personalization".

Step 2. Click "Desktop Background"

Unlike older versions of Windows, here the settings open in the same window.

Step 3. In the "Select a desktop wallpaper" window, select the wallpaper you like

Method 7 of 11: Windows Vista (Customized Wallpaper)

If you are satisfied with the selected wallpaper, click "OK"; otherwise, select a different image location from the drop-down menu, or click Browse and follow these steps:

Step 1. Navigate to the folder containing the desired image

Step 2. Highlight the image and click OK

Step 3. Click OK to set the wallpaper and close the dialog box

Method 8 of 11: Advanced Desktop Customization (Windows Vista)

If you are satisfied with the selected wallpaper, click "OK"; otherwise, click Browse and do the following:

Step 1. Right click on a blank space on the desktop

Select "Personalization".

Step 2. On the taskbar on the left, click Change Desktop Icons

Now you can change the desktop icons to suit your needs.

Method 9 of 11: Windows 7

Step 1. Right click on a blank space on the desktop

Select "Personalization". Step 2. In the "Change the picture and sound on your computer" window, select one of the preinstalled themes.

If you want to make some changes, follow these steps:

• Click Desktop Background.

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• Choose the wallpaper you like.

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• Select the position of the image if necessary. Windows 7 adds two positions: "Fill" (fill the entire screen with the image) and "Fit" (set the image if its aspect ratio is different from the aspect ratio of the monitor).

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• Set the frequency of changing the wallpaper. In this case, the wallpaper will change after a certain period of time (like in a slideshow). Also, the wallpaper can appear in random order.

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Method 10 of 11: Windows 7 (custom wallpaper)

If you are satisfied with the selected wallpaper, click "OK"; otherwise, select a different image location from the drop-down menu, or click Browse and follow these steps:

Step 1. Navigate to the folder containing the desired image

Step 2. Highlight the image and click OK

Step 3. Click OK to set the wallpaper and close the dialog box

Method 11 of 11: Notes and Tips

• For more information on configuring Windows 7, go to http://www.pcmag.com/slideshow/0, 1206, l = & a = 245314, 00.asp 21.
• When installing wallpapers that you saved earlier, there is no need to click OK.
• From the taskbar of the Change Picture and Sound window, you can customize the mouse cursor, desktop icons, and other options.

Advice

• Any image from the Internet can be used as desktop wallpaper; to do this, right-click on the image and select Set as Desktop Background.
• To search for sites with wallpaper in the search bar of your browser, enter "desktop wallpaper".
• Screensaver and wallpaper are different concepts. A screensaver is a program that runs when the computer is idle. A wallpaper is a picture that is constantly displayed on the desktop.