How to delete a desktop wallpaper in Windows 10?

2

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How do I delete a background wallpaper for Windows 10?

What I've done so far:

  1. Right click on desktop
  2. Select Personalize

I can choose another image but I can't remove the one that was recently added.

I've attached a screenshot:

enter image description here

I can change it but it still shows up in the recent history and slideshows so I want to completely remove it.

Given the related question on how to find the path to a wallpaper (a transcoded image), I've deleted the image and then restarted and the wallpaper image is still there in Wallpaper options and still there after a restart.

Given the update by @magnus I found the registry filled with background history. In that background history was the entry for the custom desktop wallpaper. I'm going to delete the entry and see how that goes.

Here is an image of the registry:

enter image description here

daft2039480

Posted 2017-11-03T14:40:15.163

Reputation: 77

1

Possible duplicate of Path to current desktop backgrounds in Windows 10?. Flagged as a duplicate based on the answer by Magnus

– Ramhound – 2017-11-03T15:10:03.453

Not a duplicate since I'm asking how to delete the file. I've found the path and deleted the file but it's still showing up in Wallpaper panel – daft2039480 – 2017-11-03T15:22:50.300

Are you saying the transcoded file reappears, or that the image thumbnail still shows in the list of desktop backgrounds? – music2myear – 2017-11-03T16:14:21.203

@music2myear Yes. Both. The trancoded file reappears after some time but not right away. – daft2039480 – 2017-11-03T16:24:48.033

Answers

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The answer in this question might give you some locations you can try and look for the wallpaper you want to remove.

Update: You can also see the path to the wallpapers you have most recently used if you go to the registry key HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Wallpapers

Screenshot of registry entries: Registry entries

Magnus

Posted 2017-11-03T14:40:15.163

Reputation: 1 548

1I found a TranscodedWallpaper in %AppData%\Microsoft\Windows\Themes\ and deleted it and restarted windows but it is restored after restart and still listed in Wallpapers screen. – daft2039480 – 2017-11-03T15:26:16.793

1I've found the registry edits contained an entry for the wallpapers. I've deleted that entry and opened the Wallpaper Background control panel. It no longer shows the wallpaper. It was not selected at the time I removed the entry. It looks like it worked. I've attached a screenshot containing the registry entry in the main post. You can include it in your answer and I'll select it as the answer. For me the entry to delete was BackgroundHistoryPath1. If the user still has the image selected you might need to also select another wallpaper beforehand or update the CurrentWallpaperPath value. – daft2039480 – 2017-11-03T16:30:26.310

Asked: 2017-11-03T14:40:15.163

Viewed: 2 131 times

Active: 2017-11-03T16:39:08.627