Changing and customizing your desktop background in Windows is a simple yet effective way to personalize your computing experience. Whether you want to use a personal photo, a solid color, or a dynamic slideshow, Windows provides several options to tailor your desktop to your liking. This guide will walk you through the steps to change your desktop background using the Windows Settings app, and for more advanced users, how to do it via Command Prompt and PowerShell.

Changing Desktop Background via Windows Settings

1. Open Settings: Click on the Start menu and select the gear icon to open the Settings app.
2. Navigate to Personalization: In the Settings window, click on "Personalization."
3. Select Background: In the left pane, click on "Background."
4. Choose Your Background:
   • Picture: Select a picture from the list or click "Browse" to choose an image from your files.
   • Solid Color: Choose a color from the palette.
   • Slideshow: Click "Browse" to select a folder of images for a slideshow.

Changing Desktop Background via Command Prompt

While the Command Prompt doesn't directly support changing the desktop background, you can use registry commands to achieve this. Note that modifying the registry can be risky, so proceed with caution.

1. Open Command Prompt as Administrator: Press Win + X and select "Command Prompt (Admin)."

2. Set Wallpaper Path: Use the following command to set the path of the image you want as your wallpaper:

   reg add "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop" /v Wallpaper /t REG_SZ /d "C:\Path\To\Your\Image.jpg" /f

3. Update Changes: Apply the changes with this command:

   RUNDLL32.EXE user32.dll,UpdatePerUserSystemParameters

Changing Desktop Background via PowerShell

PowerShell offers a more straightforward method to change the desktop background using the Set-ItemProperty cmdlet.

1. Open PowerShell as Administrator: Press Win + X and select "Windows PowerShell (Admin)."

2. Execute the Command:

   Set-ItemProperty -Path 'HKCU:\Control Panel\Desktop\' -Name Wallpaper -Value 'C:\Path\To\Your\Image.jpg'
   rundll32.exe user32.dll,UpdatePerUserSystemParameters

Examples

• Example 1: To set a picture located at C:\Users\YourName\Pictures\Background.jpg as your desktop background via Command Prompt:

  reg add "HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop" /v Wallpaper /t REG_SZ /d "C:\Users\YourName\Pictures\Background.jpg" /f
  RUNDLL32.EXE user32.dll,UpdatePerUserSystemParameters

• Example 2: To achieve the same result using PowerShell:

  Set-ItemProperty -Path 'HKCU:\Control Panel\Desktop\' -Name Wallpaper -Value 'C:\Users\YourName\Pictures\Background.jpg'
  rundll32.exe user32.dll,UpdatePerUserSystemParameters