Where to Find the Windows Wallpaper Location on Your PC

_{^{Last updated/edited by Steve Larner on Nov. 3, 2023.}}

When you are stuck looking at your desktop monitor for several hours a day, the most simple thing you can do to heighten your morale is to look at lovely wallpaper. It can inspire you, give you joy, and motivate you to do something great—well, almost.

Every version of Windows, from the ancient days of Windows 3.1 through Windows 11, has brought a library of wallpaper images for users of the operating system to put on their Desktop. Wallpapers are the images that you can set as your desktop background, and they serve to remind us that there’s much more in this world than the text and figures that comprise most of our day. 

Wallpapers are a simple way to personalize your workspace and create motivation. Although the windows you have open will likely cover the image, it is still a good idea to put something that inspires you in the background. Whether it’s your work computer, a personal PC, or you use it for school, you can set your wallpaper to anything you like. If you have multiple monitors, it adds visual appeal. Here’s how to find and use Windows wallpapers on your PC.

Finding Your Wallpaper Images

Windows offers two features known as desktop themes and backgrounds, allowing you to customize your Desktop’s looks by choosing wallpaper or a theme that delivers wallpaper options, custom icons, frame colors, and designs for your system. 

First, you might want to look at the images available on your computer. If you would like to use the images in your Windows 10 wallpaper installation in some other way, for example, as a background on another device or an older version of Windows—you will need to find the actual location of the displayed files. Fortunately, this isn’t difficult.

Windows 10 stores your wallpaper images in the “C:\Windows\Web” directory by default. You can access this directory by clicking in the search bar in the Windows Taskbar and typing “C:\Windows\Web,” then pressing return.

The directory will pop right up. There are several subdirectories where your wallpapers could be stored; just click around through the directories, and you will find your images.

Using Wallpapers from the Microsoft Store

If you want a more comprehensive selection of backgrounds for your desktop, you can download hundreds of wallpapers from the Microsoft Store website. These wallpapers include animals, art, automotive, games, seasons, landscapes, nature, plants, and other types of imagery.

Choose an image from the list of categories, open the image, and right-click. Then, choose “Set as Background.”

Using Personal Photos as Wallpaper

If you have scrolled through hundreds of default wallpapers on your computer or browsed the Microsoft Store and still haven’t found the perfect picture for your desktop background, then maybe you should pick a photo closer to your heart.

Indeed, you have taken some lovely photographs with your digital camera and stored them on your computer. Well, these photographs could just be what you are looking for!

Windows allows you to use images from your personal files as desktop wallpaper. To do this, follow these steps:

1. Right-click on the “Desktop.”
   
2. Choose “Personalize.”
   
3. It will take you to settings. Select “Background.”
   
4. On the right-hand side of the screen, under the “Background” section, click “Picture.”
   
5. Then, select “Browse.”
6. This will take you to your “Pictures” folder, where you can select the image you want to use as wallpaper.
   

Using Windows 10 Themes

Many Windows 10 users don’t use the standard wallpaper files. Instead, they use Windows 10 Themes. Microsoft has made hundreds of themes available for free via the Microsoft Store, most of which are quite spectacular.

You can browse through the available Windows 10 themes, which range from your favorite game to a collection of splendid outdoor views. Once you’ve downloaded a theme, you can access those files and bring them to the forefront. They are located in your local user directory, which is rather lengthy for typing in. However, there’s a shortcut.

Again, click on the search bar in the Windows 10 taskbar, and this time, type “%localappdata%\Microsoft\Windows\Themes” and hit return. The “Themes” directory will launch. The image files will be found in the subdirectory for the appropriate theme. For example, in the window above, you’d click on “Ancient E” to find the files for the Ancient Egypt theme, the only theme installed on the computer.

If you want, you can find the Windows 10 lock screen images, which are a little trickier to find.

Most of the Windows 10 wallpaper and theme images come in standard pixel sizes ranging from 1920×1200 to 3840×1200, and they’ll look great on most screens and devices without any fuss.

Let’s say you like the theme you snagged at work, but you’re not sure you’ll be able to grab it for another device. Simply copy the desired image to a flash drive or online storage service, transfer it to your mobile device or other PC, and then configure the appropriate settings as your background wallpaper.

However, an important note is that these images are owned or licensed by Microsoft for the personal, non-commercial use of Windows. That means you’re free to enjoy them for your personal use, but don’t use them for advertising, videos, or other commercial purposes.

How to Remove a Windows 10 Wallpaper

If you’ve grown tired of your current wallpaper or need to change it to something else, you can do so easily.

Find a blank space on your Windows desktop and right-click it, then select “Personalize.” Now, you can set the default wallpaper to remove your current one.

Now that you’ve removed your wallpaper, you can create a better background.

For more wallpaper options, see how to create image collage wallpapers for Windows 10/11 or add 3D animated wallpapers to Windows 10.