Removing image files from desktop background tab in Display Proper

[Guest]

Somehow I've managed to accumulate a substantial number of images (I don't
know how some got there) and would like to remove some, but can't figure out
how to. How can I remove the unwanted image choices which show up in the
panel below "Background:" ?

 

[Ted Zieglar]

Do you want to remove the image files themselves? They are either jpegs or
bitmaps, so search your hard disk for files ending with .jpg, .jpeg and .bmp
then delete what you want.

 

[Guest]

Ted, thanks but I don't want to remove the images themselves just remove them
from the list in the background panel (frame) I've searched my discs to see
if they show up somewhere other than in My Pictures folder, e.g. some Windows
file. It appears that the they are just a link to My Pictures. The default
bitmaps show up in C:\Windows but I don't see that the other background files
(.jpgs) are anywhere but in My Pictures.

 

[Wesley Vogel]

Where do the image files come from? [the background images listing]
http://windowsxp.mvps.org/background.htm

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

 

[Guest]

Wes, I thought I had replied. This fixed it. Thanks for your help

Where do the image files come from? [the background images listing]
http://windowsxp.mvps.org/background.htm

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

Ted, thanks but I don't want to remove the images themselves just remove
them from the list in the background panel (frame) I've searched my
discs to see if they show up somewhere other than in My Pictures folder,
e.g. some Windows file. It appears that the they are just a link to My
Pictures. The default bitmaps show up in C:\Windows but I don't see that
the other background files (.jpgs) are anywhere but in My Pictures.

 

[Wesley Vogel]

I just discovered this.

All of the pictures in My Pictures folder were available as backgrounds.

Can happen if the desktop.ini file is missing from My Pictures folder.



144. Clear Wallpaper Most Frequently Used List
http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm

wallpapermruclear.reg is the file that you want.

wallpapermruclear.reg deletes the registry key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\
CurrentVersion\Explorer\Wallpaper\MRU

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

Wes, I thought I had replied. This fixed it. Thanks for your help

Where do the image files come from? [the background images listing]
http://windowsxp.mvps.org/background.htm

--
Hope this helps. Let us know.

Wes
MS-MVP Windows Shell/User

In

Ted, thanks but I don't want to remove the images themselves just remove
them from the list in the background panel (frame) I've searched my
discs to see if they show up somewhere other than in My Pictures folder,
e.g. some Windows file. It appears that the they are just a link to My
Pictures. The default bitmaps show up in C:\Windows but I don't see
that the other background files (.jpgs) are anywhere but in My Pictures.

:

Do you want to remove the image files themselves? They are either jpegs
or bitmaps, so search your hard disk for files ending with .jpg, .jpeg
and .bmp then delete what you want.

--
Ted Zieglar
"Backup is a computer user's best friend."

Somehow I've managed to accumulate a substantial number of images (I
don't know how some got there) and would like to remove some, but
can't figure out how to. How can I remove the unwanted image choices
which show up in the panel below "Background:" ?

 

[Guest]

Hi. I'm having the same problem. All the photos in My Pictures end up as
options for Desktop Background in the Display Properties box. I've been
trying to find a way to remove these photos from the desktop background
options without having to delete them for good from My Pictures. No luck.
I've read several messages posted here, and most point to
http://windowsxp.mvps.org/background.htm as a solution. I've gone there, but
I don't understand half of it -- the names, symbols, the instructions -- it's
written in a language for people with more IT skills.

Can anyone tell me, in simple terms, how to disable whatever it is that is
enabling my pictures to end up in the desktop background list? I do not want
to delete the photos from my pictures, I just want to have the option of
deciding which ones may be used for desktop background and/or be able to stop
all of them from showing in the list.

Thanks!

 

[Richard in AZ]

(Top posting because that is the way this string has been started)

In layman's terms. If you once use the browse button to find a picture to use for the background,
then the computer will always look in the location (folder) that you picked. An then it lists all
the pictures in that folder. If you browse to "My Pictures" for a photo, you are "screwed" because
it will always look there and list every picture it finds there.

When the computer was first started, it looked for background pictures in the
C:\window\web\wallpaper folder. If you added a picture to that folder, it was displayed in the
list. If you removed a picture from that folder, it was removed from the list. But once you look
in "MY PICTURES" then every picture in this folder and subfolder will be listed. The only way to
remove them is to move the pictures out of that folder and into a totally different folder. However
this screws up the default picture storing that was built into Windows.

Now for a little techie talk.
a.. %Systemroot%\Web\Wallpaper ("%Systemroot%" means "C:\Windows\" for most computers.
b.. %USERPROFILE%\My Documents\My Pictures
("%USERPROFILE%" means "C:\Documents & Setting\YOURNAME\" on most computers)
c.. %AppData%\Microsoft\Internet Explorer
("%AppData% means "C:\Documents & Setting\YOURNAME\Application Data" on most computers)
d.. %ProgramFiles%\Plus!\Themes (& sub-folders)
("%ProgramFiles%" means "C:\Program Files" on most computers.
Because not everyone sets a computer up with the "common configuration", these notations direct
you to the correct location no matter how you configured your setup. If your copy the notations
above into the "RUN" command line you will be taken directly to the location where these files are
stored.

 

[Guest]

8/20/06 Could you please let ME know if your problem is fixed? I have the
same problem and not being very computer literate, I can't understand most of
the tech terms. My whole picture file is on the background choices which I
think has slowed up the workings of my computer.

 

[Guest]

8/22/06
It's fixed thanks to the reply from Richard in AZ. I put all my personal
pictures that were in My Pictures into a totally different folder....my
personal name. Then I deleted the My Pictures folder. It worked. No pictures
in the background site but the ones that came with Windows Me/Windows XP Home
Ed. upgrade. Thank goodness.

 

[Guest]

--
MArtina

Do you want to remove the image files themselves? They are either jpegs or
bitmaps, so search your hard disk for files ending with .jpg, .jpeg and .bmp
then delete what you want.

 

[Guest]

Thank you so much for answering this question! I was very happy to find that
I was not the only one to have this small but frustrating problem. You are
very wise and knowledgeable and I can now go to sleep