How to Change Folder BackGround in Windows Vista and Windows7

By default, the Windows Explorer does not allow you to change the background of a folder with an image of your choice. But here are two ways using which you can set an image as folder background in Windows.

Set an Image as Folder Background Using Windows7 Folder BackGround Changer – Windows7

The Windows7 Folder Background changer lets you set any image as the folder background in Windows7. Following are the steps involved :

1. Download Folder background changer. The Application is portable, thus requires no installation and can be run from a removable drive.

2. Once the download is complete, extract the content of the folder and double click the W7BC1.1 folder to launch the application.

Change Folder Background in Windows7 with an image

3. Next, select the location of the folder and click “Change Background image”. This will open a small explorer windows where you can simply select an image file or a wallpaper and set it as the folder background. Sweet!

If the change is not visible instantly, hit F5 or refresh the Windows explorer. You can also choose the text color, so that the content of the folder is easily readable. All the subfolders can also be chosen to display the same wallpaper or image as folder background.

The program is compatible with 32 bit and 64 bit editions of Windows and runs

Change Folder Background in Windows Vista

When Microsoft released Windows XP, it didnt included much of the features of Windows 98. The ability to customize the folder background with an image was not possible in Windows XP , Windows Vista by default. However, you can use Vista Folder Background changer to set an image or a wallpaper as a folder background in Windows Vista. Following are the steps involved:

1. Download Ave’s Vista Background changer.

2. Extract the content of the download and you will see two folders – 32 bit and 64 bit. If your Operating system is in 32 bit, open the 32bit folder and double click the install.bat file. This will add a new tab under folder properties which will allow you to set an image as folder background in Vista.

Now right click any folder, choose properties and go to the folder background tab

set-folder-background-windows-vista

Click “Set image” button and select the image for the folder background. Nest hit Apply and you are done.

Registry Trick to Set an Image as Folder Background in Windows

If both the above method fails and you are unable to set an image as folder background, the following registry trick will be useful. Carefully follow the steps mentioned below:

1. Open Command prompt by typing cmd in the search box.

2. Now let us assume that you want to set an image as foler background to the folder E:/Test. Type the following command in the command prompt window:

attrib +s D:\Setup

system-command

3. Now create a new notepad file and paste the following code:

[ExtShellFolderViews]
{BE098140-A513-11D0-A3A4-00C04FD706EC} = {BE098140-A513-11D0-A3A4-00C04FD706EC}

[{BE098140-A513-11D0-A3A4-00C04FD706EC}]
Attributes=1
IconArea_Image=path_of_the_wallpaper
IconArea_Text=0×00000000

folder-background

4. Save the file as “Desktop.ini” (including quotes) in the same folder whose background is to be changed. It’s done, refresh the folder and you will see the folder background changed.

Tips:

  1. Desktop Background Slideshow – Rotate desktop backgrounds in Windows 7 
  2. Change the Color and Appearance of Your Windows Folders With Folder Marker
  3. Rotate Desktop wallpapers automatically in Windows
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Written by on Tuesday, June 15th, 2010

  1. Reader Comments

  2. himanshu

    m using your method but dosn’t work if you are having another method plz send it to me.

    himanshu
    [hbharti@ymail.com}

    October 31st, 2010
  3. Mouthpear

    I have tried this over and over and does not work. I need help. I copy paste straight from here and other sites. Still not working.

    [ExtShellFolderViews]
    {BE098140-A513-11D0-A3A4-00C04FD706EC} = {BE098140-A513-11D0-A3A4-00C04FD706EC}

    [{BE098140-A513-11D0-A3A4-00C04FD706EC}]
    Attributes=1
    IconArea_Image=M:azz.jpg
    IconArea_Text=0×00000000

    December 11th, 2010
  4. Mouthpear

    Oh and I am running Vista 32

    December 11th, 2010
  5. Theory

    Ok… this is how I had mine set up back when I was an XP user… have good attention to detail!

    Notice the second line reads: IconArea_Image=
    after the equals sign is where you put the image path

    Third line reads: IconArea_Text=
    after that equals sign you can configure the colorof the text ie: 0x00FFFFFF (White) – 0×00000000 (Black) its the color code of your choice

    Fifth line reads: IconFile=
    insert your path to the icon of your choice

    [{BE098140-A513-11D0-A3A4-00C04FD706EC}]
    IconArea_Image=D:P~I~C~T~U~R~E~SBackgroundD.jpg
    IconArea_Text=0x0000F500
    [.ShellClassInfo]
    IconFile=D:I~C~O~N~SApple Simple Documents (8).ico
    IconIndex=0
    ConfirmFileOp=0
    OriginalIcon=%

    well… like I said this worked for me in XP mode, can’t even remember if I tried it on vista, but as far as Win 7 is concerned it half way works… the end result on 7 is you can see the customized icon, no background change… I just hope that’s not the case for vista, for your sake… lol

    oh and dont forget to “run” attrib +s

    Start menu; open “Run”; type: attrib +s followed by a space, then drag and drop the folder (that contains your customized desktop.ini file) into the text area
    Example:
    attrib +s “D:Program Files”

    It shouldn’t really matter which one you do first, as long as you do both steps… once you have restart explorer.exe and cross your fingers lol
    I just hope this works for you….. good luck!!!!!!!!!!!

    December 16th, 2010
  6. vijay

    its not working pls tell me the procedure

    January 28th, 2011
  7. Jason

    not working did everything in the comments

    February 28th, 2011
  8. rajdeep singh parihar

    m using windows 7 64 bit
    its not working
    what should i do …….
    ………………rrrr………
    …………………dddd……
    …………………….pppp..

    March 16th, 2011
  9. Jason

    after reinstalling win7 it still doesn’t work. sure it’s not for vista?

    March 17th, 2011
  10. Rony

    I used window 7 32bits not working?

    September 14th, 2011
  11. Amal Mohan

    It is not working for me. am using win7 ultimate 64bit. wat should i do?

    January 15th, 2012

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