delete an image from windows background choices

Windows keeps the last few background pictures in a history list on the Personalization > Background page, and Settings does not offer a Delete button for them. You have two options:

Option 1 - push the unwanted image out of the history. The Background page shows the 5 most recently used pictures. Set 5 other pictures as your background one after another, and the unwanted one will drop off the list on its own.

Option 2 - clear the history with a registry edit. This removes all remembered pictures at once:

1. Press Windows key + R, type regedit, and press Enter.
2. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Wallpapers
3. Delete the values named BackgroundHistoryPath0 through BackgroundHistoryPath4.
4. Close Registry Editor, then open Settings > Personalization > Background again. The history thumbnails will be gone, while your current wallpaper stays as it is.

Note that this only removes the thumbnails from the picker. If you also want to delete the actual image file, delete it from wherever it is saved, such as your Pictures folder. Be careful in Registry Editor and only delete the values listed above.

1

Click your Start Button, type regedit and hit Enter to open the Registry Editor.

Click View and make sure 'Address Bar' is turned on.

Paste this into the Address Bar at the top and hit Enter.

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Wallpapers

On the right hand side you will see a list with entries named BackgroundHistoryPathX

Double click the entry for the file you want to remove.

Note down the file location of the image file and close the dialog.

Then right click and Delete the entry.

2

If you want to delete the actual image file, in File Explorer, go to the folder you noted down and delete the file form there.

3

In File Explorer, paste this into the Address bar and press Enter.

%AppData%\Microsoft\Windows\Themes

In the resulting folder, delete the TranscodedWallpaper file and also the CachedFiles folder.

4

Restart (not shut down) your PC to apply the change, that should remove all trace of that image from your PC.