We all like beautiful pictures, don't we? 
Windows has several good-looking photos for background (wallpaper) and background slide shows (in Windows Vista, 7 and 8) and you can certainly choose your own photos for your Desktop slide show or fixed wallpaper.
Using a photo for Desktop background
In case you want just one photo for Desktop background in Windows Vista, 7 or 8, and you know exactly where the photo is, right-click it in Windows Explorer and select Set as desktop background.
In Windows XP, the command is in Common Tasks pane, so you must click (not right-click) the picture instead.
In Windows 8, colors of window borders and Taskbar change according to the displayed photo.
To use advanced options, right-click on an empty Desktop area.
In Windows XP, click Properties.
In Windows Vista, 7 and 8, click Personalize.
In Windows XP, open Desktop tab.
In Windows Vista, 7 and 8, click Desktop Background:
In Windows XP and Vista, click a picture in the list and click OK.
By default, there is only one picture selected in Windows 7 and 8 and that is why slide show options are disabled. If you want only one picture for your Desktop background, just click on the photo and click Save changes button.
Selecting a folder or library from which pictures are shown
If you are not satisfied with the default photos, you can choose your own.
In Windows Vista, 7 and 8, you can select a folder or library from where available photos are displayed using the Location or Picture location combo box.
- "Windows Wallpapers" (Vista) or "Windows Desktop Backgrounds" is the default selection and includes all photos from built-in themes.
- "Pictures" means all photos in the My Pictures folder in Windows Vista; "Pictures Library" means all your photos and all public photos in Windows 7 and 8.
- "Sample Pictures" includes all photo samples that came with Windows Vista; "Top Rated Photos" means all your photos and all public photos that have a high rating in Windows 7 and 8. You can change rating of your photos in Windows Explorer of Windows 7 by clicking on a photo, adjusting its rating in Details pane and clicking Save button.
- "Public Pictures" includes all public photos in Windows Vista.
- "Solid Colors" means that no photo will be displayed and Desktop background will consist of one color only. This one will be covered later in the article.
If the photo or folder you need is not on the list, click the Browse... button.
Browse (in Windows XP and Vista) or Browse For Folder (in Windows 7 and 8) dialog opens.
In Windows XP and Vista, find and click the photo you want for background. Confirm the selection by clicking Open.
In Windows 7 and 8, find the folder where the required photo is, click on its name once and then click OK button. This displays all available pictures in the selected folder.
Picture position options - fill, fit, stretch, tile and center
By default, Windows XP and Windows Vista use the Stretch and Fit to Screen options to fit a photo to screen regardless of its aspect ratio. Windows 7 uses the Fill option by default, resizing a picture according to screen resolution, but retaining its aspect ratio.
Picture position options in Windows are:
- Fill - only in Windows 7 and 8, picture is resized to screen resolution while retaining aspect ratio
- Fit or Fit to Screen - in Windows Vista, picture is resized to screen resolution ignoring aspect ratio. In Windows 7 and 8, the aspect ratio is retained, possibly leaving blank edges on the screen.
- Stretch - in Windows XP, 7 and 8, picture is resized to screen resolution without retaining aspect ratio.
- Tile - if a picture is smaller than screen resolution, it is repeated across the screen vertically and horizontally.
- Center - if a picture is smaller than screen resolution, it is centered on the screen, leaving blank areas around it. If a photo is larger than screen resolution, only center part of it is visible.
To change photo position, select a value from Position (Windows XP), How should the picture be positioned (Windows Vista) or Picture position (Windows 7 and 8) box.
Click OK or Save changes button after you're done.
Enabling and configuring Desktop Slide Show in Windows 7 and 8
Windows 7 and 8 allow using slide shows for background - the photos are switched at intervals you specify.
First, select a folder or library from the Picture location combo box or use the Browse... button to specify your own folder.
To select or deselect a photo, hover your mouse pointer over a picture and fill or clear its check box.
To quickly select all pictures available, use the Select all button. To clear the whole current selection, click Clear all.
To change the picture switching interval of Desktop Slide Show, select a value from Change picture every combo box. Laptop users should certainly leave the When using battery power, pause the slide show to save power box checked to get the most out of battery.
To display selected pictures in random order, check the Shuffle box.
When you're done, click Save changes button.
Selecting a background color for Desktop
As background photos might use a quite large chunk of memory, it is sometimes better to disable photos and use a solid color instead. This could enhance your (already slow) computer's performance a bit.
In Windows XP, click a color in the Color combo box. To disable background photo, click (None) in the Background list.
In Windows Vista, 7 and 8, choose Solid Colors from Location or Picture location combo box and click the color you prefer. Please note that this will disable background picture or slide show! Read on to find out how to keep pictures and still change the Desktop color.
Now click on a color you like. If you are not satisfied with the default colors on the list, click Other... (in Windows XP) or More... (in Windows Vista, 7 and 8).
In Color dialog, use the slider and target mark on the right side to select a color. Alternatively, you can type Red, Green and Blue (RGB), or Hue, Saturation and Luminance values in their respective boxes, or select something from Basic colors list on the left.
Click OK to activate the custom color.
To accept the modifications, click OK or Save changes.
Changing background color without disabling background photos in Windows Vista and 7
If a photo does not fill the whole screen and you need to change Desktop background color for a better match in Windows Vista or 7, you need to go back a step. In Windows 8, the option is not available anymore.
Click on an empty area of the Control Panel window and then press the Backspace key once.
In Windows Vista, click Window Color and Appearance. In Windows 7, click Window Color.
In Windows Vista, Appearance Settings window opens. Click the Advanced... button.
In Windows 7, click the Advanced appearance settings... link in the bottom of Change the color of your window borders, Start menu, and taskbar window.
In Windows Vista, Advanced Appearance window opens. Make sure that Desktop is selected in the Item combo box. Then select an appropriate color from the Color 1 combo box or specify a custom color clicking the Other... button.
In Windows 7, Windows Color and Appearance window opens. Make sure that Desktop is active in the Item combo box. Next, choose the preferred color from the Color 1 combo box or create a custom color clicking the Other... button.
Click OK to accept the changes.
