How to Change the Default Background Folder Image

1) Open notepad
2) Type in the text below (no space)
[{BE0981 40-A513-11D0-A3 A4-00C04FD706EC}]
IconArea_Image ="C:\your picture location.jpg"
IconArea_Text= 0x00FFFFFF
3) Save file as desktop.ini
Save as type : All Files
4) Copy the desktop.ini file you just created, and paste into the folder you want the background to be change
5) Go to START --> RUN..
6) Type Attrib+s "C:\Location of your folder" Click OK
7) Open your folder and the picture should be set by now.

'IconArea_Image' is for you to key in the location of your picture. Let say if your picture is located at 'My Documents' with the file name 'abc.jpg', your location will look like this
"C:\Documents and Settings\user\My Documents\abc.jpg"
'IconArea_Text' is to set the color of your text, if you have a dark background it is recommended you set the text color to WHITE with is 0x00FFFFFF.
If you have a white background, you can set the folder text color to BLACK which is 0x00000000
Folder text color can be set to any color depends on which color you like, example:
PINK - 0x00FF99FF
PURPLE - 0x00FF99FF
RED - 0x00FF0000
and more
Recommended picture size is at 815 x 585 so that you will see a full picture and not Tile.
You can resize or cut your picture to the size 815 x 585 easily with 'Microsoft Photo Editor'

Windows 98  included  a utility called Customize Folder Wizard (ieshwiz.exe) which you can customize folders easily. This utility works fine in Windows XP as well.Download ieshwiz.zip and save it to the Desktop

• Extract ieshwiz.exe to the C:\Windows\System32 folder
• Start>Run  >Type cmd and Type:
• IESHWIZ <path:\foldername>
• For example, to customize the folder C:\Tools, replace <path:foldername> place folder with C:\Tools
• Select the background image for that folder, and click Next
• Close and re-open the folder.

Note that the text color in a folder can be customized using the wizard. All of the these settings are stored in a file named Desktop.ini within that folder.

Here are the sample contents:

[ExtShellFolderViews]
{BE098140-A513-11D0-A3A4-00C04FD706EC}={BE098140-A513-11D0-A3A4-00C04FD706EC}
[{BE098140-A513-11D0-A3A4-00C04FD706EC}]
Attributes=1
IconArea_Image=C:\WINDOWS\winnt.bmp
[.ShellClassInfo]
ConfirmFileOp=0

To customize the folder background in Windows Vista, you can try this freeware utility Vista Folder Background from Ave's Vista Apps Website.

Also Read : How I can bring any picture in my pen drives background

                  How to change folder icon color in Windows

Category: Folder, Tips, Tutorial, Windows