This is an extremely extensive pack of official Windows wallpapers, as well as backgrounds used for the setup, OOBE and logon screen and other images such as sample pictures, user account pictures, and others. I have tried my best to ensure that this pack is as complete and accurate as realistically possible, including everything ranging from iconic default wallpapers to setup backgrounds from very obscure editions. Unlike a lot of these packs, this one isn't bloated with fanmade wallpapers and includes a lot of stuff that is otherwise very difficult to find.

This pack functions as not only a place to get a new wallpaper for your desktop or phone, but also a digital museum that encapsulates the history of Windows and its imagery. It's a trip down memory lane!

What's included?

There's several gigabytes of official Windows wallpaper content here! The content here spans from the days of Windows 3.0 to the present times of Windows 11, and also includes images from other Windows products such as Plus! and Windows Live Messenger.

Wallpapers and images from the following products are included:

• Mainline versions of Windows
• DOS-based and 9x versions - Windows 3.0, 3.1x, 95, 98, Me
• NT versions - Windows NT 3.1, NT 3.5, NT 3.51, NT 4.0, 2000, XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1, 10, 11
• Server versions - Windows Server 2003, 2008, 2008 R2, 2012, 2012 R2, 2016 and later
• Portable versions of Windows
• CE versions - Windows CE 1.0, CE 2.0
• Mobile/Pocket PC/Smartphone versions - Pocket PC 2002, Smartphone 2002, Windows Mobile 2003, Mobile 2003 SE, Mobile 5.0, Mobile 6.0, Mobile 6.1, Mobile 6.5
• Phone versions - Windows Phone 7.0, Phone 7.5, Phone 8.0, Phone 8.1, 10 Mobile
• Pre-release versions of Windows
• DOS-based and 9x versions - Chicago, Memphis
• NT versions - Daytona, NT 5.0, Neptune, Whistler, Longhorn, Windows 7, 8 Previews, 10 Technical/Insider Preview
• Special editions of Windows
• Plus! suite
• Plus! 95, Plus! for Kids, Plus! 98, Plus! for Windows XP
• Downloadable themes and standalone wallpapers
  These are omitted from the ZIP version of the pack, due to the large size of these folders combined.
• MSN/Windows Live Messenger
• MSN Messenger 6.1, 7.0, 7.5
• Windows Live Messenger 8.0, 8.5, 2009, 2011, 2012
• Other Microsoft software
• Microsoft Office 95, Publisher 98

Wallpapers sourced from the original image are marked with Φ at the start (when the actual wallpaper file isn't available), while ones with Ω represent that they have been edited - in some cases this is done to recreate its appearance in context (such as Windows 3.x's setup wallpapers), while other times they have been edited from screenshots as the actual file isn't available. These symbols are to push the files to the bottom of the lists.

The following graphics are not included here, as they do not fall in the scope of the wiki and pack: bootscreens, icons, cursors, banners, and other UI elements. Wallpapers not included here include:

• Lost wallpapers
  Unfortunately, I simply don't have these. Some examples include: Several localizations of Windows XP Starter Edition, wallpapers used in many concept demos (many of these demos have only surfaced as videos, without their files being leaked), Wallpapers from MSN Beta's wallpapers, most Windows Live Mesh promotional wallpapers, Windows 8 kiosk sample pictures, full res versions and alternate shots that aren't already included here.
  
  
• OEM/ODM wallpapers
  While many of these wallpapers are great, collecting all of these would be very difficult, due to the amount of device manufacturers there are, plus some of these wallpapers may not even be available online at all. This pack only focuses on actual Windows wallpapers. Wallpapers included on Microsoft Surface devices are not included either (with the exception of those available in Microsoft Design's wallpaper pack) for the same reason, at least for now.
  
  
• Fanmade wallpapers (except recreation edits and the UWWP wallpaper)
  This is a collection of official content only. So many Windows wallpaper packs online include fanmade wallpapers in them that have been mistaken by both the creator and users to be official; this pack is none of that. At the very most, there are a handful of recreations, but even those are purely made from official assets and are as accurate as possible.
  
  
• Non-Windows Microsoft wallpapers
  
  • For now I have decided not to include Xbox wallpapers; even though Xboxes run modified versions of Windows, the Xbox brand is largely separate from Windows. I am also unsure how to extract backgrounds from Xbox firmware anyways. Likewise, downloadable Xbox wallpapers are also not included with the exception of themes released on Microsoft Store.
    
  • While I would like to add Zune wallpapers, this will require more research so that preloaded and downloaded wallpapers aren't mixed in together, for example. The available packs online do not preserve enough context, and I have been unable to locate the wallpapers when trying to extract from firmware.
    
  • There are plans to add more Microsoft Office backgrounds in the future, but this will require tons of screenshotting and more research.
    
  • KIN One and Two wallpapers are not present because the firmware has not been dumped, nor are the wallpapers available anywhere online.
    
  • Other Microsoft-related backgrounds will hopefully be added over time as they are discovered.
    
    
• Non-Windows non-Microsoft wallpapers
  Don't expect to see wallpapers from OSs related to Windows, such as OS/2 Warp or ReactOS; these are not Microsoft products. And of course, absolutely don't expect to see macOS, Linux or other OS wallpapers here.
  
  
• Windows Spotlight lock screen wallpapers
  Although many of these have been archived, unfortunately there is no complete archive of these, and trying to put one together would be extremely time-consuming, and it would probably still be incomplete. Not to mention that new Spotlight wallpapers are introduced very frequently, due to the dynamic nature of them. There is a website that posts these frequently, although it only goes back to late 2016 and the owner refuses to release a complete folder of these.
  
  
• MSN wallpapers - similar reason as above
  Trying to build a complete archive of these would be difficult and time consuming, which honestly goes for online-provided wallpaper content (themes, Spotlight and MSN) in general. A user did create monthly packs of these, but has since given up.
  
  
• Wallpapers from the "HD Wallpaper Pack" series
  The wallpapers in those packs are unofficially cropped versions made by myself, cropped from full/high res images to standard HD wallpaper resolutions. This pack only includes official content (excluding a handful of edits) as stated above, so if you want those wallpapers go download the packs in question.
  
  

If you want any of the content listed above, you can find a lot of it online. There may also, of course, be missing content that I simply overlooked or do not know about. Please get in touch if something is missing or erroneous, and I'll try and add or fix it in in the future. There's also stuff I do plan to dig into in the future.

Credits

This pack was entirely created by myself, at least in terms of planning and organization, and for most of the process of archiving the files. However, I have to give the following people and groups my special thanks for directly or indirectly contributing to this pack:

• ALFAXYSM
• BetaArchive
• BetaCollector64
• BetaWiki
• dejco
• ecumber
• GMM
• HTFCirno2000
• J.R. Raith
• ljcool2006
• Lucas Brooks
• os2fan2
• pivotman319
• Sigma
• Stephen Chapman
• ThatRandomToast
• Twiglets1888
• Wadmodder
• WordArtVista
  
  

Further links

Some links that may be of interest to you, all of which were created by me.

• Windows XP HD Wallpaper Pack
  Dedicated to wallpapers/images included with XP and other versions that previously weren't available in HD
  
  
• Windows Vista and 7 HD Wallpaper Pack
  Dedicated to wallpapers/images included with Vista and 7 that previously weren't available in HD, such as the sample pictures and Starter edition wallpapers. (note that the main wallpapers are already HD so they're not included there; you've got them in this pack anyways!)
  
  
• Windows HD User Account Picture Pack
  Dedicated to HD versions of user account pictures from Windows XP, Vista and 7.
  
  
• Windows Wallpaper Wiki
  A wiki dedicated to documenting Windows wallpapers and other images in great detail. The place to go if you want to learn about information such as authors and locations.
  
  
• The original files of some Windows wallpapers
  An Internet Archive post with all of the original image files of wallpapers I've found - these are included in the "Full Res" folders here, but still including it here anyways.
  
  
• Windows Aesthetics
  A Twitter account that posts Windows aesthetics, including desktops, wallpapers, retrospectives, graphics, and more obscurities.