Fix Wallpaper changes automatically after restart in Windows 11/10
If your Desktop Wallpaper changes automatically after a restart on your Windows computer, follow the suggestions mentioned below. Let us talk about them in detail.
1] Delete Slideshow.ini & TranscodedWallpaper and change the image in CachedFiles
There are two files, Slideshow.ini & TranscodedWallpaper, that could be corrupted and are therefore causing this issue. Delete these two files and allow Windows to recreate them. To do the same, follow these steps.
Open File Explorer by Win + E.Click on View > Show > Hidden items.Navigate to the following location.%USERPROFILE%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\ThemesOpen Slideshow.ini, clear all its content, and save the file.Then, delete the TranscodedWallpaper file.Open CachedFiles and then change the image in that folder.
Once you have made all the changes, restart your computer and check if the issue is resolved.
2] Check if the Theme sync setting is enabled
The setting to enable or disable Windows Sync settings is found at:
Windows 11: Press Windows + I to open Settings > Navigate to Accounts and click it. > Click on Windows backup and toggle on the slider in front of Remember my preferences.Windows 10: Open Personalize > Personalize > Themes > Sync your settings
It’s recommended that you restart your PC after turning on this function.
3] Check in Clean Boot
You may also encounter the said issue if there is a third-party application interfering with the normal Windows processes and changing the wallpaper back to what it was before. In that case, you need to perform Clean Boot and then see if the wallpaper has got changed. If it has not, then some 3d-party process is causing this issue. You need to manually disable processes to find out which app is causing this issue. Sometimes, master control software, the one that comes preinstalled with your computer, can cause this issue. Once you know which app is the culprit, either disable or uninstall the app and you will be good to go.
4] Configure Power Options
Next up, we need to configure the Power Options from the Control Panel to get rid of the issue. You need to pause the slideshow to stop the wallpaper from changing automatically. To make these changes, follow the prescribed steps. After making these changes, restart your computer and check if the issue is resolved.
5] Perform System Restore
If you have a System Restore point, then this might be the right time to deploy it. There is a possibility that because of some misconfiguration your wallpaper is changing automatically. In that case, we need to deploy System Restore to resolve the issue. To do the same, follow these steps. We hope that after following these solutions you are able to apply whichever Wallpaper you want without it getting changed automatically. Read: Windows desktop background changes by itself automatically
Why does my Windows 11 wallpaper keep changing?
If your wallpaper keeps on changing, first of all, check if your desktop background is set to Slideshow. To do the same, you need to go to Personalization > Background > Personalize your background and select the Slideshow from the drop-down menu. In case, Slideshow was not enabled but the wallpaper is still changing automatically, check out the solutions mentioned in this post to resolve the issue.
How do I stop my desktop background from changing in Windows 11?
If you are fed up with other users changing the desktop background and want to stop them from doing the same, To prevent this from happening, we need to configure the Desktop Wallpaper policy, create a registry, or use Windows Settings. If you want to use any of the methods, check our post on how to prevent users from changing the desktop background. Also Read: Theme keeps changing in Windows 11/10.
