I compiled a list of the default Windows XP desktop background wallpapers. XP was everywhere when I was getting my start on the web. Windows XP & its lovable desktop backgrounds helped shape the designer I am today, much the way the house in which I grew up shaped my personality.
Quick note: if you’re looking for more stuff like this, please check out my company’s website: Mxt Media & Central MA SEO. Thanks!
[blog_stripe]1. Ascent
I don’t know what mountain this is, though it’s probably a famous one. The photography is nice & the scale of the moon is impressive, but I just don’t love this one.
As a background image, the photo is effective. It has muted colors & low-contrast and viewing desktop icons atop this image is perfectly easy.
[/blog_stripe]2. Autumn
I love this photo. I grew up in New England, so scenes like this always make me smile. This view might as well have been down the road from my parents’ house.
As a desktop background, however, this image is a pain. The color contrast is so high that desktop icons are lost easily. The image’s saving grace is the dark tree trunk at left which housed most people’s left-side-oriented icons.
[blog_stripe]3. Azul
This is a very happy photo. I can’t help but visualize myself swimming in the perfect blue water (do islands like that really exist?)
As a wallpaper, this image does fairly well. The all-blue scenery makes for a mostly-consistent work area where icons & windows appear well.
[/blog_stripe]4. Bliss
This scene might be the most iconic of all XP wallpapers. If memory serves, this image was the default wallpaper. And it’s aptly named; “bliss” sounds just about right. (However, have you ever seen a sky that blue? Easy on the retouching, Redmond).
I’m probably biased, but I think this might be the perfect desktop background. It has enough color & contrast to be beautiful, but enough consistency to make browsing a pleasure.
[blog_stripe]5. Crystal
This wallpaper must have been the activated background on every high school & college PC lab machine I ever saw. And I like it.
As a desktop, it’s perfect. Shades of blue that stay out of your way but don’t bore you.
[/blog_stripe]6. Follow
Enter: college freshman girls. I think every single girl in my dorm had this as their background. But isn’t that the same small fish, pasted in 6 times?
It’s a good wallpaper. Mostly-blue backgrounds are becoming a theme. But its splashes of orange are a little much contrast for me.
[blog_stripe]7. Friend
My wife loves this one. And who could blame her? An adorable dog & rustic scene, shot in pantone. It’s a winning combination.
As a desktop background, it’s perfect. It has color, but still a black & white feel, making the colored icons a perfect contrast.
[/blog_stripe]8. Home
Boring. Blah. That’s all I have to say. I hate this one.
[blog_stripe]9. Moon flower
Anyone who could keep this as their desktop wallpaper for more than a few minutes is blind or crazy. It almost hurts to look at.
Were it not for the overpowering color & contrast in the whole image, this background would be ok. But it’s just too much.
[/blog_stripe]10. Peace
This is the best wallpaper Windows has ever had. It’s simple, elegant, and classic. I have always found this image very inspiring. I even tweeted about it back in 2011 (around the time I wrote this article).
In college, when I was still a PC user, I found this WinXP wallpaper beautiful & inspiring. Guess I still do. http://t.co/z7JeyrM
— TJ Kelly @ Mxt Media (@tjkelly) September 8, 2011
You can’t mess with perfection. All the detail of this image is away from the left-side icon stack that most users had. It’s perfectly quiet & beautiful.
[blog_stripe]11. Power
Ouch. Please keep scrolling.
[/blog_stripe]12. Purple flower
I don’t remember seeing this one, but there it was in my old XP machine’s display preferences. I guess it’s ok. No major complaints from me.
[blog_stripe]13. Radiance
I like this one too. I don’t think I ever used it as my background, but it’s a nice photo. I’m a fan of darker desktops, so this one is right up my alley.
Like Autumn above, this one places its dark shadow strip strategically in the left-side icon stack area. The light moon areas a bit high-contrast, but overall this one works for me.
[/blog_stripe]14. Red moon desert
I can’t help but see this wallpaper as an opposite to Bliss. The red tint of the sand is a bit much for me, but it’s a really nice photo.
I’m sensing a theme of keeping the images’ left sides darker, to provide better contrast for icons. This one does a decent job at that.
[blog_stripe]15. Ripples
See: Crystal.
[/blog_stripe]16. Stonehenge
I find Stonehenge fascinating, so I’ve always loved this photo (did you know there are other henges?). It’s a good compliment to Bliss, though the colors aren’t quite as happy.
Like Bliss, this wallpaper has great color & contrast. A very good desktop background.
[blog_stripe]17. Tulips
Another college freshman girl favorite. If Follow didn’t win the battle for the pink & green dorm rooms, Tulips usually did. But I must admit, it’s a beautiful photo.
This wallpaper is tough, though. It has too many colors in the main icon stack area for me. I’d prefer if the last tulip or two were removed.
[/blog_stripe]18. Vortec space
This one feels like a throwback to Windows 95/98’s shooting star screensaver. I can’t help but look into its center.
Other than the obviously distracting center, this wallpaper holds up well. It has good color & contrast and a dark left-side icon stack area.
[blog_stripe]19. Wind
Microsoft seems to love hills. This photo is a little boring, but it’s pretty.
This desktop works well too. The left-side icon stack is almost all orange/tan. Great color & contrast where it counts.
[/blog_stripe]20. Windows XP
No one used this background except boring IT departments. I’m convinced of it.
[blog_stripe]Did I miss any? What are your favorites?
Do you agree that Peace is the greatest desktop background Windows has ever had? Or are you more of an Autumn/Follow/Tulips kind of person?
[/blog_stripe]
19 wind is my best wallpeper
I like 14 red moon desert
Autumn and Home are my favorite wallpapers, they look good for me, but Vortex Space, is a pain in my eyes to even look at it
Azul is the best ever!
creo q te falto el de cabo…..
Azull i sthe Best to me
I like Azul, Autumn, Bliss, Follow, Friend, and Tulips =)
12. Purple Flower.
Always loved it!
FINALLY. I’ve been looking all over the internet for these. THANK YOU!!!!
follow is the best
This brings many memories , thanks for collecting them .
I love azul….do you know if it can be downloaded to my android tablet?
The default background on my family’s Windows XP computer was this one: http://static.desktopnexus.com/wallpaper/340174-1366×768-%5BDesktopNexus.com%5D.jpg?st=dZB80jwih9lrBWoL8gE_nA&e=1382659624 It’s understandable to not know this one existed unless you had a Dell.
You missed Zapotec and a few others, but good list ;D
this brings back sooo many memories! as a kid my favorites were azul, crystal, friend, follow, power, and ripples!
Red moon riber works for me…on my Android tablet :)
In the Windows 7 sample pictures there is a remade version of tulips
I love the ascent wallpaper, but I cant download it unless I have to accept a toolbar or a pdf reader and I have adobe. or accerowserpt another thing on my PC. I don’t need a PDF or a toolbar on my browser. How can I download the ascent wallpaper without the add ons?? Its my favorite wallpaper.
I like Azul, Bliss, Autumn, Ascent, Vortec space and Sunset and Winter you hadn’t written of. I set them as wallpaper slideshow on my Linux PC (it has an XP theme, too).
Can anyone tell me what breed the dog is for no. 7, Friend? It’s too thin to be a Labrador..sorry, I had a dog that was exactly that breed and I just don’t know what she was!
Im convinced this is a photo of our dog. He was called Welly because he was shiny black just like a wellington boot. He was a black lab crossed with dalmation. He was taller than most labs and very gangly as a young dog. We got him as a rescue 6 months old in August 1999 so I guess just too late for the photo to be him.
My favorite will always be the field of Tulips background. It is so simple, but peaceful.
You missed a background we still use on Windows 8: Space. Still, good list.
I would always put Ascent for every new Server 2003 I have installed and as an IT engineer I’ve done it many many times before. On Windows XP machines I would put the Red Moon Desert or the Wind if it was for myself. If it was for the company users then as an IT Administrator I had to set the last one Windows Xp, so you’re right it might appeared as boring to many people since the image was enforced to hundreds and even thousands of machines across the network. :)
Windows XP was one of it’s kind!
Thank you so much for preserving home even though you loath it. I totally disagree and have been looking for it everywhere
At last I found Home – this is my favourite – I will install on my new Surface.
Invert the colors on Crystal using Paint and it turns into a really beautiful one
Would love to see collections like this of the other Windows versions.
8. Home
when I am kid I was hate this one I was when found it in background I go change it
and I still hate it
5 minutes a go I remember it with no cause so I search of it to come here
isn’t ridiculous that we remember what we hate and forget who we love
sorry for my bad english
Thank you. I was looking for Home. It’s calming; reminds me of the simple things in life.
Weren’t there ones like Blue Lace?
you forgot Windows XP Home
My favorite was always Home. I grew up in New Mexico, and it reminds me of the houses I loved best. The color, the little touches of contrast, the minimalistic feel, the thick adobe walls (which kept the interior nicely cool in the heat of the day)… it is such a breath of fresh air compared to the houses all around me these days.
Thank you so much for posting these!
I remember my Grandpa using the Ripple desktop background when I was a (littler) kid. I like using the crystal background with the combination of the silver window and taskbar theme.
“No one used this background except boring IT departments. I’m convinced of it.”
amen
I sorta recall a computer interior one but hell if i can remember.
That’s from windows 98 called inside computers
Autumn was my favouriteback then. I love Autumn colours so that was perfect for me!!
what about the pattern ones like rhododendron? someone just needs to compress all of them into a zip
Thank you….
Hi, thanks for uploading these, I was perticularly after ‘Blue Lace 16’ and struggled to find it any where so eventually got xp on a virtual machine to get it (i’m such a geek) https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/18866b15f163ad53ace2d18e85afc4b73ba006c66ef2aac62208b5ed024a432e.png, well here it is plus Rhodadendron. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/a084c00d52b5b31a596cd8030a664e039651c32e6d44de12dd90d5a2996b143d.png
Friend. But i usually didn’t use any of M$ wallpapers
I used the moon flower and the power when I was a child hehehe. I love this 2 ones I menth because was all in pink.
The „Autumn” picture was taken in Burlington, Ontario, Canada. People wonder about the location of this photo more than any other desktop background, it seems. A Vanity Fair writer even went on a year-long quest to track down exactly where it was taken. With help from the image’s elusive photographer (who had completely forgotten which town he took it in), they finally narrowed in on „the lane leading south to the old Harris homestead” in Burlington. The lane in the picture leads to an unspectacular farmhouse once owned by the Harris family, one of the first settlers in the area… This is how it looked in winter… :D https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/fed206b287358d21c34863698ab32edf6ddf7c5232936333d33a0c6cbb599a5f.jpg
This is the most fascinating comment my blog has ever received. Thank you!! The Vanity Fair article about Autumn is equal parts mystery, intrigue, and joyful resolution. THANK YOU!
Thank you… Yes, the „Autumn” was also my favorite desktop background… :D Here is the original wider version… https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/8cc07ccb2cd8360fc83c7ea008ae5678ab844ab1d363db78d482c47cc2a5def4.jpg
And how it looks like in the winter… https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/b2f5864b242415097adf0b293707e33df4a5adf03ffb3a118ed0ffb8fed322ae.jpg
The moon is upside down in the southern hemisphere.
That is correct… Then, the „Red moon desert” must be in the Patagonian, Kalahari or Great Australian desert… https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/755d2b1ade7c62eb581fa2993e05336a20dfefc7542c373580a0d4a10f41c72f.jpg
According to its Getty Images page, Red moon desert was taken at Kalahari Gemsbok National Park. Also the Stonehenge picture is actually Stonehenge judging by its tags here.
The Power background looks cute to me…
i loved Autumn and Bliss as a background (ironic i hate autumn)
but Moon Flower and Power is such a pain to watch it, it’s too much for me
my parents used Windows XP as a background but that background is rather boring to me
I like autumn and bliss!
all of these backgrounds are pretty interesting to see. they all look cool, especially the “Peace” background.