Windows 10: Find and Save Custom Lock Screen Background Images in Windows 10

How to: Find and Save Custom Lock Screen Background Images in Windows 10

How to Find and Save Custom Lock Screen Background Images in Windows 10


The lock screen is the screen you see at startup and when you lock the computer.

Users can select to use Windows Spotlight, a custom single picture, or a custom slideshow of images as their lock screen background.

This tutorial will show you how to find and save custom background images displayed on the lock screen for users in Windows 10.

*note You must be an administrator to perform the steps in this tutorial.



Here's How:

1. If you haven't already, you will need to enable the built-in Administrator account.

2. Sign in to the built-in Administrator account. (see screenshot below)



3. Open File Explorer (Win+E), and perform the following: (see screenshot below)
A) Click/tap on the View tab, and check the Hidden items box.

B) Navigate to the C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows folder.

C) Right click on the SystemData folder, and click/tap on Properties.




4. Click/tap on the Security tab, and click/tap on the Advanced button. (see screenshot below)



5. Click/tap on the Change link to change the owner. (see screenshot below)



6. Type Administrator into the "Enter the objects name to select" field, and click/tap on the Check Names button. (see screenshot below)



7. Click/tap on OK. (see screenshot below)



8. Check the Replace owner on subcontainers and objects box at the top, and click/tap on OK. (see screenshot below)



9. Click/tap on Yes to confirm. (see screenshot below)



10. Click/tap on OK to close security properties. (see screenshot below)



11. Right click on the SystemData folder, and click/tap on Properties again. (see screenshot below)



12. Click/tap on the Security tab, and click/tap on the Advanced button. (see screenshot below)



13. Check the Replace all child object permission entries with inheritable permission entries from this object box at the bottom, and click/tap on OK. (see screenshot below)



14. Click/tap on Yes to confirm. (see screenshot below)



15. Click/tap on OK. (see screenshot below)



16. Open the SystemData folder. (see screenshot below)



17. Open the SID folder of the user you want to find lock screen background images for. (see screenshot below)

*note If you like, you can use the tutorial below to find the SID (security identifier) for all users to know which SID folder is for which user.

*Arrow How to Find Security Identifier (SID) of User in Windows



18. Open the ReadOnly folder. (see screenshot below)



19. Open the LockScreen_<letter> folder you want. (see screenshot below)

*note You may need to open each one to find the image you want inside.



20. You will now see the custom lock screen background image(s). You can copy and save the image(s) to where you want. (see screenshots below)









21. When finished, sign out of the built-in Administrator account.

22. Sign in back to your account.

23. If you like, you can disable the built-in Administrator account.


That's it,
Shawn


Related Tutorials

• How to Change your Lock Screen Background in Windows 10
• How to Find and Save Windows Spotlight Background Images in Windows 10

:)

 

Lock screen background problem

This tutorial Change Lock Screen Background in Windows 10. If these two or the other is not working, send a message to Shawn.

 

Windows lock screen background images

Thanks found the photo I was looking for in the list that app got!

 

Lock screen background image does not appear (Anniversary Update)


Hi folks,

Background

• A year or more ago I followed [this guide](How to Change the Login Screen Background on Windows 10) to set the Sign-in screen to a single colour rather than having to use Microsoft's default background image.
• So I set my own custom background image for the Lock screen (with no problem), and then once I hit a key to bring up the Sign-in screen it would should a solid background colour (happy days!).

Issue

• I just upgraded to the Anniversary Update with no problems. My setup of Lock screen = custom image and Sign-in screen = solid colour was still working.
• I read that Microsoft had changed it so that when you hit a key to bring up the Sign-in screen it would just keep your Lock screen image behind and show the password box on top. This sounded good to me so I ran the 'undo' script provided in the link above (the 'enable' script).
• Now, when I lock my computer I see no image at all (a completely black background, but it's not broken because the date and time show up), and only when I hit a key to bring up the Sign-in screen do I see the custom Lock screen background image I selected. *Sad
• The kicker is: if I go into the Lock screen settings and turn "Show lock screen background picture on the sign-in screen" OFF, then it reverts to my old custom setup: showing my selected Lock screen background image on the lock screen, but then showing a solid colour when I bring up the Sign-in screen :/

I'm wondering if the registry setting changed at all for the Anniversary Update? I note that in the article and in the registry script they refer to it as "login/logon" whereas the setting in the Anniversary Update references "sign-in". Don't know if there's a clue there or it's just a red herring?

Can anyone help me get back to the default Anniversary Update behaviour (Lock screen background image shows on lock screen and sign-in screen)?

UPDATE: Interestingly, when I do a restart, the default Anniversary Update behaviour works. Ie. it shows the background image on the first screen and also on the sign-in screen (is there a subtle difference between the first screen you see after powering up vs any subsequent lock screen?).

 

Cannot locate custom Lock Screen images in W10 Pro 1809

Ok @Compumind Brian. Tutorial all finished. *Smile

*Arrow Find and Save Custom Lock Screen Background Images in Windows 10

 

Windows lock screen background images

Hi

I use the random picture for my windows lock screen background similar to the one shown below





Well the other day I had one of a couple of otters in Homer Alaska and my wife fell in love with it. I was going to save it for her but with the holidays and all it totally slipped my mind and when I went into the windows lock screen images folder tonight to look for it I see it is no longer in there as I have had a few different ones since then.

Is there any online source that has all the images used for the windows lock screen background image if so where can I find it so I can hopefully find this image again.

Thanks
Dave