Deploying a Desktop Background with Group Policy (GPO)

Standardizing desktop backgrounds across an organization enhances branding and security. Deploying a custom wallpaper using Group Policy (GPO) ensures a uniform appearance and prevents users from changing their desktop background. Here’s how to do it in a Windows Server environment.

Prerequisites

Before proceeding, ensure you have:

• A Windows Server with Group Policy Management installed
• An Active Directory (AD) domain environment
• A shared network folder accessible to all users
• A high-resolution image file (e.g., .jpg or .bmp)

Step 1: Prepare the Wallpaper File

1. Choose an image file for the desktop background.
2. Store the file in a network share accessible by all domain users , (e.g\\ServerName\SharedFolder\techmugzwallpaper.jpg).
3. Ensure that users have read permissions to the shared folder.

Step 2: Create a Group Policy Object (GPO)

1. Open Group Policy Management (gpmc.msc).
2. Right-click on the Organizational Unit (OU) containing the target users or computers.
3. Click Create a GPO in this domain, and Link it here.
4. Name the GPO -  e.g., Deploy Wallpaper and click OK.

Step 3: Configure the GPO

For User Configuration (Applies to Users)

1. Right-click the newly created GPO and select Edit.
2. Navigate to User Configuration → Policies → Administrative Templates → Desktop → Desktop.
3. Double-click Desktop Wallpaper.
4. Select Enabled.
5. In the Wallpaper Name field, enter the full UNC path of the image (e.g., \\ServerName\SharedFolder\wallpaper.jpg).
6. Set Wallpaper Style 
7. Click OK and close the editor.

For Computer Configuration (Applies to Computers)

1. Navigate to Computer Configuration → Policies → Administrative Templates → Control Panel → Personalization.
2. Double-click Force a specific default lock screen and logon image (for lock screen deployment).
3. Select Enabled and enter the UNC path of the image.
4. Click OK and close the editor.

Step 4: Apply and Test the Policy

1. Run gpupdate /force on target machines to apply the policy immediately.
2. Reboot a test workstation to verify the new wallpaper is applied.
3. If the wallpaper does not appear, check:
• GPO application using gpresult /r
• Network permissions to the wallpaper file
• Event Viewer for Group Policy errors