How to remove the build number watermark from Windows 10's desktop
Hundreds of thousands of people around the world are currently running Windows 10 Technical Preview ahead of the official launch. While it's fun to try out a pre-release of the upcoming operating system it does mean having to put up with a few problems here and there, as well as the occasional niggle.
One thing that irks many Technical Preview users is the fact that the current build number is emblazoned on the desktop. It doesn’t really get in the way, but it looks kind of ugly. If you'd like to get rid of this unsightly watermark, there's no need to tinker with the registry or hack files by hand -- there's a nifty tool that will take care of it for you.
The suitably-named Universal Watermark Disabler is available free of charge, and can be used to remove the unwanted text from the lower right hand corner of your desktop. You can enjoy your chosen desktop wallpaper in full, unadulterated glory... Hooray! Start by grabbing yourself a copy of the tweaking tool from the Winaero website and then extract the zip file. If you're using Windows 10 Technical Preview on your main machine, or just don’t want the hassle of reinstallation if anything goes wrong, now's the time to create a backup.
Having taken whatever precautions you deem necessary, right click the UWD executable and opt to run it as administrator. Hit the Install button in the window that appears and then click OK to complete the process by signing out of your user account.
Sign back into your account, and the job's done. Get ready to enjoy your watermark-free copy of Windows 10 Technical Preview! Should you ever want to revert to displaying the build number on the desktop, simply run Universal Watermark Disabler again and select the Uninstall option.
You may find that future build updates bring the watermark back -- just run the tool again and it can be removed.
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