What is a .ACCOUNTPICTURE-MS file?
The .ACCOUNTPICTURE-MS file is a special type of file used by computers that run on the Windows 8 operating system. This file stores the picture you see on your account when you start your computer and look at the Start screen, usually in the top right corner. This picture can be anything, but it's often a photo of the user, which can be taken with the computer's camera.
To change or set this picture, you would click on your name at the top right of the Start screen. A menu will pop up, and you'll see an option that says "Change account picture." Clicking this brings up another window where you can pick a new picture for your account. You can choose a photo you already have by clicking "Browse," or you can take a new photo right then by selecting "Camera." However, it's important to know that these .ACCOUNTPICTURE-MS files are in a special format that only Windows understands. This means you can't just open them with any photo viewer to look at them. They are kept in a specific folder on your computer, which is C:\Users\[your username]\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\AccountPictures\.
Also, a little piece of history: during the test phase of Windows 8, before it was fully released, Microsoft called these files .USERTILE-MS and referred to them as "user tiles." But when Windows 8 was officially released, they decided to change the name to "account picture." So, if you're using Windows 8 and you want to change the picture that represents your account, now you know a bit more about how that works and where those pictures are stored on your computer.
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