diff --git a/backends/platform/sdl/win32/win32.cpp b/backends/platform/sdl/win32/win32.cpp
index 14b97d80506..4024c3b95ac 100644
--- a/backends/platform/sdl/win32/win32.cpp
+++ b/backends/platform/sdl/win32/win32.cpp
@@ -59,6 +59,10 @@
 
 #define DEFAULT_CONFIG_FILE "scummvm.ini"
 
+OSystem_Win32::OSystem_Win32() :
+	_isPortable(false) {
+}
+
 void OSystem_Win32::init() {
 	// Initialize File System Factory
 	_fsFactory = new WindowsFilesystemFactory();
@@ -112,8 +116,8 @@ void OSystem_Win32::initBackend() {
 	}
 
 	// Create the savefile manager
-	if (_savefileManager == 0)
-		_savefileManager = new WindowsSaveFileManager();
+	if (_savefileManager == nullptr)
+		_savefileManager = new WindowsSaveFileManager(_isPortable);
 
 #if defined(USE_SPARKLE)
 	// Initialize updates manager
@@ -240,16 +244,19 @@ Common::String OSystem_Win32::getScreenshotsPath() {
 		return screenshotsPath;
 	}
 
-	// Use the My Pictures folder.
 	TCHAR picturesPath[MAX_PATH];
-
-	if (SHGetFolderPathFunc(NULL, CSIDL_MYPICTURES, NULL, SHGFP_TYPE_CURRENT, picturesPath) != S_OK) {
-		warning("Unable to access My Pictures directory");
-		return Common::String();
+	if (_isPortable) {
+		Win32::getProcessDirectory(picturesPath, MAX_PATH);
+		_tcscat(picturesPath, TEXT("\\Screenshots\\"));
+	} else {
+		// Use the My Pictures folder
+		if (SHGetFolderPathFunc(NULL, CSIDL_MYPICTURES, NULL, SHGFP_TYPE_CURRENT, picturesPath) != S_OK) {
+			warning("Unable to access My Pictures directory");
+			return Common::String();
+		}
+		_tcscat(picturesPath, TEXT("\\ScummVM Screenshots\\"));
 	}
 
-	_tcscat(picturesPath, TEXT("\\ScummVM Screenshots\\"));
-
 	// If the directory already exists (as it should in most cases),
 	// we don't want to fail, but we need to stop on other errors (such as ERROR_PATH_NOT_FOUND)
 	if (!CreateDirectory(picturesPath, NULL)) {
@@ -263,41 +270,48 @@ Common::String OSystem_Win32::getScreenshotsPath() {
 Common::String OSystem_Win32::getDefaultConfigFileName() {
 	TCHAR configFile[MAX_PATH];
 
-	// Use the Application Data directory of the user profile.
-	if (SHGetFolderPathFunc(NULL, CSIDL_APPDATA, NULL, SHGFP_TYPE_CURRENT, configFile) == S_OK) {
-		_tcscat(configFile, TEXT("\\ScummVM"));
-		if (!CreateDirectory(configFile, NULL)) {
-			if (GetLastError() != ERROR_ALREADY_EXISTS)
-				error("Cannot create ScummVM application data folder");
-		}
+	// if this is the first time the default config file name is requested
+	// then we need detect if we should run in portable mode. (and if it's
+	// never requested before the backend is initialized then a config file
+	// was provided on the command line and portable mode doesn't apply.)
+	if (!backendInitialized()) {
+		_isPortable = detectPortableConfigFile();
+	}
 
+	if (_isPortable) {
+		// Use the current process directory in portable mode
+		Win32::getProcessDirectory(configFile, MAX_PATH);
 		_tcscat(configFile, TEXT("\\" DEFAULT_CONFIG_FILE));
+	} else {
+		// Use the Application Data directory of the user profile
+		if (Win32::getApplicationDataDirectory(configFile)) {
+			_tcscat(configFile, TEXT("\\" DEFAULT_CONFIG_FILE));
 
-		FILE *tmp = NULL;
-		if ((tmp = _tfopen(configFile, TEXT("r"))) == NULL) {
-			// Check windows directory
-			TCHAR oldConfigFile[MAX_PATH];
-			uint ret = GetWindowsDirectory(oldConfigFile, MAX_PATH);
-			if (ret == 0 || ret > MAX_PATH)
-				error("Cannot retrieve the path of the Windows directory");
+			FILE *tmp = NULL;
+			if ((tmp = _tfopen(configFile, TEXT("r"))) == NULL) {
+				// Check windows directory
+				TCHAR oldConfigFile[MAX_PATH];
+				uint ret = GetWindowsDirectory(oldConfigFile, MAX_PATH);
+				if (ret == 0 || ret > MAX_PATH)
+					error("Cannot retrieve the path of the Windows directory");
 
-			_tcscat(oldConfigFile, TEXT("\\" DEFAULT_CONFIG_FILE));
-			if ((tmp = _tfopen(oldConfigFile, TEXT("r")))) {
-				_tcscpy(configFile, oldConfigFile);
+				_tcscat(oldConfigFile, TEXT("\\" DEFAULT_CONFIG_FILE));
+				if ((tmp = _tfopen(oldConfigFile, TEXT("r")))) {
+					_tcscpy(configFile, oldConfigFile);
 
+					fclose(tmp);
+				}
+			} else {
 				fclose(tmp);
 			}
 		} else {
-			fclose(tmp);
-		}
-	} else {
-		warning("Unable to access application data directory");
-		// Check windows directory
-		uint ret = GetWindowsDirectory(configFile, MAX_PATH);
-		if (ret == 0 || ret > MAX_PATH)
-			error("Cannot retrieve the path of the Windows directory");
+			// Check windows directory
+			uint ret = GetWindowsDirectory(configFile, MAX_PATH);
+			if (ret == 0 || ret > MAX_PATH)
+				error("Cannot retrieve the path of the Windows directory");
 
-		_tcscat(configFile, TEXT("\\" DEFAULT_CONFIG_FILE));
+			_tcscat(configFile, TEXT("\\" DEFAULT_CONFIG_FILE));
+		}
 	}
 
 	return Win32::tcharToString(configFile);
@@ -306,21 +320,54 @@ Common::String OSystem_Win32::getDefaultConfigFileName() {
 Common::String OSystem_Win32::getDefaultLogFileName() {
 	TCHAR logFile[MAX_PATH];
 
-	// Use the Application Data directory of the user profile.
-	if (SHGetFolderPathFunc(NULL, CSIDL_APPDATA, NULL, SHGFP_TYPE_CURRENT, logFile) != S_OK) {
-		warning("Unable to access application data directory");
-		return Common::String();
+	if (_isPortable) {
+		Win32::getProcessDirectory(logFile, MAX_PATH);
+	} else {
+		// Use the Application Data directory of the user profile
+		if (!Win32::getApplicationDataDirectory(logFile)) {
+			return Common::String();
+		}
+		_tcscat(logFile, TEXT("\\Logs"));
+		CreateDirectory(logFile, NULL);
 	}
 
-	_tcscat(logFile, TEXT("\\ScummVM"));
-	CreateDirectory(logFile, NULL);
-	_tcscat(logFile, TEXT("\\Logs"));
-	CreateDirectory(logFile, NULL);
 	_tcscat(logFile, TEXT("\\scummvm.log"));
 
 	return Win32::tcharToString(logFile);
 }
 
+bool OSystem_Win32::detectPortableConfigFile() {
+	// ScummVM operates in a "portable mode" if there is a config file in the
+	// same directory as the executable. In this mode, the executable's
+	// directory is used instead of the user's profile for application files.
+	// This approach is modeled off of the portable mode in Notepad++.
+
+	// Check if there is a config file in the same directory as the executable.
+	TCHAR portableConfigFile[MAX_PATH];
+	Win32::getProcessDirectory(portableConfigFile, MAX_PATH);
+	_tcscat(portableConfigFile, TEXT("\\" DEFAULT_CONFIG_FILE));
+	FILE *file = _tfopen(portableConfigFile, TEXT("r"));
+	if (file == NULL) {
+		return false;
+	}
+	fclose(file);
+
+	// Check if we're running from Program Files on Vista+.
+	// If so then don't attempt to use local files due to UAC.
+	// (Notepad++ does this too.)
+	if (Win32::confirmWindowsVersion(6, 0)) {
+		TCHAR programFiles[MAX_PATH];
+		if (SHGetFolderPathFunc(NULL, CSIDL_PROGRAM_FILES, NULL, SHGFP_TYPE_CURRENT, programFiles) == S_OK) {
+			_tcscat(portableConfigFile, TEXT("\\"));
+			if (_tcsstr(portableConfigFile, programFiles) == portableConfigFile) {
+				return false;
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
+	return true;
+}
+
 namespace {
 
 class Win32ResourceArchive final : public Common::Archive {
diff --git a/backends/platform/sdl/win32/win32.h b/backends/platform/sdl/win32/win32.h
index 126267c385e..c26d285da76 100644
--- a/backends/platform/sdl/win32/win32.h
+++ b/backends/platform/sdl/win32/win32.h
@@ -28,6 +28,8 @@
 
 class OSystem_Win32 final : public OSystem_SDL {
 public:
+	OSystem_Win32();
+
 	virtual void init() override;
 	virtual void initBackend() override;
 
@@ -58,6 +60,10 @@ protected:
 	virtual AudioCDManager *createAudioCDManager() override;
 
 	HWND getHwnd() { return ((SdlWindow_Win32*)_window)->getHwnd(); }
+
+private:
+	bool _isPortable;
+	bool detectPortableConfigFile();
 };
 
 #endif
diff --git a/backends/platform/sdl/win32/win32_wrapper.cpp b/backends/platform/sdl/win32/win32_wrapper.cpp
index 00ce8fe75cd..e38efe1096c 100644
--- a/backends/platform/sdl/win32/win32_wrapper.cpp
+++ b/backends/platform/sdl/win32/win32_wrapper.cpp
@@ -28,8 +28,10 @@
 #define _WIN32_IE 0x400
 #endif
 #include <shlobj.h>
+#include <tchar.h>
 
 #include "common/scummsys.h"
+#include "common/textconsole.h"
 #include "backends/platform/sdl/win32/win32_wrapper.h"
 
 // VerSetConditionMask, VerifyVersionInfo and SHGetFolderPath didn't appear until Windows 2000,
@@ -72,6 +74,33 @@ HRESULT SHGetFolderPathFunc(HWND hwnd, int csidl, HANDLE hToken, DWORD dwFlags,
 
 namespace Win32 {
 
+bool getApplicationDataDirectory(TCHAR *applicationDataDirectory) {
+	if (SHGetFolderPathFunc(NULL, CSIDL_APPDATA, NULL, SHGFP_TYPE_CURRENT, applicationDataDirectory) != S_OK) {
+		warning("Unable to access application data directory");
+		return false;
+	}
+
+	_tcscat(applicationDataDirectory, TEXT("\\ScummVM"));
+	if (!CreateDirectory(applicationDataDirectory, NULL)) {
+		if (GetLastError() != ERROR_ALREADY_EXISTS) {
+			error("Cannot create ScummVM application data folder");
+		}
+	}
+
+	return true;
+}
+
+void getProcessDirectory(TCHAR *processDirectory, DWORD size) {
+	GetModuleFileName(NULL, processDirectory, size);
+	processDirectory[size - 1] = '\0'; // termination not guaranteed
+
+	// remove executable and final path separator
+	TCHAR *lastSeparator = _tcsrchr(processDirectory, '\\');
+	if (lastSeparator != NULL) {
+		*lastSeparator = '\0';
+	}
+}
+
 bool confirmWindowsVersion(int majorVersion, int minorVersion) {
 	OSVERSIONINFOEXA versionInfo;
 	DWORDLONG conditionMask = 0;
@@ -173,4 +202,4 @@ void freeArgvUtf8(int argc, char **argv) {
 }
 #endif
 
-}
+} // End of namespace Win32
diff --git a/backends/platform/sdl/win32/win32_wrapper.h b/backends/platform/sdl/win32/win32_wrapper.h
index 8b6411b155b..97a57b73f85 100644
--- a/backends/platform/sdl/win32/win32_wrapper.h
+++ b/backends/platform/sdl/win32/win32_wrapper.h
@@ -31,6 +31,29 @@ HRESULT SHGetFolderPathFunc(HWND hwnd, int csidl, HANDLE hToken, DWORD dwFlags,
 // Helper functions
 namespace Win32 {
 
+/**
+ * Gets the full path to the ScummVM application data directory
+ * in the user's profile and creates it if it doesn't exist.
+ *
+ * @param profileDirectory MAX_PATH sized output array
+ *
+ * @return True if the user's profile directory was found, false if
+ * it was not.
+ *
+ * @note if the user's profile directory is found but the "ScummVM"
+ * subdirectory can't be created then this function calls error().
+ */
+bool getApplicationDataDirectory(TCHAR *profileDirectory);
+
+/**
+ * Gets the full path to the directory that the currently executing
+ * process resides in.
+ *
+ * @param processDirectory output array
+ * @param size size in characters of output array
+ */
+void getProcessDirectory(TCHAR *processDirectory, DWORD size);
+
 /**
  * Checks if the current running Windows version is greater or equal to the specified version.
  * See: https://docs.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/desktop/sysinfo/operating-system-version
@@ -115,6 +138,6 @@ char **getArgvUtf8(int *argc);
 void freeArgvUtf8(int argc, char **argv);
 #endif
 
-}
+} // End of namespace Win32
 
 #endif
diff --git a/backends/saves/windows/windows-saves.cpp b/backends/saves/windows/windows-saves.cpp
index 4488f1db6f8..53aa12efc82 100644
--- a/backends/saves/windows/windows-saves.cpp
+++ b/backends/saves/windows/windows-saves.cpp
@@ -36,27 +36,25 @@
 #include "backends/saves/windows/windows-saves.h"
 #include "backends/platform/sdl/win32/win32_wrapper.h"
 
-WindowsSaveFileManager::WindowsSaveFileManager() {
+WindowsSaveFileManager::WindowsSaveFileManager(bool isPortable) {
 	TCHAR defaultSavepath[MAX_PATH];
 
-	// Use the Application Data directory of the user profile.
-	if (SHGetFolderPathFunc(NULL, CSIDL_APPDATA, NULL, SHGFP_TYPE_CURRENT, defaultSavepath) == S_OK) {
-		_tcscat(defaultSavepath, TEXT("\\ScummVM"));
-		if (!CreateDirectory(defaultSavepath, NULL)) {
-			if (GetLastError() != ERROR_ALREADY_EXISTS)
-				error("Cannot create ScummVM application data folder");
-		}
-
-		_tcscat(defaultSavepath, TEXT("\\Saved games"));
-		if (!CreateDirectory(defaultSavepath, NULL)) {
-			if (GetLastError() != ERROR_ALREADY_EXISTS)
-				error("Cannot create ScummVM Saved games folder");
-		}
-
-		ConfMan.registerDefault("savepath", Win32::tcharToString(defaultSavepath));
+	if (isPortable) {
+		Win32::getProcessDirectory(defaultSavepath, MAX_PATH);
 	} else {
-		warning("Unable to access application data directory");
+		// Use the Application Data directory of the user profile
+		if (!Win32::getApplicationDataDirectory(defaultSavepath)) {
+			return;
+		}
 	}
+
+	_tcscat(defaultSavepath, TEXT("\\Saved games"));
+	if (!CreateDirectory(defaultSavepath, NULL)) {
+		if (GetLastError() != ERROR_ALREADY_EXISTS)
+			error("Cannot create ScummVM Saved games folder");
+	}
+
+	ConfMan.registerDefault("savepath", Win32::tcharToString(defaultSavepath));
 }
 
 #endif
diff --git a/backends/saves/windows/windows-saves.h b/backends/saves/windows/windows-saves.h
index 66b5b034a8b..8b8315d9ba8 100644
--- a/backends/saves/windows/windows-saves.h
+++ b/backends/saves/windows/windows-saves.h
@@ -26,11 +26,11 @@
 #include "backends/saves/default/default-saves.h"
 
 /**
- * Provides a default savefile manager implementation for common platforms.
+ * Provides a savefile manager implementation for Windows.
  */
 class WindowsSaveFileManager final : public DefaultSaveFileManager {
 public:
-	WindowsSaveFileManager();
+	WindowsSaveFileManager(bool isPortable);
 };
 
 #endif