Can't change Desktop background in System Preferences

Hi. When I try to change my desktop background, either by right-clicking on the desktop or by opening System Preferences, the screen for Desktop options is blank. None of the options show up, grayed out or otherwise. While in System Preferences, if I click on Screen Saver, everything there works fine. But the button for Desktop becomes grey and I can't click on it.
I've tried Repair Permissions and this didn't work. I've seen similar posts here, but they don't seem to have the same problem I do, nothing freezes up, the Desktop screen is just blank. Do you have any ideas?
Thanks!
Mac OS X (10.4.6)

1. OK, let's try some more trashing: 1. Quit System Preferences if it is open.
2. Open your Home > Library > Caches folder, then trash the following two files therein:
- com.apple.preferencepanes.cache
- com.apple.preferencepanes.searchindexcache
3. Trash the file
com.apple.systempreferences.plist
in your Home > Library > Preferences folder.
4. Trash the file
com.apple.systempreferences.xxx.plist
in your Home > Library > Preferences > ByHost folder, where xxx is an alphanumeric string.
5. Empty Trash.
6. Launch System Preferences and see if the problem is resolved.2. You wrote"I still have my Desktop Pictures folder."I presume you mean the Macintosh HD > Library > Desktop Pictures folder I cited previously. How about the contents of that folder? It should contain five folders:• Abstract
• Black & White
• Nature
• Plants
• Solid Colorsand a collection of .jpg images for a total of 28 objects.
3. I know you earlier said you ran Repair Permissions. I presume the permissions on Macintosh HD > Library > Desktop Pictures are:You can: Read & Write
Owner: system
Access: Read & Write
Group: admin
Access: Read & Write
Others: Read OnlyYes?
4. If none of the above sorts it out, let's see if it's isolated to your account. Do you have a second user account defined on your system? If so, log in to it and see if the problem happens there. If it does, it is probably a system-wide problem. If not, it is something with your user account. If you don't have a second account on your system, you can create a new one using System Preferences > Accounts. See "Mac OS X 10.4 Help: Adding a new user account to your computer."
5. Immediately after the problem occurs — i.e. you open Desktop & Screen Saver preferences and either cannot select Desktop or Desktop is blank — check the ends of these Console logs for clues. Let's see if console can tell us if the Desktop preference pane is corrupted.
6. Do you have any personal Web space? If so, can you take a screen shot of the problem and upload it to your personal Web space? If so, post a link back here to the image. It may help if I can see what you're seeing, though I think I understand it from your description, "a picture is worth..." etc.
7. As a general check, run the procedure specified in my "Resolving Disk, Permission, and Cache Corruption" FAQ. Perform the steps therein in the order specified.
8. To what was / is your Desktop image presently set? One of the Apple collections or images? Something from your iPhoto Library?
FYI: I number my points so you can respond by number.
Good luck!
Dr. Smoke
Author: Troubleshooting Mac® OS X
Note: The information provided in the link(s) above is freely available. However, because I own The X Lab™, a commercial Web site to which some of these links point, the Apple Discussions Terms of Use require I include the following disclosure statement with this post:
I may receive some form of compensation, financial or otherwise, from my recommendation or link.

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Sorry to take so long to post back for you.
I found a screenshot of the System Preferences for 10.2 Jaguar and I see that you have two separate preference panes for Desktop and Screen Effects. In my Panther, the two were combined as one pane known as Desktop and Screensavers.
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Problem: Changing desktop pictures locks System Preferences
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• Navigate to YourHome/Library.
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hi! thanks for the reply.
I tried to follow the instructions, but I don't understand with the last instruction which says "Restart the computer and open System Preferences (or problem program) and reset all your preferences again"
I went to restart my computer (after deleting the com.apple.system...), and it doesnt solve the issue. However, I noticed that deleting the com.apple.system the "change desktop background" will work once. but if i close and do it the again, it wont work (same thing if i restart my laptop). I know i am just being anal about this small issue lol, but i noticed some other users experience the same thing as well as me.
https://discussions.apple.com/message/22567888#22567888
or
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4146106
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Can't change Desktop background in System Preferences

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