Windows 7 desktop background

Hi, I'm currently having issues with windows 7 backgrounds not displaying the wallpaper sent out through group policy but showing a solid colour instead. I've read that this was an issue what should have been fixed with a hotfix but I'm unable to apply it
as the one from Microsfot is saying that it isn't for my version of windows. The resolution and the file size are ok as they deploy to most other machines but I'm struggling to find a link between them as some machines display the wallpaper and some don't.
Any Suggestions?

Run gpresult.exe and check whether the policy has been successfully applied to this PC
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc733160.aspx
And have you tried this hotfix
The "Desktop Wallpaper" Group Policy setting is not applied in Windows 7 or in Windows Server 2008 R2
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/977944
You mentioned that you tried one hotfix (KB 977944?)but it isn't for your version Of Windows, so what is the version of your Windows? here is a workaround for Windows 7 RTM
http://blogs.technet.com/b/deploymentguys/archive/2009/11/20/windows-7-rtm-issue-with-group-policy-enforced-wallpaper.aspx
Yolanda Zhu
TechNet Community Support

Similar Messages

  • On Windows Server 2012 R2 the "Show my desktop background on Start" is grayed out

    Hi
    As shown below, the new 8.1/2012R2 function "Show my desktop background on Start" is not available on Windows Server 2012 R2.
    I have tried multiple solutions:
    - Activate OS (In Win 8.1 - the feature is unavailable when Win8.1 is not activated)
    - Install Desktop Experience
    - Playing with the registry key "Subkey: HKCU\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Accent Entry:
    MotionAccentId_v1.00
    But no luck. Does anyone have a solution.
    The reason why I need this is, that I am building a Remote Desktop solution, and here we want to give users the same experience as from their desktops.
    Looking forward to some exciting feedback.
    Regards,
    Mr. Thomas

    Hi,
    I am trying to involve someone to further look at this issue. There might be some time delay. Appreciate your patience.
    Thank you for your understanding and support.
    Jeremy Wu
    TechNet Community Support
    Jeremy,
    I, too, am facing this issue.
    Do we have any update on this?
    With regards
    With regards

  • On Windows Server 2012 R2 the option "Show my desktop background on Start" is disabled

    Since this thread is
    inactive, I am starting a new one.
    On windows server 2012 R2, under the taskbar properties, the option to display desktop background on start is disabled and I have not found a way to enable the same.
    Please suggest, how this can be enabled.
    With regards

    You should take a look at this thread. They still haven't figured it out yet though, I don't believe it is possible at the moment on server 2012 even with desktop experience installed.
    http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/windowsserver/en-US/9e26b0d5-e586-45b6-91bf-540a72dd36fc/on-windows-server-2012-r2-the-show-my-desktop-background-on-start-is-grayed-out?forum=winservergen
    http://WrinkleFreeIT.com/

  • Wallpaper not showing up in "Change Desktop Background" window

    I just noticed an odd issue today on my Mac Pro. When browsing the built-in wallpaper folders (Nature, Plants, etc) in the Change Desktop Background window they are empty. My "Pictures Folder" one shows all the images correctly as well as browsing the ones from iPhoto. (I also have Aperture 2.1.2 installed but no projects yet so that part is empty.)
    I performed a permissions repair, checked that the actual files were there in /Library and removed the com.apple.desktop.plist pref's file. After doing that all the pictures showed up again UNTIL I browsed around the picture folders in the Change Desktop Background window then they stopped showing again.
    Could something in my Pictures Folder be causing the issue? Any ideas?
    Thanks,
    -Jim

    Thanks for clarifying. I don't do right or left click, but occasionally do CONTROL-click and doing that brings up the contextual menu item "change desktop background" which leads to the Desktop prefPane. Now, why you're having issues, I have no idea. However, I suggest creating a new admin user account, logging into it, and seeing if changing the desktop picture works there.

  • Cannot Change Desktop Background in Windows 8 Installed Via Bootcamp

    I've been running parelells, but decided today to just go the boot camp route and everything went through fine EXCEPT I cannot change the wall paper on the windows 8 desktop?
    I select the new image in desktop background in personalization click save changes and the background stays the same...?
    I don't get it.
    And by the way, I am NOT new to windows or mac, been using both for a long time and was a systems administrator and bench for years, this is NOT a novice "how to" question...It's just not working?
    Anyone else seen this before?

    are you using an activated version of win 8? you cant personalise win desktop otherwise.

  • Windows 8 + Live Account - Unsync Desktop Backgrounds

    I have a setup with several Windows 8 machines - including virtual machines utilizing Hyper-V.  I really enjoy the benefits of using my Live account to keep [most] things in sync, but it would be really nice to be able to exclude certain items from
    that synchronization (selectively?). One element that would be most helpful is to not sync my desktop background images. With all of the RDPing from one machine to the other (and adding in the Hyper-V machines to that equation as well), I really like to keep
    the background images distinct to help me quickly identify where I am working. I can't figure out how to unsync that element. Is this possible? If so, anyone care to enlighten me?
    My setup (if you care)...
    Machine1: Core i7, 12GB RAM, 120GB SSD [Host OS (Win8), Media Center, Plex Server, Hyper-V Server], (3) 1.5TB drives in RAID-5 (core data storage), (1) 1.5TB drive (Virtual Machines), (1) 1.5TB drive (Unprocessed Recorded TV files)
    Machine2: Hyper-V 6 CPU, 6GB RAM, 350GB Virtual Disk [Win8, Office 2013, Visual Studio 2012, SQL 2012, etc.] {this is intended to be my primary workspace and I RDP to it from the host OS when I am in the office}
    Machine3: Core i7 laptop, 8GB RAM, 240GB SSD [Win8, Office 2013, Visual Studio 2012, SQL 2012, PLEX App etc.] {this is a fully capable machine, but the intended use is RDP to Machine2 whenever possible}
    I also have a Server 2012 Virtual Machine hosted by the same Machine1 - this is setup for Remote Access to my LAN (via VPN) by my laptop (which I hope to replace/supplement with either a Surface Pro or a Lenovo Helix).
    (The reason I have both the physical Win8 VM Win8 is to allow me to RDP into the VM without breaking Windows Media Center on the physical machine.)

    Hi,
    Please do not sync Desktop Personalization. You can make this change by the sync options of changing PC settings or Group Policy.
    Computer Configuration, Administrative Templates, Windows Components, Sync your settings.
    Juke Chou
    TechNet Community Support

  • Why is there blank space showing desktop background above and below my browser window? How to fix this?

    I recently installed Firefox on a new PC and this latest version shows either the desktop background or the content of the open window behind my browser above and below the browser window, to the right of the menu bar and tabs. This is something I've never seen before and it's annoying. I want things back the way they were, when my entire screen was browser window, except for the button bar at the bottom of the screen. I tried the factory reset, no help. Tried full screen. Not what I want. How do I get rid of these window backgrounds around the browser?

    Try to disable transparency in Windows.
    Right click in a free space on your desktop.<br />
    Left click on Personalization.<br />
    There are four options at the bottom of the screen, choose "Window Color and Appearance".<br />
    Select a border color<br />
    Uncheck: "Enable transparency"<br />
    * http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/7955/how-to-fix-no-aero-transparency-in-windows-7/

  • How do I use one of my photos for the desktop background?

    I have a photo which I would like to have as my desktop background. How do I accomplish this?

    Hi leduckmrb,
    Are you talking about your computer desktop? If so, that isn't a Firefox thing at all. You'll have better luck looking at the [http://www.microsoft.com/resources/documentation/windows/xp/all/proddocs/en-us/display_change_desktop_background.mspx?mfr=true Microsoft documentation].
    Hopefully this helps!

  • Deleting files out of system preferences desktop background.

    Does anyone know how to delete files out of system preferences>desktop & screen saver?
    Some how when adding one photo to the file for the desktop background it took the entire photo file. So that instead of one photo for the file it has over 200 now. Read everything and tried everything. Still can't figure out how to delete that file from the list.
    I know how to add photos or whatever to use as desktop background just no idea how to remove them from the list.
    Any ideas?

    Doug,
    When you go to system preferences>desktop & screen savers>desktop. On the left is a window with the names of the images listed. Apple Images, Nature file, Plants file, Picture Folder, Choose Folder and so forth. The ones that come with Apple products. Not sure what all else is native to Apple.
    Iv been using my own desktop background since the day I got the iBook. Normally I just get one photo or image and more it there to use. But, last week I did something different or wrong. Maybe holding a button to long, not sure. Instead of moving the one photo it moved the entire photo file. That file had over 200 (2,500x1,800 in size & over 550KB for each) and probably closer to 250 photos in it.
    Way to many to be there. And I simply can't find a way to remove that file from the desktop list. I can high light it, but it doesn't delete with the delete button. I can high light it, but it doesn't change anything in system preferences banner to edit, view, etc....to remove it either. It won't click & drag to trash.
    Being very careful because I don't want to delete the file and by error delete it totally off the computer. I could creat a new file with only 1 photo in it for use as the desktop background. Then try to choose that file. However, since the last big OS-X update it's been doing this. Everytime I choose a file or photo it's adding the entire file not just the 1 photo. And Iv managed to add 3 files so far to that list.
    Any ideas? Thx, Mike

  • How to change desktop background in AppleScript in 10.7?

    I'm just now upgrading from 10.6 to 10.7, and I'm having trouble with a script that I wrote that worked fine under 10.6.  In part, it executes the following command:
         osascript -e "tell application \"Finder\" to set destop picture to POSIX file \"<path>\""
    to change the desktop background image to one of two different files based on other conditions.
    In 10.7, this command completes with no error code, but it only changes the background of one of my four desktops.  Is there a way to programmatically change the background image of all of my desktops simultaneously?  Failing that, is there a way to a) find out how many desktops I have and b) loop through them, setting each of their backgrounds in turn?
    I did search the web and found the following suggestion:
         osascript -e "tell application \"System Events\" to set picture of every desktop to \"<path>\""
    Unfortunately, that also changes only the current desktop's picture.
    The larger script is in Perl, so I'd prefer a technology that works well with that language, but if I have to change to a different scripting language, that's not the end of the world.
    Thanks much for any suggestions!
    Richard

    Actually, “repeat with k from 18 to (18 + N - 1)” was not a good idea, since it works only with N < 5, as I discovered after posting the script.
    So here's an improved version of the previous script that should work with any number of desktops:
    set theFile to POSIX file "/Library/Desktop Pictures/Isles.jpg" -- just an example
    -- Find out how many desktops you have:
    tell application "System Preferences"
        reveal anchor "shortcutsTab" of pane id "com.apple.preference.keyboard"
        tell application "System Events" to tell window "Keyboard" of process "System Preferences"
            set N to count (UI elements of rows of outline 1 of scroll area 2 of splitter group 1 of tab group 1 whose name begins with "Switch to Desktop")
        end tell
        quit
    end tell
    -- Loop through the desktops, setting each of their backgrounds in turn:
    tell application "System Events" to key code 18 using {control down} -- Desktop 1
    tell application "Finder" to set desktop picture to theFile
    repeat (N - 1) times
        delay 1
        tell application "System Events" to key code 124 using {control down} -- ⌘→
        delay 1
        tell application "Finder" to set desktop picture to theFile
    end repeat

  • I have an older Macbook pro with a dvi output and I want to watch movies on my tv. I have a dvi to hdmi cable but the only image I get on my TV is my desktop background. None of my movie players with appear on the TV screen. What am I doing wrong?

    I have an older Macbook pro with a dvi output and I want to watch movies on my tv. I have a dvi to hdmi cable but the only image I get on my TV is my desktop background. None of my movie players with appear on the TV screen. What am I doing wrong?

    Hi Maryan,
    Open System Preferences > Displays > select the window for you external monitor > click on the Arrangement tab and check the box next to Mirror Displays. It may be slightly different in Lion, but the idea is the same.

  • Windows 7 Desktop goes Black after a period of inactivity and the user accesses their machine again

    Hi There,
    Wonder if someone can offer some help to an unusual problem?
    Users have Windows 7 machines which all have a desktop background theme...Blue with a company Logo.
    User will go for lunch and leave their position, after a period of time screen saver and/or powersaver kicks in...all normal at this point.
    After an hour they come back to their machine and they move the mouse/tap a key and bring the machine back to life (excuse my terminology :) ) and the desktop has gone from the default theme to a black desktop...Icons/Applications will behave fine.
    The temporary workaround is:
    1. Log off and on windows to restore the desktop back to normal.
    or...
    2. I do a restart of the service "Desktop window Manager Session Manager" which puts the desktop back to normal as well.
    Has anyone seen this and worked a way how to do a permanent fix....have struggled on Google as all answers i find are around screen savers which IS NOT the problem.
    Cheers,
    Steve

    Hi Brenton,
    First of all thanks for your quick response.
    I forgot to mention these are machines we maintain on a customer site and I am planning a visit there soon so will be looking at some of the options you mention and then post a fuller report back for you.
    In the meantime...
    Re 1 we may actually be able to consider not going to "sleep" as this is a 24/7 operation environment so would not be a big deal to do that so may try that on my site visit.
    Re 2 we do have a master build IF we need to re-build/re-image...its a fairly locked down completed environment so new machines/rebuilds wont happen often. Just for info we re-did our build from scratch very carefully.
    On site going to check the Firmware updates as you quite rightfully mention could be out-of-date and benefit from an update. We last updated them about October/November last Lear.
    I have just remembered that sometimes the users resolve the issue by using the mouse and dragging an empty box around the screen and this restores the desktop colour etc...very strange one!!
    Cheers,
    Steve

  • Can't set smart album pictures as desktop backgrounds.

    i have imported 'without copying to library' a whole bunch of pics into iphoto and have created smart albums. now i went to 'change desktop background' by control clicking on the desktop and am selecting a pictures from one of the smart albums but its only displaying a blue background. this is true for all smart albums and normals ones as well. when i select an image from the other folders they work fine. what could be the reason?
    the primary reason of importing stuff to iphoto was so that they are easily available across applications.

    simport
    Do you know of any reason why the Desktop pref pane should not be able to use photos in a "referenced" iphoto library
    It's just the nature of the beast.
    but I just don't trust it enough to do what it will with my photos by having them stored in the iPhoto library.
    What are you afraid of?
    When you import a pic into iPhoto in the default Managed mode all it does is make a byte by byte copy of the pic. Nothing else. It's an exact copy. It makes no alterations, adds nothing, removes nothing.
    The pic is stored in the Finder. Yes, it's in a Unix Style Package file, but apart from all the ways to access your pics I'll describe in a moment, if you want to look inside the package you can do so at any time: Simply right click on the iPhoto Library and select 'Show Package Contents' from the resulting menu. A Finder window will open and you'll see the Library inside.
    There are various files, which are the Library itself and some ancillary files. Then you have three core folders
    Originals are the photos as they were downloaded from your camera or scanner. (As your Library is referenced the files will be aliases rather than the actual files.
    (ii) Modified contains edited pics, shots that you have cropped, rotated or changed in any way.
    (iii) Data holds the thumbnails the the app needs to show you the photos in the iPhoto Window.
    Remember: iPhoto depends on the structure as well as the contents of this folder. Moving things, renaming things or otherwise making changes will prevent iPhoto from working and could even cause you to damage or lose your photos.
    Running a referenced library has a number of pitfalls - apart from the fact that System Preferences cannot use the files.
    1. Import and deleting pics are more complex procedures
    2. You cannot move or rename the files on your system or iPhoto will lose track of them on systems prior to 10.5 and iPhoto 08. Even with the later versions issues can still arise if you move the referenced files to new volumes or between volumes.
    3. Most importantly, migrating to a new disk or computer can be much more complex.
    Always allowing for personal preference, I've yet to see a good reason to run iPhoto in referenced mode unless you're using two photo organisers.
    If disk space is an issue, you can run an entire iPhoto Library from an external disk:
    1. Quit iPhoto
    2. Copy the iPhoto Library as an entity from your Pictures Folder to the External Disk.
    3. Hold down the option (or alt) key while launching iPhoto. From the resulting menu select 'Choose Library' and navigate to the new location. From that point on this will be the default location of your library.
    4. Test the library and when you're sure all is well, trash the one on your internal HD to free up space.
    If you're concerned about accessing the files, there are many, many ways to access your files in iPhoto:
    For 10.5 users: You can use any Open / Attach / Browse dialogue. On the left there's a Media heading, your pics can be accessed there. Apple-Click for selecting multiple pics.
    Uploaded with plasq's Skitch!
    To upload to a site that does not have an iPhoto Export Plug-in the recommended way is to Select the Pic in the iPhoto Window and go File -> Export and export the pic to the desktop, then upload from there. After the upload you can trash the pic on the desktop. It's only a copy and your original is safe in iPhoto.
    This is also true for emailing with Web-based services. If you're using Gmail you can use iPhoto2GMail
    If you use Apple's Mail, Entourage, AOL or Eudora you can email from within iPhoto.
    If you use a Cocoa-based Browser such as Safari, you can drag the pics from the iPhoto Window to the Attach window in the browser.
    Or, if you want to access the files with iPhoto not running, then create a Media Browser using Automator (takes about 10 seconds) or use THIS
    Other options include:
    1. *Drag and Drop*: Drag a photo from the iPhoto Window to the desktop, there iPhoto will make a full-sized copy of the pic.
    2. *File -> Export*: Select the files in the iPhoto Window and go File -> Export. The dialogue will give you various options, including altering the format, naming the files and changing the size. Again, producing a copy.
    3. *Show File*: Right- (or Control-) Click on a pic and in the resulting dialogue choose 'Show File'. A Finder window will pop open with the file already selected.
    Your choice, obviously, but best to be aware of all the ramifications. By all means post back if you require more info.
    You can set Photoshop (or any image editor) as an external editor in iPhoto. (Preferences -> General -> Edit Photo: Choose from the Drop Down Menu.) This way, when you double click a pic to edit in iPhoto it will open automatically in Photoshop or your Image Editor, and when you save it it's sent back to iPhoto automatically. This is the only way that edits made in another application will be displayed in iPhoto.
    Other information that may offer comfort:
    Events in the iPhoto Window correspond exactly with the Folders in the Originals Folder in the iPhoto Library package file (Right click on it in the Pictures Folder -> Show Package Contents).
    You can move photos between Events, you can rename Events, edit them, create them, as long as you do it via the iPhoto Window. Check out the Info Pane (wee 'i', lower left) the name and date fields are editable. Edit a Event Name using the Info Pane, the Event Folder in iPhoto Library/Originals will also have the new name.
    Mind you, I don't suggest that you change over in one go. I think the best thing to do is create a new Library (Hold down the option (or alt) key key and launch iPhoto. From the resulting menu select 'Create Library') and set it as a Managed Library. Import 50 or 100 pics an explore it, see how it works and see if that does anything for your confidence.
    Regards
    TD

  • Only seeing desktop background on LG TV from iMac

    I connected my iMac via mini-DVI to VGA on my LG TV. When I choose the input on the LG, I am only seeing the desktop background but with no dock or windows. When I try to select the LG in Detect Displays in Preferences, nothing happens. What am I doing wrong?

    HI Emiko,
    By default Mac OS X uses an external display to extend the desktop. If you want to mirror the built in monitor you need to enable it.
    go to the menu bar
    click on the apple menu
    chose system preferences
    click on display
    click on the arrangement tab
    check "Video Mirroring"
    happy new year!

  • Desktop background disappears, Mission Control doesn't work correctly

    Sometimes it happens that my desktop background completely dissappears, and Mission Control stops working as well.
    It seems to happen when I open a new window in a fullscreen app (like Safari), and while it's opening I switch to another space.
    Whenever this happens, my desktop changes to the Dashboard background, and Mission Control doesn't show the other spaces anymore (but you can see active windows in your main space). I've added pictures below.
    I can still swipe between spaces, my dock still works and all apps still work in all spaces.
    Any way to fix this without rebooting? To avoid this happening (apart from me being more patient)?
    This is my desktop at the moment:
    And this is Mission Control:
    I am using: Macbook Pro 5,4
    OS X 10.7.1
    2,53 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
    4 GB 1067 MHz DDR3

    I am experiencing the same thing as most of us, exactly as explained by - Acid_Raccoon.
    UK-Max - This is not just a specific problem involving external screens. The dissappearing wallpaper, and loss of function of mission control (do not show spaces, but you can click in empty area where it should be located and it actually works as normal) occurs also when there is no
    external screen input involved - You have to restart computer for it to return to normal. As a matter of fact, I am experiencing it right now for the 10th time in 1 week period, and it´s quite annoying. I would guess more than just a few people are experiencing this, and as postmechanical mentioned about having a brand new computer - this shouldn´t occur, and if so should get a fix immediately.
    Over time, I have experiencing other system problems produced from installing OS lion. Sure it deliver a few smart, and smooth features, but since more and more bugs are discovered (and not fixed by apple), I am considering returning to snow leopard. For instance, sometimes when my computer goes into screensaver, it can shift to a picture of pixels (black&white) in 4:3 screen ration. This has never occurred before installing Lion. Another thing which is extremely annoying is that since installing lion, my computer refuses to go to sleep when I close my lid. Nothing happens, and it just stays on. I have to manually select in apple-menu to sleep.
    I really hope Apple take these notes people have mentioned in this forum (and others) seriously, and fix them. I really hope Apple show more custumer service-spirits, than Apple´s lack of hardware-quality. (I have owned 4 apple computers(1 powerbook G4, 1 macbook & 2 macbook pro), brand new, and 3 of them have experienced hardware-failure on more than one occasion in less than a year. The one that didnt required service was my powerbook G4 titanium, released in 2001, and kept going for 4 years straight without any problems.) (Actually, the last one experienced 3 times in-a-row mother-card failure). I only go for Apple´s products due to its smart and clean features (and seriously PC is not an alternative if you want to stay mentally healthy), but what I´ve been reading on multiple forums over the web, more than a few, experience occuring hardware problems with their Apple computer.
    I guess this is the result of Apple trying to push for higher revenues. If Apple keep go in the same directions as it has been doing in the last 4-5 years it will be its doom, and loose the customers that once caught the Apple-wave due to it´s innovative and personal aspect, but most important - it´s superiour quality it once had! Apple´s products is quite expensive, and thus should be combined with its smart and innovative system, along with lasting quality. But if $ revenue is the only thing that keep Apple going nowdays, and produce smart product that is meant to last for only 2-3 years maximum, it is deeply disturbing and the company will loose track of what stevie was initially producing - clean, smooth system (just works, no migraine), with everlasting quality far seen in PC-world. Apple - please consider !

Maybe you are looking for