Suddenly I can't create or change my desktop background using Control Panel|Display

Yes Charles to all 3 of your questions

Hello again, Charlesvar,
Yes I run dxdiag diagnosis; yes I examined Zander's suggestion, but I have had a mixture of *.bmp and *.jpg since I realized that jpg's worked just as readily as bmp's; and yes, even the very first wallpapers that came with WinXP are not displayed. This loss is all encompassing; there are no "survivors. "
These unexplained failures are the most frustrating of all, because they seem to elude cause,diagnosis and treatment. The WW II troops referred to unexpected problems as gremlins; the NASA gurus speak of "expecting the unexpected;" but at least to date the latter have really solved the Mars Expedition Rover glitches with great skill.
TTFN,
Scottdietert

 

Wallpaper Loss: a possible new "solution "

Good afternoon, Charlesvar, Zander, Newt, Johanna, and other readers,

Yesterday I stumbled onto MS Knowledge Base Article-315341 entitled "How to Perform an In-place upgrade (reinstallation) of Windows XP at the following location on the Web: http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=315341

It seems to me, after applying your suggestions and the continued absence of the wallpaper displayed in Desktop Tap|Background, that using the OS reinstallation described here may offer the best opportunity for background recovery???

Please advise to the solution use, problems (if any), and the choice of #315341 to restore this Win XP function.

Sincerely,
scottdietert

 

Go for it. Repair XP.

Just in case, do all important back ups, first. MOST of the time, everything is intact...but well... you never know...
Johanna

 

I'm with Johanna. Do the deed and let us know how it turns out for you.

 

Hi Scott,

To backup the warnings from Johanna's reference, one catch that confuses people: SKIP the first repair option (no "R" press) and just continue with your installation. After you accept the license by pressing F8, Setup searches for existing installations of Windows.

By following the onscreen instructions and pressing "R" at this point, your current installation will be repaired.

Regards - Charles

 

Slow Slog in MS K B A-315341

Hello again, Wise Ones,

Moving throught MS Knowledge Base Article 315341 and ready to locate the "backup copies of your registry files (in the %systemroot%\Repair folder)." Except that Start|Search and the snooper dog can't find the folder! I hand searched the Start|Run|regedit.exe pages without success.
So once again I need "a little help. "
Directions please to this hidden treasure!
Thanks in advance,

scottdietert

 

You need to make sure hidden files are showing.
W.E. > Tools> Folder Options > View Tab
tick "show hidden files & folders "
untick "hide protected operating system files "

Johanna
ps If I were you, I'd stick with the other link, and keep out of the MS KB

 

Johanna: Hidden/Protected files are visible, but....

Hello Johanna,
The hidden and protected files are now all visible, but you'll need to give me another hint as to where the "%systemroot%\Repair" folder resides. It still eludes my manual search as well as the Start|Search snooper dog engine.
Sorry,
scottdietert

 

Try c:\windows\repair or maybe c:\winnt\repair.

If your windows is installed to a drive other than c, substitute the proper drive letter for c.

 

Zander, Johanna, Newt and Charlesvar: MORE HELP PLEASE

Good afternoon, Staff and readers,
In spite of exposing the hidden and protected files and searching C:\windows\repair (I could not find C:\winnt on this pc) for the location of the Win XP registry backup files stated in MS KB Article 315341 to reside in the %systemroot%\Repair folder, I remain unable to find this folder.
If anyone out there knows what the folder is and where such registry backup files are located, please answer this Thread so I can complete the preliminary steps before reinstallation. This article specifically states: "Copy these registry backups to another location before you perform an in-place upgrade... "
I'm ready to reinstall, but am stalled at this point until the registry backups can be located.
Sincerely,
scottdietert

 

I don't know what to tell you. The %systemroot% thing is simply a variable that points to the folder that windows is installed to. The reason they use it instead of "windows" is because some people have windows installed to a different folder or maybe even a different drive than what would normally be considered standard. In any event, it means your windows folder. The repair folder should be a sub folder of your windows folder. Are you just using windows search tool to find it or have you also tried using windows explorer to locate the folder? You can't really rely on the windows search tool to find it. It can be hit and miss using it. It's not very reliable. If you haven't tried finding it using windows explorer, give it a try. If you don't know how to use it, post back. That's about all I can come up with. Sorry.

 

I think I now understand the term %systemroot%\Repair

Zander,
That paragraph was worth one million hard cash!
------------------------------------------------------------------------
The following is a list of the 13 files in my current Dell 4600 at this location:
C:\Windows\Repair

autoexec.nt--2KB
ds_sam--20KB
ntuser.dat--224KB

security--28KB
system.bak--3276KB
config.nt--3KB

ds_security--28KB
sam--20KB
setup.txt--200KB

default--224KB
ds_software--7992KB
secsetup--236KB

software--7992KB
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Are these files the Registry backup? You see I've always thought that I would find a %systemroot%\Repair folder with this specific name! Stupid or not this is my literal mind looking at the MS KB instructions. Not being an IT guru I was unable to translate this, pardon the expression, "gobbledy gook." If this list of files is the registry backup then I'm "home free." I must admit, tho, there is nothing in that list of 13 that tells me anything about the registry or its backup.

Waiting to hear your response,
scottdietert

 

Good! I was wondering if maybe you were misunderstanding.

No, not stupid, you just didn't know. There's a big difference. I would guess that most people wouldn't know what they were talking about.

If I were you I'd just copy the whole folder to another location. Then run the windows repair. To tell you the truth, the few windows installations I've repaired for others I've never bothered. I can't imagine why you'd ever want them back anyway. Once you run the repair the files that are in the folder will be replaced but I wouldn't think you'd ever want to replace them with the old ones after you reinstalled windows. Maybe call me stupid on that one. It's just my opinion. If you want to, it can't hurt to copy the folder just in case.

 

Yeah, Scott, I kinda got lost, too, trying to figure out why you would want to make a registry backup of an obviously "corrupt" registry. The only thing I'd back up would be important data files, my Windows Address Book (look for your WAB), maybe "My Favorites ", etc. During a Repair Install, they shouldn't be affected, but I have seen them mysteriously disappear, too, so I would do my personal backups before the Repair.

If you really want to save that Windows file, just burn it to a cd. I would forget it, and move on, but that's just my humble opinion. YMMV

Johanna

 

Thank you Johanna

Hello Johanna,
I was just trying to follow the MS KB V315341 advice on page 2, bullet 3 of their document that states: "Backup copies of your registry files (in the %systemroot%\Repair folder) are also replaced.... Copy these registry files to another location before you perform an in-place upgrade..." When I enter these highly guru-oriented pc "waters" in which I'm dinking around with my entire Windows operating system and following written instructions, I'm afraid not to follow the letter of the law. And of course the guru-speak of %systemroot%\Repair folder threw me for a complete loop!
But things are clear now, although I'm still uncertain whether to use the MS KB instructions or the Michael Stevens Tech set; certainly you and another source have made clear your preference for the MST instructions.
Once again, 2 ways to accomplish what should be the same thing creates uncertainty in the mind of the inexperienced.
You all have been very helpful and for everyone's help I'm deeply in debt.
Sincerely,
scottdietert

 

Hi,

I'm experiencing the same problem as Scott (on my mums computer, also XP Home) and it occurred suddenly for no apparent reason about 2 weeks ago. I can't think of anything I did, apart from install "Remotely Anywhere" (which has since been uninstalled, in favour of VNC) - anyway as i'm sure you know these are both remote administration progs. What I was thinking was - Remotely Anywhere has an option to disable desktop wallpaper at the server end - could this be relevant. How it does it, I've no idea - I'm not that familiar with XP as yet (my system's still running 98SE). But I've tried the reg file and every other suggestion in this thread (apart from repairing xp - which mumsy is loath to permit), including reinstalling and then updating video drivers - in short, it is driving me INSANE...so Scott, or anyone else for that matter - if youve resolved this issue, post it up here and put me out of my misery. Reinstall XP? It seems like such a piffling little thing...but i guess with xp its like a needle in a haystack. Unlike 98SE - now there's an operating system you can rely on (ahem)

Thanks

Porky

 

Reply to Porky

Hello Porky,
No I've not yet attempted the XP reinstall vs XP repair options, which sound similar to me. No good reason, except I'm insecure about messing around with the OS when the remainder of its functions work so well. I've also developed a slow to resolve head/chest viral "bug" that has dulled my mind and head.
So I read your post carefully hoping for a solution, but I guess you're stuck like I am; like my virus, the wallpaper disappearance is being slow in correcting itself.
Good luck,
scott

 

Hello Scott,

Well I e-mailed the "Remotely Anywhere" people and they sent told me to delete an extra registry value that had been added to disable the wallpaper. Whether this is a result of their program changing settings and not putting them back, or the result of some hackers puerile s.o.h. I really don't know. But I've run countless checks on the system and it APPEARS to be trojan-free. Anyway...

"...In the Windows registry delete the value 'wallpaper' in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\ControlPanel\Desktop

After this you should be able to set the wallpaper via the Control Panel. "

It's so darn simple isn't it. Hopefully it'll solve your problem too. If not, best of luck with the repair job

Porky

 

Glad your regedit worked

Hello Porky,
With great excitement I raced to open regedit, but when I reached My Computer|HK_Local_Machine|Software|Policies|Microsoft|Windows| ....I could only find the following 3 folders: 1.Installer, 2.IPSec, 3Safer. No Control Panel, and No Desktop; and of course no Wallpaper. Sounds as if this was just the result of your adventure with "Remotely Anywhere. "
Tonight I've started having a registry problem with my a portion of my Epson scanner software, so I will just have to "bite the bullet," I'm afraid.
Thanks for the update.
Take care,
scott

 

Results of Win XP Repair Install by michaelstevenstech.com

Hello Staff and Readers, including all who have helped me try to restore Desktop|Background aka Desktop|Wallpaper,

I followed michael stevens guidelines line by line and word by word with the SAME RESULTS, i.e., STILL NO WALLPAPER.
I ultimately decided against the "other approach," that is the MS KBA 315341 format, since several contributors felt that the michaelstevens was the better repair option. Can't see that any Win XP Home Edition functions are changed after repair; OS and program performance is neither better nor worse.
What now?
Sincerely,
scottdietert