Windows XP Home - Desktop Tab not responding

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coach17

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Hi All, This is my first post here. I am having a problem with my Desktop tab where you can change the wallpaper and have it streched or tiled. This is the only tab in that group of five that is not responding. Is there a solution to this?
Thanks for your help.
 
You are referring to Display in the Control Panel, correct?

Display Properties is accessed by right clicking on an open area of the desktop and selecting Properties:
deskto1.jpg


If the system Display Properties appears without the Desktop tab (Fig. 02) it's likely due to a Group Policy setting:
deskto2.jpg


To restore the Desktop tab:
  • Open Group Policy Editor by typing "gpedit.msc" in the Open: line of Run on the Start Menu.
    deskto3.jpg

  • Navigate to User Configuration | Administrative Templates | Windows Components | Windows Explorer
  • In the right pane, double click on Turn On Classic Shell
  • Set the radio button to Not Configured then click OK
See if that works for you.
 
Yes it is in the Display Panel. The Desktop tab is not missing, it is not responding when I click on it. All of the other tabs are working. I tried typing in gpedit.msc on the Run line but it says it cannot be found. I was doing a search for Windows Explorer folder but it is not coming up. Any Thoughts?
 
I tried all three of these and the Desktop Tab is still not responding. This is a reak mystery. Any other thoughts?
 
When I open up Display under Control Panel the Themes tab is the one it is showing. I have clicked on the desktop tab and it just sits there.
OK, While I was typing this it finally opened. What I discovered is that alot of my photos from My Pictures got into the list of available wallpapers. And since they are big files it must take awhile to load. So basically it is fixed. What I did see is that the usual wallpapers are missing from the list. Is there a way to resore those?
Thanks for all of your help.
 
It appears that quite a few of my photos are incorporated into the desktop tab. When I click browse the file type is backround files. Under the Windows folder where the usual wallpapers are I do not see my photos there. The usual wallpapers are in the Windows folder. How can I get my photos out of this list?
I appreciate all of your help.
 
Wallpaper files include My Pictures. If you do no want those images as choices for Wallpaper:

Right click on Start> Explore> My Pictures> click on right screen> File> New> Folder> name folder nowallpaper> drag images you don't want to be included in the Wallpaper to this folder.

Let me know how that works for you.
 
I am more than confused, now. I am dumbfounded. I have never, in over 20 years, seen any file from "My Pictures" show up as available for Desktop Wallpaper which I did not request to be available by right clicking it and asking that it be set as such. On my home computer, I have around 10,000 jpg's in "My Pictures" and sub-folders and not one of them has ever offered itself up for use as Wallpaper. It would be a big job trying to locate a specific file in that tiny little featureless dialog box that serves as the gateway to wallpaper selection, it would seem to me. Perhaps there is a file association switch that controls or allows this phenomenon; something that defines where "Background Files" are located.

Please let me know your thoughts.
 
What I am saying is that on any computer I have had including the one I am on now the desktob tab has never had My Pictures listed. I have a laptop and on the desktop tab the only item listed are the default wallpapers. The link you provided no help. I appreciate your help and I am sure I am not the only person this has happened to. Any other suggestions?
 
The display in the "Wallpaper" section is just a reflection that the file is in the "My Documents" folder. My Pictures is in My Documents.

But be consoled by this: the Wallpaper section will only hold 102 files! Actually, it's not "My Pictures" that's listed in Wallpaper- it's individual images from My Pictures.

I don't know what else to tell you! I've had some of my digitals in Wallpaper since I began with Widows XP!
 
You're welcome. I did a lengthy search for a magic fix but all the sites said consistently what I did and there wasn't a magic fix. Sorry.
 
I did a lot of searching also and found I am not the only one out there with this issue. Thanks again for your research. You never know what someone will find that I have missed.
 
Just thought I would update on the status. After a week of not changing anything I have discovered the desktop tab has gone back to the way it was originally. When I clicked on it, it opened up promply and the only files shown are the default windows wallpapers. There are no pictures from "My Pictures".
Almost everyone thought that "My Pictures" was tied into the desktop tab. I knew after many years of changing my desktop wallpaper I had never had that come up and now somehow it has been fixed.
 
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