I have XP Pro on a laptop. I plugged in an external monitor and did some
work with it, also changing the resolution of my laptop screen while
doing it.

I unplugged the monitor. I admit that I do NOT remember whether I
returned to sending back only to the laptop screen.

In any case, all of a sudden my desktop background got completely messed
up. I'm talking about the thing you set when you right-click on the
desktop, then the Desktop tab.

I can set the background in the little window there, but nothing happens
on the screen. It's a dark background, period.

Somebody know how to "un-break" this?

Thanks,

John

An ideal case for System Restore, John!

John Favaro wrote:
> I have XP Pro on a laptop. I plugged in an external monitor and did some
> work with it, also changing the resolution of my laptop screen while
> doing it.
>
> I unplugged the monitor. I admit that I do NOT remember whether I
> returned to sending back only to the laptop screen.
>
> In any case, all of a sudden my desktop background got completely messed
> up. I'm talking about the thing you set when you right-click on the
> desktop, then the Desktop tab.
>
> I can set the background in the little window there, but nothing happens
> on the screen. It's a dark background, period.
>
> Somebody know how to "un-break" this?
>
> Thanks,
>
> John

Hi John,
Open "Command Prompt" (on the Start Menu > Accessories) and copy
and paste this at the C:\> prompt then press [ENTER]

reg QUERY "HKCU\Control Panel\Desktop" /v Wallpaper

....and report back here with the reply.
--

Cheers, Tim Meddick, Peckham, London.



"John Favaro" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:%(E-Mail Removed)...
>I have XP Pro on a laptop. I plugged in an external monitor and did some
>work with it, also changing the resolution of my laptop screen while doing
>it.
>
> I unplugged the monitor. I admit that I do NOT remember whether I returned
> to sending back only to the laptop screen.
>
> In any case, all of a sudden my desktop background got completely messed
> up. I'm talking about the thing you set when you right-click on the
> desktop, then the Desktop tab.
>
> I can set the background in the little window there, but nothing happens
> on the screen. It's a dark background, period.
>
> Somebody know how to "un-break" this?
>
> Thanks,
>
> John
>

Tim Meddick wrote:
> Hi John,
> Open "Command Prompt" (on the Start Menu > Accessories) and copy
> and paste this at the C:\> prompt then press [ENTER]
>
> reg QUERY "HKCU\Control Panel\Desktop" /v Wallpaper
>
> ...and report back here with the reply.

Tim, I get this:


<my path down to:> ... \Local Settings\Application
Data\Microsoft\Wallpaper1.bmp

By the way, now things have changed again (!).

When I booted up this morning, I got a completely correct setup of
wallpaper with the last one I tried. That's already different from
before, where there was nothing.

BUT, it still doesn't really allow me to change it. Or: it does, but
nothing happens.

Odd. In any case, many thanks for helping out here!

John

Tim et al.,

After seeing, as I wrote below, that the system started up with the last
wallpaper I tried, I got a hunch, and decided to try a different
wallpaper (my original one), and change to that. Nothing happened, as
expected, BUT I shut down the laptop completely, and then rebooted it,
and lo and behold the original wallpaper was back, correct.

Now this *still* doesn't seem quite correct in the sense that I remember
you could change the wallpaper dynamically, but at this point I'm happy
just to have a working wallpaper!

Naturally, if you have any ideas about what might have been (or is
still) going on, I'd appreciate them.

And in any case, I do very much appreciate your willingness to help out.

John

John Favaro wrote:
>
>
> Tim Meddick wrote:
>> Hi John,
>> Open "Command Prompt" (on the Start Menu > Accessories)
>> and copy and paste this at the C:\> prompt then press [ENTER]
>>
>> reg QUERY "HKCU\Control Panel\Desktop" /v Wallpaper
>>
>> ...and report back here with the reply.
>
> Tim, I get this:
>
>
> <my path down to:> ... \Local Settings\Application
> Data\Microsoft\Wallpaper1.bmp
>
> By the way, now things have changed again (!).
>
> When I booted up this morning, I got a completely correct setup of
> wallpaper with the last one I tried. That's already different from
> before, where there was nothing.
>
> BUT, it still doesn't really allow me to change it. Or: it does, but
> nothing happens.
>
> Odd. In any case, many thanks for helping out here!
>
> John

Now, when hooking up the secondary monitor and using it as the extended
desktop, the wallpaper of the laptop migrates over to the second
monitor, positioned badly, and the laptop monitor has no wallpaper at all.

John Favaro wrote:
> Tim et al.,
>
> After seeing, as I wrote below, that the system started up with the last
> wallpaper I tried, I got a hunch, and decided to try a different
> wallpaper (my original one), and change to that. Nothing happened, as
> expected, BUT I shut down the laptop completely, and then rebooted it,
> and lo and behold the original wallpaper was back, correct.
>
> Now this *still* doesn't seem quite correct in the sense that I remember
> you could change the wallpaper dynamically, but at this point I'm happy
> just to have a working wallpaper!
>
> Naturally, if you have any ideas about what might have been (or is
> still) going on, I'd appreciate them.
>
> And in any case, I do very much appreciate your willingness to help out.
>
> John
>
> John Favaro wrote:
>>
>>
>> Tim Meddick wrote:
>>> Hi John,
>>> Open "Command Prompt" (on the Start Menu > Accessories)
>>> and copy and paste this at the C:\> prompt then press [ENTER]
>>>
>>> reg QUERY "HKCU\Control Panel\Desktop" /v Wallpaper
>>>
>>> ...and report back here with the reply.
>>
>> Tim, I get this:
>>
>>
>> <my path down to:> ... \Local Settings\Application
>> Data\Microsoft\Wallpaper1.bmp
>>
>> By the way, now things have changed again (!).
>>
>> When I booted up this morning, I got a completely correct setup of
>> wallpaper with the last one I tried. That's already different from
>> before, where there was nothing.
>>
>> BUT, it still doesn't really allow me to change it. Or: it does, but
>> nothing happens.
>>
>> Odd. In any case, many thanks for helping out here!
>>
>> John