Cannot Change Windows 10 Desktop Background

I am unable to change my Windows 10 Desktop Background to anything except the default blue windows screen or a solid color. I have ensured Windows is activated, disabled changed background blocking in gpedit.msc, changed the windows background in regedit.exe and ensured I used the correct file path and nothing is working. Everytime I try to change the background it goes to a solid color. See videos below.

The problem: https://youtu.be/xPuxvI0-2Ek

Windows is activated: https://youtu.be/gNz6JxaOeYo

After gpedit.msc was changed: https://youtu.be/nasdPaDOJfk

After regedit.exe was changed: https://youtu.be/X07NmQc3IMA

Any other ideas. this is driving me crazy

So I ended up stumbling across a fix I believe. in the search bar type in msconfig and that will bring up a small box and at the top it will say «General, Boot, Services, Startup and Tools»

Under general select «Diagnostic Startup», then go to the Services tab and deselect all. Click Apply and then reboot.

After reboot you should be able to change your background to anything you want (At least I was able to)

I then went back to the search bar and typed msconfig to bring up the same box as before.

I then selected Normal Startup under the General tab and then went to the services tab and selected all the same boxes I had enabled before and rebooted again. After reboot I was able to change background again with all my same normal services and programs running without any issues.

Fix: Cannot Change Desktop Background In Windows 10

Last Updated on March 12, 2020 by admin 8 Comments

By default, changing desktop background or desktop wallpaper is easy in Windows 10. You can just right-click on any picture file and click Set as desktop background option to set it as desktop wallpaper. One can also navigate to Settings > Personalization > Background to choose a picture for the desktop background.

If you are unable to change the desktop background or set a new picture as the desktop background, you can easily enable changing desktop background by making appropriate changes to Group Policy or Registry.

If the personalization section of Settings is displaying “Some settings are managed by your organization” message, it’s likely because changing desktop background has been disabled in Group Policy or Registry.

The following are the three easy fixes to enable changing desktop background in Windows 10.

Fix 1 of 3

Check activation status of Windows 10

First of all, before checking anything else, please check your activation status of Windows 10 by following instructions in our how to check if your copy of Windows 10 is activated guide. So, if your copy of Windows 10 is not activated, you can’t change the desktop background via Settings. You can read more about it in our how to change Windows 10 wallpaper without activating it guide.

However, even if your copy is not activated, you should be able to set a picture as wallpaper by right-clicking on the picture and then clicking Set as desktop background option.

Fix 2 of 3

Enable changing wallpaper in Group Policy

Because Group Policy is available only in Pro and Enterprise editions, this method does not apply to Home edition. So, if you are on Home edition, please skip to the directions mentioned in Fix 3.

One can prevent you from changing the desktop background by enabling policies in Group Policy. Complete the given below directions to make sure that changing the desktop background is not disabled in Group Policy.

Step 1: Type Gpedit.msc in Start/taskbar search field. Press Enter key to open Group Policy Editor.

Step 2: Navigate to User Configuration > Administrative Templates > Control Panel > Personalization.

Step 3: On the right-side, look for the policy named Prevent changing desktop background, and double-click on the same to open its properties.

Step 4: Select Not Configured or Disabled to enable changing desktop background. Disable it if it’s enabled.

Fix 3 of 3

Enable changing wallpaper in Registry

Step 1: Open Registry Editor by typing Regedit in the Start/taskbar search box and then hitting Enter key. Click Yes button if you see the User Account Control prompt.

Step 2: In the Registry Editor, navigate to the following key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\ CurrentVersion\Policies\ActiveDesktop

Step 4: Double-click on NoChangingWallpaper value and set its value data to “0” to enable changing wallpaper in Windows 10.

I cannot change my desktop photo or theme windows 8 pro.

I installed windows 8 pro yesterday. When I try to change the picture or theme for the desktop it changes back to the stock photo by itself. I can’t seem to find a way to change the stock flower picture. I right click on the desktop and then choose personalize. I cannot make any changes from this screen. Help please.

Replies (14) 

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I understand the frustration you experience when you are unable to change the desktop theme.

The issue may occur because of third party applications.

Do you get any error messages?

I would suggest you to refer the methods mentioned below:

Method 1: Clean boot

When the computer is started in clean boot, non Microsoft programs will not be started and any interruption from them would be avoided.

Follow the steps mentioned below to perform clean boot:

a) Press the ‘Windows + R’ key on the keyboard.

b) In the ‘Run’ window type ’MSCONFIG’ and click ‘Ok’.

c) Click the ‘Boot’ tab and uncheck ‘Safe Boot’ option.

d) On the ‘General’ tab, click to select the option ‘Selective startup’, and then click to clear the option Load startup items check box.

e) On the ‘Services’ tab, click to select the ‘Hide all Microsoft services’ check box, and then click ‘Disable all’.

f) On the ‘StartUp’ tab, click ‘Open Task Manager’. In the Task Manager window under startup tab, right click on each startup item which are enabled and select ‘Disable’.

f) Click ‘OK’, and then click Restart.

Step 2: Enable half of the services

a. Follow steps 1a and 1b to start the System Configuration utility.

b. Click the Services tab, and then click to select the Hide all Microsoft services check box.

c. Click to select half of the check boxes in the Service list.

d. Click OK, and then click Restart.3

Step 3: Determine whether the problem returns.

If the problem still occurs, repeat step 1 and step 2. In step 2, click to clear half of the check boxes that you originally selected in the Service list.

If the problem does not occur, repeat step 1 and step 2. In step 2, select only half of the remaining check boxes that are cleared in the Service list. Repeat these steps until you have selected all the check boxes.

If only one service is selected in the Service list, and you still experience the problem, the selected service causes the problem. Go to step 6. If no service causes this problem, go to step 4.

Step 4: Enable half of the Startup items

If no startup item causes this problem, a Microsoft service most likely causes the problem. To determine which Microsoft service may be causing the problem, repeat step 1 and step 2 without selecting the Hide all Microsoft services check box in either step.

Step 5: Determine whether the problem returns

If the problem still occurs, repeat step 1 and step 4. In step 4, click to clear half of the check boxes that you originally selected in the Startup Item list.

If the problem does not occur, repeat step 1 and step 4. In step 4, select only half of the remaining check boxes that are cleared in the Startup Item list. Repeat these steps until you have selected all the check boxes.

If only one startup item is selected in the Startup Item list, and you still experience the problem, the startup item that is selected in the list is the service that is causing the problem. Go to step 6.

If no startup item causes this problem, a Microsoft service most likely causes the problem. To determine which Microsoft service may be causing the problem, repeat step 1 and step 2 without selecting the Hide all Microsoft services check box in either step.

Step 6: Resolve the problem.

After you determine the startup item or the service that causes the problem, contact the program manufacturer to determine whether the problem can be resolved. Or, run the System Configuration utility, and then click to clear the check box for the problem item.

Note: After you have finished troubleshooting, follow these steps to boot to normal startup.

a) Press the ‘Windows + R’ key on the keyboard.

b) In the ‘Run’ window type ’MSCONFIG’ and click ‘Ok’.

c) On the ‘General’ tab, click the ‘Normal Startup’ option, and then click ‘OK’.

d) When you are prompted to restart the computer, click ‘Restart’.

Method 2: SFC (System File Checker) scan

SFC scan will find any missing or incorrect system files and repairs them.

a. Right click at the left hand corner at the bottom in the desktop

b. Click Command prompt (Admin)

c. Type the command sfc /scannow and hit enter.

Hope this helps. If the issue persists, post back and I will be glad to help you.

Cannot change the screen resolution Windows 7’

OP: Can’t Locate Proper Fix To Windows7 Screen Size Enlarging

Good Morning, Windows 7 Community! —

I need assistance with my problem. I have an E-machines desktop Model W3629 which has the Intel Pentium 4 Processor featuring Hyper-Threading. Starting approximately 3-4 months ago, I began seeing a 200% screen icon enlargement, either when turning the computer on, or re-starting from «Sleep» or «Hibernate» modes. For awhile, re-booting worked, but starting yesterday this stopped completely. There doesn’t seen to be any so-called right-click on the monitor screen to fix this problem. My Yahoo! website page is now also displaying this 200% screen size. Both the computer monitor and Yahoo! are set to normal defaults — 96 DPI for the monitor and «Medium» for Yahoo!, but the problem persist. I’m now setting the monitor screen manually at 75% in order to get a resonable viewing experience. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks to all.

If you are unable to access the display properties, it appears to be a display driver issue.

You can try to install the latest drivers for your Display adapter and check if you have the same issue.

You can check out the below article that will give you information on how to update drivers:

If you already have the latest drivers installed for your display adapter, I suggest that you reinstall the drivers and check if you are able to change the screen resolution:

a. Click Start. In the Start Search box type «devmgmt.msc» and press Enter.

b. Expand «Display Adapters», double-click on the entry of the display adapters.

c. Click the tab «Driver», click «Uninstall».

d. Click Start. In the Start Search box type «appwiz.cpl» and press Enter.

e. Remove the entries related to the display adapter.

Then reinstall the driver with your driver CD that came with your computer.

Alternatively, you can try to uninstall the driver from the Device Manager, and then go to the computer or the device Manufactures website download the latest driver

NOTE: Don’t uninstall the drivers until you have the source to install the drivers back to your computer. Also create a system restore point before you uninstall the drivers.

You can also refer the below article that talks about ‘Change screen resolution’:

Thanks,
Irfan H, Microsoft Answers Support Engineer. Visit our Microsoft Answers Feedback Forum and let us know what you think.

Cannot change Windows Display language settings, and cannot remove English UK keyboard as a result

Hello! I would like to remove the English (UK) keyboard from the languages I have on the keyboard. However, it cannot be removed as it says «Windows display language (override). When I try to change the display language, the only language available is English (UK).

I’d ignore this, but my keyboard layout is in English (US), and I’m not willing to remove the English (US) keyboard because of that. Switching between languages using alt+shift is especially excruciating with English (UK) in there.

I don’t know what to do. I saw other questions on this site, but none helped me figure out a solution.

You should do following —

Right click on Windows Start > Windows Powershell (Admin)
Copy and paste below and Enter in Powershell

This will make other languages disappear. (In case, you want to add again or other languages, you can add again from language settings)

Disclaimer — This is a non-Microsoft website. The page appears to be providing accurate, safe information. Watch out for ads on the site that may advertise products frequently classified as a PUP (Potentially Unwanted Products). Thoroughly research any product advertised on the site before you decide to download and install it.

Best regards
Vijay A. Verma @ http://www.eforexcel.com/

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