Enable active desktop windows xp regedit

One tool sorely lacking in previous versions of Microsoft Windows was remote registry support. Since the registry does so much in Windows, it would be great to have control of it when a user needs help. For IT support pros looking to decrease wasteful walking or traveling time, Windows XP Professional offers an option that allows you to tweak a user's registry remotely.

Standard warning Working with the registry yours or theirs is risky business. Always make a backup copy before you begin making changes. Registry permissions While the process for accessing a remote user's registry is fairly straightforward, enabling or restricting access is a bit trickier. These problems might require that you reinstall the operating system.

Microsoft cannot guarantee that these problems can be solved. Modify the registry at your own risk. For Disable this registry entry is not present. For Disable this registry entry is not present. Regedit: Please perform the following steps: Please go to Pearl button Start and click on the Search programs and files For more information about the change from Start to Pearl button click here.

Type cmd, right click on cmd icon under the Programs and click on Run as administrator. CMD: Please perform the following steps: Please go to Pearl button Start and click on the Search programs and files For more information about the change from Start to Pearl button click here. In Group Policy Editor, go to. Locate a setting named "Prevent Changing Wallpaper". Double click to open it. Select Enable and click OK. Type "regedit" without quotes and press Enter.

Navigate to the following branch:. Please check if there is the value: NoChangingWallPaper. If so, please double click it and then change its value to 1. For your reference, you can also copy the following content to a Text Document, and then save it as an Reg file such as NoChangingWallPaper. Then we can double click the reg file to import the content to registry:.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5. Best Regards,. This is the method we eventually took, enabling the active desktop and then giving it a fake path for the background. For our lab if we chose the bliss.

So in the defining path to use the bliss. Not a pretty solution but noone has succeessfully changed the desktop to date now, so that part is good. This does not work, even though in gpedit. Back to square one. Is there a way to prevent users changing the desktop background?

Based on my test, the above group policy will disable the "Set as Background" option in IE, and also the related options in the Desktop Properties. You can try the following steps to disable it:. Type in the following command and press Enter:. Open "My Pictures" to test again. To restore changes, run "regsvr32 shimgvw. If Windows Picture and Fax Viewer is disabled, you may need to configure other program such as Paint or IE as the default picture program.

Thanks for Paradox's sharing! This configuration can also be found from the following group policy:. Thus the Desktop may seems a little ugly. Type in gpedit. In the right panel, double click 'Active Desktop Wallpaper' to open it.