Desktop Background not changed on Domain users

[plumpf]

hi

in our domain we change the desktop background every month. but on some machines its not updated. their desktop shows same old wallpaper. why ?

the wallpaper is changed through group policy.


all the machines are updated.
the machines are a mix of win 7 and 8 and 32 bit and 64 bit.

i have tried gpupdate /force but it also doesnt works.

 

[UsernameIssues]

Does it change if the computer is restarted?
Or maybe log off/on...

Do the users that have a problem with this have the UAC setting off?

 

[plumpf]

Does it change if the computer is restarted?
Or maybe log off/on...

Do the users that have a problem with this have the UAC setting off?

Logoff and restart were tried but no luck.

I think UAC is not turned off because every now and then I see it prompting f for tasks that need admin rights

 

[plumpf]

I have googled it alot and all that I found remotely relevant to this issue is that people get black wallpaper. And the resolution is a hot fix and that is almost a 2010 issue. However now is 2013 and all systems are running latest service packs and updates applied. So this solution is not of any use in my case.
Besides there is difference between this issue and the one the one that I am experiencing.

I am not getting black wallpaper rather my wallpaper is not updated on few machines.

 

[UsernameIssues]

You could try Process Monitor.

Compare the filtered events between a good computer and a problematic one.

 

[plumpf]

What events should i be looking for?

 

[UsernameIssues]

It depends on how you are pushing this info out.

Do you change the registry to point to a new file or do you overwrite an existing wallpaper file.

You could filter Process Manager to show activity dealing with that file and see if there are any errors.

 

[Gator]

Stupid question, but do the affected computers have the proper registry values for wallpaper?

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop > Wallpaper (String)

 

[UsernameIssues]

I don't know all of the ways/places to set a wallpaper image.

Can you check a computer that is working correctly and see if it has that registry entry?

 

[chev65]

hi

in our domain we change the desktop background every month. but on some machines its not updated. their desktop shows same old wallpaper. why ?

the wallpaper is changed through group policy.


all the machines are updated.
the machines are a mix of win 7 and 8 and 32 bit and 64 bit.

i have tried gpupdate /force but it also doesnt works.

There is of course a hotfix for this particular problem that you may be interested in.

The "Desktop Wallpaper" Group Policy setting is not applied in Windows 7 or in Windows Server 2008 R2

 

[plumpf]

Do I need this Hot fix even if my os is latest and updated along with all service packs?

And do i need to install it on client systems or on server I. E. Domain controllers?

 

[chev65]

Do I need this Hot fix even if my os is latest and updated along with all service packs?

And do i need to install it on client systems or on server I. E. Domain controllers?

Yes you need the hotfix even if you are updated. This is the exact fix for this particular problem.



To apply this hotfix, you must be running Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2. So it appears that this hotfix is required for both the client and the server that are having this problem.

It does mention this: Important Windows 7 hotfixes and Windows Server 2008 R2 hotfixes are included in the same packages. However, hotfixes on the Hotfix Request page are listed under both operating systems. To request the hotfix package that applies to one or both operating systems, select the hotfix that is listed under "Windows 7/Windows Server 2008 R2" on the page. Always refer to the "Applies To" section in articles to determine the actual operating system that each hotfix applies to.

 

[plumpf]

But this issue is also occurring on Windows 8. 1 machines as well... What about that?
I will try this Hot fix on Sunday and will report back

 

[chev65]

But this issue is also occurring on Windows 8. 1 machines as well... What about that?
I will try this Hot fix on Sunday and will report back

You never mentioned anything about Windows 8.1 but try this hotfix first and see if it works.

 

[plumpf]

But this issue is also occurring on Windows 8. 1 machines as well... What about that?
I will try this Hot fix on Sunday and will report back

You never mentioned anything about Windows 8.1 but try this hotfix first and see if it works.

I have tried to run this hotfix on my machine which is having windows 7 and i got an error that is incompatible or something of the same nature.

 

[chev65]

But this issue is also occurring on Windows 8. 1 machines as well... What about that?
I will try this Hot fix on Sunday and will report back

You never mentioned anything about Windows 8.1 but try this hotfix first and see if it works.

I have tried to run this hotfix on my machine which is having windows 7 and i got an error that is incompatible or something of the same nature.

No idea why a patch that is made for Windows 7 won't run on your system.

You could also tried the manual work around which is also listed on the page.

The "Desktop Wallpaper" Group Policy setting is not applied in Windows 7 or in Windows Server 2008 R2

Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 322756 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/322756/ ) How to back up and restore the registry in Windows.

To work around this issue, follow these steps to make a registry modification for all the domain users on the client computer that is running Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2:

1. Click Start
   
   in the Search programs and files box, type regedit.exe.
   
   
   
   
   If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password, or click Continue
2. Locate the following registry subkey:
   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop
3. Double-click the WALLPAPER registry entry. In the Value data box, type a value, such as c:\temp\wallpaper.jpg, and then click OK.

Note You can use Group Policy Preferences to apply this registry setting to multiple computers.

There are a couple more threads like this with possible solutions but really this is about it.

I have no way of testing this myself so I can only go by what shows up here.
http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/...r/1fece9d2-aab6-4717-9987-ea6f4b18ce6e?auth=1

 

[plumpf]

You never mentioned anything about Windows 8.1 but try this hotfix first and see if it works.

I have tried to run this hotfix on my machine which is having windows 7 and i got an error that is incompatible or something of the same nature.

No idea why a patch that is made for Windows 7 won't run on your system.

You could also tried the manual work around which is also listed on the page.

The "Desktop Wallpaper" Group Policy setting is not applied in Windows 7 or in Windows Server 2008 R2

Important This section, method, or task contains steps that tell you how to modify the registry. However, serious problems might occur if you modify the registry incorrectly. Therefore, make sure that you follow these steps carefully. For added protection, back up the registry before you modify it. Then, you can restore the registry if a problem occurs. For more information about how to back up and restore the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 322756 (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/322756/ ) How to back up and restore the registry in Windows.

To work around this issue, follow these steps to make a registry modification for all the domain users on the client computer that is running Windows 7 or Windows Server 2008 R2:

1. Click Start
   
   in the Search programs and files box, type regedit.exe.
   
   
   
   
   If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password, or click Continue
2. Locate the following registry subkey:
   HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop
3. Double-click the WALLPAPER registry entry. In the Value data box, type a value, such as c:\temp\wallpaper.jpg, and then click OK.

Note You can use Group Policy Preferences to apply this registry setting to multiple computers.

There are a couple more threads like this with possible solutions but really this is about it.

I have no way of testing this myself so I can only go by what shows up here.
http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/...r/1fece9d2-aab6-4717-9987-ea6f4b18ce6e?auth=1

Now this part is confusing

In the Value data box, type a value, such as c:\temp\wallpaper.jpg, and then click OK.

Ist it setting the wallpaper manually?


If i am doing it on client then why setting a wallpaper manually when i want the wallpaper that our servers want to apply through it.

 

[plumpf]

Bump

 

[chev65]

Bump

I'm pretty sure you create this key on the Server then deploy the key via Group Policy.

It's basically a manual work around. Obviously this is a last resort but this appears to be the only thing that fixes the problem.