Solved Windows 7 Starter Change desktop background

[Big Dan]

Hi Folks,

I picked up an Acer netbook for my sister, it's got Windows 7 Starter on it overall runs great there is just one problem that is there is no easy way to change the desktop background. I find that ridiculous to try and force people into buying Home Premium to change desktop background especially when they have no other use for HP's features.

I've read that the background file is hashed into a system file somewhere so you cannot just to a simple file replacement as a work around.

Are there any work arounds that I haven't heard of?

Thanks,
Dan

 

[Bulldog7]

Actually i have posted a small application to this thread previously, seem like it not working for some people out there....

I don't have a Starter Edition or is it a Windows 7 Restricted Edition to be precise...
I have done some searching and found this that might work, give it a try:

1. Click start and type regedit in the search box or run
2. Go to “HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\” folder and click on it
3. On the right hand side you will find a bunch of entries. Find the key named “Wallpaper” and double click on it and put the path of the picture you want as your new wallpaper (example path is “C:\Users\Big Dan\Pictures\new wallpaper.jpg”)
4. Right-click on the “Desktop” folder in left pane click Permissions.
5. Click “Advanced”
6. Go to “Owner” tab, highlight your name in the box that says ‘Change owner to’ ( There are only two choices the other is Administrator )… once your user name is highlighted click “OK”
7. Click on “Advanced” again
8. Uncheck the button that reads “Include inheritable permissions from the object’s parent”… click “Remove” when prompted
9. Click “Add”
10. Type “Everyone” and click “OK”
11. Check Allow “Read Control” and click “OK”
12. Click “OK” again
13. Highlight “Everyone” and check to Allow “Read” and click “OK”
14. Restart Computer


Hope it works for u...........

 

[Big Dan]

Thanks Bull Dog I'll give it a try later.

 

[prospekt]

I just tried this. DO NOT DO THIS!

I got an access denied error message when I restarted; my theme reverted to the original windows style; and I can't use any of the core features of 7 anymore. On top of that, I didn't back up the old registry files, so I can't change it back. I did it on my brand new inspiron mini
Help me! Can someone tell me the original configurations of those files, since I changed them and deleted the old ones? Please?

system restore did not work either..

Ok I fixed it. Created a new user account and deleted the old one. Everything's back as it was. In retrospect, I believe I skipped a step in this little How-to. So go ahead and try it; but back up everything of course.

 

[eryn]

Awesome! It totally works!- Thought I'd have to stare at that blue flag for the entire life my acer... Thanks so much Bulldog ^_^

 

[xViBeSz]

I think it'd be best for you if you reformatted into a fresh copy of Windows.

 

[sarah0890]

Actually i have posted a small application to this thread previously, seem like it not working for some people out there....

I don't have a Starter Edition or is it a Windows 7 Restricted Edition to be precise...
I have done some searching and found this that might work, give it a try:

1. Click start and type regedit in the search box or run
2. Go to “HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\” folder and click on it
3. On the right hand side you will find a bunch of entries. Find the key named “Wallpaper” and double click on it and put the path of the picture you want as your new wallpaper (example path is “C:\Users\Big Dan\Pictures\new wallpaper.jpg”)
4. Right-click on the “Desktop” folder in left pane click Permissions.
5. Click “Advanced”
6. Go to “Owner” tab, highlight your name in the box that says ‘Change owner to’ ( There are only two choices the other is Administrator )… once your user name is highlighted click “OK”
7. Click on “Advanced” again
8. Uncheck the button that reads “Include inheritable permissions from the object’s parent”… click “Remove” when prompted
9. Click “Add”
10. Type “Everyone” and click “OK”
11. Check Allow “Read Control” and click “OK”
12. Click “OK” again
13. Highlight “Everyone” and check to Allow “Read” and click “OK”
14. Restart Computer


Hope it works for u...........

heya just had a question for ya.. this worked great for me but my background pic is tiny.. is there anyway for me to get the pic to stretch across the whole screen.. let me know.. thanks so much..

 

[Brink]

Hello Sarah and others here,

There is a much easier way to change the desktop background in a Windows 7 Starter edition now.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/47294-desktop-background-change-windows-7-starter.html

Hope this helps,
Shawn

 

[alexdanielle96]

i tried to do the regenit thing for my friend, but now whenever they log on the screen just goes black and wont do anything. any ideas on how to fix it??

 

[dekopaxus]

Hi.

Thank you. Worked like a charm.

Thanks a million.

Below is the .reg entry.

Open Notepad copy the below and change the path.

Don't forget to Take Ownership of the file/folder of the wallpaper.

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop]

"Wallpaper"="C:\\Global_Wallpaper"

Enjoy

 

[rob1]

didn't work for me

i tried bulldog's way but the screen went black when i turned it back on but that might be because i could of typed the path to the photo in wrong and then it wouldn't let me repeat the process, it says error editing the values!
any suggestions?

 

[Brink]

Hello Rob,

There is a much easier and safer way to change the desktop background in a Windows 7 Starter edition now.

Desktop Background - Change in Windows 7 Starter

Hope this helps,
Shawn

 

[power5]

HELP!!

I tried this, only to reboot my brand new HP Mini and log on to a blank, black screen!!! :S All I see is a black screen and my cursor. I can't log on on a different account because I only have one, mine...

If you have any idea what I can do, please help me!!!

----------->I think I may have done the same thing as Rob1!!!! What do I do??

 

[Brink]

Hello Power5, and welcome to Seven Forums.

If you are referring to the Oceanis program, then double check through the items in the yelllow TIP box at the top of the tutorial below to see if either one of them may be the issue causing your solid black screen.

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/47294-desktop-background-change-windows-7-starter.html

Hope this helps,
Shawn

 

[registry mike]

Ok so it worked great but i had to make a slight modification that wasn't mentioned that will make the picture change work and not leave the black screen or return to the default...

1. Click start and type regedit in the search box or run
2. Go to “HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\” folder and click on it
3. On the right hand side you will find a bunch of entries. Find the key named “Wallpaper” and double click on it and put the path of the picture you want as your new wallpaper (example path is “C:\Users\Big Dan\Pictures\new wallpaper.jpg”)
4. Right-click on the “Desktop” folder in left pane click Permissions.
5. Click “Advanced”
6. Go to “Owner” tab, highlight your name in the box that says ‘Change owner to’ ( There are only two choices the other is Administrator )… once your user name is highlighted click “OK”
7. Click on “Advanced” again
8. Uncheck the button that reads “Include inheritable permissions from the object’s parent”… click “Remove” when prompted
9. Click “Add”
10. Type “Everyone” and click “OK”
11. Check Allow “Read Control” and click “OK”
12. Click “OK” again
13. {*important} Highlight “Everyone” and uncheck allow "full control" and check Allow “Read” and click “OK” this is what saves the background change. (in order to change the background again next time you'll have check the allow "full control" until you change the file path and then uncheck it again)
14. log off user log back on

When full control is allowed the system automatically trys to reset the desktop picture to the default picture. If the read box is not checked it only produces the black screen.

good luck!

 

[drmidi]

regedit worked for me in Win 7 Starter

Hi Bulldog7

Your regedit solution worked for me on my HP Mini Netbook w/ WIN7 Starter Edition. However, rather than link to another folder (which could could eventually change and thus render the desktop background or wallpaper missing), I decided to link this way on my machine. I found that the original registry value was linking to this file and directory path: %windir%\web\wallpaper\windows\img0.jpg.

Thats the same as: C:\Windows\Web\Wallpaper\Windows or,

> Computer > Local disk (C > Windows > Web > Wallpaper > WINDOWS

Thus, I chose a really nice image from a few sample photos from my hp cloud drive (a nice dark, redish shot of the Golden Gate Bridge) and copied that over to this windows folder, and then renamed it as img1.jpg. Then I changed the registry value to be img1 instead of img0, leaving the original image in that folder in case of a system restoration (which would still need that file!). In this way, nothing is lost and the new image is much better for viewing icons rather than the light blue background that Microsoft provided, mostly since most desktop shortcuts also have alot of blue and white in them... they tend to blend into the wallpaper, especially around that light hotspot towards the lefthand side.

Thank you for your solution. Worked quite well, at least, for me.

 

[annamin]

Ok so it worked great but i had to make a slight modification that wasn't mentioned that will make the picture change work and not leave the black screen or return to the default...

1. Click start and type regedit in the search box or run
2. Go to “HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\” folder and click on it
3. On the right hand side you will find a bunch of entries. Find the key named “Wallpaper” and double click on it and put the path of the picture you want as your new wallpaper (example path is “C:\Users\Big Dan\Pictures\new wallpaper.jpg”)
4. Right-click on the “Desktop” folder in left pane click Permissions.
5. Click “Advanced”
6. Go to “Owner” tab, highlight your name in the box that says ‘Change owner to’ ( There are only two choices the other is Administrator )… once your user name is highlighted click “OK”
7. Click on “Advanced” again
8. Uncheck the button that reads “Include inheritable permissions from the object’s parent”… click “Remove” when prompted
9. Click “Add”
10. Type “Everyone” and click “OK”
11. Check Allow “Read Control” and click “OK”
12. Click “OK” again
13. {*important} Highlight “Everyone” and uncheck allow "full control" and check Allow “Read” and click “OK” this is what saves the background change. (in order to change the background again next time you'll have check the allow "full control" until you change the file path and then uncheck it again)
14. log off user log back on

When full control is allowed the system automatically trys to reset the desktop picture to the default picture. If the read box is not checked it only produces the black screen.

good luck!

hi Registry Mike,
i have done all what you said, and when i logged on , i saw only a black screen. What can I do for resolve this problem?

please help

 

[derekimo]

Ok so it worked great but i had to make a slight modification that wasn't mentioned that will make the picture change work and not leave the black screen or return to the default...

1. Click start and type regedit in the search box or run
2. Go to “HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\” folder and click on it
3. On the right hand side you will find a bunch of entries. Find the key named “Wallpaper” and double click on it and put the path of the picture you want as your new wallpaper (example path is “C:\Users\Big Dan\Pictures\new wallpaper.jpg”)
4. Right-click on the “Desktop” folder in left pane click Permissions.
5. Click “Advanced”
6. Go to “Owner” tab, highlight your name in the box that says ‘Change owner to’ ( There are only two choices the other is Administrator )… once your user name is highlighted click “OK”
7. Click on “Advanced” again
8. Uncheck the button that reads “Include inheritable permissions from the object’s parent”… click “Remove” when prompted
9. Click “Add”
10. Type “Everyone” and click “OK”
11. Check Allow “Read Control” and click “OK”
12. Click “OK” again
13. {*important} Highlight “Everyone” and uncheck allow "full control" and check Allow “Read” and click “OK” this is what saves the background change. (in order to change the background again next time you'll have check the allow "full control" until you change the file path and then uncheck it again)
14. log off user log back on

When full control is allowed the system automatically trys to reset the desktop picture to the default picture. If the read box is not checked it only produces the black screen.

good luck!

hi Registry Mike,
i have done all what you said, and when i logged on , i saw only a black screen. What can I do for resolve this problem?

please help

Welcome to the forum,

As mentioned a few times in this thread, there is a much easier way to do this here,

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/47294-desktop-background-change-windows-7-starter.html

 

[annamin]

thank you for support Derekimo,
but i don't know what to do, my screen black and i cant do anything with my computer.

please help,
any suggestions?

 

[derekimo]

thank you for support Derekimo,
but i don't know what to do, my screen black and i cant do anything with my computer.

please help,
any suggestions?

Have a look at this "Tip" box,



Located on the top of the page here,

http://www.sevenforums.com/tutorials/47294-desktop-background-change-windows-7-starter.html

It specifically mentions help for your black background issue.