Just recently my "Changing desktop backgrounds" failed to work, I could only change backgrounds/themes to the ones already listed in the "Personalization" themes window.
It is due to some program download, Windows Update or a system setting that I had changed somehow and I have tried just about everything just short of doing another clean install of Windows 7.
This issue is when you go through "Control Panel/Appearance and Personalization/Change desktop background, select browse and choose from a saved background folder, always worked before.
1. Tried "System Restore", didn't help.
2. Ran SFC /scannow, nothing found.
3. Tried restoring system files from my backup, also didn't help.
4. Tried restoring the files from my Windows 7 disc, that too was a failure.
5. Checked "Event Viewer", nothing, didn't get any error messages to begin with, thought I'd check anyway.
6. Exported registry settings from Windows 8 Enterprise, anything having to do with "Slideshow, Personalization, Themes Manager and Themes" in HKCU, HKLM and HKU, then merged them in to Windows 7, all merged fine, but, didn't help.
I was about to re-install Windows, when I thought of this;
Go to your folder that contains your desktop backgrounds, I was only going to select one, just to see if it worked, but then I decided to "Select all" from the "Organize" drop down menu, then hover over any one of the pictures that are now all highlighted and "Right click" and select "Set as desktop background", the slideshow should change at that point.
Now, just go to "Change Theme" to save it.
This will work til I find the out why it stopped working in the first place and when I do find it, it'll be in the last place I look.
Hope this helps anyone else having this issue.
Don
It is due to some program download, Windows Update or a system setting that I had changed somehow and I have tried just about everything just short of doing another clean install of Windows 7.
This issue is when you go through "Control Panel/Appearance and Personalization/Change desktop background, select browse and choose from a saved background folder, always worked before.
1. Tried "System Restore", didn't help.
2. Ran SFC /scannow, nothing found.
3. Tried restoring system files from my backup, also didn't help.
4. Tried restoring the files from my Windows 7 disc, that too was a failure.
5. Checked "Event Viewer", nothing, didn't get any error messages to begin with, thought I'd check anyway.
6. Exported registry settings from Windows 8 Enterprise, anything having to do with "Slideshow, Personalization, Themes Manager and Themes" in HKCU, HKLM and HKU, then merged them in to Windows 7, all merged fine, but, didn't help.
I was about to re-install Windows, when I thought of this;
Go to your folder that contains your desktop backgrounds, I was only going to select one, just to see if it worked, but then I decided to "Select all" from the "Organize" drop down menu, then hover over any one of the pictures that are now all highlighted and "Right click" and select "Set as desktop background", the slideshow should change at that point.
Now, just go to "Change Theme" to save it.
This will work til I find the out why it stopped working in the first place and when I do find it, it'll be in the last place I look.
Hope this helps anyone else having this issue.
Don
