Cant change desktop or screen resolution?

Something went wrong with my Windows XP’s display properties. It is not allowing me to change the wallpaper. No matter the pre-loaded wallpapers or downloaded from web, it wont allow me to set any wallpaper as desktop background. There is yet another problem. I also cannot change the screen resolution any more. This everything were working fine until two weeks ago when I changed the wallpaper for the last time.

The only thing I can do is change the desktop color. That’s it. It wont allow me to change wallpaper or screen resolution. Even changing the theme wont makes any difference. Any help regarding this would be appreciated. Thank you.

This is probably due to some conflict in registry keys. You can fix it easily, not a big deal. But the steps to fix the same varies from XP version. Which XP are you using, Home, Pro, ect? Anyway, I am providing the solution for bot, carry out the steps according to your XP version.

If it is Windows XP Pro, follow these steps:

• Click Start > Run > Type ‘gpedit.msc’ and press Enter.
• Under User configuration > Click [Administrative Templates\Control Panel\Display\]
• Here you will find a value named as "Prevent changing wallpaper" . Change it to "Not Configured" and save.

If you are using other than XP Pro, then follow these steps:

• Click Start > Run > Type ‘gpedit.msc’ and press Enter.
• Navigate to the following key [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\ActiveDesktop]
• Double click the value named "NoChangingWallpaper" > Set it to 0
• Now go to the following key [HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\ActiveDesktop]
• Double click the value named "NoChangingWallpaper" > Set it to 0
• Save and exit.

That’s it. It should fix the problem. If you are not good in Registry editing then try out this automated fix. Simply download this .reg file and double click to run. Click Yes if prompted for permission.

probably the settings and options to change wallpaper may be missing or unavailable on a Windows XP-based computer: Just follow the steps from provided in the following MS KB for fixing the same: http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=921049