Desktop Tab missing from Display Properties

On Windows XP machines users are missing the "Desktop" tab from display properties which enables them to change wallpaper.

I can't find the GPO setting which is disabling this.

I have checked User Config>Admin Templates>Control Panel>Display
And there only two options: Display the Display Control Panel and Hide Settings tab which are both disabled.

Does anyone know what other setting might be disabling the Desktop tab from showing?

Try looking in:

User Config > Admin Templates > Desktop > Active Desktop

I have checked in there but still cant see any obvious settings as to what may be hiding this tab.

I have attached pics showing the AD config in these areas. If anyone knows the setting that effects this please let me know.

Attachment 16023
Attachment 16024
Attachment 16025

Have you got the ADM for XP downloaded and applied?

The location (in a local gpedit) is shown here, I think:

Attachment 16031

Thanks for your reply Tom.

However I am a bit confused. I am using a Windows 2008 R2 server which a Central Store with the ADMX/ADML files from here: Download Administrative Templates (ADMX) for Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7 from Official Microsoft Download Center for Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7 (along with ADMX/ADML files for Office 2010), which I was guessing would contain backward settings for Windows XP SP3.

The only download I could find was ADM files for Windows XP SP2 at: Download Group Policy ADM Files from Official Microsoft Download Center which I messed about with, but still could not find the setting shown in your screen shot.

Not sure what to try next. Have tried google'ing for Windows XP SP3 ADMX/ADML files but I can't find any.

run gpresult from a command prompt on the XP machine, then use GPMC to find the policy.

Sorry techsup1983 I do not understand what you mean. The setting in Toms screenshot are not showing in the group policies.

hacked from the XP RTM System.ADM file:

Code:

---

KEYNAME "Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System"
 
 POLICY !!CPL_Display_Disable   
      #if version >= 4
  SUPPORTED !!SUPPORTED_Win2k
  #endif
  EXPLAIN !!NoDispCpl_Help
  VALUENAME "NoDispCPL"
 END POLICY

---

If its not a Domain Group policy that is causing this then here is another thing to try.
The Desktop tab does not appear in the Display Properties dialog box in Windows XP

1.Open Group Policy Editor by typing "gpedit.msc" in the Open: line of Run on the Start Menu.
2.Navigate to User Configuration | Administrative Templates | Windows Components | Windows Explorer
3.In the right pane, double click on Turn On Classic Shell
4.Set the radio button to Not Configured then click OK

techsup1983 - I have just checked this and Classic Shell was already not configured.

VeryPC_Tom_M - I cant get this to load into the group policy though.

I fixed two errors by changing it to:

Code:

---

CLASS MACHINE
CATEGORY "Display"
KEYNAME "Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System"

POLICY !!CPL_Display_Disable
#if version >= 4
SUPPORTED !!SUPPORTED_Win2k
#endif
EXPLAIN !!NoDispCpl_Help
VALUENAME "NoDispCPL"
END POLICY

---

But am getting the attached error when I add it:

Attachment 16084

Just looking into this further I now know the registry key which is causing this problem. it is:

Code:

---

[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System]
"NoDispBackgroundPage"=dword:00000001

---

Changing this to 0 fixes the problem.

However I still do not know what GPO setting is adding this setting, and therefore how to stop it.

I am still looking for help on this, if anyone has any ideas please.

If it was me, here's what I'd be doing:
1. Taking local GPs out of the game - gpedit.msc, right click Local Group Policy, Properties, check both boxes, reboot - if that works, you know your problem is in LGP and if you're running GPO you don't need LGP.
2. Bring up a new machine, preferably from factory disks, attach to domain in OU with no policies, then add to OU with just computer policy (and gpupdate, reboot), check again, add to OU with computer AND user policy (i.e. production OU), gpupdate, reboot.

In step two, depending on where the setting flips you know what's tripping it. You should definitely be running GP Modelling against your site, computer and user to verify you know exactly how many GPOs are being applied - such as some idiot having configured the Default Domain Policy rather than leaving that well alone and applying solely bespoke GPOs.

One other thing tripped us up lately - we've been starting the use of MDT2012 for rollouts, but by default it seems to apply a Local Group Policy pack. Wouldn't affect your problem but definitely came as a surprise to us since it broke integration with SMB shares until we reversed it out - one to know if getting into MDT.

Oh, thought of something.

Being in a 2008 environment, your GP is ADMX. You can add ADM templates to a GPO *but* you are now managing two sets of templates within the Object not one. If a given GPO is managing Vista+ and XP, the Vista/7 boxen are managed with "administrative templates" but the XP ones by CLASSIC Administrative Templates (who should appear when you inject the ADMs). Personally I use separate GPOs and OUs for XP and Win6+ but that doesn't work for everyone :)

Thanks for the reply. I am pretty sure its a Server GPO applying to the usertype, as Administrator users can see the Desktop tab, but Office type users cannot.

I found this page:
NoDispBackgroundPage: Core Services

Which references the setting "Hide Desktop tab" as mentioned above, but this only applies to 2003/XP systems.

Of course 2008R2 only has Vista/7+ policies and seems to be missing this XP only policy.

Now the odd thing is when I added the standard "system.adm" ADM template for XP SP3 into a GPO, nothing appeared in Classic Administrative Templates for this.


I guess without going through each setting individually turning it off/on and logging off and on a machine, I am not going to find out what is causing it.

Only other idea I had was to create a reg edit to apply at user logon which changes the 1 to a 0 on this registry setting, although I would much rather get to the cause of it rather than doing that as a workaround fix.