(Msg. 1) Posted: Thu Nov 02, 2006 11:00 am
Post subject: Weird problem with wallpaper in winnt 4.0 Archived from groups: microsoft>public>windowsnt>registry (more info?)
I have a weird problem with Windows NT 4.0 SP6a concerning the
Wallpaper(background). My normal Wallpaper is earth_wt.bmp which is
confirmined in the registry. A good number of times when I log in it
brings up winnt256.bmp instead on the screen. When I right click on an
open part of the screen & do a properties it shows the Wallpaper set
at earth_wt.bmp as it should.
Why would Windows bring up the wrong Wallpaper on the screen? Has
anyone ever had this happen to you?
(Msg. 2) Posted: Fri Nov 03, 2006 8:04 am
Post subject: Re: Weird problem with wallpaper in winnt 4.0 [Login to view extended thread Info.] Archived from groups: per prev. post (more info?)
Hi CrazyBob,
It's funny you should mention this problem - I was seriously thinking of
adding it to the 'known bugs and limitations' page at NT$Ref here:
I've seen this problem on a couple of machines I use, but was waiting to
see if anybody else independently found this problem to confirm it was
not just something I do wrong
What I have found is that it is timing related. I don't know the _exact_
mechanism, but I do know that if you 'rush' the machine at bootup (ie:
login immediately the logon prompt appears, and while the hard drive is
still rattling away, presumably still loading and starting 'automatic'
devices and services) the problem is FAR more likely to surface.
It appears the user profile is being loaded, because all the other
elements of the profile are present (desktop icons, menus etc..) but the
attempt to read and load the wallpaper fails for some reason. (too much
traffic through the disk I/O system at the time?)
The solution is simple: logoff and log back on again and it gets it
right the next time around
(Msg. 3) Posted: Fri Nov 03, 2006 8:04 am
Post subject: Re: Weird problem with wallpaper in winnt 4.0 [Login to view extended thread Info.] Archived from groups: per prev. post (more info?)
Calvin wrote:
> Hi CrazyBob,
>
> It's funny you should mention this problem - I was seriously thinking of
> adding it to the 'known bugs and limitations' page at NT$Ref here:
>
> http://nt4ref.zcm.com.au/bugs.htm >
> I've seen this problem on a couple of machines I use, but was waiting to
> see if anybody else independently found this problem to confirm it was
> not just something I do wrong >
> What I have found is that it is timing related. I don't know the _exact_
> mechanism, but I do know that if you 'rush' the machine at bootup (ie:
> login immediately the logon prompt appears, and while the hard drive is
> still rattling away, presumably still loading and starting 'automatic'
> devices and services) the problem is FAR more likely to surface.
>
> It appears the user profile is being loaded, because all the other
> elements of the profile are present (desktop icons, menus etc..) but the
> attempt to read and load the wallpaper fails for some reason. (too much
> traffic through the disk I/O system at the time?)
>
> The solution is simple: logoff and log back on again and it gets it
> right the next time around
Make a batch file and execute it or run this at the RUN box or Command
Prompt and you should get the wallpaper without having to logout & login
again.
Maybe put the batch in the startup folder might work, but not sure based
on your observations the startup folder is probably processed before the
glitch happens.
(Msg. 4) Posted: Fri Nov 03, 2006 8:11 am
Post subject: Re: Weird problem with wallpaper in winnt 4.0 [Login to view extended thread Info.] Archived from groups: per prev. post (more info?)
PS:
1. Damn Shift key :-0 - that should be NT4Ref not NT$Ref - LOL
2. Other solution to problem, be a little patient at bootup, wait until
drive activity subsides, then logon - I've never seen the problem
happen this way.
3. Yet ANOTHER bug in Explorer.exe - I find it VERY interesting (and
highly supportive of my theory about bloat and instability) that the one
component of NT4 that is almost _directly_ inherited from the Win95/98
department is the component that is the biggest offender when it comes
to SILLY BUGS.
(Msg. 5) Posted: Fri Nov 03, 2006 9:55 am
Post subject: Re: Weird problem with wallpaper in winnt 4.0 [Login to view extended thread Info.] Archived from groups: per prev. post (more info?)
John John wrote:
> Make a batch file and execute it or run this at the RUN box or Command
> Prompt and you should get the wallpaper without having to logout & login
> again.
>
> RunDll32.exe USER32.DLL,UpdatePerUserSystemParameters ,1 ,True
>
> Maybe put the batch in the startup folder might work, but not sure based
> on your observations the startup folder is probably processed before the
> glitch happens.
Hi John,
Thanks for the suggestion. Where did you get the syntax of the RUNDLL32
call to do this ? Could be useful info there
I think the simple solution is actually 'to have a little patience' - if
you let the machine settle before you login the problem NEVER happens
here - I'm only talking about waiting 20 or so seconds here, so it's no
biggy
I'm used to turning the machine on and walking away for a few minutes
anyway - the full BIOS POST test for 512MB of RAM takes nearly 3 minutes
to run here. I know I could switch to the 'fast' test (which basically
does nothing more than 'size' the memory installed) but after having had
a Win2k box keel over spectacularly because of a RAM error that the
'quick' test failed to find, I'm happy to wait and know I have a system
with at least half-way decent testing of the RAM done first.
(Msg. 6) Posted: Fri Nov 03, 2006 9:55 am
Post subject: Re: Weird problem with wallpaper in winnt 4.0 [Login to view extended thread Info.] Archived from groups: per prev. post (more info?)
Calvin wrote:
> John John wrote:
>
>> Make a batch file and execute it or run this at the RUN box or Command
>> Prompt and you should get the wallpaper without having to logout &
>> login again.
>>
>> RunDll32.exe USER32.DLL,UpdatePerUserSystemParameters ,1 ,True
>>
>> Maybe put the batch in the startup folder might work, but not sure
>> based on your observations the startup folder is probably processed
>> before the glitch happens.
>
>
> Hi John,
>
> Thanks for the suggestion. Where did you get the syntax of the RUNDLL32
> call to do this ? Could be useful info there
Someone on another group was writing a little program to automatically
change wallpaper on their desktop at different time intervals. The
program was changing the wallpaper file in the HKCU registry key but
they couldn't get the wallpaper to change without a restart so they
asked for help. In my search for a solution I came upon this:
> I think the simple solution is actually 'to have a little patience' - if
> you let the machine settle before you login the problem NEVER happens
> here - I'm only talking about waiting 20 or so seconds here, so it's no
> biggy
Another thing I am wondering with the problem at hand is; where is the
wallpaper file located? Is it in the winnt folder with the other winnt
and winnt256 bitmaps? Maybe the timing issue you observe might happen
if the files are in another folder?
(Msg. 7) Posted: Fri Nov 03, 2006 1:05 pm
Post subject: Re: Weird problem with wallpaper in winnt 4.0 [Login to view extended thread Info.] Archived from groups: per prev. post (more info?)
John John wrote:
> Someone on another group was writing a little program to automatically
> change wallpaper on their desktop at different time intervals. The
> program was changing the wallpaper file in the HKCU registry key but
> they couldn't get the wallpaper to change without a restart so they
> asked for help. In my search for a solution I came upon this:
>
> http://www.mail-archive.com/wine-devel@winehq.com/msg20786.html >
> and Dave Patrick gave us this one:
>
> http://support.microsoft.com/dllhelp/?fid=204559&l=55&det=1
Thanks for the links, will check it out !
> Another thing I am wondering with the problem at hand is; where is the
> wallpaper file located? Is it in the winnt folder with the other winnt
> and winnt256 bitmaps? Maybe the timing issue you observe might happen
> if the files are in another folder?
VERY good point - in my case YES, the wallpaper files are actually
located in a folder called (funilly enough) 'd:\wallpape.r\' (the style
allows the name to fit the 8.3 naming convention)
It may be that this problem only surfaces with the wallpaper in a folder
other than 'd:\winnt' - maybe CrazyBob can shed some light on this point
(Msg. 8) Posted: Fri Nov 03, 2006 1:05 pm
Post subject: Re: Weird problem with wallpaper in winnt 4.0 [Login to view extended thread Info.] Archived from groups: per prev. post (more info?)
Calvin <nospam.RemoveThis@spamcop.net> wrote:
>John John wrote:
>
>> Someone on another group was writing a little program to automatically
>> change wallpaper on their desktop at different time intervals. The
>> program was changing the wallpaper file in the HKCU registry key but
>> they couldn't get the wallpaper to change without a restart so they
>> asked for help. In my search for a solution I came upon this:
>>
>> http://www.mail-archive.com/wine-devel@winehq.com/msg20786.html >>
>> and Dave Patrick gave us this one:
>>
>> http://support.microsoft.com/dllhelp/?fid=204559&l=55&det=1 >
>Thanks for the links, will check it out !
>
>> Another thing I am wondering with the problem at hand is; where is the
>> wallpaper file located? Is it in the winnt folder with the other winnt
>> and winnt256 bitmaps? Maybe the timing issue you observe might happen
>> if the files are in another folder?
>
>VERY good point - in my case YES, the wallpaper files are actually
>located in a folder called (funilly enough) 'd:\wallpape.r\' (the style
>allows the name to fit the 8.3 naming convention)
>
>It may be that this problem only surfaces with the wallpaper in a folder
>other than 'd:\winnt' - maybe CrazyBob can shed some light on this point >
>Calvin.
All times are: Eastern Time (US & Canada) (change) Goto page 1, 2
Page 1 of 2
You can post new topics in this forum You can reply to topics in this forum You can edit your posts in this forum You can delete your posts in this forum You can vote in polls in this forum
Home
Forums
Home
FAQ
Profile
Private Messages
Log in
Windows Other