If I can't get my starfish back, can I have a pony?

November 8, 2006 6:52 AM

I seem to have covered up my desktop photo with a color - how can I uncover it or locate the desktop photo to reapply it?

I was happily using the Aquarium desktop (yes, I know, not very original) that comes with Windows XP Media Center Edition and while resetting my screen size in Properties last night, I inadvertently selected a desktop color which has replaced/covered up the photo. Vexingly, there is no "no color" option once you have selected a desktop color.

I have Googled and searched my hard drive pretty exhaustively - I thought it would be in the Windows Plus folder, and the i386 folder seemed another likely candidate because there were some Aquarium theme icons in there. But, no.

I don't seem to have the full version of Windows Plus, just the goodies Dell shipped with my laptop - is there a way to retrieve that photo without calling Dell with the lamest customer support request ever ("Hi, Dell? Can I have my starfish back?")? I am obviously much more attached to this photo than I thought.

posted by deliriouscool to Computers & Internet (7 answers total)

Try this:

Right click on your desktop. Select Properties. Go to the Desktop tab. Scroll through the items listed in the Background field box to find yoru starfish photo. If you have it on your hard drive, it should be the file name. If you found it online and set it as your desktop pattern from a website, select Firefox Wallpaper or Internet Wallpaper (something like that, depending on your browser). Click OK. Voila.

Otherwise, the easy way if you have the file is to open it from within Internet Explorer, right click on the picture, and select Set as Desktop Background.
posted by schnee at 7:26 AM on November 8, 2006

Oops. Sorry. Just saw that you already searched your hard drive for the photo. Ignore that last part of my answer.

Was it the starfish photo shown here?
posted by schnee at 7:29 AM on November 8, 2006

The long way around, which you may find to be worthwhile eventually, is to install an OS that doesn't suck as bad as MCE. I had problem after problem with a laptop, and I wish I had thought of my solution earlier.
posted by Mr. Gunn at 7:51 AM on November 8, 2006

You may have already done this, but have you tried selecting a different desktop theme and then switching back to the Aquarium one?
posted by ClarissaWAM at 7:51 AM on November 8, 2006

If it is the picture schnee links to then I've found it (on Limewire, FYI). It's only 800x600 though.
Uploaded here.
posted by ClarissaWAM at 8:00 AM on November 8, 2006

Response by poster: I did try choosing a new theme and switching back - I also tried looking for the Aquarium theme in Properties; it wasn't there. I think what I might have done was overwrite the original photo with (of all things) solid navy blue, which made the Aquarium theme stop working altogether. Since I have no interest in the theme itself (do I really need a treasure chest icon? No.), the picture ClarissaWAM links will do nicely. Thank you all for your help, and for not making more fun of my little fetish than was absolutely necessary - it's pretty snark-worthy.
posted by deliriouscool at 9:51 AM on November 8, 2006

The long way around, which you may find to be worthwhile eventually, is to install an OS that doesn't suck as bad as MCE.

That's a rather drastic solution to a problem with wallpaper. Most home PCs nowadays are sold with MCE and work just fine.
posted by smackfu at 11:26 AM on November 8, 2006