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Posted By: telman3756497 Lost control of desktop. - 09/20/07 06:50 AM
I have a customer's Dell laptop running XP home. Someone messed with it and now there is a background picture on it that can't be changed. If I go to display properies, the Background settings are greyed out. I did the typical virus scan and spyware scan. Cleaned out all the temp files and cookies. Thats about the end of my vast knowledge about computers without getting in so deep I can't back out.
Any ideas?
Posted By: rustynails Re: Lost control of desktop. - 09/20/07 07:19 AM
start>run>gpedit.msc

admin temp>desktop>active desktop.

There you will find a policy regarding changing the wall paper.

Whats the picture?
Posted By: telman3756497 Re: Lost control of desktop. - 09/20/07 07:36 AM
Thanks for the help.
The picture is porn.
message - windows cannot find gpedit.msc.

start>run>(type in)gpedit.mdc
is that right?
Posted By: RobCalltrol Re: Lost control of desktop. - 09/20/07 08:42 AM
Try going back to a restore point?

Use the XP home installation disc to to a repair?

search the system for all image files, find the offending memeber, and delete it... at least the porn will be gone, though the system isn't 100% functional.
Posted By: Rover88 Re: Lost control of desktop. - 09/20/07 08:58 AM
You could also try the following, which has gotten me out of a jam:
1. Download/install latest spyware files (I always run both Spybot and Ad-Aware)
2. Boot to Safe Mode
3. Run each spyware program in succession

You may be surprised to find the number of problems discovered in Safe Mode that don't show up otherwise.
Posted By: rustynails Re: Lost control of desktop. - 09/20/07 04:16 PM
msc not mdc. with no (period)

gpedit.msc
Posted By: telman3756497 Re: Lost control of desktop. - 09/20/07 06:23 PM
Not having much luck. Can't find the picture on file and I can't use the gbedit tool. I'm going to try to get the installation disk.
Posted By: MooreTel Re: Lost control of desktop. - 09/20/07 07:30 PM
Wipe the hard drive & start anew....JUST KIDDING !

Download a program called "CCleaner". This is a free program that my CG told me about when my wife had problems. It works well & has solved many an issue.

Dave
Posted By: telman3756497 Re: Lost control of desktop. - 09/21/07 03:25 PM
I just tried Ccleaner but no luck. Running Spybot and Adaware in safe mode now. Customer is looking for the XP home installation disc disk.
Posted By: rustynails Re: Lost control of desktop. - 09/21/07 09:46 PM
Quote
Originally posted by telman3756497:

The picture is porn.
I love it when i listen to the bullshit excuses customers give me about PORN. They act as if it was an innocent mistake or virus; when in reality, if you end up with porn on your machine its because you where flirting with the wrong sites. End of story.

BTW - Try using Windows Defender. This is a windows product that really does an excellent job in cleaning up the registry.

https://www.microsoft.com/downloads...05A0D&displaylang=en&mg_id=10134

Must be at service pack2

~n

Also, the fact that the gpedit console is not being found leads me to believe that this machine is way beyond repair and desperately needs a reinstall.
Posted By: Z-man Re: Lost control of desktop. - 09/24/07 08:19 AM
make sure your an admin user as well. Sounds like the machine might be logged on with a restricted user account.
Posted By: techie4life Re: Lost control of desktop. - 11/06/07 10:48 PM
FYI, XP Home edition does not include a policy editor therefore you will not be able to run gpedit.msc. This is available to XP Pro only.

Double check the user account as Z-man has mentioned. Sounds like there has been a loss of privileges.
Posted By: SSPhone Re: Lost control of desktop. - 11/07/07 04:36 AM
techie
You may want to check the dates on post before digging them back up.
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