How to Lock a Desktop Background in Vista

At times, especially when you share a Vista computer with a colleague at work or a family member at home, you may find your desktop background changed to a image you do not like. To rectify the situation, Windows allows you to go behind the scenes and lock the background image. It takes about five minutes to lock the background image in Vista.

Instructions

1. Hit the "Start" button in the lower left corner of your desktop.

2. Type "gpedit.msc" (without the quotes) in the search field that appears above the "Start" button.

3. Click "Local Computer Policy" in the left column. Expand the following folders: User Configuration, Administrative Templates, Desktop and Active Desktop.

4. Double-click "Active Desktop Wallpaper."

5. Hit the radio button next to "Enabled." Enter the path to the image you want locked as your desktop background. Hit the "OK" button.

References

• Microsoft Support: You Can Change the Desktop Wallpaper Setting