Microsoft has clearly stated that changing the desktop wallpaper in Windows 7 Starter Edition, the version that comes preinstalled on most new netbooks now, is NOT ALLOWED. I confirmed this by checking multiple sources (including Microsoft) and by checking it in person when Lovely Daughter brought me her new netbook complaining she couldn’t change the wallpaper.
It’s true, although why Me$$y$oft would do something like that that’s sure to irritate thousands of users is beyond me.
OK, so solution? Can’t just rename the file that’s used for the background and substitute one of your own. Nope. M$ has embedded a security hash in the theme dll to prevent that. So…
Stardock’s My Colors to the rescue. Seriously. Stardock’s Windows Blinds has been a powerful app for folks who want a LOT more control of the GUI than M$ seems to want folks to have, and it provides that power with a well thought out GUI of its own. My Colors is just a small subset of Window Blinds, but it does manage to give folks with Win7 Starter Edition a way to change their desktop background.
Just download and install one of the four FREE themes at the link and then run the app. It’ll change your entire Windows theme. You’ll then be able to select a background of your own choosing from within the app.
Voilà! Simple, effective and free. Lovely Daughter was able to change her background. Dad was once again the tech hero of the family. And M$ got a big fat raspberry. 🙂
BTW, HP is also offering a BUNCH of My Colors themes with some of its netbooks. Apparently all the HP Mini-110 models can download and use this.
BTW, in case anyone’s wondering, I’ve not installed Ubuntu 9.10 yet, for a variety of reasons. Mainly, I discovered after some reading that most of the bugs I was displeased with in the alphas and betas are still present. *sigh* That and an apparent 90% problem rate with upgrades. Oops. Bad Ubuntu! Bad!