Fixing the Active Desktop Recovery Problem

Fixing the Active Desktop Recovery Problem
Originally uploaded by 123flickr.

The "active desktop recovery feature that comes with Windows XP doesn't work - but - the solution is very simple.

During game play of Kenn's Adventures your system may shut down.

Upon restarting A message appeared on my desktop and all my theme settings were gone.

Unfortunately, if you click the "button"to restore the screen - you get a notice telling you that Internet Explorer cannot run the scripts on it's own application. Selecting yes to continue running scripts on the message box does NOT Work.

Close all files before trying this demo.
No files were damaged but open applications like notepads and graphic programs were closed without saving information.

Programs with auto retrieve and periodic saves like Open Office can restore any closed files

The solution is to right click on your desktop. Select properties. Select the themes tab. Pick a different theme from your list. Click apply. The desktop message page goes away. Reselect your
current theme. Click Apply. Wahlah!! you have your desktop back.

This image on this page shows the simplest way to recover the desktop since the built in fix does not work. It gives you an idea of what the problem would look like on your system.

This is a very rare problem. It occurred while testing the demo for Kenny's Adventures which is otherwise an excellent game outside of the fact that it shut down my computer.

More information can be found on the software demo that caused the problem at http://www.debraford123.com/debwebgames/reviews/review_kennysadventure.html