System Restore Does Not Restore Your Wallpaper or Background (281842)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
  • Microsoft Windows XP Professional
This article was previously published under Q281842

SYMPTOMS

After you click the Restore my computer to an earlier time option in the System Restore utility, the wallpaper setting is not restored to the previous setting.

CAUSE

This behavior occurs because the image that is displayed on the desktop is a common image file and therefore is not restored by System Restore. System Restore does not restore common image files because their restoration might compromise the security of personal data that is stored on the computer.

STATUS

This behavior is by design.

MORE INFORMATION

Based on the files extensions, System Restore monitors a specific group of files. As an example, changes to files that have a .dll extension are monitored so that they can be restored. Files with .dll extensions are commonly recognized as program files.

Other files are explicitly ignored based on their file extensions. For example, files with a .doc extension are ignored to prevent a System Restore procedure from overwriting files that you may have updated between restore points. Microsoft Word uses .doc files to store documents that you create.

A complete list of files that System Restore monitors is contained in Extensible Markup Language (XML) format in the following file:

Windir\System32\Restore\Filelist.xml

Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:1/15/2006
Keywords:kbenv kbnofix kbprb KB281842
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