On the desktop of my W2k-SP4, icons now appear in dull shades. I was fiddling around with the Activicon software and made a change. The crisp coloring of the icons were then modified to dull. I can't seem to find the parameter I used which corresponds to the change. How can I get the original coloring back?

look up via help and support, off the start menu, system restore Give a person a fish, they eat for a day. Suggest they internet search and they learn a skill for a lifetime.

I usually try to avoid putting bandages on things, but sometimes that's what happens anyway. You might want to take a look at TweakUI - it's got a fix for what ails ya. TweakUI Install it, Click the "Repair" tab. Then click the pull-down to the left of the button "Repair Now" and choose the "Rebuild Icons" option. Then, click the "Repair Now" button. I love Humanity - It's the people I can't stand

Tweak UI didn't appear to work. Icons on desktop, on quick launch and on tray are still subdued. Those in the middle (corresponding to open windows) are okay. I didn't quite understand wanderer's suggestions.

I've used TweakUI in the past to fix icon problems, but I guess nothing surprises me with Windows anymore. I'm not quite sure what you mean by the icons "in the middle". Is it just your icons that aren't being displayed correctly and have you checked your display settings? Make sure they're set to display at least at least 16 bit color. And, of course, it never hurts to scan for viruses ... I love Humanity - It's the people I can't stand

Display is at 16 bits coloring and 1024x768 pixels. What I meant by the middle is the bottom of the screen between the Quick Launch Icons and the Tray Icons. They correspond to active windows. Even in the Control Panel, coloring of Icons is subdued. It comes from the tweaking I made with Activicon. And I don't know how to go back. Isn't there a cache for the icons where things can be reset?

I solved it. I went into Effects and ticked "Display icons using all available colors". The software I used must have unticked this item. Thanks for your suggestions