I recently changed the wallpaper for my desktop. After the Windwows ME (splash?) screen, but before the desktop appears, the old wallpaper appears. After shutdown and the desktop goes away and the old wallpaper appears again. * How come changing wallpaper doesn't keep a consistent screen? * If I have a choice in changing startup and shutdown screens (or wallpaper or whatever you call it) sepaprate from the desktop, how do I do that? *Is there a way I can change desktop wallpaper and change startup/desktop/shutdown backgrounds all at once?

Disable active desktop!

If you disable active desktop, you can't have any wallpaper. The issue is not wallpaper or no wallpaper, but why the screens before and after the desktop are the old wallpaper.

I found the answer to my question, albeit by accident. Just before the desktop appears and just after shutdown you would normally see blue screens, BUT if you have a bitmap image labeled "Internet Explorer Wallpaper" in c:\windows\application data\miscrosoft\internet explorer\ that image will appear instead. Kind of strange, and very obscure. I only found this out by right clicking an image on the internet and clicking "set as wallpaper" and it changed both the desktop wallpaper and the screens beore and after; after I changed the desktop wallpaper back to what it was, the "new" wallpaper appeared before and after the desktop. Apparently there can't be more than one "Internet Explorer Wallpaper" and I have not yet tried to see if it also works with jpeg images.