You enable either of the following policy settings:

• Hide and disable all items on the desktop on a domain controller
• Disable all items in Windows Vista

Then, you experience the following symptoms:

• A black desktop appears on the Windows Vista-based client computers that are affected by either of these policy settings.
• This black desktop replaces the image that is configured as the background wallpaper.

  Note: The Windows Vista Gadgets still appear on the desktop in Windows Vista.

You experience this problem if you use the Desktop Wallpaper policy setting to configure an image as the background wallpaper in Windows Vista.

Note: For more information about how to view the Desktop Wallpaper policy setting, see the “More Information” section.

Some people don’t like any icons on their desktop. If this is you, simply right-click your desktop, choose View from the menu, and choose Show Desktop Icons, which will turn them off if they are currently on. Other people don’t mind the icons, they just would prefer not to have the Recycle Bin icon on the desktop. In that case, here’s how to turn it off: Keep reading →