[Windows 10 Fix] Desktop and Lock Screen Background Slideshow Reset to Picture
Today we are going to address a weird and annoying problem present in Windows 10 operating system. As you know Windows 10 allows users to set pictures slideshow as Desktop background as well as Lock Screen background. You can select desired folders containing images and set the slideshow as the background of Desktop and Lock Screen using Settings -> Personalization -> Background and Lock Screen pages.
Table of Contents
PROBLEM SYMPTOM:
Sometimes when you set image slideshow as background of Desktop or Lock Screen, after some time it automatically resets to Picture. Recently an AskVG reader “Al” contacted us regarding similar problem. Here is a small excerpt from his comment:
When my lockscreen and wallpapers are both set on slideshow, it works fine, but when I go back in just a few minutes after doing other things, no reboots or anything, they both are set on pictures again. The lockscreen or wallpapers which are two different settings and both change back to pictures from the setting I had saved as slideshow. I’ve been looking and researching for a week or so with no results. I can’t find any way to lock it down in gpedit.msc, tried everything for weeks. I’ve run scannow and Dism with no help so tell me you have an easy answer for this please. Win version 1703 Build 15063.483. Thanks Al.
Advertisement
So you see the problem occurs when you set Desktop background or Lock Screen background to slideshow and it automatically resets to a picture after some time or immediately.
PROBLEM REASON:
It seems a bug in Windows operating system. A few readers have reported that it happens when you set images slideshow as background using Settings app and close the app window. As soon as you close Settings window, it forgets the user settings and when you re-open Settings window, the background is set to picture again.
So when you exit from Settings page, it reverts to Picture option for background.
PROBLEM SOLUTION:
We’ll use a workaround to fix this issue. We’ll take help of a built-in restriction to prevent changing lock screen and desktop backgrounds. Once we apply this restriction, Windows will stop resetting image slideshow to picture for desktop and lock screen background.
STEP 1:
First of all set the slideshow as background of Desktop or Lock Screen using Settings -> Personalization page. but DON’T close the Settings window. Keep it opened.
Advertisement
STEP 2:
Now we’ll set the restriction using Group Policy Editor program. If you are using Windows 10 Home edition, you’ll not be able to use Group Policy Editor because this edition doesn’t come with this program. If you can’t use Group Policy Editor, you can apply the restrictions using Registry Editor program as mentioned in the BONUS TIP given at the end of this tutorial.
1. Press “WIN+R” key combination to launch RUN dialog box then type gpedit.msc and press Enter. It’ll open Group Policy Editor.
2. Now go to:
User Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Control Panel -> Personalization
3. In right-side pane, look for “Prevent changing desktop background” option.
4. The option would be set to Not Configured. Double-click on it and set it to Enabled.
5. Now go to:
Computer Configuration -> Administrative Templates -> Control Panel -> Personalization
6. In right-side pane, look for “Prevent changing lock screen and logon image” option.
7. The option would be set to Not Configured. Double-click on it and set it to Enabled.
That’s it. Now try to open Settings -> Personalization -> Background or Lock Screen page and you’ll see that options to change background are grayed out i.e. disabled. Also a message “Some settings are hidden or managed by your organization” will be shown at the top of the page as shown in following screenshot:
Now Windows will never reset slideshow to picture for Desktop or Lock Screen background.
In future, if you want to change background, first disable the restrictions by changing both options to Not Configured again in Group Policy Editor, then change background using Setting app.
BONUS TIP:
If you can’t use or don’t want to use Group Policy Editor, you can take help of Registry Editor for the same task. Just follow these simple steps:
1. Press WIN+R keys together to launch RUN dialog box. Now type regedit and press Enter. It’ll open Registry Editor.
2. Now go to following key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies
3. Create a new key under Policies key and set its name as ActiveDesktop
4. Now select ActiveDesktop key and in right-side pane create a new DWORD NoChangingWallPaper and set its value to 1
5. Again go to following key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\Personalization
6. In right-side pane create a new DWORD NoChangingLockScreen and set its value to 1
In future, if you want to change background, first disable the restrictions by changing both DWORD values to 0 in Registry Editor, then change background using Setting app.
The Group Policy Edit solution did not work for me. The Background setting under personalization can be set to “Slideshow” using the drop down menu and the folder designated (tried many different folders full of photos), but no image from the folder appears in the sample screen above like it has before. After making the changes via the GPE with the Background settings page set to “Slideshow” correctly and still open, the Background settings still reverted back to “Solid Color.” This began today, 9/12/17, so it may be related to today’s “Patch Tuesday” updates (?). A resolution enabling the desktop background slideshow will be appreciated. As a side note, the screen saver slideshow setup appears to work normally using the same folder designated for the desktop background slideshow. Thank you.
This did work for me: Navigate to the folder in which your desired photos for the Desktop Background Slideshow reside. Select them all (Ctrl-A). Right-click in any one of them and then click on “Set as desktop background” Now when I go to PC Settings->Personalization->Background the sample screen shows one of my photos and the remaining options appear to be active again. The active slideshow is previewed in the Background sample display. I think this work-around solves the problem, but the anomaly in the PC Settings-Personalization-Background configuration screen persists. Thank you.
Well it’s a learning experience but this did not work for me either. There was no Personalization under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\. I didn’t see a date on this tutorial but I believe it was written before Microsoft moved the themes from the classic control panel to Settings. I’ve had this problem before on this computer but couldn’t remember how I fixed it. Seems like there is a folder somewhere that I had to delete …but thanks at least I learned about the regedit which I’ve always avoided.
I don’t understand what is going on with Windows 10 Version 10.0.16299 Build 15299 ??? On one of my laptops, I have a nice black start-up screen, shutdown-screen, and lock screen. On my other laptop all of the screens are the default gray that normally occurs when disabling spotlight in personalization settings. What is up with this? I have tweaked with gpedit.msc, and edited the registry with regedit… But nothing changes that gray color on startup, shutdown, or lock screen. I helped develop Windows 10 as a beta tester, and I have five Microsoft certifications. I have put in many hours since the 2018 update that started thus mess only on some computers and not on others. I do not have, Ctrl-Alt-Del, enabled on either machine, which would force all users to defaults on those screens I have mentioned above. I cannot figure this out !!! – No one from Microsoft Windows Development Division is telling where the gray .PNG file is located on the C: drive, or what the name of the file is. Get with it Microsoft !!! – I hate that GRAY screen !!!
Sincerely, Steven Joel Speirs.
This worked but yet didn’t work. What I want is to get back the default – where Windows 10 downloads pictures and offers them to me, with descriptions, identifications of the pictures, and a “like this?” question saying we’ll show you more like this. I collected a ton of awesome pictures that I use as a desktop wallpaper slideshow. But suddenly all I had was the damn rock wall picture. I successfully set it back to slideshow using your method, but it was not the default – it was just a slideshow, and it didn’t use or update the “assets” folder as the default did. It wasn’t good, and I switched back to a single picture. Isn’t there any way to get back to the default lock screen without resetting the entire PC back to default?
Hi,
Thanks for your comprehensive explanation and procedures. Several times, I walked through all steps, left the setting page with slideshow selected open, changed all edits as prescribed and still no change. Other choices not greyed and even without closing settings, it still reverts to PICTURE, in a short time.
Additional advice??
Thanks,
leo
Sir, I like the way you stopped background and Lockscreen from changing. But now the slideshow doesn’t change, I put my favorite picture from the slideshow on it.. It looks nice but never changes.
My main problem was the background slideshow was changing by itself to picture.
If you have a way to stop the slideshow from changing to picture and still change at the time Interval I set, then please tell me how,,,
Thank You