I am connecting remotely to a computer on LAN and it keeps giving me a pitch black desktop background (wallpaper). In the RDC (Remote Desktop Connection) program on the local computer I have the option "Desktop background" enabled.
But I still can't see the background of the remote computer. Why not?
The local is running Vista and the remote is running Windows 8.1 Pro.
Best Answer
Check the group policy settings on the remote computer (the computer you're connecting to)! There's a remote session policy that controls whether or not the desktop background (wallpaper) is displayed when a client connects to the host. The name of this policy is "Enforce Removal of Remote Desktop Wallpaper".
gpedit.msc
and press Enter. Click Yes if you get a prompt to allow the program.You should now be able to see and change the desktop background on the remote computer, from the local computer. But you will still have to enable the option "Desktop background" in the RDP (remote desktop protocol) client (i.e. RDC on XP/Vista/7/8) when you connect to the remote. Only this time, the remote computer will not be preventing you to see and change the desktop background.
To connect with desktop background enabled in RDC on XP/Vista/7/8 do the following.
mstsc.exe
and press Enter.This option is ignored by the remote computer if it has the "Enforce Removal of Remote Desktop Wallpaper" policy set to Enabled. Therefore, you have to check that first before you try enabling this option in the RDC.
Note! This policy might be also found in Local Computer Policy, Computer Configuration, Administrative Templates, Windows Components, Terminal Services on some versions of Windows.