Microsoft prevents the user from changing the Windows 7 Starter wallpaper/background, being one of the constraints Microsoft has put for starter together with a limitation of upto 3 applications simultaneously.

Rafael Rivera has unveiled the technical side behind the same, a new licensing bit was introduced – ChangeDesktopBackground-Enabled. On Starter Edition SKUs, this bit is set to 0, disabling background setting capabilities in Windows Photo Viewer and the Display/Theme Control Panel applets. The infection goes deeper into system files shell32.dll and themeui.dll too, hard-coding the wallpaper to %windir%\web\wallpaper\windows\img0.jpg.

A tweeple asked me about the same problem. and here are most probable solutions to bypass this restriction in Windows 7 starter edition :

  1. Use the Starter Wallpaper Changer utility. This utility can change your background on a Windows 7 Starter. First, open it as administrator and then click Yes for the windows security alert. Locate it on your computer and then click Apply. Then log out and log in back to see the changes.
  2. There is a utility by Stardock called My Colors which can be useful too.
  3. As an Administrator, reset the permissions on img0.jpg, and overwrite file with any picture.
  4. Google more third-party software to change the Wallpaper.

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