Desktop icons all have blue highlight box around text

Description

In Windows XP your desktop icons text labels used to be transparent but now the icons seem to have a blue background or blue highlight.

This seems to have happened the icons for no reason i.e. you did not mess with your appearance settings or display settings.

Symptoms

The icons on your Windows XP desktop have a blue background on the text label or the whole icon.

Explanation

This usually happens the Windows XP icons for one of three reasons:

• you have the desktop items locked
• you have the background set as a web page
• you have the drop shadow setting enabled

Solution 1 – Uncheck “Lock Web Items on Desktop”

Instructions:

1. Right click on your Windows Desktop
2. In the context menu, click Arrange Icons By > Uncheck Lock Web Items on Desktop
3. Click OK
4. Check your desktop icons

Solution 2 – Desktop Home Page Problem

Instructions:

1. Right click on your Windows Desktop
2. In the context menu, click Properties
3. Display Properties should appear. Click the Desktop tab
4. Now click the Customize Desktop… button
5. The Desktop Items properties page should appear. Click the Web tab
6. In the top pane where it says ‘My Current Home Page’, delete all entries from that pane except ‘My Current Home Page’
7. Uncheck My Current Home Page
8. Uncheck Lock desktop items
9. Click OK and OK again
10. Check you icons

Solution 3 – Disable Drop Shadow

Instructions:

1. Right click on the ‘My Computer’ icon
2. In the context menu, click Properties
3. Click Advanced tab > Settings (In the Performance section)
4. Look down the list and clear the Drop Shadows option
5. Click OK > OK
6. Check your icons