In Windows 95, 98, Me, NT, 2000, or XP, how do I disable or enable the Active Desktop?

In Windows 95 or NT, you must have the correct version of Internet Explorer and check that you have the new desktop installed. See the Windows 95 and NT section below for more information.

To disable or enable the Active Desktop, follow these steps:

Windows XP

1. Click the Start button and choose either Control Panel, or Settings and then Control Panel.
   
   
2. Double-click Display.
   
   
3. Choose the Desktop tab. Then click the Customize Desktop... button.
   
   
4. Choose the Web tab. Under "Web pages:" add the page that you want on your desktop and check the box. This will enable the Active Desktop. If you wish to disable the Active Desktop, uncheck the box.

Windows 95, 98, Me, NT, and 2000

1. Click the Start button and choose Settings, then Control Panel.
   
   
2. Double-click Display.
   
   
3. In the Display Properties window, click the Web tab.
   
   
4. Click the checkbox for View my Active Desktop as a web page to select or deselect it. Click OK.

For more information, see article 190228 in Microsoft's knowledge base.

You can search Microsoft's knowledge base at:

Verify Active Desktop is installed in Windows 95 and NT

In Windows 95 or NT, before installing Active Desktop, you must ensure that you have Internet Explorer version 4 or higher. To check which version you have, follow these steps:

1. Launch Internet Explorer.
   
   
2. Click Help.
   
   
3. Click About Internet Explorer. The version of Internet Explorer you're running will display in the panel that appears.

If you have Internet Explorer 4, then you need to be sure the new desktop is installed. To see whether it's installed, and install it if necessary:

1. Click the Start menu and select Settings, then Control Panel.
   
   
2. Double-click Add/Remove Programs.
   
   
3. Click Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0, and then click Add/Remove.
   
   
4. Click Add Windows Desktop Update from Web site. If you do not see this option, then the new desktop is already installed.

The above information was taken from the Help file for Internet Explorer 4.0.

Important: This option is available only if you are running Internet Explorer on Windows 95 or Windows NT 4.0. The new desktop is already part of Windows 98 and later.

Note: If you decide later that you do not want to use this feature, you can follow the same steps to remove it (in Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0 only).

Also see:

• In Windows, what is Active Desktop?