Windows XP Icons with Background Color - Why & How to Fix

Addressing Desktop Icon Background Colors in Windows XP

Have you noticed a background color appearing behind your desktop icons in Windows XP? Fortunately, restoring the icons to a standard transparent background is a simple process. It involves adjusting a single checkbox within your system settings.

Below, you can see a visual comparison of the two different icon display styles.

Accessing System Properties

To revert to transparent icon backgrounds, you must first open System Properties. This can be accessed through the Control Panel. Alternatively, you can right-click the "My Computer" icon and select "Properties".

Performance Settings

Within the System Properties dialog, navigate to the "Advanced" tab. Then, locate the "Performance" section and click the "Settings" button.

Enabling Transparency

Scroll down the Performance Options window until you find the setting "Use drop shadows for icon labels on the desktop". Checking this box will enable transparent backgrounds for your desktop icons. The naming of this option may seem counterintuitive, but it is the correct setting to adjust.

Update

If the steps above do not resolve the issue, consider checking the following additional settings, as suggested by our readers.

• Ensure that a web page is not currently set as your desktop background. To verify this, right-click on the desktop and choose "Properties". Select "Customize desktop" on the "Desktop" tab, then navigate to the "Web" tab and disable any displayed web pages.
• Confirm that "High Contrast" mode is not enabled within the Accessibility options under "Display Options" in the Control Panel.