MsPooma I'm kinda of stumped. I'll see if any of the others around here who might know more can solve this.

What is your screen resolution? What are the dimensions of the picture that is being applied? Do you use DesktopX or IconX?

If you have WB installed , turn off the feature that applies the wallpaper on startup
it's in the WB options
Then manually apply the wallpaper in question

Questions:
Are you running any wallpaper tools (e.g webshots) ?
what size wallpaper?
what resolution?

Oh I had one more thought is something changing your screen resolution?

My resolution is the same as it has always been from day one, but I did try changing the resolution which did nothing. The problems is affecting any wallpaper I apply. The wallpapers look fine when opened by any other prog. such as PSP, etc. I don't use DesktopX, IconX, Webshots or any other wallpaper program. The further I've come with this problem, the more I'm convinced it's not a WindowBlind problem. I had the W32IRC bot virus, got rid of it, but still have this problem with any wallpaper applied to my desktop. When I shut off my Windows Explorer, the wallpaper looks great, but of course I need that running. Is there a way to find out the dates of installed Window updates? I can try to uninstall the latest one to see if that solves the problem. I have Windows Explorer version 6.0.2900.2180.

My Windows Explorer is 6.00.2900.2180(xpsp_sp2_rtm.040803-2158) @ 1,008.00 KB 8/10/2004 2:00pm. Does yours read the same?

Mine is 6.00.2900.2180(xpsp_sp2_rtm.040803-2158) @ 1,008 KB 8/4/2004 2:56:49 am. In my Windows folders these are the ones modified on the same date and time:

twain_32.dll
explorer
notepad
regedit
slrundll

There shouldn't be a time difference. Yours is 2:56:49 am. Mine is 2:00 pm. Do you have a really good anti-virus program? Check with some of the Sysops. You might be able to remedy this with a really good anti-virus program. If not you might need to do a complete system restore including the boot sector.

I have Norton. I've scanned quite a few times in the past week with Norton and other online/downloadable tools. What do you mean check with some of the Sysops?

I thought maybe vrag, I think that's his name, might have a better handle on this. He's solved some pretty tough problems. From what I remember, I think, the time stamp for these Windows XP Service Pack 2 releases should be the same. That's why I'm suspicious about the time difference. It makes me think your system files have been altered. But, I'm no expert so I'm hoping someone with more skills than me will look at this and know what to do. What version of Norton do you have 2006?

I have Norton 2005

Do you keep it updated?

Definitely

I don't have an answer to this problem but I think your timestamp is a red herring. Mine is 04/08/2004 00:56. It depends on whether you have the cd or download (which version and where it came from) or WU. Mine is the UK cd version.

For your problem, have you tried checking your screen refresh rate? Have you updated your graphics card drivers?

Norton by itself isn't enough, I'd recommend Ad-Aware 6, Spybot and Windows Defender as a three pronged attack on spyware.

Don't want to sound dumb, but what is a red herring? How do I check my refresh rate? No, I haven't updated my graphics card drivers. I do have Ad-ware, Spybot and Window Defender. I've been using every resource I can find. Are Windows Explorer and Internet Explorer connected in any way on a pc?