Win XP Pro SP3 desktop icons being blanked and redrawn

Win XP Pro SP3 and recent fixes

On my laptop (AMD processor, integrated graphics), and on a neighbour's
desktop machine too, I regularly see the icons on the desktop lose all their
colour then get redrawn one by one. It takes a few seconds and I have no
idea why it happens. My neighbour mentioned this to me recently (he says it
has always happened), and on my machine I've seen it on & off for years. Is
it just a windows "thing"?

It's as if the machine "hiccups" and loses track of what the desktop had on
it, but I can't relate it to anything in particular that I do. I'm not
adding or removing desktop icons, nor changing the desktop resolution, and
the desktop wallpaper itself is one of the Windows-supplied static ones (the
Autumn trees pic).

Nothing happens (according to the event logs) at the same time.

I've googled, and seen various problems with "remote desktop" which I'm not
using, and games (I have none). The machine is in any case behind both a
hardware firewall (on the incoming house broadband connection), and Zone
Alarm (on the machine itself).

Can anyone suggest what the cause might be?

Try control panel,display,desktop,customize,web,locate & check the box
"lock desktop items" close out.Also,you might go to run,type:DXDIAG
Run the Direct X tests for video.

"Jeremy Nicoll - news posts" wrote:

> Win XP Pro SP3 and recent fixes
>
> On my laptop (AMD processor, integrated graphics), and on a neighbour's
> desktop machine too, I regularly see the icons on the desktop lose all their
> colour then get redrawn one by one. It takes a few seconds and I have no
> idea why it happens. My neighbour mentioned this to me recently (he says it
> has always happened), and on my machine I've seen it on & off for years. Is
> it just a windows "thing"?
>
> It's as if the machine "hiccups" and loses track of what the desktop had on
> it, but I can't relate it to anything in particular that I do. I'm not
> adding or removing desktop icons, nor changing the desktop resolution, and
> the desktop wallpaper itself is one of the Windows-supplied static ones (the
> Autumn trees pic).
>
> Nothing happens (according to the event logs) at the same time.
>
> I've googled, and seen various problems with "remote desktop" which I'm not
> using, and games (I have none). The machine is in any case behind both a
> hardware firewall (on the incoming house broadband connection), and Zone
> Alarm (on the machine itself).
>
> Can anyone suggest what the cause might be?
>
> --
> Jeremy C B Nicoll - my opinions are my own.
>
> Email sent to my from-address will be deleted. Instead, please reply
> to newsreplynnn.Del RemoveThis @wingsandbeaks.org.uk replacing "nnn" by "284".
>