My Windows XP Style Display Theme gets changed if I boot into Safe Mode and then 
return to the normal desktop.

The taskbar which was previously blue becomes yellow after being in Safe Mode.

The Theme and Appearance seem to get set to Classic Style in Safe Mode, and I have 
to change them back to Windows XP Style after a normal boot.

Have others seen this or related effects, and is this normal?

Using WinXP Home

Thanks

Tip: Run a free scan for common Windows errors ad

re: Safe Mode Changes Display Theme Wednesday, August 6, 2008 at 5:56 pm Posted by Spexx (1951 messages posted) I am just wondering if Administrator is the only user account on the machine? Cheers. Spexx. [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: Safe Mode Changes Display Theme Wednesday, August 6, 2008 at 5:57 pm Posted by geek9pm (903 messages posted) No, it is not normal. Create a new user. See if that happens on the new user account. Geek9pm [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: Safe Mode Changes Display Theme Wednesday, August 6, 2008 at 9:03 pm Posted by KAWill70 (38 messages posted) Yes, my account which is also Administrator is the only account on the system. The Guest Account has been turned off. I just created a Test Account and its Theme also changes after going to Safe Mode and then returning to the Normal Desktop. On Wednesday, August 6, 2008 at 5:56 pm, Spexx wrote: >I am just wondering if Administrator is the only user account on the machine? Cheers. >Spexx. [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: Safe Mode Changes Display Theme Wednesday, August 6, 2008 at 9:07 pm Posted by KAWill70 (38 messages posted) I just created a Test Account and the Theme also changes after going to Safe Mode and then returning to the Normal Desktop. I didn't mention it in the original post but the Control Panel view also changes. Safe Mode saves settings when shutting down and these settings seem to carry to the Normal Desktop. On Wednesday, August 6, 2008 at 5:57 pm, geek9pm wrote: >No, it is not normal. >Create a new user. See if that happens on the new user account. [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: Safe Mode Changes Display Theme Thursday, August 7, 2008 at 3:29 am Posted by Spexx (1951 messages posted) This should not be happening at all and I can only think that it may be due to malware activity. Do you have any anti-virus software installed? Are you using Windows Firewall at the very least? It is rather unwise to use the Administrator account for regular everyday use and it is a good idea to set up another two user accounts for yourself - one non-privileged account for use when going on the internet, reading email, instant messaging etc and other everyday uses, plus one other for privileged access needed to install new software etc. That is a very much safer way of using the PC and will actively help prevent malware infection. Going "surfing" while logged in as Adminstrator is asking for trouble! If you do not currently have any anti-virus/anti-malware software installed, post back here for further advice. Cheers. Spexx. [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: Safe Mode Changes Display Theme Thursday, August 7, 2008 at 4:08 am Posted by MartinM (3453 messages posted) Forgive a silly question, but are you sure that you are going into Safe Mode ? The words Safe Mode should appear in each corner of the screen . . . [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: Safe Mode Changes Display Theme Thursday, August 7, 2008 at 11:23 am Posted by KAWill70 (38 messages posted) Thanks to everyone for the help. I think I now have the explanation. Do people generally log on to Safe Mode as Administrator? I was logging on to my Personal Account even though I am Administrator. In that case, the Theme will change to the Safe Mode settings after a normal log on. If I log on as Administrator, there is no problem. I have been using both versions of the Logon Screen option and they behave differently. When I use the Welcome Screen option and boot to Safe Mode, both Administrator and my Account show up as choices. If I use the other logon option without the Welcome Screen, you have to know to type "Administrator" when logging on for Safe Mode. Regarding the other question, I do have a firewall and anti-virus and anti-spyware software. That is an excellent point on the multiple accounts for internet safety. My account is apparently a combined Administrator and Personal Account. There does not seem to be an Administrator only account except in Safe Mode. I'm using WinXP Home. On Thursday, August 7, 2008 at 3:29 am, Spexx wrote: >This should not be happening at all and I can only think that it may be due to malware >activity. Do you have any anti-virus software installed? Are you using Windows Firewall >at the very least? It is rather unwise to use the Administrator account for regular >everyday use and it is a good idea to set up another two user accounts for yourself >- one non-privileged account for use when going on the internet, reading email, instant >messaging etc and other everyday uses, plus one other for privileged access needed >to install new software etc. That is a very much safer way of using the PC and will >actively help prevent malware infection. Going "surfing" while logged in as Adminstrator >is asking for trouble! If you do not currently have any anti-virus/anti-malware software >installed, post back here for further advice. Cheers. Spexx. [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: Safe Mode Changes Display Theme Thursday, August 7, 2008 at 12:17 pm Posted by Spexx (1951 messages posted) It is standard practice to log on as Administrator when using Safe mode. If you logon as yourself (or any other user) in Safe Mode, any changes made to the personal settings will still be there in normal mode. In XP Home, Administrator does not appear as a valid logon name in normal mode. Looks as though your system is behaving normally after all, which is a relief! Cheers. Spexx. [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: Safe Mode Changes Display Theme Thursday, August 7, 2008 at 12:40 pm Posted by KAWill70 (38 messages posted) Thanks once again. Safe Mode doesn't appear to support anything but a fairly basic Theme, so if one uses other Themes on their normal desktop it looks like the theme will be changed in Safe Mode. On Thursday, August 7, 2008 at 12:17 pm, Spexx wrote: >It is standard practice to log on as Administrator when using Safe mode. If you logon >as yourself (or any other user) in Safe Mode, any changes made to the personal settings >will still be there in normal mode. In XP Home, Administrator does not appear as >a valid logon name in normal mode. Looks as though your system is behaving normally >after all, which is a relief! Cheers. Spexx. [Reply or follow-up to this message] re: Safe Mode Changes Display Theme Thursday, August 7, 2008 at 12:48 pm Posted by Spexx (1951 messages posted) Shrewd observation and I learned something. I always use Administrator in Safe Mode and never Administrator in normal mode, so have never seen that behaviour. Cheers. Spexx. 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