Windows API - Win32
A core set of Windows application programming interfaces (APIs) for desktop and server applications. Previously known as Win32 API.
2,765 questions
Issue with Wallpaper Turning Black After Logout/Login Using SystemParametersInfo in Remote Control
![](data:image/svg+xml, %3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' height='64' class='font-weight-bold' style='font: 600 30.11764705882353px "SegoeUI", Arial' width='64'%3E%3Ccircle fill='hsl(240, 77%, 33%)' cx='32' cy='32' r='32' /%3E%3Ctext x='50%25' y='55%25' dominant-baseline='middle' text-anchor='middle' fill='%23FFF' %3EAK%3C/text%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Amal Krishna Jk
25
Reputation points
Hi, I am remotely controlling a Windows device through an agent. I set the desktop wallpaper using the following APIs:
SystemParametersInfo(SPI_GETDESKWALLPAPER, MAX_PATH, m_strWallPaperName, 0);
SystemParametersInfo(SPI_SETDESKWALLPAPER, 0, m_strWallPaperName, SPIF_SENDCHANGE);
When I first log into the device, the wallpaper is applied correctly. Also, when switching users, the wallpaper updates properly for the next user.
However, if I log out and then log back in (as same or different user), the wallpaper turns black. Interestingly, even when the wallpaper turns black, the registry key that stores the wallpaper path remains correct.
My questions are:
From where does Windows fetch the wallpaper after a user logs back in?
Is there a method (other than directly modifying the registry) to correctly apply the wallpaper even after a full logout/login?
Any insights or suggestions would be highly appreciated. Thank you!
Windows API - Win32
{count} votes
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Castorix31 89,376 Reputation points2025-04-28T08:13:24.2533333+00:00 The other way is with IDesktopWallpaper::SetWallpaper
(but I never used it remotely)
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![](data:image/svg+xml, %3Csvg xmlns='http://www.w3.org/2000/svg' height='64' class='font-weight-bold' style='font: 600 30.11764705882353px "SegoeUI", Arial' width='64'%3E%3Ccircle fill='hsl(246.4, 86%, 33%)' cx='32' cy='32' r='32' /%3E%3Ctext x='50%25' y='55%25' dominant-baseline='middle' text-anchor='middle' fill='%23FFF' %3EDL%3C/text%3E%3C/svg%3E)
David Lowndes 2,615 Reputation points MVP2025-04-28T08:15:52.2566667+00:00 If you apply the wallpaper change interactively with the Windows UI, does it persist log off/on, or does it still turn black?
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RLWA32 48,896 Reputation points2025-04-28T09:05:01.4933333+00:00 You may find the following thread about setting desktop wallpaper to be of interest -
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Amal Krishna Jk 25 Reputation points
2025-04-28T10:05:42.2+00:00 Thank you guys for your response
Hi @David Lowndes , If i change the windows wallpaper interactively using Win UI then log off/on is working. But if i do the same while using remote control it wont work(it will turn black if i logged out and then log in).
one more thing i noticed when using the SystemParametersInfo(SPI_GETDESKWALLPAPER, MAX_PATH, m_strWallPaperName, 0); is that. When i tried to logout and then log in as a new user then the wallpaper path is same as that of the first user. And also while using switch user instead of loggout then everything is working fine
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David Lowndes 2,615 Reputation points MVP
2025-04-28T14:26:45.3633333+00:00 Is there any difference if you also specify SPIF_UPDATEINIFILE?
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Amal Krishna Jk 25 Reputation points
2025-04-30T10:23:50.5333333+00:00 Hi @David Lowndes , I tried using SPIF_UPDATEINIFILE also the but issue is still there.
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David Lowndes 2,615 Reputation points MVP
2025-04-30T11:43:40.02+00:00 OK, what version of Windows are you testing this on, and have you tried older versions to see if they behave any differently?
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Amal Krishna Jk 25 Reputation points
2025-04-30T12:15:35.7833333+00:00 I tested on both Win11 and Win10
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Amal Krishna Jk 25 Reputation points
2025-04-30T12:16:44.97+00:00 I have tested on both Win11 and Win10. In both case the behavior is same.
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Castorix31 89,376 Reputation points
2025-04-30T14:22:02.1966667+00:00 Did you test IDesktopWallpaper ?
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David Lowndes 2,615 Reputation points MVP
2025-05-01T13:18:19.49+00:00 I've found time to try it myself, this appears to work OK for me on Windows 10.
int main( int argc, char ** argv ) { if ( argc >= 2 ) { auto rv = SystemParametersInfoA( SPI_SETDESKWALLPAPER, 0, argv[1], SPIF_SENDCHANGE | SPIF_UPDATEINIFILE ); } }Without SPIF_UPDATEINIFILE, the change works, but doesn't persist after log off/on. With it, the chosen image has persisted log off/on.
Can you see if the above works for you locally, and if so, maybe the issue is due to the account your "agent" is running as?
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RLWA32 48,896 Reputation points
2025-05-01T13:24:25.1966667+00:00 @Amal Krishna Jk Hmm, so what remote control software is being used? Seems to me that using the same software would be necessary to reproduce the issue.
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Amal Krishna Jk 25 Reputation points
2025-05-02T07:43:46.03+00:00 After getting black wallpaper i run a script on powershell to get wallpaper name using
SystemParametersInfo but it is returning previous users wallapper path. No the current user's wallpaper.
Add-Type @" using System; using System.Runtime.InteropServices; using System.Text; public class WallpaperUtil { [DllImport("user32.dll", SetLastError = true, CharSet = CharSet.Auto)] public static extern bool SystemParametersInfo(int uAction, int uParam, StringBuilder lpvParam, int fuWinIni); } "@ # Constants $SPI_GETDESKWALLPAPER = 0x0073 $MAX_PATH = 260 # Allocate buffer $wallpaperPath = New-Object System.Text.StringBuilder $MAX_PATH # Call API $result = [WallpaperUtil]::SystemParametersInfo($SPI_GETDESKWALLPAPER, $MAX_PATH, $wallpaperPath, 0) if ($result) { Write-Output "Current wallpaper path: $($wallpaperPath.ToString())" } else { Write-Error "Failed to retrieve wallpaper path." } -
Amal Krishna Jk 25 Reputation points
2025-05-07T06:15:50.55+00:00 Any idea why this is happening.
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