Active Desktop Recovery Error

A common problem on Windows XP with Internet Explorer 7 Installed is an incompatibility with the desktop.htt file. This will cause the desktop to show the recovery screen(seen below) and will not allow you to re-active it.

To solve this problem you need to reset a registry setting for the desktop.

Solution

• Click Start, click Run, type regedit, and then click OK.
• Locate and then click the following registry subkey:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER > Software > Microsoft > Internet Explorer > Desktop > SafeModeComponents

• In the right pane, right-click DeskHtmlVersion, and then click Modify.

• In the Value data box, type 0, and then click OK. Exit Registry Editor.

• Right click anywhere on the desktop and select “Refresh”

Alternatively Microsoft have a “fix it automatically application” on their website KB929200 Here