Active Desktop Restore Button: Fixing Active Desktop Problems in Windows XP

This applies to Windows XP, which is long out of support — included here for anyone still maintaining a legacy XP machine or VM.

Active Desktop in Windows XP occasionally gets stuck showing a “Restore My Active Desktop” message that reappears no matter how many times you click Restore. It’s a known, fixable registry glitch rather than a sign of deeper corruption.

The Fix

1. Click Start, then Run, type regedit and press Enter.
2. Browse to HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftInternet ExplorerDesktopSafeModeComponents.
3. Double-click the DeskHtmlVersion value.
4. Switch the base to Decimal and change the value to 272.
5. Click OK, close the Registry Editor, and log off/log back on (or restart) for the change to take effect.

As with any registry edit, back up the key first (right-click it and choose Export) so you have something to restore from if the change doesn’t behave as expected.