How to Make icons background transparent in Windows XP

If you’ve been wondering why your XP desktop icons have a background color, you’ll be glad to know you can flip a checkbox and have them go back to a normal transparent background.

See the two below:

To set the transparent background on the icons, we’ll need to open System Properties in Control Panel (or right-click on My Computer and select Properties).

In this dialog, click the Advanced tab, and then the Settings button under the Performance section.

Now scroll down to the button where you’ll find a checkbox for “Use drop shadows for icon labels on the desktop”. Make sure you check this box if you want transparent backgrounds on the icons.

Why this option isn’t just labeled “Enable Transparent Icons On the Desktop”, I just can’t say.

if checking it doesn’t fix your problem there is another step you must do. Follow this procedure:
Control Panel > Display > Desktop > Customize Desktop > Web > Uncheck everything here > OK > Apply