What you need to know
- Microsoft issued a fix for the Windows 7 wallpaper bug.
- The update is generally available even though Windows 7 is officially out of support.
- Many businesses and people still use Windows 7 even though it's out of support.
Microsoft released an update that fixes the Windows 7 wallpaper bug that recently appeared for many people on Windows 7. The bug caused wallpapers set to "Stretch" to appear as solid black images rather than the image set by a person. Windows 7 is officially out of support, but since the bug was included in an update sent out by Microsoft, the company decided to ship the fix to everyone.
Because the operating system is out of support, people and businesses usually have to pay for extended support, but this update is available to anyone running Windows 7 SP1 and Server 2008 R2 SP1. Here's the complete changelog for the update:
- Addresses an issue that might cause your wallpaper that is set to Stretch to display as black. Important Before you apply this update, see the "Prerequisites" section.
A support page from Microsoft breaks down all the prerequisites for the update and important information about how to apply the update, including having to restart your device to apply the update.
Even though Windows 7 officially fell out of support last month, many people still use it. A recent study shows that Windows 7 is "nearly ubiquitous" at large companies and the German government will have to pay €800,000 for Extended Security Updates. Microsoft continues to push people towards Windows 10, but it could be a while before some organizations and people switch over.
