Hi,
It has nothing to do with being an "active" desktop. Right click the
desktop, choose "arrange icons by", and look at "lock web items on the
desktop". If it is checked, click on it to uncheck it.
Go to the Control Panel/System applet/Advanced tab, click on the performance
settings button. On the Visual Effects tab, scroll to near the bottom,
ensure that "use drop shadows for icon labels on the desktop" is checked. If
it isn't, check it and apply/ok your way out.
--
Best of Luck,
Rick Rogers, aka "Nutcase" - Microsoft MVP
Associate Expert - WindowsXP Expert Zone
Windows help -
www.rickrogers.org