Desktop Pictures problems: a follow-up

Regarding our previous report of problems with Mac OS 8's Desktop Pictures, I continue to get further reports of causes and cures. Here's a sampling:

a. Now Startup Manager Previous reports implicated Conflict Catcher 3 as a cause of problems. Now Startup Manager may be similarly implicated. Bruce Mittelman found Now Startup Manager prevented the loading of Desktop Pictures control panel - and suggested it was because Desktop Pictures uses the new "APPC" file type, rather than the older "cdev" type. Steve Johnson similarly reported that Now Startup Manager caused problems with Desktop Pictures on his Mac - and suggested it might have to do with getting the Appearance extension to load before Startup Manager. Kevin Podsiadlik claimed that just having Now Toolbox Extension installed was enough to cause problems. In any case, remember that Now Software's official position is that Now Utilities is not compatible with Mac OS 8.

b. QuickTime Charles Heizer notes that the desktop picture would not show up on several Power Macs he tested - if QuickTime extensions were disabled. As many readers have now pointed out, this is to be expected when displaying certain graphic formats, such as JPEG, which require QuickTime in an assortment of applications.