Users of Windows 7 experienced a startup delay of up to 30 seconds if they chose solid color backgrounds due to the logon system waiting for the loading of the desktop wallpaper bitmap. This issue arose because the code to report that the wallpaper was ready was embedded within the wallpaper bitmap code, leading to a timeout if no wallpaper was present. The delay affected users who hid their desktop icons as well, but the actual startup time was not extended; the Welcome screen remained visible for the duration of the timeout regardless of system readiness.