When I right click to display properties, my center, tile, and stretch box is clear. Why?

Answer 1

Mine clears when I choose "None" for the background picture. If it's still clear when you choose a background, there may be a bug somewhere.

Answer 2

Sounds like your video and/or video drivers aren't properly loaded.
Try looking in Control Panel>System>Hardware to see what video and display drivers are loaded and if they match your actual hardware. If they don't, try re-installing the proper driver(s) and make sure they're working properly. The only way I was able to replicate your problem was when I was in safe mode and generic video/display drivers were loaded -- that's why I think its the drivers.