XP Constantly Rearranges Desktop Icons

  • Thread starter Thread starter Ken Hall
  • Start date Start date
K

Ken Hall

After installing a video card and then its drivers XP has started
wadding up all my desktop icons in a tight random group on the left of
the screen. It also does this sometimes when I exit an application.
This makes the desktop virtually worthless.

How do I stop this?

Ken
 
In other words you want them in a particular position that you have
designated as opposed to the system. Right click a blank space on the
desktop, select "Arrange Icons by" and remove the check next to
"AutoArrange" and "Align to grid."
 
Right click desktop/Arrange Icons by - remove check from "auto arrange".
 
In other words you want them in a particular position that you have
designated as opposed to the system. Right click a blank space on the
desktop, select "Arrange Icons by" and remove the check next to
"AutoArrange" and "Align to grid."
Click to expand...

Auto Arrange is not checked. I have had the Align to grid checked
every since I began using XP (about a year).

I think I wasn't clear. This just began happening today. Up 'til
today it kept my custom arrangement between reboots, day in day out,
week-to-week.

Ken
 
Try unchecking align to grid, you have nothing to lose.

Since this just began happening today, you might try using System Restore to
take you back to yesterday or the day before and see if that clears it up.
Start\All Programs\Accessories\System Tools\System Restore. Or, if you can
think of anything you've changed, something new you installed, something you
removed, maybe some disk cleanup utility that might have deleted something,
try undoing what you did if you can think of anything.

The "It only started happening today" argument only holds water if
everything remains the same. If there was one change, just one, that might
be what made the difference.

We have people come in here reporting an error message, "Unmountable boot
volume." This is almost invariably caused by using a 40-wire cable instead
of an 80-wire UDMA cable. The users will argue with us that the system has
worked fine up until now. However, the system was borderline and, as such,
some small change, some new install, something they removed is all it took
to push it over.

I only make that point as an example, it often doesn't take much to make
such a difference. Sometimes the most inconsequential seeming of changes
can just upset everything you thought was perfectly stable.
 
After installing a video card and then its drivers XP has started
wadding up all my desktop icons in a tight random group on the left of
the screen. It also does this sometimes when I exit an application.
This makes the desktop virtually worthless.

How do I stop this?
Click to expand...

In case anyone else has any ideas, I've tried the suggestions given
so far and the problem's still not fixed.

Ken
 
Ken Hall said:
In case anyone else has any ideas, I've tried the suggestions given
so far and the problem's still not fixed.

Ken
Click to expand...
Ken see if you can find a utility called Win Tidy. With it you can arrange
icons as you wish and it remembers the layout and has a restore capability
after say a crash. If you cant find it , email me and i'll see if i can zip
it up and send it to you

Eric Booth
 
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