Hi there,have you tried this?Right click an empty space on your desktop,highlight desktop icons,place a check on 'lock icons in place' and uncheck'auto arrange,?
How can I lock desktop icons?
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Anonymous
I am unable to LOCK the icon items on my desktop. I have clicked right on the desktop and via properties checked lock items, yet they are easily moved and NOT locked. I've tried locking them thru 'Appearances and Themes', yet they will NOT lock. How can I get them to stop moving around and stay put by locking. Any help would be graciously appreciated. And, no I am not changing my resolution which I know moves them.
Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Accessibility
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Anonymous
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Anonymous
2013-01-25T18:23:22+00:00 If your talking about the icons moving when you reboot or turn on your computer arrange your icons the way you want then click on an empty part of the desktop and choose refresh. This will lock the icons in place so everytime you reboot or start your computer they will be where you put them. Do the refresh everytime you add a program or anything to the desktop or rearrange your icons. Uncheck auto arrange and align to grid.
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Anonymous
2013-01-26T10:00:10+00:00 I've suggested a different method which worked for me, have you tried it? Run Malwarebytes free antimalware, my problem with moving icons was caused by a virus,
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Anonymous
2013-01-26T10:01:51+00:00 I am quite doubtful that so simple solution would work but I'll give it a try! So I have refreshed my desktop and the next time the icons layout becomes cluttered, I will just reboot and check that my desktop has the look it had at that time of the refresh.
Which OS are you running?
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Anonymous
2013-01-26T11:16:33+00:00 It was XP. Good luck with it. If all else fails try one of the utilities mentioned by others that lock icons in place (sort of).
Edit: Before I found the virus I used Icon Restore, which didn't stop the icons moving, but enabled a quick way of putting them back more or less in place, it's better than nothing if you can't resolve the problem.