Windows 7 desktop icons keep rearranging themselves

Anonymous
2009-10-07T02:55:22+00:00

Every few days, all the icons on my Win7 desktop rearrange themselves. Usually they move to the left edge of the screen. I laboriously move all the icons back to where I like them, and 3-10 days later, they all shift left again. I've found no pattern or event that might cause this -- but it's very annoying!

I've got Win7 build 7100 running on a Dell Latitude D830 laptop. Totally standard hardware and very little non-Microsoft software. In short, it's a pretty clean system.

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Accessibility

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Anonymous
2009-10-07T17:38:17+00:00

To supplement Reyas.M.I.'s answer, Under View is the option to select the icon size, Auto arrange icons and Align icons to grid.  The Sort by option includes Name, Size, Item type and Date modified.  I suggest you check both View and Sort by.

Corrine, Microsoft MVP (Consumer Security). This posting is provided "AS IS" without warranty, and confers no rights.

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Anonymous
2009-10-07T04:51:35+00:00

Check whether "Auto Arrange" checked. To check this, right click on desktop and select "Arrange icons by".

I hope this helps.

Thanks and Regards, Reyas...

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  1. Anonymous
    2016-09-05T15:28:02+00:00

    You are correct.

    The answer is

    tick Auto Arrange,

    and untick Align icons to grid.

    This is a bug. Because the descriptions should be switch between them.

    The tick for auto arrange, actually align new icons to grid.

    Whereas, the tick for align icons to grid, actually rearrange the position of icons.

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  2. Anonymous
    2016-08-01T00:16:00+00:00

    This thread has been around for awhile but I see that it really hasn't been answered to everyone satisfaction.  I was looking into this problem a couple of years ago and I was looking for a different answer.  What I found a few years ago was that the Windows maintenance in the task scheduler was causing my icons to rearrange for no apparent reason.  I went into the Task Scheduler - Task Scheduler Library - Microsoft - Windows - Maintenance and disabled the only task WinSAT.  After that, I no longer had the problem.  Hope this helps someone.

    PC Solutions ToGo

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  3. Anonymous
    2016-06-27T10:38:56+00:00

    Hi John,

    There might be a chance that there is some system file corruption. So, I would suggest you to run SFC scan and see if it brings any difference.

    System file check is a utility built into the Operating System that will check for system file corruption. The sfc /scannow command (System File Check) scans the integrity of all protected operating system files and replaces incorrect, corrupted, changed, or damaged versions with the correct versions where possible.

    How to use the System File Checker tool to troubleshoot missing or corrupted system files on Windows Vista or on Windows 7.

    • Go to Start, click All Programs and open Accessories.
    • Right click on Command Prompt in the Program list and then select Run as administrator. If you are prompted for an administrator password or for confirmation, type your password, or click OK.
    • In the Command Prompt, type the following command, and then press ENTER:

    sfc /scannow

    For more information refer to this link:

    http://support.microsoft.com/kb/929833/en-us

    Do keep us updated.

    Regards,

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