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I have been using this setup with my laptop for 18 months so I am familiar with extended screen usage. Two days ago a problem started. I have a laptop with 17" screen set to the Main Display plus a 22" not checked to be the Main Display. Screen Resolution > Multiple Displays = Extend these displays. Desktop right click > View > Auto Arrange is Not checked. Sort By options are unchecked. Personalization > Allow themes to change desktop icons is Not checked.
I have all my desktop icons arranged on the laptop screen which is set to be Main Display.
New Problem:
When I plug the extended monitor cable into the laptop or when I fresh bootup or if I had changed the Appearance settings from extended to duplicate or to the external 22" to be off and then turn it back to being extended, any of those things, to basically use the 2nd monitor as extended will cause all the desktop icons to move to the extended 22" screen space. They are supposed to stay anchored to the laptop Main screen since that is how it is allocated. This worked fine until two days ago and I was not playing with any settings before it happened.
If I unplug the external monitor or set it to be unused or as a duplicate image then the icons return to the main laptop monitor.
I use a freeware IconRestorer to save and restore the last saved desktop layout. Since this problem started it restores to the extended monitor not back to the laptop main screen like it had previously. I have killed IconRestorer from the background to see if it was causing the problem and it had no affect.
With the icons showing on the extended 22" monitor and I unplug the video cable for it the icons move to the laptop screen however they are rearranged. Each time I try that the icons form a different layout and order on the laptop screen.
I can then run IconRestorer with the 22" still unplugged from the laptop and all the icons will be restored properly. So I conclude IconRestorer is working fine. The problem seems to be that Win 7 thinks the Laptop screen is not the main screen even though it is checked as to be the main screen.
Once only while repeating these various steps, after the icons are restored with the 2nd monitor unplugged, then plug it back in all looks fine but if I do the IconRestorer restore all the icons again get placed to the extended 22" screen. Usually plugging the extended monitor back in causes the icons to jump to that monitor.
Note that when the laptop is checked to be the Main screen the taskbar is located on the laptop monitor so it only partially thinks the extended screen should be the main screen. If I set the extended 22" as the Main screen then the task bar jumps to the extended screen and all the desktop icons come back to the laptop screen.
It never worked like that before. I also am running win 7 on desktop with 4 monitors and all icons being on main screen at far left and that still works fine including the use of IconRestorer.
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Same problem today on Win 10 (1703) ...
None of the other tips worked, but the tip about size worked in some part:
Large icons -> correct display, medium icons -> correct display and small
icons -> wrong display.
Solution: I just selected all icons on the wrong display with my mouse and
moved them to the correct display, and hey, presto, they now stay there ...
"whatever I do" ...
Thanks for your reply.
Method 2: Unfortunately I did have auto restore points running so the most recent restore point was from 2010.
Method 1: Failed to help.
I uninstalled and deleted the driver (by checking box to delete it), rebooted.
Windows Update ran automatically after the reboot. It updated the Intel graphics driver. This is a Dell laptop.
Rebooted.
2nd monitor remained unplugged through all of this.
Icons appeared on the laptop screen but somewhat scrambled. Ran IconRestorer to put them back in place.
Plugged in 2nd monitor and all but two desktop icons jumped to the 2nd monitor with main taskbar staying at bottom of the laptop screen. I looked, the laptop screen is checked to be the main display.
I had not been doing this before this problem and do not do this on my desktop but for this experiment after restoring the icon locations with IconRestorer I remove it from running in the background before plugging in the 2nd monitor.
Do you have any other ideas?
Grouping of the icons happens at logon, depending on the config AND the connected screens.
A screen turned off is not enough for "not to be there".
You must unplug it if you want te system knowing it is really not there.
So if your icons are on the "wrong" display, just logoff, unplug the "wrong" display and login again.
You do not need to shutdown.
The system puts now your Taskbar and Icons on the "correct" display now (for there is no other at all).
If you then plug in the other display, you can use it again (extened when it was extended etc.).
If you now switch the main display to this "new" one, it becomes the main display with Taskbar AND icons.
Switching back moves taskbar AND icons together again to the "old" display.
So all the problems come from unplugging a display in a wrong moment, and can be "repaired" with reverting to one single display and then plugging in the second one again.
Repeated: You have to UNPLUG the "seconary" screen to make the system noticing it's not there for the system does not check the switched-on-status but the connector connected status. You can also hear it, if you unplug a display, it gives the same "unplug" sound as for instance with an USB stick.
All the stuff reinstalling drivers or switching off antivirus etc are humbug.
Didn't work for me. I run Windows 10 on Toshiba laptop with and 23" LG extended monitor. Selected the LG as the main display (botton taskbar moved to it). As I returned to the integrated display of the laptop, only the taskbar returned. Screen icons again moved to the extended monitor.
Hi David,
You may try these steps and check if that helps.
Method 1:
Uninstall and reinstall the Display adapter drivers make sure it’s updated. To download the latest version of drivers you may visit the manufacturer's website.
Follow these steps to uninstall and re-install drivers from device manager.
a. Click Start, type Device Manager in the Start search box and hit ENTER.
b. Click View on the Menu bar and select Show hidden devices.
c. Locate Display adapter drivers and expand the same.
d. Right click the network driver and click on Uninstall.
e. Now, install the latest network adapter drivers.
In the meantime, let's refer to this link for more information:
Update a driver for hardware that isn't working properly
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows7/Update-a-driver-for-hardware-that-isnt-Working-properly
Method 2:
Since the issue started to occur recently you may try performing a system restore to a point where it was working fine.
To know how to perform a system restore you may refer the following link:
System Restore: frequently asked questions
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-in/windows7/system-restore-frequently-asked-questions
Please let us know the issue status.
