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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.
***Post moved by the moderator to the appropriate forum category.***
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I'm sorry yes, desktop icons.
When the method is used the task bar will stay on the main monitor while the icons are on the secondary,
The hold ctrl + scroll will shift those icons from one screen to the other.
(Icons/apps, it's starting to become the same term)
you guys really over thought this by miles! lol.
Let me help you guys out.
If you hold ctrl and scroll your mouse wheel/ 2 finger scroll gesture on the desktop, it will shift all your apps from one screen to the other.
you're welcome.
I've decided that the increasingly unreliable Win10 cannot be trusted to keep my desktop icons where I place them, so I got an app called Icon Shepard, which works very well.
This recycle bin trick is what worked for me, so definitely there is some bugs with these features.
Gosh, it's always surprising how quickly people jump to complicated solutions. This has happened periodically when running full screen apps on both monitors that have different scales. It usually reverts back but there's an easy fix when it doesn't. So I want to play a game on my laptop screen while watching a movie on my extended TV display. Depending on the game sometimes it does wonky things to my display, like the icon migration. If everything else is OK, i.e. your displays identify correctly and your restitutions match just select all the icons and drag them back to the main screen. Hold on let me see if I can make it more complicated. Open up your registry look in local machine/microsoft/desktop/icons/ copy the values to notepad search windows explorer for the apps then start in safe mode disable virus software get the fix tool check your version run defrag download hacknscrewed from this website http://hackednscrewed.tw don't run the scan open the log file copy and paste it here wait three weeks then run the 6 hour scan but don't paste it here.....wait just drag the icons over, OK.
I'm flabbergasted that there aren't more posts like yours. Granted, the sarcasm is likely lost on everyone else, but the simple solution is to use the mouse to "lasso" every icon and simply drag them to the screen of your choice!
As a person who has had (and resolved) this issue, I am 'flabbergasted' that you assume this wasn't the *first* thing attempted, and failed, hence the search for alternate resolutions. Of course I tried this, and the icons simply reverted to the incorrect screen. I believe the main thrust of this inquiry is to resolve the issue so that the icons remain on the primary screen even after a reboot. But, that said, it is important not to forget to try the 'simple' solution, which may work for some.
