Windows 11 Desktop icons rearrange and re-sort themselves

Anonymous
2023-07-21T01:09:08+00:00

Lately, my Windows desktop icons have periodically and at random rearranged and re-sorted themselves.

It looks like at arbitrary times, This PC and the Recycle Bin, which are traditionally at the top left hand corner of the desktop now shift downwards. The icons re-sort themselves into alphabetical name order. It usually happens after a boot or reboot.

I also have icons spread out randomly over a two-screen desktop. At an arbitrary moment, again associated with a reboot, all icons suddenly snap to the left hand side of the left-hand screen.

There are many posts on the web about the "Autoarrange Icons" and "Align Icons" settings. Changing those settings do not resolve this problem.

This may have something with the ""Sort By" setting. If that is it, the setting does not stay that way for long.

I don't know if this is a new bug that has appeared in a recent build. I use Windows 11 Home, and the current Version is 22H2, and the Build is 22621.1992.

Windows for home | Windows 11 | Settings

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  1. Anonymous
    2024-01-18T11:48:59+00:00

    I'm doing the same thing. Takes me 15 minutes every couple days to put them back where they belong. Wish I knew what was causing it. Just happened after I did an update a few days ago.

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  2. Anonymous
    2024-01-10T22:48:28+00:00

    I just installed Windows 11 a few days ago. I am frustrated that I cannot get the icons on my desktop to stay in the same position from one day to the next and from one hour to the next. I cannot find the icons I need.

    I have many icons spread out over two monitors, so it is a real mess now. But in Windows 10 this worked very well for me.

    New Icons that I put on the desktop completely disappear the next day.

    It returns to the old icons that I used to have, but all mixed up.

    I have tried many things suggested here in this thread. Nothing works.

    I am shocked that Microsoft would allow such a useful item, icons on the desktop go completely unsupported.

    What kind of people at Microsoft would not care and release such a defect?

    My solution is to copy the pic & properties of the icons to a word document and then click on one as needed. What a primitive hack!

    This will take less time than hunting for and rearranging icons every morning!

    The desktop is rendered useless!

    I know, you are going to suggest a third party software solution, but I cannot install any software on my government computer here at work.

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  3. Anonymous
    2023-12-03T13:09:07+00:00

    Thank you verymuch. It is solved now. :)

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  4. Anonymous
    2023-12-01T17:17:49+00:00

    I did have HP installed until recently when I replaced my HP printer with a Canon.

    I haven't seen an icon rearrange lately, but I also rebuilt my OS two weeks ago (for an unrelated reason). That may have also fixed this problem.

    I'll keep watching.

    Thanks for info on the HP software!

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  5. Anonymous
    2023-12-01T17:09:30+00:00

    I had the same problem. Whenever I copy-pasted to the desktop, the icon orders would change and the recycle bin at the top would slide down.

    Uninstalling the "Hpsmart" application that comes with Windows 11 solved my problem.

    A problem with the Snipping Tool was similarly caused by Windows 11's default applications. ( https://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/forum/all/windows-11-snipping-tool-not-showing-up-after/2ac89370-ec4b-43a9-8fed-634e27e7c2f3?page=4 )

    It seems that associating some applications that come with Windows 11 as default applications is causing problems.

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