periodic desktop icons moving?

[J. P. Gilliver (John)]

From time to time, the icons on my desktop rearrange, all to the left. I
do not have auto arrange icons set.

I have Ez-desk, so it's not a major problem to put them back where I
want them, but it _is_ irritating.

It seems to come and go in phases, and I've had it on at least two
machines. At the moment, I can't remember when it last happened on this
laptop on my desktop machine, it tends to happen at least once per
session, within about ten or twenty minutes of booting.

Any idea what's causing it?
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G.5AL(+++)IS-P--Ch+(p)Ar+T[?]H+Sh0!:`)DNAf
** http://www.soft255.demon.co.uk/G6JPG-PC/JPGminPC.htm for thoughts on PCs. **

"Bother," said Pooh, as Windows crashed for the umpteenth time.

 

[thanatoid]

"J. P. Gilliver (John)" <G6JPG@soft255.demon.co.uk> wrote in
news:v+mid5J4V55IFwlF@soft255.demon.co.uk:

> From time to time, the icons on my desktop rearrange, all
> to the left. I
> do not have auto arrange icons set.
>
> I have Ez-desk, so it's not a major problem to put them
> back where I want them, but it _is_ irritating.
>
> It seems to come and go in phases, and I've had it on at
> least two machines. At the moment, I can't remember when it
> last happened on this laptop on my desktop machine, it
> tends to happen at least once per session, within about ten
> or twenty minutes of booting.
>
> Any idea what's causing it?

Standard Windows behavior. Get the prog from
http://www.iconsaver.com. If you can find an older version, it
was free, and had less unnecessary bells and whistles. This is
also, I regret to say, typical.

A sage regular in this group, Franc Zabkar, told me WHERE the
damn icon placement is kept - no one else could for TEN years.
It's the FIRST "stream" in the registry - and for reasons known
only to pimply MS programmers, it misbehaves. You/could/ try
exporting that stream to a reg file when your icons are the way
you want, and double clicking on that file /should/ restore
them. I never tried it because I use IconSaver. It might or
might not work.

There are about 5 other programs which keep your icons where you
want, but they are either goofy, expensive, vast overkill or all
of the above. Still, feel free to explore software sites.


--
Those who cast the votes decide nothing. Those who count the
votes decide everything.
- Josef Stalin

 

[glee]

"J. P. Gilliver (John)" <G6JPG@soft255.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
news:v+mid5J4V55IFwlF@soft255.demon.co.uk...
> From time to time, the icons on my desktop rearrange, all to the left. I do not
> have auto arrange icons set.
>
> I have Ez-desk, so it's not a major problem to put them back where I want them,
> but it _is_ irritating.
>
> It seems to come and go in phases, and I've had it on at least two machines. At
> the moment, I can't remember when it last happened on this laptop on my desktop
> machine, it tends to happen at least once per session, within about ten or twenty
> minutes of booting.
>
> Any idea what's causing it?

Do you have TweakUI installed?

Open the Registry Editor (Start>Run>Regedit) and navigate to this key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer

Look for a data value in the right-hand pane named "NoSaveSettings"
If it exists, is it a Hexadecimal, or a DWORD value?
Is it set to 0 or 1?

My first suggestion is, if the "NoSaveSettings" value exists, delete it and restart.

If no joy:
re-create "NoSaveSettings" but ensure it is Hex Binary rather than DWORD, and set
the binary value to 00 00 00 00
OR
if TweakUI is installed, check the box for "Save Explorer window settings"

A simple workaround is to use a tweak such as this to save and restore the
layout...it is by far the simplest workaround:
http://users.rcn.com/taylotr/icon_restore.html

--
Glen Ventura, MS MVP Windows, A+
http://dts-l.net/
http://dts-l.net/goodpost.htm

 

[J. P. Gilliver (John)]

In message <Xns9B2DF3EBEB83Dthanexit@209.197.15.184>, thanatoid
<waiting@the.exit.invalid> writes
>"J. P. Gilliver (John)" <G6JPG@soft255.demon.co.uk> wrote in
>news:v+mid5J4V55IFwlF@soft255.demon.co.uk:
>
>> From time to time, the icons on my desktop rearrange, all
>> to the left. I
>> do not have auto arrange icons set.
>>
>> I have Ez-desk, so it's not a major problem to put them
>> back where I want them, but it _is_ irritating.
[]
>Standard Windows behavior. Get the prog from
>http://www.iconsaver.com. If you can find an older version, it
>was free, and had less unnecessary bells and whistles. This is
>also, I regret to say, typical.

Ez-desk does me fine. I just wondered what was causing the "Standard
Windows Behaviour".
>
>A sage regular in this group, Franc Zabkar, told me WHERE the
>damn icon placement is kept - no one else could for TEN years.
>It's the FIRST "stream" in the registry - and for reasons known
>only to pimply MS programmers, it misbehaves. You/could/ try
>exporting that stream to a reg file when your icons are the way
>you want, and double clicking on that file /should/ restore
>them. I never tried it because I use IconSaver. It might or
>might not work.
>
>There are about 5 other programs which keep your icons where you
>want, but they are either goofy, expensive, vast overkill or all
>of the above. Still, feel free to explore software sites.
>
Ez-desk is light and in effect free (nominally just a trial version, but
I did try to contact the author about some minor technical query and
there seemed to be no response, so I assume she's lost interest).
>
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G.5AL(+++)IS-P--Ch+(p)Ar+T[?]H+Sh0!:`)DNAf
** http://www.soft255.demon.co.uk/G6JPG-PC/JPGminPC.htm for thoughts on PCs. **

This area of 'when does a computer know that it doesn't know' is relatively
undeveloped. - Colin Barker (Computing, 1999-2-18 [p. 20])

 

[J. P. Gilliver (John)]

In message <OnM9h3vJJHA.3460@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl>, glee
<glee29@spamindspring.com> writes
>"J. P. Gilliver (John)" <G6JPG@soft255.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
>news:v+mid5J4V55IFwlF@soft255.demon.co.uk...
>> From time to time, the icons on my desktop rearrange, all to the
>>left. I do not have auto arrange icons set.
[]
>Do you have TweakUI installed?
[suggestions snipped]

I have Ez-desk to save and restore the positions, it was more a matter
of wondering what is causing the behaviour in the first place. Windows
will boot up and settle down with the icons where I want them - then
they'll spontaneously rearrange sometime within the next ten or twenty
minutes. I think it only happens when I'm doing something, not when the
machine is idle, but I haven't been able to pin it to (my doing)
anything specific so far.
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G.5AL(+++)IS-P--Ch+(p)Ar+T[?]H+Sh0!:`)DNAf
** http://www.soft255.demon.co.uk/G6JPG-PC/JPGminPC.htm for thoughts on PCs. **

This area of 'when does a computer know that it doesn't know' is relatively
undeveloped. - Colin Barker (Computing, 1999-2-18 [p. 20])

 

[glee]

"J. P. Gilliver (John)" <G6JPG@soft255.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
news:NSLqGaIAvV6IFw6d@soft255.demon.co.uk...
> In message <OnM9h3vJJHA.3460@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl>, glee
> <glee29@spamindspring.com> writes
>>"J. P. Gilliver (John)" <G6JPG@soft255.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
>>news:v+mid5J4V55IFwlF@soft255.demon.co.uk...
>>> From time to time, the icons on my desktop rearrange, all to the left. I do not
>>> have auto arrange icons set.
> []
>>Do you have TweakUI installed?
> [suggestions snipped]
>
> I have Ez-desk to save and restore the positions, it was more a matter of
> wondering what is causing the behaviour in the first place. Windows will boot up
> and settle down with the icons where I want them - then they'll spontaneously
> rearrange sometime within the next ten or twenty minutes. I think it only happens
> when I'm doing something, not when the machine is idle, but I haven't been able to
> pin it to (my doing) anything specific so far.

That is what my suggestions were for. Check what I asked you to check in order to
determine if those settings are involved. The icons are moving when your system
decides to refresh the desktop, and the NoSaveSettings data is often invloved in the
rearrangement of the icons at that time.
--
Glen Ventura, MS MVP Windows, A+
http://dts-l.net/
http://dts-l.net/goodpost.htm

 

[glee]

"J. P. Gilliver (John)" <G6JPG@soft255.demon.co.uk> wrote in message
news:xBHVC5HxrV6IFw8s@soft255.demon.co.uk...
> In message <Xns9B2DF3EBEB83Dthanexit@209.197.15.184>, thanatoid
> <waiting@the.exit.invalid> writes
>>"J. P. Gilliver (John)" <G6JPG@soft255.demon.co.uk> wrote in
>>news:v+mid5J4V55IFwlF@soft255.demon.co.uk:
>>
>>> From time to time, the icons on my desktop rearrange, all
>>> to the left. I
>>> do not have auto arrange icons set.
>>>
>>> I have Ez-desk, so it's not a major problem to put them
>>> back where I want them, but it _is_ irritating.
> []
>>Standard Windows behavior. Get the prog from
>>http://www.iconsaver.com. If you can find an older version, it
>>was free, and had less unnecessary bells and whistles. This is
>>also, I regret to say, typical.
>
> Ez-desk does me fine. I just wondered what was causing the "Standard Windows
> Behaviour".
>> snip

It's NOT standard Windows behaviour by any means. I have worked on more Win9x
systems than I care to count, and I have only seen that behaviour when returning
from Safe Mode on some of them, or when certain Registry settings either get
corrupted or a DWORD NoSaveSettings value is in force.
--
Glen Ventura, MS MVP Windows, A+
http://dts-l.net/
http://dts-l.net/goodpost.htm

 

[thanatoid]

"J. P. Gilliver (John)" <G6JPG@soft255.demon.co.uk> wrote in
news:xBHVC5HxrV6IFw8s@soft255.demon.co.uk:

<SNIP>

> Ez-desk does me fine.

As usual, I read carelessly or I would not have suggested
iconsaver.

> I just wondered what was causing the
> "Standard Windows Behaviour".

That, I hope, is a rhetorical question.



--
Those who cast the votes decide nothing. Those who count the
votes decide everything.
- Josef Stalin

 

[J. P. Gilliver (John)]

In message <OhzJ#H1JJHA.1160@TK2MSFTNGP04.phx.gbl>, glee
<glee29@spamindspring.com> writes
[]
>That is what my suggestions were for. Check what I asked you to check
>in order to determine if those settings are involved. The icons are
>moving when your system decides to refresh the desktop, and the
>NoSaveSettings data is often invloved in the rearrangement of the icons
>at that time.

Ah, I see.

> Open the Registry Editor (Start>Run>Regedit) and navigate to this key:
>
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\E>
xplorer

> Look for a data value in the right-hand pane named "NoSaveSettings"
[]
> If no joy:
> re-create "NoSaveSettings" but ensure it is Hex Binary rather than
> DWORD, and set the binary value to 00 00 00 00
> OR
> if TweakUI is installed, check the box for "Save Explorer window
> settings"

I do have TweakUI, and that box is already ticked, so I've gone into
regedit, and that value wasn't there at all, so I've created it and set
it to 00 00 00 00. Will report back what happens!
(Why on earth they have keys with inverse names ...)

Thanks.
--
J. P. Gilliver. UMRA: 1960/<1985 MB++G.5AL(+++)IS-P--Ch+(p)Ar+T[?]H+Sh0!:`)DNAf
** http://www.soft255.demon.co.uk/G6JPG-PC/JPGminPC.htm for thoughts on PCs. **

This area of 'when does a computer know that it doesn't know' is relatively
undeveloped. - Colin Barker (Computing, 1999-2-18 [p. 20])

 

[teebo]

>> HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
>> Look for a data value in the right-hand pane named "NoSaveSettings"

> (Why on earth they have keys with inverse names ...)



I guess we should be happy they didn't use double negations -)
DontHaveNoUnSaveSettingsOff = 1

is it possible to have the same settings in HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE ?

HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
is only used when creating a new account I hope.


If windows explorer would have been open source, there would be
lot of features I would remove and lots of registry keys that
would be un-used


It looks like the icon positions is saved here in this registry key:
HKEY_USERS\.DEFAULT\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\Streams\Desktop\ViewView2
The other numbered ones in Explorer\Streams\ I guess are for other folders
that have
their icon placement saved... I have 0 to 199 and they have all allmost
the same data

1C 0 0 0 03 0 0 0 (one hade 04 instead of 03)
0 0 0 0 0 0 30 0
02 0 0 0 01 0 0 0 (or 00 instead of 02)
FF FF FF FF F0 F0 F0 F0
14 0 03 0 30 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

Desktop begins the same too, but after that, there is more data
and filenames (both the LFN and short filename) with 22 byte
data for each, that looks like for example these:

35 01 00 00 98 00 00 00 31 00 32 00 36 00 24 00 25 39 D8 19 20 00
35 01 00 00 4D 00 00 00 30 00 32 00 96 4F 05 00 25 39 DB 04 20 00
D8 00 00 00 C4 01 00 00 39 00 32 00 87 43 0D 00 21 39 FA 05 20 00
17 02 00 00 AC 01 00 00 19 00 32 00 3F 11 00 00 B9 36 00 00 20 80
06 03 00 00 E3 00 00 00 2D 00 32 00 97 03 00 00 DD 38 BD 8C 20 00