Troublesome Two Monitor Question-

Factual Questions
1

A while back, I asked a question about adding a second monitor to my current computer set-up (Pent III 450, 256 ram running Win 98). After some serious procrastination on my part, I finally broke down and bought the second monitor last weekend.

What a difference that made! I can swap and do things with the new monitor I never thought possible before. Too cool. Thanks again for suggesting I get the additional screen. You guys were right again.

However (I know, there’s always a however), adding a second monitor has created a new problem I can’t seem to fix.

The desktop icons on the main monitor now don’t want to remember their placement after I shut the computer down. I move them to where I want them to be on the main monitor, but on restart, it moves them back again to the ‘odd’ arrangement. It’s damn irritating and has never been a problem before now.

Even with the second monitor completely turned off and disconnected, it still prefers the ‘odd’ placement on the main, unchanged, monitor. And when I say nothing has changed with the old monitor, I mean nothing has changed- the icons and screen size are the same and haven’t been fiddled with.

In the big scheme of things this isn’t that big of a deal. But moving the damn icons around after each restart is something I’ve never had to do before and find a hassle to have been added for no reason.

So, is there a setting I’m overlooking? It’s odd that this only arose after the addition of the monitor, but for the life of me I can’t see how the second one can be interfering with the first’s icon placement.

I’m stumped.

*Bonus question for those who know too much-

Assuming I fix this problem and want to create more, is there a way to force windows to place the desktop icons on the second monitor but keep monitor #1 as the primary one?

As always, any and all help is greatly appreciated.

2

I have a dual monitor setup under win98, and I’ve never seen this problem. I know that there is a setting to “auto-arrange” your desktop items, but I keep that off, as it’s main function is to arbitrarily move stuff to where you can’t find it. It sounds a little like what you’re describing. Windows may have set that back to “auto” when you installed the new card. Try right-clicking the desktop and playing around with the options there.

I also don’t have any of my desktop icons on the second screen, so I don’t know off the top of my head if they’d stay put if I tried to put them there.

Does this help at all?

3

Unfortunately no, TheNerd, it doesn’t.

I should have added that I had disabled this feature before because I like the icons in a different arrangement than the forced alignment.

Nothing I can think of is causing this or able to fix the problem.

To be as descriptive as possible, the icons act as if they’ve been bumpted halfway accross the screen. That is, what was once lined up on the left is now smashed up over on the right in an odd jumble.

Very odd and anoying.

Thanks for the effort.

4

This is a know problem with 98, and microsoft is working on a fix. here is the Microsoft KB article on it, which has a temp fix. hope this helps

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q232/7/98.ASP?LN=EN-US&SD=gn&FR=0&qry=save%20settings%20on%20exit&rnk=10&src=DHCS_MSPSS_gn_SRCH&SPR=W98

5

Fantastic!

Mucho Gracias bdgr.