XP desktop icon weirdness

Factual Questions
1

Using XP Home, SP2 on desktop with Firefox 1.5.0.7 and T.Bird. I’ve run three anti-spyware and an antivirus check, all OK.

All of a sudden, when I reboot, or when I run Windows Explorer and then close it, all my desktop icons madly rearrange themselves.

Fortunately, have a dandy little freeware program called IconSaver that puts them back after this, BUT, it’s driving me nuts as to what is causing this.

I disabled all the spyware programs one by one, along with other programs, no change. Nothing in my startup or running programs that is different, nor have I installed any new programs before this started.

Not only the icon problem, but when I go online, it has forgotton all my IDs and passwords.

Once rebooted, if I don’t use Win Explorer, everything is fine until I restart, or use it.

I found a pretty good freeware program called ExplorerXP that works as well or better than Win Ex, except for only one thing, it will not show thumbnails. However, I’m now using that almost exclusively, and it does not cause the icon proglem.

Still, I’d like to remove this problem if anybody has any idea what is causing it or knows of a fix.

Thanks for any info.

2

How are they getting re-arranged? Random spots around the desktop? All over on the left side (with new columns as needed)? Any noticeable order (alphabetical, by type, etc)?

It might just be as simple as the “auto arrange” property being set. Right-click on an empty part of your desktop, go to the “arrange icons by” sub-menu, and look for a check mark next to auto-arrange. If it’s there, click that item to turn it off.

Between that and the lost IDs / passwords, have you maybe been starting up in Windows as a different user? I can’t remember if auto-arrange defaults to on or off for new users, and ID / passwords are associated with a specific user.

3

Thanks, sciguy for the reply…didn’t think anybody would answer!

Very randomly, except for My Computer, they just all are rearranged. Oddly, the pattern is the same each time, however. I click on my Iconsaver, and back they go, but next time, sameo sameo. I have three columns of icons on the left side of the desktop.

Good idea, but know about that. I normally keep Auto Arrange turned off, so can move an icon or two when I want to put it somewhere else. I then click it on to neatly arrange them, then off again. I’ve left it on, but that makes no difference. The icons just seem to do whatever they want! :smiley:

Naw, I’m the only user and the administrator.

I did do a System Restore to a few days ago before this all started happening, and it was fine for a few hours, then started in all over again. Something may be running in the background doing this, but looking through Task Manager, can’t see anything new or different.

Computers are like cats, I guess, they do whatever the hell they want to.

Any more ideas???

Klondike