Member Avatar for normanallen

When a shortcut was added to the Desktop on XP it was placed at the end of list on the screen. Now, on Windows7, when a new shortcut is added it gets put immediately below the Computer icon at top left. Is this a Vista/W7 thing? I've tried changing the various options available with a right click. 'View' option has the bottom four selected and the 'Sort by' option has nothing selected.
Funny, I just noticed that CCleaner installed itself at the end, why can't the others?
Is there some way to stop this positioning problem?

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Dani AI

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As noted, the desktop "auto arrange" option is the obvious control for whether Windows forces icons into a fixed order. That alone does not explain icons that change position after a reboot, though — the behavior described by (new icons appearing below Computer, then other icons showing up between Computer and Recycle Bin after restart) points to Windows recalculating the desktop layout at logon rather than a simple placement rule.

Common, verifiable causes and how they affect placement:

  • Display changes (resolution, primary monitor, docking/undocking, projector or external monitor connection) cause Windows to recalc icon positions and fill the grid starting at the top-left.
  • View changes (icon size or Sort-by settings) and Explorer refreshes can snap icons to different grid cells.
  • Saved layout data can be lost or reset (corrupt shell "bags" or icon-cache files), or cleaning tools that remove cached shell settings may force a rebuild and repositioning.

Practical, non-destructive remedies that have worked reliably:

  • Ensure automatic reflow is disabled and the desired View/Sort settings are applied, then arrange icons and reboot to see if the layout persists.
  • Prevent display/monitor changes during login (test with external displays disconnected or a stable docking state).
  • Rebuild Windows icon cache (delete %localappdata%\IconCache.db and sign out/sign in) to repair corrupted saved positions.
  • Use a small layout save/restore utility (DesktopOK or similar) to capture and restore icon layouts after a reboot.
  • If a system cleaner is installed, exclude any options that clear shell/view data or the icon cache.

Caution: back up the registry or create a restore point before attempting registry edits or unfamiliar system tweaks. These steps keep the diagnosis factual and provide safe, repeatable fixes for the positioning issue described in this thread.

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Member Avatar for Dani_938

Uncheck 'Auto Arrange' from Arrange Icons Options.

Member Avatar for normanallen

That's not quite what I had in mind. I have just installed something and the icon is at the end of the list on the desktop, but when I rebooted this morning there were icons between Computer and Recycle Bin that weren't there last night! I definitely remember being able to do this quite easily on XP. When I wanted to move the icons around they did auto arrange quite happily, so that I could have certain icons in certain positions on the desktop. Has Auto Arrange changed functionality? Even with it off icons seem to have moved about!

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