Solved Sudden Strange Icon Behaviour


Catnip

Forum Nitwit
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Win 11 Pro 25H2
Hi.

I noticed about three days ago that when I log on, my icons are now all over half my screen and are widely spaced out side to side and top and bottom. If I log out and then log back in, the icons are where they are supposed to be, but all mixed up. If I reboot, they are all over the place again until I log out then back in after it boots up.

I have made no adjustments to my computer other than the recent patch Tuesday updates, and I have not installed any new software in the past month or so, with the exception of my new Nvidia GPU drivers. There is a tutorial on setting icon spacing, and I might try that. I'm just not sure it will hold between boot ups.

Anyone have this recent experience too? Or is it just me? And what could be the cause of this sudden weirdness?
 

My Computers My Computers

  • At a glance

    Win 11 Pro 25H2Intel i7 13700KF32 GB Team Group DDR5 - 6000 CL 30ASUS TUF GAMING RTX 3070 Ti
    OS
    Win 11 Pro 25H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Self build
    CPU
    Intel i7 13700KF
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte Z790 UD AC
    Memory
    32 GB Team Group DDR5 - 6000 CL 30
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS TUF GAMING RTX 3070 Ti
    Sound Card
    On board Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ACER 34 inch
    Screen Resolution
    Not 4K like I thought. 35" wide though.
    Hard Drives
    1 TB Samsung 980 Pro Nvme, 1 TB Samsung 970 EVO Nvme, 2 x Samsung 970 2TB SSD SATA
    PSU
    EVGA 1000Q
    Case
    Rosewill something or other
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D15. A whole schwak of Noctua case fans. $$$
    Keyboard
    Logitech G815
    Mouse
    Logitech G502 Hero
    Internet Speed
    700 up, 600 down
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    MalwareBytes
  • At a glance

    Widows 11 ProRyzen 2700X32 GB DDR4XFX Radeon R9 280
    Operating System
    Widows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Self build
    CPU
    Ryzen 2700X
    Motherboard
    MSI X470 Gaming Plus Max
    Memory
    32 GB DDR4
    Graphics card(s)
    XFX Radeon R9 280
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Two 27 inch Acer monitors
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    One 1 TB NVME (Samsung)
    PSU
    Corsair 750 Watt
    Case
    HAF 912
    Cooling
    Wraith cooler and case fans
    Keyboard
    Logitech G710+
    Mouse
    Generic
    Internet Speed
    700 down, 650 up
    Browser
    Firefox, Chrome
    Antivirus
    Malware bytes
Maybe somewhere in here
1.jpg



and

HKCU:\Control Panel\Desktop\WindowMetrics
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Microsoft Windows 11 HomeIntel Core i5-13490F2 x 16 Patriot Memory (PDP Systems) PSD516G56...GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 4070 WINDFORCE OC 12G (G...
OS
Microsoft Windows 11 Home
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Manufacturer/Model
MSI MS-7D98
CPU
Intel Core i5-13490F
Motherboard
MSI B760 GAMING PLUS WIFI
Memory
2 x 16 Patriot Memory (PDP Systems) PSD516G560081 6400MT (32-37-37-74); 1.35V)
Graphics Card(s)
GIGABYTE GeForce RTX 4070 WINDFORCE OC 12G (GV-N4070WF3OC-12GD)
Sound Card
Bluetooth Аудио
Monitor(s) Displays
INNOCN 15K1F
Screen Resolution
1920 x 1080
Hard Drives
WD_BLACK SN770 250GB
KINGSTON SNV2S1000G (ELFK0S.6)
PSU
Thermaltake Toughpower GF3 1000W
Case
CG560 - DeepCool
Cooling
ID-COOLING SE-224-XTS / 2 x 140Mm Fan - rear and top; 3 x 120Mm - front
Keyboard
Corsair K70 RGB TKL
Mouse
Corsair KATAR PRO XT
Internet Speed
100 Mbps
Browser
Firefox
Antivirus
Microsoft Defender Antivirus
Other Info
https://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/66553205
There is a very old program I've been using since it was first introduced called iconoid (Download Iconoid - MajorGeeks). It works perfectly in all Windows versions up to and including W11. Among other features, it allows you to save your desktop layout and restore it automatically every time Windows loads. Give it a shot.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

W11
OS
W11
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Manufacturer/Model
2 HP Desktops, 1 Dell Desktop, 2 Dell XPS Laptops, 1 HP Laptop
Keyboard
Logitech
Mouse
Logitech MX Master 4 & 3
Internet Speed
500 mps
Browser
Firefox
Antivirus
Bitdefender
Thanks fellas. I applied the latest update from Windows and now it only does it half of the time, the rest of the time it boots normally and my icons are in line properly, though they are all scrambled now alphabetically. I can live with that I suppose, but I am going to try your suggestions and see what happens.
 

My Computers My Computers

  • At a glance

    Win 11 Pro 25H2Intel i7 13700KF32 GB Team Group DDR5 - 6000 CL 30ASUS TUF GAMING RTX 3070 Ti
    OS
    Win 11 Pro 25H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Self build
    CPU
    Intel i7 13700KF
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte Z790 UD AC
    Memory
    32 GB Team Group DDR5 - 6000 CL 30
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS TUF GAMING RTX 3070 Ti
    Sound Card
    On board Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ACER 34 inch
    Screen Resolution
    Not 4K like I thought. 35" wide though.
    Hard Drives
    1 TB Samsung 980 Pro Nvme, 1 TB Samsung 970 EVO Nvme, 2 x Samsung 970 2TB SSD SATA
    PSU
    EVGA 1000Q
    Case
    Rosewill something or other
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D15. A whole schwak of Noctua case fans. $$$
    Keyboard
    Logitech G815
    Mouse
    Logitech G502 Hero
    Internet Speed
    700 up, 600 down
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    MalwareBytes
  • At a glance

    Widows 11 ProRyzen 2700X32 GB DDR4XFX Radeon R9 280
    Operating System
    Widows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Self build
    CPU
    Ryzen 2700X
    Motherboard
    MSI X470 Gaming Plus Max
    Memory
    32 GB DDR4
    Graphics card(s)
    XFX Radeon R9 280
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Two 27 inch Acer monitors
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    One 1 TB NVME (Samsung)
    PSU
    Corsair 750 Watt
    Case
    HAF 912
    Cooling
    Wraith cooler and case fans
    Keyboard
    Logitech G710+
    Mouse
    Generic
    Internet Speed
    700 down, 650 up
    Browser
    Firefox, Chrome
    Antivirus
    Malware bytes
It's been a bit, but I have had some success with fiddling around with my PC. Seems I was hit with a virus of sorts. I have done multiple passes with both SuperAntiSpyware and MalwareBytes, as well as MSERT and the Malicious Software Removal Tool. Then I ran SFC and DISM. The system seems to be clean now.

It still buggers up the icons every third or fourth boot, but at least they stay in order now. Logging out and back in fixes them. I guess I will have to live with it unless I am ready to do a repair install, which I am not. I wonder if something changed on Patch Tuesday in February? That seems to be when this started.

I am marking the thread as solved for now. Unless something changes and gets worse, then I will re-open it.
 

My Computers My Computers

  • At a glance

    Win 11 Pro 25H2Intel i7 13700KF32 GB Team Group DDR5 - 6000 CL 30ASUS TUF GAMING RTX 3070 Ti
    OS
    Win 11 Pro 25H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Self build
    CPU
    Intel i7 13700KF
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte Z790 UD AC
    Memory
    32 GB Team Group DDR5 - 6000 CL 30
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS TUF GAMING RTX 3070 Ti
    Sound Card
    On board Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ACER 34 inch
    Screen Resolution
    Not 4K like I thought. 35" wide though.
    Hard Drives
    1 TB Samsung 980 Pro Nvme, 1 TB Samsung 970 EVO Nvme, 2 x Samsung 970 2TB SSD SATA
    PSU
    EVGA 1000Q
    Case
    Rosewill something or other
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-D15. A whole schwak of Noctua case fans. $$$
    Keyboard
    Logitech G815
    Mouse
    Logitech G502 Hero
    Internet Speed
    700 up, 600 down
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    MalwareBytes
  • At a glance

    Widows 11 ProRyzen 2700X32 GB DDR4XFX Radeon R9 280
    Operating System
    Widows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Self build
    CPU
    Ryzen 2700X
    Motherboard
    MSI X470 Gaming Plus Max
    Memory
    32 GB DDR4
    Graphics card(s)
    XFX Radeon R9 280
    Sound Card
    Onboard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Two 27 inch Acer monitors
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1080
    Hard Drives
    One 1 TB NVME (Samsung)
    PSU
    Corsair 750 Watt
    Case
    HAF 912
    Cooling
    Wraith cooler and case fans
    Keyboard
    Logitech G710+
    Mouse
    Generic
    Internet Speed
    700 down, 650 up
    Browser
    Firefox, Chrome
    Antivirus
    Malware bytes

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