Windows 7 Keeps Moving Desktop Icons, How Do I Stop It?

Windows 7 has been one of the best Operating systems I have used in a long time, but that doesn't mean there aren't a lot of little annoyances within the program that I wouldn't mind getting rid of. One such annoyance is when I move my Icons and then reboot they are all rearranged in a different order. Not a huge deal and not going to affect the performance of my PC but I hate when my Icons move and I doubt I am the only one. In this guide I will explain to you how to stop Windows 7 from rearranging your icons.

The reason this is happening is that when Windows 7 shuts down it saves the location of your icons, so if your computer isn't shutting down properly then it can cause issues with your icons and might rearrange them. So there are a few things you can do to prevent this auto arrangement.

Windows 7 has a built in function called Auto Arrange Icons, a lot of times people have this option turned on and they don't realize, this could be what is causing your icons to move. To disable this function, follow these steps:

1 - Right Click the desktop
2 - Click View
3 - Check to see if Auto Arrange has a check mark
4 - If it does uncheck it
5 - Reboot your PC

Once you have rebooted your PC check and see if your icons moved, if they didn't then you have solved your problem. If they did move, well there are a few more things you can try to hopefully resolve the issue.

The next step and usually the most effective fix (once you turn off auto arrange) to this issue is a simple refresh of the desktop, this basically will refresh the desktop icons and save the location of your icons. To do the refresh method, follow these steps:

1 - Arrange your icons how you want them
2 - Right click your desktop
3 - Click Refresh

Now Windows 7 should have the location of your icons saved and when you reboot or shutdown your PC the system should know where your icons are and should keep them here when you reboot your computer.

Another possible cause of the auto arranging of icons in Windows 7 is when the Align to Grid option is set. You can turn this off by following these steps:

1 - Right Click the desktop
2 - Click View
3 - Check to see if Align to Grid has a check mark
4 - If it does uncheck it
5 - Reboot your PC

Well I hope that one of these fixes solves your problem of Windows 7 moving your icons around on you. I know how annoying it is.