Windows 10: 1511 does not keep desktop icon positions when switching users

Another annoying bug in 1511 update.

After the update to 1511, if you use "fast-switch user" functionality, you sill loose icon positions of the currently logged in user. All icons will be swept up to the left side of the screen.

More precisely:
- Let's say the user is currently logged in as user A and has neatly arranged icons on their desktop
- Without logging out, the user switches to user B account (user A remains logged in)
- The user logs out of user B account
- The user returns to user A account. At this point all icons on user A desktop have lost their positions. They are swept to the left side of the desktop


EDIT: Further investigation shows that problem occurs only on machines with display scaling set to some non-100% value.

:)

 

Beware: in 1511 switching user accounts without logging out ruins desktop icon positions

Another annoying bug in 1511 update.

After the update to 1511, if you use "switch user" functionality (aka "fast switching"), you will loose icon positions of the currently logged in user. All icons will be swept up to the left side of the screen.

More precisely:

- The user is currently logged in as user A and has neatly arranged icons on their desktop

- Without logging out, the user switches to user B account (user A remains logged in)

- The user logs out of user B account

- The user returns to user A account. At this point all icons on user A desktop lost their positions and are swept to the left

This bug has to be fixed immediately, period.

EDIT: It appears that the issue occurs only on machines that use non-100% display scaling factor.

 

Desktop Icon Position Challenge should be solved for once and ever

For so many years I fought with desktop icon position, different screens... etc. and of course it was an 3rd party add which served me well.

With Windows 10 in August I decided to keep this job to Windows again. And it worked
great, switching tablet mode, external screen on this 2-in one ultrabook - icons kept their position relative to notebooks screen, anyway smaller than most external screen except beamers.

With an upgrade, I assume sometimes in December, it fell back to non rational behaviour, all icons are positioned top left, all scrambled up. I think it's the switch which jeopardise explorer.exe task, restart of that, goes back to last saved desktop configuration.

I couldn't detect a pattern how and when, as single actions will change positions, like switch tablet mode or plug-in or plug-out external monitor.

If found too many questions about this topic, with the classic regedit recipies to solve it; hey it's Windows 10, and not 3.11. I expect such turnkey ready.

Desktop Icons Keep moving - Microsoft Community

windows 10 again no icon position memory per screen arrangement / - Microsoft Community

windows 10 desktop files lose icon-position when-resaved - Microsoft Community

Desktop Icons change their position - Microsoft Community

Windows 10: Desktop icon positions are not remembered. - Microsoft Community

Thanks for fixing, improving.

 

I notice that there are quite a few reports on the Net that ESET NOD32 used to cause a similar issue. I do run ESET NOD32. I wonder if this is caused by ESET again...

Can someone without ESET installed try this?

 

I use ESET Smart Security and I don't have that problem.

 

I have a similar problem when using hdmi cable to TV. After the update to 1511, you sill loose icon positions and go to random positions on TV screen and are kept in random positions when retuned to laptop screen.

 

No, ESET is not to blame here. The main factor is display scaling. The problem is immediately and reliably reproducible on machines with display scaling set to something else than 100%.

The problem was not there before 1511 update.

 

I think there is some other cause. I have ESET and have my display settings at 125% and I don't have the problem.

 

What scaling method are you using? Is your display scaled through the "old" scaling (hidden under "Advanced display settings") or are you using custom scale factor set right there in System-Display?

I just tested it on four independent machines. Three of them were set up by me (so they might have something "unusual" in common). The fourth one is a fresh Lenovo ThinkPad laptop with a high-res display (come scaled to 200% from the factory), which just got updated to 1511. The problem is immediately and easily reproducible on all of these machines.

Once I changed scaling to 100% on one of these machines, the problem disappeared.

(In an hour I will test it on a fresh non-updated machine, then update it and see what happens.)

Are you sure you are using the same sequence of steps as described above? The key point is to switch users, not to simply log-out of one and log-in into another.

 

I'm changing it under display settings. Yes I logged out and onto another account then back in to the original account. I have a 3 monitor set up if that may make a difference.

Try right click the desktop, select View >uncheck align Icons to grid and move them where you want them. Then align them back to grid. Until I did that, I could never get them to stay.

 

Well, that might the key difference. In my case the scaling is changed using the old-school method: under Settings -> System -> Display -> Advanced Display Settings -> Advanced Sizing ...

I might be misreading something, but in the above quite you are saying that you "logged out". The point is not to log out from the original account, but rather to switch to another user account without logging out from the original one. And only then log out from the other account and return to the original account.

No, this does not make them to stay in place, unfortunately.

 

My shut down options only list sign out. It doesn't restart it just signs you out and you log back in another account. I don't have a switch user option.

 

In that case you are not doing what I was doing. "Shut Down options"? It is not in Shut Down menu and it has nothing to do with Shut Down menu.

Here's what I'm talking about





The sub-menu that appears when you hit your user name at the top of the Start Menu. It contains names of other interactive users ("Alice" and "Bob" in the above picture). If you hit one of the other names, you will switch to that user without logging out of the current one.

The same "Switch User" functionality is also available if you hit Ctrl+Alt+Del. The screen that appears will contain "Switch User" option.

 

Still no change. I switched users and icons just like I left them.

 

Well, as I said, the issue is immediately, easily, 100% reproducible on a variety of Windows 10 Pro x64 machines with 1511 on them.

I just blew the dust off my old Vaio laptop with spanking new install of the original Windows 10 Home (not updated to 1511 yet). The problem does not reproduce there. (I noticed some instances of icons losing their positions under different scaling values, but eventually they settled down.)

Now I'm running the update to 1511 to see if it will make the problem to appear on that laptop as well.