Loosing Desktop Icons in Vista x64

I did a search for this and even though I found different threads about it, I couldn't understand some of the fixes so I am hoping I can bother some of you folks to walk me through it one more time.

As you can see in my PC specs, I use a 22" Acer Widescreen LCD monitor, my native resolution is 1680 x 1050. I have my desktop icons set in different places of my monitor, games in one place (right top hand corner), apps in another place (center top of screen), etc, etc, etc.

My problem is that if and when I decide to change my resolution for whatever reason, when I put it back to the native res, some of the desktop icons have dissapear from the screen.

Up to now, the only way to make them appear again is by going into Safe Mode, uninstalling my video drivers, restart, install my driver again, reboot and Presto... they are there but this is getting to be annoying and well, I know there is a simpler way to fix this.

I also would like to know if this is a Vista Quirk or something that I am doing wrong.

I know you are going to ask me why the need to change resolutions if I know that this will happen. Well, sometimes because after playing for a long time, I will somehow loose my video driver and even though Vista will recover, it leaves me with this weird page so I have to reboot. Yesterday though, I was trying to explain to my daughter the difference between playing a game on a PS2 and Xbox 360 and the easier way was to show her the different resolutions you get with images and well... you know the outcome of that example

The having to do all those different steps is not the most annoying part, the why is doing it is! :sa:

Thanks guys

Hello AstaLaVista,

Do you have only the Align to Grid option checked? I would think that would realign your icons when you changed resolution to prevent them from going offscreen.

If not, you might toggle the Show Desktop Icons option off and back on to see if that refreshes them to be seen again.

Hope this helps,
Shawn

Hope this helps,
Shawn

I really don't know but you can bet that this will be the first thing I will check when I get home... reading that link completely will be second!

Thanks a lot kind sir.

Well, I tried everything you told us to do in that other thread but to no avail.

I have 80% of my desktop Icons back but not all of them. This is really starting to tick me off.

Having to uninstall and re install again is not all that fun. Dang it.

Thanks again though, I know it is probably something I am doing wrong and not Vista but, it took me a while to navigate in XP and having to learn Vista is kicking my, well... you know!

Well, if you do not have to many icon shortcuts, I suppose you could use something like the free program RocketDock to keep the icons on so that you do not lose them.

Hope this helps,
Shawn

Brink said:

Well, if you do not have to many icon shortcuts, I suppose you could use something like the free program RocketDock to keep the icons on so that you do not lose them.

Hope this helps,
Shawn

Click to expand...

I agree with Brink. Rocketdock is the way to go. I just discovered it myself and think it's awesome!!

Snarks

I'll take a look at RocketDock when I get home but, meanwhile, I want to let you guys know something that I found last night by mere coincidence... hopefully, I am going to let myself be understood here.

I have the component cables (Blue, Green, Red) hooked up to my my TV so I can watch some MotoGP races live. Well, by using the input button on my TV Remote control to go from watching a DVD movie to normal TV shows, all of a sudden, my TV showed my Desktop with the missing Icons, that's when something made me click and realize that I may be able to fix my issue after all.

t turns out that I had click on a settings under Personalize/Desktop Settings (hopefully, I am using the correct names here), that says something like "Enable use of my desktop on both displays". Disableing this, gave me all my desktop icons back.

Reason I did this is because this is the only way I can have the name of my 22" LCD as the primary monitor, otherwise, it gives me some std Pnp Monitor on the "Display Property Setting Window".

Perhaps not a big deal but it bugs me to not have my native monitor there and w/o realizing it, I found out that by using enable on the other TV display, I was given the option of having my ACER there, ironically, failing to realize that it would take some of my icons away if I changed display resolutions.

I still don't know why it does this but I guess I was able to find an easier solution to my problem. Hopefully, one of you guys will be able to shed some light on this.

I am going to try to post some images when I get home to make it easy for you to understand what I am saying... in case you don't

That would explain it then AstaLaVista. One monitor was setup as your primary monitor with your icons, while the other was a secondary without them. When you chose the duplicate on both displays option, that would of course fix the issue since it each monitor will now show the same thing.

Thank you for posting back you results.

Shawn