Shopsmith Forums

Why are all my desktop icons suddenly larger which caused them to be moved.jumbled . . .

COVID ???

OMG Another variant!!

Right click on an empty area of your desktop >>view>>select the things you want done !

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Just another Microsoft "feature".

JPG wrote: ↑Sun Jan 09, 2022 11:40 pm OMG Another variant!!

Nope. It has always been this way in Windows 10. Cool tool once the user learns to use it.

JPG, check your resolution settings, sounds like something I occasionally see on my work laptop where the monitor isn't recognized properly so defaults to 640x480 rather than proper resolution.

All my consternation is over the FACT that suddenly the size of the desktop icons has changed which resulted in them becoming overlapping and that caused them to be shifted on the screen. The icon size has ALWAYS been set to "small" since day one. No doubt this is of little concern to most, but I do NOT ascribe to the µsoft scheme of placing them in rows and columns. They are placed where it makes sense to me and are arranged/grouped in a logical arrangement. I have not counted them but dare say there are over 100 on the desktop. This is not the first time µsoft tweaks has caused a new problem involving desktop icons.

The size is still set to small. The screen definition is still 1366 x 768 (native resolution). The change is not of a scale of 640/1366 proportions.

Is there some other "feature" that might have caused this.

For those above who think W10'a'b'c'd (whatever this weeks version is) is wonderful and has always been this way that is BS.. It changes every week and often not transparently.

In addition to the icon issue, My cd/dvd drive no longer functions nor the earphone jack. W say they are operating correctly and the drivers are "current". In the past other thingies were temporarily rendered non-functional until the next "update".

I am close to reverting back to Linux(newer version). I really do not want to do that.

I switched to Linux in 1999. It eliminated 23 years of Microsoft frustration from my life.

First, check to see if you can correct your icon size problem by clicking on a blank area of the desktop, then push and hold the Ctrl key while you scroll the wheel on your mouse. This should increase and decrease the size of your icons, depending on which way you scroll.

Depending on the computer/video card manufacturer, I would go download and install their latest video driver. Microsoft is always updating things, to make things more secure (which they have been doing a great job with over the past few years) or to make things better for us (which they frequently fail at). These updates frequently cause unexpected problems, especially with older hardware. If your computer is older than, say, four years old, you may see problems crop up after an update. They do often fix those problems in a future update, but that doesn’t help much in the interim.

If I see weird problems show up on a computer, I I assume it is either an update problem or some form of malware. I install the manufacturer’s driver and firmware updates, including the latest BIOS update. I’ve often seen a motherboard BIOS update fix several weird problems over the years. The problem here is that companies cannot do full integration testing, like they used to do back in the glass computer room era; there’s just way to many variables (hardware and software types and versions) and not enough time to do all that testing. And we users like to pay $500 for a super computer, which won’t pay for extensive integration testing. Therefore, we can assume that Microsoft, and really any software or OS vendor, will likely only test using recent hardware and the latest drivers.

I then install and run Malwarebytes AntiMalware (MBAM). After installing it, be sure to find and enable the “Scan for Rootkit” option. Also, if I’m not going to buy the subscription, I disable the Trial Mode feature, and then disable the auto-start and upgrade check and notification options so it doesn’t bug the hell out of you. If you don’t disable the trial mode, after the trial period it will bug you to buy the subscription. But if you disable these options, you can do very good manual scans of your computer, and it will find and clean things your antivirus will miss.

Another thing I found that may help you is to follow the procedure below to Minimize the changes. This will change a Windows 10 default, so it might also have an unintended consequence.

Prevent Themes from Changing Icons
1. Go to Control Panel. Right-click Start (Windows icon). Select Control Panel.
2. In Control Panel, find Appearance and Personalization > Personalization.
3. Open the Desktop Icon Settings box.
4. Near the bottom left of that box, uncheck Allow themes to change desktop icons. Click Apply > OK to exit.

Hope this helps.

I love computers! {said with great sarcasm}