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gronFlag for Canada

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Losing desktop organization

With W2K Pro SP2 + all the current MS downloads, home computer, always logged on as administrator:

A couple times per week, when I power up, my desktop organization is gone. All the shortcuts are shoved to the left of the screen, in a different order. Any suggestions?

(I asked this question before, but the answer didn't work)
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nfroio
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Have you scanned for a virus? there are numerous virus' out there that can wreak havoc on your desktop, especially icons.


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nickwhit

I have had this before when I had a corrupted profile.

Backup all your settings and files and recreate a new profile for yourself.

Even set up another local user (with administration rights if necessary) and use that user and see if the problem replicates its self.

I hope it works for you.

Thanks,

Nick.
This is the behavior of the PE_magistr.B virus.  Go to
http://housecall.antivirus.com and scan without registering.
Avatar of gron

ASKER

nfroio & tituba2:
Thanks for the suggestion. I did the scan at antivirus.com and I was clean.
nickwhit: No luck here either.
That's good.  Sounds like the icon cache is corrupted.

See Microsoft Q article
Q216165
Hey.

Good answer (I think) from tituba2!

Nick.
Avatar of gron

ASKER

tituba2:
Great. Sounds good. I've read the article and done the corrective procedure. I'll wait a few days to see what happens and get back to you. Thanks.
 
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ASKER

It happened again. Two more clues:
Although it sometimes happens on start-up as stated originally, it more frequently happens on Restart, as was the case today. Also, when the shortcuts are re-arranged, they come up in alphabetical order by name.
Any other suggestions ?
Avatar of gron

ASKER

It appears this problem is now solved. Checking around other W2K help sites, I discovered that this is a common problem, with many causes and cures, including the two posted above. In many cases, the cause is related to the display settings for colors. In my case I did the following:
- right click the desktop
- select Properties
- select Effects
- uncheck the box "Show icons Using all Possible Colors"

I haven't had the problem in over a week, which is the longest time in over a year.

Thanks all for your suggestions.
ASKER CERTIFIED SOLUTION
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Netminder

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