[dencorso]

Some additional relevant info:
The desktop layout(s) are kept in the Registry, under the key "[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\JOConnell]"
And, now, here are the promised screenshots:
 aligntogrid.jpg (17.02K)
Number of downloads: 6  drconfig.jpg (43.99K)
Number of downloads: 6

[duffy98]

OK ... thanks for the screenshots ... I will be experimenting with DR shortly.

Update ... OK not sure this is working ... followed all your directions and the old icon pattern (which I hadn't seen for a few days) made an appearance ... but it has not come back. However, I did "purposely" move a few icons out of order then rebooted the computer and the icons were still in that order when the computer fully booted ... they didn't change back to the way I want them ...

In your earlier directions when you said "With desktop restore installed plain-vanilla" ... I took that to mean no check marks on the Custom Layout Save/Restore page but in your screen shot there is a check mark in the 2nd box down ... Force Unmatched Icons to be Visible on the Main Screen ... I didn't put any check marks in any of those three boxes but I was wondering if a check mark should be in the third box down : Display Only Custom Menu on Desktop? As you said "plain-vanilla" ... I just installed DR and did a "Save Desktop" and went from there ... everything was clear and went smooth.

thanks ...

This post has been edited by duffy98: 27 May 2012 - 01:28 PM

[PROBLEMCHYLD]

Here's the steps to using LAYOUT.DLL successfully. It works for (ALL) versions of Windows.

http://www.msfn.org/...post__p__999922

This post has been edited by PROBLEMCHYLD: 03 June 2012 - 10:31 AM

[duffy98]

With help from dencorso in the Windows 2000 forum, I found this small help article early today and applied it to my Windows 2000 notebook and one XP notebook. Everything is staying exactly the way I want things to stay. I'm going this route with all my computers if this fix continues to work over the next few days. I had everything changing on the Windows 2000 notebook and everything is in place since the fix was applied.

Solution: Windows Desktop Does Not Save User Customized Settings

http://www.askvg.com...mized-settings/

Vishal said:

Sometimes people face a problem in Windows when Windows doesn't remember their customization settings on Desktop and taskbar, like icons positions, toolbars positions, taskbar position, etc.

Recently I got a similar mail from a visitor "Onie Ward":

Onie Ward said:

I downloaded something called Vista Customization Pack.

I've tried to uninstall this program (I'm on Windows XP) and it seems to have worked, EXCEPT that every time I login, my icons all line up on the left hand side of the page. I move them back to where I want them, but every login...moved. It all started when I installed Vista Customization Pack. I've emailed them, but haven't heard back.

Can you help?? Thanks.

So if you are also facing such problem, then this tutorial will help you in fixing the issue:

1. Type regedit in RUN dialog box and press Enter. Now check for a DWORD value "NoSaveSettings" in right-side pane under following keys:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer

HKEY_USERS\.Default\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer

HKEY_USERS\.Default\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Program Manager\Restrictions


The DWORD value could be present in any of above mentioned locations, most probably in the last one.

2. Once you find the DWORD value, delete it and restart your system. It'll solve your problem and Windows will remember your desktop settings.

...

[duffy98]

Well the Desktop icon problem is back after two days of no movement ... also the "nosavesettings" DWORD is back in my registry .... as fast as I delete it ... it pops right back in ... I've deleted it seven times and it just keeps coming back. There is one change that I did and maybe those of you who understand XP can explain if there might be a connection. I had been having CCleaner clean out the "Prefetch" folder when I would run it for general cleaning. Then I read where it might be better to let the Prefetch folder alone and it will clean itself out after 128 items build in the folder. As soon as I quit cleaning the Prefetch folder the Desktop icons went back to the exact same order that I don't like. I have no idea where that icon order came from, I never had the Desktop icons in that order. Could there be a connection with the icon problem and the Prefetch folder? If there is a connection, why would the "nosavesettings" DWORD suddenly keep going back into the registry as fast as I delete it? I will put everything back later today, I have no time now ... just went to test the WiFi to make my final Ghost backup and then the icon problem comes back.

Is there a "secret registry" backup hidden somewhere in XP that Windows makes and NO changes can ever be made to the registry for "certain" items ... I had hoped the problem was fixed and it seems to be fixed if I can keep the "nosavesettings" out of the registry. How can I take complete control over XP and find the "secret" registry backup or whatever is causing this to occur? I ask that because I just read a few days ago that the reason XP is so large is because there is an exact duplicate of every file, folder ... everything that is hidden in the XP OS on the computer ... if that is indeed true, then there must be an exact copy of the registry somewhere that I will have to find and get the "nosavesettings" out of and then out of the registry that I am able to see. This is getting really murky and sinister ... XP and the hidden XP !!!

thanks ...

This post has been edited by duffy98: 02 June 2012 - 10:50 AM

[dencorso]

NoSaveSettings=0 is OK; NoSaveSettings=1 is a problem. Which value does NoSaveSettings have when it reappears?

[submix8c]

@PROBLEMCHYLD -
Where do you do Step#3?

I also note that "Safe Mode" has a tendency to "hose" the Layouts due to different size screen. (A/L in 98SE, so you have to put them all back - EVEN USING STEPS 1+2!)

[duffy98]

OK ... I have been trying more ideas from the web ... searching around on Google I am amazed at how many others are looking for a solution for Desktop icons staying in place, all the way into Windows 7. I can't understand why MS has never fixed this annoying problem or offered a simple solution that works for the masses.

Anyway ... PROBLEMCHYLD, I have LAYOUT.DLL installed and will give it a try. When you posted your information, I had just found that info about deleting "nosavesettings" from the registry and that would solve the problem. Out of the four registry entries that were listed, I found the "nosavesettings" DWORD in two of them on all four of my notebooks ... three Thinkpads with XP and one Dell (P3) with Windows 2000. I had no idea the registry settings would just automatically come back ... again on Google yesterday, I saw hundreds of questions dealing with "nosavesettings" always coming back after being deleted. .... getting back to your post PROBLEMCHYLD ... I was hesitant to follow your instructions because a few days before I decided to see what Align to Grid would actually do. I like my Desktop icons small so that I only have two columns on the left side of my screen and not three or four. When I hit "Align to Grid", the icons changed (as I remember) and I could not get them back to the exact way I had them ... worked with everything for some time and finally just gave up and used my Ghost backup to get things fixed. I will try it again to see what changes again.These are the settings that I use for my Desktop icons ... Icon size: 17 ... Font size: 7 ... Icon Spacing (Hor): 55 ... Icon Spacing (Ver): 45

densorso, the "nosavesettings" always seem to come back at this entry: HKEY_USERS\.Default\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Program Manager\Restrictions ... nosavesettings 0x00000000 (0) . So you say (0) is OK ... but why when something is deleted, OK or not ... does it come back? I sort of "joked around" earlier about a "hidden registry" backup somewhere in XP that will prevent certain registry items from ever being deleted. Could there really be a hidden registry somewhere replacing certain items if they are deleted? This just seems so complicated, people just simply wanting their Desktop icons to remain in the order that they would like them to be, day after day ... month after month.

I also tried your instructions for Desktop Restore and it didn't seem to work for me, I also said I moved a few icons around to see if they would go back into place after a reboot, they did not. I will try it again later, maybe I missed something. Perhaps it's because I have my icons smaller with the column Hor and Ver adjustments. I just like a smaller, tighter column of icons.

Must be a simple desktop lock or something somewhere ... and old forgotten program.

I had deleted that registry entry again before I got online ... just checked the registry again, as I'm typing this, and it was back once more. I will just forget about it and accept the fact that it cannot be deleted ... if a 0 is OK then so be it ... but I am going to continue to search around as to why that registry entry (or others) cannot be permanently deleted. Perhaps it falls under the Windows File Protection (WFP) idea somehow.

... I will also add, from my earlier post dealing with the Prefetch folder ... I put everything back the way I had it and the icons were still rearranging, so there is probably no connection with deleting or not deleting the contents of the Prefetch folder. Was just a coincidence I guess that the icon problem returned when I removed the "delete contents" step from CCleaner.
...

This post has been edited by duffy98: 03 June 2012 - 04:46 AM

[PROBLEMCHYLD]

submix8c, on 02 June 2012 - 05:52 PM, said:

@PROBLEMCHYLD -
Where do you do Step#3?

I also note that "Safe Mode" has a tendency to "hose" the Layouts due to different size screen. (A/L in 98SE, so you have to put them all back - EVEN USING STEPS 1+2!)

As soon as you have all your icons in place. Align to Grid/Line Up Icons only place the icons neatly.
If you dont want them neatly then uncheck the option and follow the rest of the steps.

[submix8c]

Pardon, PROBLEMCHYLD... my confusion was in Step#3 which is within the "replaced" LAYOUT.DLL... My bad...

[duffy98]

I came across an old program that I had forgotten about from several years back, while searching around earlier today ... Iconoid . I downloaded a newer version and now seem to like the program. It has so many different settings and can put the Desktop icons back in order at startup ... it can make the icons disappear after so many seconds, if you just want a clean desktop view. It's not the fix that I was after but it's very close, it'll do for now. I will keep searching.

Iconoid 3.8.6

Iconoid (32 bit) will run on Windows 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP, Vista and Windows 7.
Note: 2000 systems should use 3.8.5. Pre-XP systems should use 3.7.0.

http://majorgeeks.co...onoid_d723.html


http://www.addictive...s-with-iconoid/


... it's an interesting program.

This post has been edited by duffy98: 03 June 2012 - 10:20 AM

[PROBLEMCHYLD]

submix8c, on 03 June 2012 - 10:01 AM, said:

Pardon, PROBLEMCHYLD... my confusion was in Step#3 which is within the "replaced" LAYOUT.DLL... My bad...

Yeah, you should be using the microsoft version from NT4.

1. Uncheck Auto Arrange.

2. Place your icons where you want them, and then right click desktop to Line Up Icons/Align to Grid.
(This spaces them evenly and neatly) Optional

3. Right click Recycle Bin on the desktop. Save Desktop Icon Layout.

4. Anytime a new item is added to the desktop follow step 3.
You will not have any problems whatsoever when you Restore Desktop Icon Layout.

5. DO NOT use the Arrange Icons By feature at all.

@ duffy98

I hope you find a solution. Sometimes it right in front of you.
But if one chooses to constantly download app after app, and still doesn't find a solution, then maybe its not meant to be.

This post has been edited by PROBLEMCHYLD: 03 June 2012 - 01:30 PM

[duffy98]

OK ... I tried the Layout.DLL settings that you supplied ... I just don't like the Align to Grid spacing ... my settings are slimmer and smaller which is what I want. It will probably work for others ... I have been working with Iconoid on a second computer and I am satisfied with the program. Every reboot has the icons in the proper order ... it adjusts them (if needed) on the startup of Windows, with no input from me ... except for the initial setup. I will sign off on this thread I guess but keep reading and searching for something that just might be a little better.

thanks all ...

[PROBLEMCHYLD]

duffy98, on 03 June 2012 - 01:26 PM, said:

OK ... I tried the Layout.DLL settings that you supplied ... I just don't like the Align to Grid spacing ... my settings are slimmer and smaller which is what I want.

This is optional depending on how you want it. Uncheck Align to Grid and follow the rest of the steps.