Desktop icons reset position after restart

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Level 1

9 points

Desktop icons reset position after restart

I'm really frustrated by having to move my desktop icons back every time I reboot.

Whenever I reboot my Mac all of the icons move over to the right side of the screen in alphabetical order.

This is my work computer and have many files, folders, & network servers I access multiple times throughout the day. I like to have them arranged on the desktop in a way that suits my workflow.

This problem first occurred with the installation of macOS Mojave 10.14.

I hoped updating to 10.15 Catalina would fix the problem, but it didn't.

When I googled the issue, I found some older posts recommending deleting the com.apple.desktop.plist file, but that file no longer exists. I'm hoping there is a similar way to reset the desktop icon preferences.

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

iMac 27", macOS 10.15

Posted on Dec 10, 2019 2:22 PM

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Answer 1

ModaJeff Author

Level 1

9 points

Dec 10, 2019 4:29 PM in response to macjack

Thanks for your quick response, macjack.

I'm pretty sure I tried deleting the com.apple.finder.plist before, but I tried it again.

Unfortunately it did not work.

I deleted the file and rebooted. As expected, all or the desktop settings reverted to their defaults.

I set everything up as before, then restarted again. As usually happens, all of the settings I changed are retained, except for the desktop icon placement. They all move over to the right side of the screen in alphabetical order.

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Answer 2

macjack

Level 10

111,180 points

Dec 11, 2019 9:33 AM in response to ModaJeff

The fresh user was only meant for testing. While you can move your stuff (minus the hidden user Library as that's most likely where the problem is) into the new user and upgrade it to Admin (if you haven't done that) I'd suggest troubleshooting your Admin user first. Also, I'm unsure about the Network Login.

You can run Etrecheck It is a diagnostic tool that's very useful to us in finding problems. After it runs post the log file here. It will contain no personal information. Allowing full drive access will improve the quality of the report.

To post the log file click on share report and use the Page icon in your reply window.

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Answer 3

Dec 11, 2019 10:03 AM in response to ModaJeff

Try this: in the Terminal type or paste the following command- exactly:

rm ~/Desktop/.DS_Store

Set your icons as desired. Restart to see if they stay put.

Each folder has its own hidden file called .DS_Store

It is used to tell the Finder how to display the contents of the folder. The one for the Desktop may have become corrupted. By deleting it (using the command above) a new one will be created for you.

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Answer 4

macjack

Level 10

111,180 points

Dec 10, 2019 2:29 PM in response to ModaJeff

I don't think that file's been around for while and I don't think it ever affected sort order, but I'd try rebuilding your Finder preferences.

From your Finder "Go" menu > "Go to folder" then copy & paste this file path:

~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.finder.plist

Click Go.

Delete the plist file.

Then, restart, or log out and in again.

(You may have to reset some Finder preferences the way you like them)

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Answer 5

ModaJeff Author

Level 1

9 points

Dec 11, 2019 9:25 AM in response to macjack

Yes, a fresh user account seems to work. Thanks.

If it were my personal computer I would just move over my stuff to the new account and be done.

However, this is my work computer and my user account was set up with a network login by our previous IT team.

Unfortunately my company recently changed ownership, and the new IT people don't really know anything about Macs. Compared to them, I'm pretty much a Mac expert. lol

Do you know if I can delete my main user account and then recreate it fresh (with same ID & PW) and not affect the network login?

I feel like I should be able to, but I'm not sure.

Thanks again for you assistance.

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