Desktop icons shift to the right after Clean Up on macOS Catalina

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Level 1

26 points

Desktop icons shift to the right after Clean Up on macOS Catalina

2019 macbook pro. This has been happening for over a year, and none of the updates have fixed it. I am about to update again to 15.2 and perhaps that will fix it, but I doubt it. Apple support consistently says that the next update should fix it, but it doesn't. Do y'all have any ideas about how to fix this:

I have my desktop icons set up in a very specific way that makes sense to me. When I try to align my icons to look neater (by clicking Clean Up...the Sort By option is set to None) all of my carefully arranged icons are shoved over to the right of the screen. Restarting the computer stops this behavior, but sometimes it recurs within a day, sometimes after a few days. In any event, I should not have to shut down all of my work, and then restart my machine to get my desktop icons cleaned up.

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

MacBook Pro 16″, macOS 15.1

Posted on Dec 15, 2024 2:34 PM

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Answer 1

a brody

Level 10

84,221 points

Dec 25, 2024 9:27 AM in response to gatehealing

Then don't use Clean up. Among other things, clean up does is probably redo the .ds_store document so any corruption you have gets eradicated.

Why are you cleaning up? Are you running low on disk space? You need to keep at least 15% of your hard drive free.

Time Machine and iCloud sync also need temporary space while they run. You can put these functions on pause while you use your machine by editing their preferences.

No cleaning software should ever be run on a Mac. They create more headaches than they are worth, and can sometimes also disable application launches. If you have speed issues, get rid of memory resident programs you no longer use. Read this tip:

Amended comments to MacKeeper tip - Apple Community

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Answer 2

BDAqua

Level 10

245,591 points

Dec 25, 2024 4:02 PM in response to gatehealing

Are you running any VPN, Anti-Virus, or Cleaning apps?

We need to see what all is running, a report from this will not display any personal info...

Using EtreCheck - Apple Community

EtreCheck is a FREE simple little diagnostic tool to display the important details of your system configuration and allow you to copy that information to the Clipboard. It is meant to be used with Apple Support Communities to help people help you with your Mac. It will not display any personal info.

https://www.etrecheck.com/

Thanks for Old Toad’s etrecheck instructions…

Slow iMac 2017 - Apple Community

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Answer 3

gatehealing Author

Level 1

26 points

Dec 25, 2024 9:43 AM in response to a brody

I think you’re misunderstanding what clean up I’m referring to.

its just the desktop tool that “cleans up” the placement of icons on your desktop—not cleaning stuff off the drive. Right click on your desktop and you’ll see it. It just gets everything aligned visually.

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Answer 4

a brody

Level 10

84,221 points

Dec 25, 2024 10:12 AM in response to gatehealing

To me that sounds like a corrupt DS_Store. When I do a Sort by None and then try to move the icons where I want them, they stay there. Any optimizers you might be using could corrupt the file.

Keep in mind 2019 Macs are now at least 5 years old. That's precisely the time frame that a battery tends to start losing its ability to keep charge as long or at all. It could also be some capacitor that keeps system settings stable may no longer be working properly. I have also noticed icons will move if I change the resolution, or attach an external display, or remove one.

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Answer 5

gatehealing Author

Level 1

26 points

Dec 25, 2024 10:29 AM in response to a brody

no optimizers. I don’t add anything like that. Just the laptop alone—no ext monitor, not changing resolution etc.

just moves everything to the right side of the screen, then uses stacking even if stacking is not turned on.

its plugged into power 99% of the time and it still happens. The corrupt file things seems likely, just not sure how to find it. When I restart, it fixes it for a few hours or a few days, so it def sounds like something gets cleared out that happens with usage. I cannot restart daily bc it’ll mess up my work flows unfortunately.

mild annoyance only fortunately.

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Answer 6

gatehealing Author

Level 1

26 points

Dec 25, 2024 3:40 PM in response to -g

No, stacks is not activated. What's odd, is it does not do this weird shove to the right for a bit after I re-start computer.

I've called apple care and they are stumped. . . something for which I've come here before and had answers discovered when the senior advisors couldn't figure it out.

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