Windows 10 is the most popular iteration of the operating system, and more and more users switch to it every day. What makes this iteration different from the others is its ability to customize and tune the operating system based on user preferences..

Despite being Microsoft's main product, there are still numerous problems that users face. One of them is that the desktop icons move by themselves. It should be clarified that this problem occurs mainly due to the configuration of the operating system itself. Either this or there is a possibility that Malware has infected your computer. In this article, We will go over all the reasons why this could happen on your computer and what are the possible solutions to fix it.
What Causes Desktop Icons to Move?
After our investigations and user reports, we concluded that the problem was due to several different reasons, but none of them were a bug or a problem. Check:
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Theme Settings: many third-party applications are known to provide “topics” users change desktop icons in their own style.
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Windows desktop icon settings: Windows also has a desktop icon setting that allows the system to rearrange them as needed. This can be easily disabled in the customization settings.
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Malware: although this case is very rare, there are still cases where the malware forcibly changes the desktop icon settings. Running a quick scan will help diagnose.
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Save changes program: in some cases, the program itself changes the program icon. Here, there is nothing you can do except uninstall the problematic program.
before continuing, make sure you have an active internet connection and are logged in as administrator on your computer.
Solution 1: disable third-party themes
The first thing to check is if there are any third party theme apps that change their icons based on the theme style. This is the most obvious cause that users often overlook. Third-party theme app usually gets permission to change desktop when displaying theme. When i do, you can change the icons. In this solution, you can disable the theme app manually or navigate to the app manager and uninstall it from there.
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Press Windows + R, type »appwiz.cpl» in the dialog box and press Enter.
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Now, scroll through all the apps and find the theme app. Right click on it and select Uninstall.
Uninstall third-party themes
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Now, restart your computer and check if the problem is resolved.
Solution 2: change personalization settings
Another common reason icons move is that Windows is programmed to do so.. Unless you change the customization settings to prevent them from moving around the icons, will keep moving. In this solution, we will navigate to the desktop and change the specific settings. Please note that this must be repeated for all computer users.
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Press Windows + D to navigate to the desktop.
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Now, right click anywhere on the screen and select View. Now, you must uncheck the following attributes:
Change personalization settings
Icons are automatically arranged Align the icons to the grid
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After changing settings, restart your computer and check if the problem is solved.
Solution 3: check for malicious software
If the settings are set and you are still having problems, it is very likely that there are malicious programs installed on your computer that are causing this problem. These programs, in addition to monitoring your activity and attacking your data, they also cause system operations to stop and cause changes such as icon movement.

Scan your computer with reputable antivirus programs like Malwarebytes or Microsoft Security Essentials and make sure all virus definitions are up to date. Make sure your computer is not infected before continuing. You can try the free version of Malwarebytes and scan your computer.
Solution 4: check the apps
Another case in which the icons can move on their own is when an application makes changes to the icon itself. For example, a game can change the location of its icon each time it is updated. What happens in the background is that the current icon is erased and replaced by a new one.

When a new icon is placed, is automatically placed in the order it is emptiest on the left side of the desktop. If you are reading this article, it is already an application that keeps changing the location of its icon on your desktop. You can disable the desktop icon option from settings or let it stay that way.
Solution 5: checkers games
Another case in which the icons can move is when the games change the size of their resolution. When they change the resolution, for a fraction of a second, the desktop also changes, and when it does, icons are reordered to fit the screen.
What you can do here is specify a fixed resolution of the game or configure the icons according to the resolution that changes. Apart from the causes listed in this article, there are no other reasons why the icons can change position on the desktop, except when Windows has an error. Make sure to update your operating system to the latest version.
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Uninstall third-party themes
Change personalization settings



