Alignment of desktop

Pris,

Try manually moving the icons.  Have you tried realigning the icons by right clicking on the desktop and choosing "Arrange Icons"?  Is the desktop balanced and just the right icons off center?  A little morre information would be helpful.  

Pris_H

This doesn't exactly fix the problem but you can use it to save the icon layout and then restore it at any time. The little program is called IconLayout and you can d/l it here. It's almost down to the bottom of the page on the left. Be sure to read the instructions first. When installed, you right click on My Computer and either save/restore the layout. I have used it and it works well.

Pris,
It sounds to me like you've been adjusting the monitor controls to adjust the screen's horizontal size when you need to adjust the horizontal position as well. Try altering both of these controls and see if you can get everything centered correctly.

Hi Chuket,

The layout of my icons is fine, it is the alignment that is the problem. The entire screen is off to the right and down. Now here's what's odd: all programs work just fine and are not out of alignment--even my wallpaper is fine! It is just the icons that are out of alignment. It looks really stupid. Beautiful wallpaper with icons off to the right and down. I kept meaning to contact support about this before my warranty was out but couldn't seem to remember it.

This is a strange thing. Thanks for the help.

Pris

Pris,

This is a long shot--but do you by chance have TweakUI installed.  It's an extra Powertoys utility on your Win98 CD.  You have to install it.  TweakUI has a function called "Repair Icons.  Now, usually it fixes icons which have lost their picture.  But it may help you in this case.  If not, the utility is handy to have anyway. 

I was also going to suggest what The_Namek said by adjusting the screen position of your monitor as well.  But you state that this issue only affects the idle desktop--all other programs are viewed fine.  Do you have an extra monitor you could hook up to see if it is Win98 and not the monitor itself or vice-versa?

What about your screen resolution?  Try changing it to 800x600 or 1024x768.  See if that makes a difference.  I am out of suggestions except that maybe a reformat and then re-install of Win98 may help--but I would do that as a last resort.  Good luck!

 

Hello William,

I have done what you suggest as far as aligning the icons. It is on the right and bottom that the icons can go off, but the entire desktop is out of alignment. I wish I could say how this is and make it understandable, but words fail me. It is as if the entire desktop has shifted down and to the right. It looks like something that maybe needs aligning but I don't see any way to do it. When I use the controls on my monitor to shrink the display to fit it does not change the problem. The display is smaller and the icons on the right and below are still off the screen. It is the oddest thing I  have encountered and I have just put up with it. I kept meaning to call support to ask them but never seemed to be able to remember it when I had them on the line.

I will add that this only applies to the desktop. All programs work fine and are not mis-aligned. Even my wallpaper is fine! It is only with the icons that this problem occurs. It is off to the right and to the bottom. I don't use the last row on the right or on the bottom because of it, but it all looks cockeyed. Just a niggling little aggravation.

Pris

You say the wallpaper is centered OK? But just the icons are misplaced? If so, drag the icons to where you want them and then use IconLayout to save them in that position. Then if they come up scrambled, use restore to put them back to the saved state.

Hi Namek,

Yes, I did all of the controls as you have stated, and there is no change. As I said to William, I think it is probably just some kind of incompatibility between my monitor and the monitor card or the setup. My monitor is really cheap and didn't come from Dell, so more than likely that is why things look different. Thanks for your help.

Pris

Hi Chucket,

Yes, that is a good solution, to just drag them into an aligned position and save it that way. I just have to make sure I don't align them using the right button or they will go out of alignment again. Thanks for your help.

Pris

Hi William,

Thanks for your attempts to get at this problem. Yes, I did try all of the controls on my monitor. More than likely it is just some kind of incompatibility between my monitor (it did not come from Dell) and the video card or something like that. As far as pics on icons, I haven't had that particular problem except when my resources get low. I will look up that utility, though, and see if that will make a difference. Thanks for trying to help.

Pris

Pris:

Right click on your desktop and choose "Arrange Icons" and make sure "Auto Arrange" is not checked.  Then move the icons (as Chuket stated) to where you want them.  See if that will save them in their position.  If not, then you may have answered your question with the possible compatibility issue between monitor and video card.  Did you try changing the screen resolution as I suggested earlier?

Message Edited by wblanchard on 03-09-2003 08:02 AM

Message Edited by wblanchard on 03-09-2003 08:03 AM

Pris,
I've seen conditions like yours when older monitors that don't have native driver support built into whatever version of Windows is installed on the hard drive are used with Dell systems. The only consistent fix I've found for this sort of problem is obtaining the appropriate monitor driver (not to be confused with video card driver) from the monitor manufacturer's web site. Sometimes this isn't possible if a monitor has been discontinued for a while and driver support was abandoned for it as well. I used to think monitor drivers were totally irrelevant until I first saw something like this about three or four years ago. Check the monitor branch in device manager. If it shows plug and play monitor then you should try to find the monitor driver made for your specific monitor and install it.

Hi William,

Yes I can set the monitor to 1024x768, but everything is so incredibly tiny...I am not sure that would solve the problem anyway. It would sure be hard to see everything, as this monitor is only 15", so I think I will just have to go on as I have and just make do with it. Thanks so much for all of your help!

Pris

Hi Namek,

By Jove, I think you have hit upon the problem. You know, I never thought about a driver for the monitor; when I bought it there were no drivers with it. More than likely the company, Voxon, is no longer in business. I got this thing for a cheap price from a local electronics company, Frys. The specialize in low prices, but a lot of their stuff is closeouts. However, I will see if I can find the company on the Internet and see if ther actually is a driver. Thanks for the help!

Pris

Here is the site for drivers for your Voxon monitor (Win98/SE). You can get them here.