Desktop icons rearrange after screen saver with new GPU

[wpcoe]

Thanks for that feedback.

After a few more tests, it seems:

- Using HDMI at 3840x2160 does NOT rearrange the icons.
- Using DisplayPort 1920x1080 does NOT rearrange the icons.

i.e. It only happens at 4K and only on DisplayPort

So, the problem is now defined as Windows desktop icons rearranging:

1) on DisplayPort
2) at 4K resolution (3840x2160)
3) when power re-applied (after monitor power savings kicks in, or manually turning monitor power off/on)

Is it a Windows "feature," a flaw in DisplayPort implementation, or a combination of both?

 

[ElFenix]

i kinda had this issue licked under windows 7, but now it's back under windows 10. but now the windows all move to a ~3000x1500 area. also, the task bar goes from 2 rows to 1 row. tried changing the registry to remove the simulated parts, tried changing an MMT setting in the registry that i saw suggested on microsoft. nothing. happens every time the display is powered off.

edit: i think what's happening is windows is resetting to its own default scaling factor of 150% for the screen when i turn it off. now to figure out how to turn this off

edit2: this may work: https://bhtooefr.org/blog/2015/08/0...ing-and-window-positioning-issues-on-laptops/

 

[Elixer]

Thanks for that feedback.

After a few more tests, it seems:

- Using HDMI at 3840x2160 does NOT rearrange the icons.
- Using DisplayPort 1920x1080 does NOT rearrange the icons.

i.e. It only happens at 4K and only on DisplayPort

So, the problem is now defined as Windows desktop icons rearranging:

1) on DisplayPort
2) at 4K resolution (3840x2160)
3) when power re-applied (after monitor power savings kicks in, or manually turning monitor power off/on)

Is it a Windows "feature," a flaw in DisplayPort implementation, or a combination of both?

As already was mentioned, it is because the screensaver is NOT running at 4k resolution.
I can replicate this all day with any type of monitor, VGA, DVI, HDMI, DP... don't make a difference.

There is no way to "preserve" the icon placement at a given resolution, they still haven't figured out a good way for this to happen officialy.
Assuming your desktop has lots of icons, go to display, and lower the resolution. You will see all your icons rearrange themselves. Keep going lower, and it will keep doing it. Sometimes it will spill over to the 2nd monitor.
After that is done, crank the display back up to the highest it goes, and it will rearrange them once more.

This also happens to many older games, some even set resolution to 640x480, and yes, it is annoying issue.

 

[Bacon1]

i kinda had this issue licked under windows 7, but now it's back under windows 10. but now the windows all move to a ~3000x1500 area. also, the task bar goes from 2 rows to 1 row. tried changing the registry to remove the simulated parts, tried changing an MMT setting in the registry that i saw suggested on microsoft. nothing. happens every time the display is powered off.

edit: i think what's happening is windows is resetting to its own default scaling factor of 150% for the screen when i turn it off. now to figure out how to turn this off

edit2: this may work: https://bhtooefr.org/blog/2015/08/0...ing-and-window-positioning-issues-on-laptops/

Do you use displayport? Windows "disconnects" it when it goes to sleep / turns off which is stupid because it will cause it to re-arrange everything to whatever monitors you might have hooked up

 

[ElFenix]

Do you use displayport? Windows "disconnects" it when it goes to sleep / turns off which is stupid because it will cause it to re-arrange everything to whatever monitors you might have hooked up

i know. that wasn't the issue this time.

 

[sm625]

Fences is your friend!

 

[wpcoe]

As already was mentioned, it is because the screensaver is NOT running at 4k resolution.
I can replicate this all day with any type of monitor, VGA, DVI, HDMI, DP... don't make a difference.

There is no way to "preserve" the icon placement at a given resolution, they still haven't figured out a good way for this to happen officialy.
Assuming your desktop has lots of icons, go to display, and lower the resolution. You will see all your icons rearrange themselves. Keep going lower, and it will keep doing it. Sometimes it will spill over to the 2nd monitor.
After that is done, crank the display back up to the highest it goes, and it will rearrange them once more.

This also happens to many older games, some even set resolution to 640x480, and yes, it is annoying issue.

I've taken screensavers out of the equation. It's the powering down/powering (hardware-based power savings settings) of the monitor that triggers the icon rearranging.

 

[Bacon1]

I've taken screensavers out of the equation. It's the powering down/powering (hardware-based power savings settings) of the monitor that triggers the icon rearranging.

That sounds like the standard windows + displayport issue, when the displayport "powers off" windows re-arranges everything

 

[Elixer]

Yeah, the only known, surefire fix is this dongle http://monitordetectkiller.com/ at least until MS actually fixes it to stop doing this idiotic behavior. They could just use a checkbox telling windows to stop doing it.

 

[wpcoe]

That sounds like the standard windows + displayport issue, when the displayport "powers off" windows re-arranges everything

Yes, it's apparently "standard" Windows behavior but I was hoping for some workaround. Apparently there isn't any.

With all the strides Windows has made, even with Windows 10 Anniversary update, it is woefully not-so-compatible with high resolution displays. Ditto for some other major players like Adobe (Photoshop).

 

[Jakobx]

Had the same problem on my ultrawide. I managed to fix it by messing with registry.

Find this key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\GraphicsDrivers\Configuration\SIMULATED_something_something_long_string\00

Should be similar on your computer. Just search for SIMULATED as this is the "monitor" that is used when DP is off. And then change values of PrimSurfsize.cx and PrimSurfsize.cy to your resolution.

thats it.

 

[wpcoe]

This past week I built a new system from the ground up with all new components including a new OEM license of Win10 Pro, on which I immediately installed Anniversary Update.

Guess what? The problem appears to be fixed.

Not sure if it might be newer Intel video drivers for HD Graphics 530 or if the Anniversary Update re-wrote the handling of DisplayPort displays, but my desktop icons haven't rearranged on the new system.

SOLVED? Or, just lucky?

 

[Bacon1]

I'm on anniversary update and have the problem still

Might do a full reinstall at some point with fresh copy of the latest build since I have swapped out monitors since initial install.

 

[Elixer]

I am running builds after the AE update, still has the issue.

 

[wpcoe]

Wow. Wonder what about my configuration "fixed" the "problem?"

I did notice today for the first time, when I had left the monitors sleep over night (but CPU running) that when I moved the mouse to awaken the monitor that the lock screen graphic was about 1/4 the monitor screen size. When I pressed <enter> to get to the log-in screen, it was the normal full-screen size. I never had a lock screen before (a somewhat more-than-minor gripe with the Anniversary Edition update...) so not sure how that worked before.

@Bacon1 and @Elixer: What CPU does your system have? I'm wondering if having a Skylake is a factor.

 

[Elixer]

I got a variety of systems, both intel & AMD CPUs, intel, nvidia, & AMD GPUs.

 

[wpcoe]

I got a variety of systems, both intel & AMD CPUs, intel, nvidia, & AMD GPUs.

Are any of them Skylake? I'm just curious if there is something different in either the Skylake iGPU or its driver that might have fixed this.

If this weren't an ITX system (which is a PITA to install/remove hardware) I'd be tempted to put in my old video card to see if the icons rearranged again.

 

[Bacon1]

I use 3770k and Fury, 3 monitors in total 1 display port 2 dvi

 

[Elixer]

Are any of them Skylake? I'm just curious if there is something different in either the Skylake iGPU or its driver that might have fixed this.

If this weren't an ITX system (which is a PITA to install/remove hardware) I'd be tempted to put in my old video card to see if the icons rearranged again.

Nope, no Skylakes yet.

 

[wpcoe]

Well, if I get motivated and/or bored enough, "in the interests of science" I might pull the graphics card out of my old system and install it in the new one to see if the desktop icons still rearrange. If I do, I'll post here again.

 

[wpcoe]

I was in a frisky mood, so installed the Radeon R7 360 in my new Skylake build, and it's the same as using the Intel iGPU.

I have two monitors:
Primary = 3840 x 2160 (4k) on DisplayPort
Secondary = 1920 x 1080 on HDMI-to-DVI adapter

With my new build (in sig below), the desktop icons on my 4K primary monitor using Display Port do NOT rearrange when roused from deep sleep mode like it did on my old Ivy Bridge system.

The only vestige of the icon rearranging is that icons from my secondary monitor are moved to my primary monitor -- that did not happen on my old system. On the old system the icons would rearrange on each monitor but not move from secondary to primary monitor.

Also, when roused from deep sleep mode, the 4K primary monitor using Display Port shows the lock screen as 1/4 size. Pressing any key brings up full-size log-in screen.

So, *something* changed from my old system to the new one to stop rearranging the icons on the 4K monitor on Display Port, but it's not clear what that is.

 

[Mr Evil]

It depends on how long it takes for each monitor to wake up. If it takes too long, Windows seems to assume the monitor is gone.

 

[Elixer]

See https://forums.anandtech.com/threads/displayport-sleep-repositioning-windows.2455206/#post-38428299

 

[VirtualLarry]

I have this issue with my ITX H110 board with an i3-6100, using the newest Intel iGPU drivers, on Win7 64-bit SP1. When it goes into monitor sleep mode, and wakes up, my windows are all in the upper-left corner, smooshed together.

I don't have this issue with two Radeon card-based systems, also both Skylake, but both running Win10 64-bit 1607.

 

[ElFenix]

I have this issue with my ITX H110 board with an i3-6100, using the newest Intel iGPU drivers, on Win7 64-bit SP1. When it goes into monitor sleep mode, and wakes up, my windows are all in the upper-left corner, smooshed together.

I don't have this issue with two Radeon card-based systems, also both Skylake, but both running Win10 64-bit 1607.

Have you tried working with the registry settings suggested in this thread?

 

[wpcoe]

I have this issue with my ITX H110 board with an i3-6100, using the newest Intel iGPU drivers, on Win7 64-bit SP1. When it goes into monitor sleep mode, and wakes up, my windows are all in the upper-left corner, smooshed together.

I don't have this issue with two Radeon card-based systems, also both Skylake, but both running Win10 64-bit 1607.

Good luck sorting it out. When I built my new system it was with new CPU, new mobo, and fresh Win10 install from newly downloaded media, so not sure which factor(s) were responsible, but the icon rearranging stopped from the very first boot.