Desktop icons rearranged/sorted after reboot [SOLVED]

[orwel01]

Hi,
After few weeks my desktop icons are rearanged after each reboot. Mint 18.3 Cinnamon.
I have found this threart: viewtopic.php?t=229544 , tried the suggested solutions, but they did not work for me.
after

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find $HOME ! -user $USER -type f

I get no output.
Any suggestion for me, please?

[Flemur]

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find $HOME ! -user $USER -type f

That's always a good start.

Cosmo says: "Right click the desktop on an empty place -> desktop submenu gives you the needed commands. You need to disable the auto-arrange feature."
viewtopic.php?t=248668

[orwel01]

The auto arrange is unchecked, that is the problem

[Cosmo.]

Is there a pattern, how the icons get rearranged? Alphabetically or anything else?

Create a fresh new user account and do no changes inside except adding some desktop icons for testing. The quickest method is to right-click an entry in the menu and use the command to add it to the desktop. Rearrange them and reboot. Same problem in the test account?

[orwel01]

Hi, sorry for the late response, I had to test it.
There is a pattern, indeed. The icons (at admin user desktop) are sorted alphabetically and vertically and to grid, although nothing from these settings is marked (right click/desktop), except "vertically". IF I try to move all icons a bit to right, after reboot they are sorted again.

A new user account is not effected.

[Cosmo.]

A new user account is not effected.

So we know, that the culprit is in your system. Assumed, that the command from the first post does still give no output (really? I have doubts), there must be some settings responsible.

Try this: Open the file manager and make hidden files visible (ctrl-h). Rename in your home the folder .config to config.bck; also the same with .local accordingly. Immediately log out and back into your account. Those 2 folders get newly created with default content; you can later delete the new folder, if you want to revert the renaming step. Does the problem still exist?

[orwel01]

Hi Cosmo,
thank you for your suggestions:
1/ by pasting the exact command as written above

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find $HOME ! -user $USER -type f

did not bring any result, neither as admin user nor as root... the command worked but there was no output
2/ renaming the two folders solved the problem, thanks... but my question is, are there any settings in these folders which I have lost by creating a new one? for example in .config there were a lot of apps settings i think...

[Cosmo.]

Surely you will have lost some settings for the system and for applications.

You can try to encircle the culprit:
At first delete the new folder .config and rename the renamed copy back. Again log out and back in immediately. If the problem comes back we now, that the problem is in .config.
If the first step did not bring the problem back we know, that the cause is in .local. But it could also be, that the culprit is in both. So as a second step rename again .config to .config.bck and .local.bck back to .local; of course you have to delete the new folder .local at first. Than again log out back in.

[orwel01]

Hi Cosmo,
thank you for your suggestions. I tried to delete the new.local as the first one and reboot, the problem did not occur, so i tried the same with the old .config and... the problem still did not occur. So I have now the original files .local and.config and the desktop icons are not rearanged automatically as they did before. It is interesting, what could happend, bu never mind.. you helped me, it works fine now...
thank you very much...

[Cosmo.]

Really interesting. I would be happy, if I could give an explanation, but I have no idea.

If the problem should reappear (in your interest I don't hope so) try it again, but only with renaming one of the 2 folders at first; out of a stomach feeling I would try it with .local.

[orwel01]

I definitely do. One more time, many thanks for your help.