The desktop icons reset themselves and align to the system default (left) on the primary display, when I complete a system restore or reimage my OS drive.

The issue I'm experiencing is when I manually align the icons to where I want them they reset again after reboot. If I use a previous saved desktop profile in DF the icons align to the saved locations, but again if I reboot or refresh the desktop the icons revert and realign to the left. However, if I manually place each desktop icon, again, and save the layout with DF again then the icons will stay in place, BUT... when I refresh the desktop the icons quickly rearrange to the system default (left) then revert back to the DF layout profile. The similar issue happens after I turn the system on, or reboot, the icons will display in the default location (left) unarranged until DF loads.

auto arrange icons = disabled (not enabled)
align icons to grid = disabled (not enabled)
sort by = disabled (not enabled)

Just to note: This isn't so much a DF issue, but more of a Windows (8.1x64) issue. Perhaps someone here knows the solution. I previously found the solution several years ago, registry fix, but I've long forgotten where I found it.

There are possible solutions here:

http://www.sillysot.com/

http://www.winhelponline.com/blog/fix-desktop-icons-layout-not-saved-restart/

https://www.groovypost.com/howto/stop-desktop-icons-changing-position-after-screen-refresh/

If you feel lucky the try this:

In regedit go to these 2 destinations

HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Wow6432Node\CLSID\{42aedc87-2188-41fd-b9a3-0c966feabec1}\InProcServer32\
and
HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{42aedc87-2188-41fd-b9a3-0c966feabec1}\InProcServer32\

Double click on (Default) and replace "%SystemRoot%\SysWow64\shell32.dll" with "%SystemRoot%\system32\windows.storage.dll" in both file destinations then restart your PC and everything should work fine.

In all cases I havent tried any of the solutions as I dont have the problem that you are experiencing so use them at your own risk but good luck.

Thanks Alan.

This is quite silly. I think I found one culprit being CCleaner, which is set to run on a daily schedule. The option under 'Applications > Windows > IconCache' was checked (enabled) to clear/rebuild each time. So, I suspect with this enabled the icon layout on the desktop will revert to the Windows default? I don't see how that's possible tho, because I have CCleaner on other systems and the icon placements on those don't reset.

Keith, thanks for the additional information about DF monitor profiles. I do use DF (and Nimi Places) to align the icons on startup. The annoying thing is when I refresh the desktop the icons revert back to the Windows default location despite what I have set in DF, then revert back to the saved layout(s). It's hard to explain without providing a preview.

The solution I found, previously, just stopped the annoying icon behavior without having to reset each icon placement on the desktop, windows just accepted my layout as default. I know I saved the script on data storage, but now that it's been several years I'm unsure where I put it.

Wasn't CCleaner. I'll try the suggestions. However, I noticed there is no IconCache.db in appdata for W8.1

This link will explain where to find your icon cache
http://www.winability.com/how-to-erase-icon-thumbnail-cache-windows-8/