I've just got a new computer with windows 7, and it's got some really annoying habits that I'm sure have to be changed somehow. I'm running a dual monitor setup, and I've got my start bar and some icons on the secondary monitor. However, every time the computer starts up or the seconday monitor is turned off everything moves back over to the primary monitor. How do I prevent this? Really annoying thing, XP never did this. I thought running Ultramon would prevent it due to its 'preserve icon location' feature, but no luck there.

Any ideas?

Make your secondary monitor the primary one and vice versa?

Not sure I even understand why you would want to put your icons etc on your secondary monitor anyway, especially if you're going to want to turn it off. Why you'd want use the "primary" monitor with no access to any desktop icons or taskbar etc is beyond me.

I use both monitors while I'm on the computer, and I have my icons set up where they make sense for the way I use the computer. I have the primary monitor set the way it is because I want full-screen programs (like LFS, RBR, etc) to open on that monitor and have my start bar on my other screen. Most of my icons are on the primary monitor, but some of the icons (mostly games and seldom-used utilities) are on the other monitor. This is how I like my desktop setup, and I want to continue to do so. I had no problems with XP, but 7 won't let me do it.

Usually the monitors gets turned off when I put on music while my girlfriend and I are enjoying eachother's company or when I leave the computer on when I go out (torrents downloading or whatever other reason it's left running).

Either way, motivations for doing so aren't important; I just want 7 to stop this nonsense. There has to be a setting somewhere for it ?

What if you set the window you race full-screen on as the secondary monitor?

I have no icons on my desktop. Instead I have them "pinned" to my start bar. I then have the start bar to where it only shows when I put my mouse down there. I also have a "bar" on my second screen, but it shows all the time for the side programs.

Would that work for you then?

I run pretty much the same thing though I keep my start bar on my primary and I don't have any problems with my icons staying on the secondary. Every boot they are on the secondary and even if I switch back to one they stay on the second until I re-activate the second at which point they are where I left them so I can only presume its some problem caused by moving the start bar over to your secondary which a every boot up windows defaults it back onto the primary. Or do the icons move to the primary if your leave your start bar on your primary? If so the only solution I can think of would be to swap them around so your seconday becomes your primary and visa versa as with windows 7 its a couple of keyboard buttons to between monitors.

I've had issues with having programs like RBR load up on the secondary monitor (tried before, didn't seem to work?) which is why I have it set up as I do now. I can try to do that, but I still want icons on both screens.

Curiously, today, it booted up with everything as I have it set normally. I'm not sure what exactly is going on but everything was where I wanted it today. I'm lost haha

I always turn my monitors on before I start my PC. Seems to boot correctly 100% of the time if I do. I use to (on my old motherboard/Processor/XP) have to start my primary, then start my PC, then turn on my secondary. How I found out was lucky trial and error.

PC's, they have their own routines.

I'm using actual multiple monitors (but it shareware with 30-days trial) under Windows 7 ultimate and did not have problem with icons. Moreover, there is feature 'save \ restore icon position' in this soft. May be it will help you.