WinXP icons won't 'arrange by type'

[Dyakson]

Hi all, I seem to have a run of newbish WinXP-related questions for everyone this week...

My WinXP desktop refuses to arrange the icons by type when I tell it to. I must have about 30-40 icons there, and I run at a fairly high resolution (can't remember what, because the PC in question is 120 miles away at my uni residence). Does anyone know how I could fix this? Win98 always worked perfectly, listing all the desktop-stored files, then all the icons in alphabetical order. On my PC, though, it leaves them in a semi-alphabetical order. Does anyone have an insight?

[the architect]

further elaboration... when you tell it to, is this by right-clicking on the desktop and then Arrange Icons By...?

[Dyakson]

further elaboration... when you tell it to, is this by right-clicking on the desktop and then Arrange Icons By...?

Well, at first, I was giving it verbal instructions via that microphone thingie with the two buttons and the wheel and the red light, but when that didn't work I tried the menu exactly as you say.

[the architect]

the reason I ask is because there are other methods... (smartass)

after googling, I have come up with the idea, that this is a bug. http://forumz.tomshardware.com/software/Desktop-Icons-STUCK-ftopict36492.html

try system restoring it, or find an app to rearrange. I'm assuming the google you used didn't come up with this result on the first page

[Dyakson]

Thanks for the help - it turned out that the desktop was listing the icons on the all-user desktop seperately to the user-specific desktop. Cut and paste and fixed.