Desktop icons move whenever I close the laptop

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Tim M · #1 Post by **Tim M** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 1:27 pm

I've set my T42 so that closing the lid does not put it into standby (all it does is turn off the LCD backlight), but I notice that whenever I do this to move the computer (i.e. close lid, unplug machine, move to new location, plug in machine, open lid), desktop icons have moved as if the desktop has resized.

Is this some weird presentation setting issue? I didn't seem to have it before.

Thanks,

Tim

Tim M · #2 Post by **Tim M** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 3:14 pm

It looks like it's the same situation described in these two older threads:

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=27938
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=21547

All my software is up-to-date and I'm running the latest version of the Omega drivers.

I've also noticed that when I use Fn+F7 to send signal to an external monitor, the image is shifted to the left on the external monitor (i.e. left edge clipped, black vertical bar on right). I'm wondering if this is related.

DarkMark · #3 Post by **DarkMark** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 4:51 pm

I have the same problem on my T43p, and it also resizes and moves open windows, which aren't maximised.

I've only had this bug since I reinstalled windows with all the newest drivers and software tools from lenovo.

This is really getting on my nerves and I really hope someone has a solution for this crap.

Tim M · #4 Post by **Tim M** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 6:19 pm

Well, I think I fixed it.

Based on some other threads around here from 2006, a workaround for the icon rearrangement is to use this little program to "save" your icon locations: http://www.midiox.com/?http://www.midio ... tm#Desktop. It works.

As for the Fn + F7 issues, after playing with the Hotkey Features utilities and uninstalling/reinstalling PD, I just uninstalled PD for good. The settings in Windows XP Control Panel | Display are good enough and Fn + F7 works to switch between LCD, external, and both, though without the pretty popup menu from PD (which stopped working for me anyways). I'm now able to send signal to an external monitor without clipping or cropping problems at a resolution equal to my LCD's default resolution.

davidspalding · #5 Post by **davidspalding** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 6:32 pm

I use ATI Tray Tools to save and restore icon locations, it will "remember" locations for each of any resolutions (LCD, external monitor, etc.).

What I a guessing (no more) is happening is that you have Presentation Manager switching to an external video when you close the lid ... thereby resizing the desktop. Try setting it not to automagically reset profiles. HTH.

Tim M · #6 Post by **Tim M** » Wed Dec 12, 2007 7:00 pm

Apparently that's part of the problem...the resolution changes when you close the lid whether you've told PD to do this or not.

Without PD, Fn+F7 still works (just cycles between monitors) and the picture is properly framed on the external monitor at higher resolution than possible with PD, so I decided to go that route.

EDIT: Seems the PD issue might be related to a buggy version of Hotkey drivers: http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=43404. Frankly, given the amount of fuss it took some to figure out how to fix the problem, I'd just as soon do without PD and save myself some stress. I might reinstall if Lenovo comes out with a less flaky version.

davidspalding · #7 Post by **davidspalding** » Sun Mar 16, 2008 8:02 pm

Hey, guess what ... I updated several drivers and versions over the holidays ... and this exact problem has surfaced in my T43. Annoying? Drives me UP THE WALL. I'm tired of my desktop icons and restored application windows being messed up like this!

Well ... if it's the more recent versions of the Presentation Manager or Hotkey drivers ... time to roll back to previous versions of those. Harumph.

davidspalding · #8 Post by **davidspalding** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 4:19 pm

Addendum:

I rolled back to older versions of Presentation Manager, and Hotkey utilities. No joy. Uninstalled Presentation Manager, no joy. Uninstalled latest greatest Power Manager and installed older version, no joy. Yelled at my T43, no joy. Used System Update (the current one) to update any of these components and anything else.

All, no joy. Oh, and now FN + F7 does ... nothing. Though all of this, I also found the FN + F3 menu command to turn off the monitor fails. That REALLY ****es me off, as I used that regularly to save battery life.

As other posts have mentioned, it seems that a BIOS update has caused the hardware to force a return to 1024x768 when the lid is closed. ATI Tray Tools restored icons to their saved positions, but I really dislike having my applications (like ... Photoshop ... Office ... Acrobat) resized to 2/3 of my screen size. Grrrrrrr.

So my question is now ... is it possible to flash with an older BIOS update (without having to do the virtual floppy disc thing, I tried that in 2006, no joy)?

DarkMark · #9 Post by **DarkMark** » Wed Mar 19, 2008 4:35 pm

davidspalding wrote: As other posts have mentioned, it seems that a BIOS update has caused the hardware to force a return to 1024x768 when the lid is closed. ATI Tray Tools restored icons to their saved positions, but I really dislike having my applications (like ... Photoshop ... Office ... Acrobat) resized to 2/3 of my screen size. Grrrrrrr.

I personaly doubt it's the BIOS fault. Under Vista this problem doesn't exist (or nowere as bad), but Vista itself drove me back to XP. And also with a fresh install, with no drivers at all nothing happens too.

Actually I've got it set up to trible boot XP, Vista and Ubuntu, so I'll test it again, when I can get round to it.

davidspalding wrote: That REALLY ****es me off

YEAH, me too!!!

davidspalding · #10 Post by **davidspalding** » Thu Mar 20, 2008 6:37 am

I just tried the "lid closed, LCD off" test again, and found that Firefox does NOT resize to 1024x768 at the upper left corner, but Outlook does. So ... only certain APPS do this??

snessiram · #11 Post by **snessiram** » Thu Mar 20, 2008 9:27 am

I have a vnc server running at my thinkpad and when I close the lid and connect to the thinkpad with a vnc client I get an XGA resolution. Thus this changing of resolution will cause icons to move and windows to resize. In response to davidspalding noticing not all applications doing this, maybe certain applications remember fullscreen as being fullscreen (thus relatively) and others remember fullscreen as a certain resolution, which changes when resolution changes to XGA, but doesn't change when switched back to SXGA+ or others? What about applications in foreground / background, any different behavior?

I've no idea why the resolution changes to XGA. Maybe it has something to do with power management / heat? (lower resolution, less gpu activity, less heat?)
I don't have my thinkpad here but if I remember correctly, the resolution for fn + space can be changed. If so, maybe someone can check if there's a relation between that resolution and the resolution on closing the lid?

davidspalding · #12 Post by **davidspalding** » Thu Mar 20, 2008 1:23 pm

I actually don't have the FN + SPACE thing installed, or (if it's inseparable from the other Hotkey utilies) not configured ... hrm. Maybe that's a clue. That defaults to an iron-clad 1024x768, doesn't it?

Edit: nope, I do have it installed, and it resizes to 640x480 apparently (maybe it's 800x600). No change from previous complaint when I resize with Windows' Display control panel.

davidspalding · #13 Post by **davidspalding** » Sat Mar 22, 2008 2:42 pm

A possible fix has been identified in this post:

http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.ph ... 147#396545

thinkpad_customer67 · #14 Post by **thinkpad_customer67** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 2:31 pm

I'd like to keep this thread active -- I can verify I'm having a similar problem on my T43p 2668 GEU -- whenever I close the lid, my resolution changes/ steps down on reopen. I recently noticed the changes.

I've tried the various solutions, and none of them work perfectly. My thinkpad eventually "reverts" to the lower resolutions anyway. And some windows resize (e.g., firefox), even if the resolution does not step down.

Ive removed the presentation director, and there's something going on when the thinkpad "cycles" thru the 3 Fn-F7 modes (lcd, lcd+external, external) as you reopen the lcd. Maybe there's some interaction with the ATI catalyst control center crapware too. Hard to say (I haven't tried reverting that yet). I've tried "forcing" all modes to 1400x1050 thru the catalyst control, but they become "unstuck" occasionally.

Unbelievable we are still having issues like this in 2008, and thanks to everyone for their feedback. Does anyone have an inside track with the folks at lenovo (!) for looking into this?

davidspalding · #15 Post by **davidspalding** » Wed Mar 26, 2008 3:08 pm

My workaround is that ATI Tray Tools is set to restore icon locations for any saved resolution automagically.

albo · #16 Post by **albo** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 12:06 pm

I called this into lenovo tech support. The tech had "never heard" of this problem before. I told him there were tons of people here who are having this issue, and asked if he could make sure the techs knew about it. All he would do is keep the ticket open, and "that would let the techs know". Yeah right. We'll see if lenovo has a clue of what's going on in the real world.

davidspalding · #17 Post by **davidspalding** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 4:47 pm

Actually, I tried this this morning before shutting down (I press in the lid microswitch with a stylus), and the screen didn't resize or icons get moved. I'm not sure what combination of elements causes this to work properly one day, and the problem return the next. All I can say is I've tried all the suggestions posted in various threads....

Zender · #18 Post by **Zender** » Thu Mar 27, 2008 5:47 pm

I've had the same problem with T60. It was fixed by new display drivers. Someone said that it's default for ATI drivers to do that and Lenovo "fixes" that only sometimes.
In the beginning I had drivers which didn't do that. But they had issues with docking.
Upgraded drivers and docking issues were fixed, yet when using the laptop normally, closing the lid would switch resolution to XGA.
Finally, new ATI drivers came out and they have neither docking issues, nor they change the resolution on closing of the lid.

So perhaps try an older version of display drivers, if you have an ATI card...

davidspalding · #19 Post by **davidspalding** » Sat Mar 29, 2008 6:45 pm

Not a bad idea ... I just realized upon leaving my laptop open and running overnight that ... the display cannot be turned off by Power Manager after the display-off timeout.

Will try to revert to old IBM ATI drivers from the Omega ones I'm using.

Addendum

By George, I may've done it. (We'll see after days and several reboots.)

I started by removing all the ATI drivers and controls. This should've also removed the Omega drivers I'd started using in 2006 (with none of this "resolution change on powering the monitor off" nonsense). I was up to version 38360_7z. I also removed Ray Adams' fine ATI Tray Tools, version 1.3.6.1042. I finally removed the IBM TP LCD monitor driver/profile from the Display (Advanced) - Monitor(s) tab. I rebooted.

My display defaulted to "default VGA device," but was operating at 1400x1050, 32 bit color, just fine. But with no acceleration or advanced features ... dragging a window around resulted in "now you see it, now you don't" redrawing of the window. FN+F3 couldn't turn the monitor off so far's I recall.

So I reinstalled the IBM ATI drivers which I suspect my T43 (2668) shipped with, version 8.163.1.1-051004a1-027800C-IBM according to the IBMTPI.XML file in folder 1YD166WW under c:\drivers\ (folder appears dated 10/2005, just before I bought my T43). I also reinstalled the IBMTPLCD monitor profile found in c:\IBMTOOLS\drivers\MONITOR\WINXP\. Rebooted.

Net results: the FN+F3 (Power Manager pop-up) can now turn off the display as before (2006). Power Manager schemes can automatically turn off the display as they did until a few months ago.

I've reinstalled ATI Tray Tools, and all is still working fine. Cross your fingers....

What's the culprit? I dunno, my money was on BIOS or firmware controller, but now I wonder if it's a matter of the ATI drivers and their ability to control the hardware. Or,... the way the other utilities were expecting an ATI driver API perculiarity that the otherwise slick Omega drivers didn't have. YMMV. Mine may, too, after working in this state for a few days/weeks. Stay tuned, sports fans....

albo · #20 Post by **albo** » Mon Mar 31, 2008 6:05 pm

The newest rev of the ATI drivers for the t43 says the following (from ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/pc/pccbbs/mo ... d171ww.txt):

<8.383.1.1.3-070621a2-051036C>
- (Fix) After re-docking primary and secondary display areas at
extended desktop are swapped.

This came out in September, 2007. I have a sneaking suspicion that this could be the culprit (but who really knows - sounds like maybe this has always been a problem, but lenovo/ibm managed a workaround in the past which has now disappeared).

Anyway, I'd really like to get my hands on the previous rev of the driver, rev 8 - which i think is update 1yd171wj. The official driver version is 8.362-070405a-050146C. Anyone know how to get a hold of previous driver releases? I can't find it anywhere. I could revert to my original driver in my c:\drivers\video, but that's a little too ancient for my liking...

thanks,
allie

Zender · #21 Post by **Zender** » Mon Mar 31, 2008 6:15 pm

This was exactly the issue which new drivers for T60 fixed - and broke the lid-closed behaviour. But T60 now enjoys even newer drivers which behave correctly when the lid is closed. So perhaps try bugging Lenovo, or use older ones - I couldn't because the swapped-displays issue was more important to me (and I don't use desktop icons anyway).

albo · #22 Post by **albo** » Mon Mar 31, 2008 6:21 pm

Hi Zender,

I'm trying to use the last rev of the driver, but they're not available online, that I can find anyway. So, that's the issue...

thanks,
allie

Zender · #23 Post by **Zender** » Mon Mar 31, 2008 6:34 pm

These are the latest:
ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/pc/pccbbs/mo ... d171ww.exe

And these the pre-latest (8.362-070405a-050146C):
ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/pc/pccbbs/mo ... d170ww.exe

albo · #24 Post by **albo** » Mon Mar 31, 2008 6:44 pm

AWESOME. Thanks Zender.

As a sidenote, might one other solution might be to download ATI driver directly from amd/ati? I just came across the Mobility Modder page (http://www.driverheaven.net/modtool.php), and not sure why a modder is needed to use stock ati driver on a thinkpad, but perhaps this is another way to go?

thanks again,
allie

albo · #25 Post by **albo** » Mon Mar 31, 2008 8:47 pm

YAY! Installing the old (8.362) driver fixed my problems brilliantly.

First, I went to windows update and got the newest update of .NET version 2.0 (some ati2mtag errors apparently come from a faulty .NET installation, and I had gotten a BSOD). I rebooted after installation.

Then, I uninstalled Catalyst Control Center.

Finally, I installed 1yd170ww.exe over my old version.

It works like a charm. No delays as the screen redraws when I open the lid again. No moving icons. No resized windows. Phew.

Thanks all.

allie

davidspalding · #26 Post by **davidspalding** » Tue Apr 01, 2008 10:18 am

albo wrote:... Anyway, I'd really like to get my hands on the previous rev of the driver, rev 8 - which i think is update 1yd171wj. [CORRECTION: 1YD170WW] The official driver version is 8.362-070405a-050146C. Anyone know how to get a hold of previous driver releases? I can't find it anywhere. I could revert to my original driver in my c:\drivers\video, but that's a little too ancient for my liking...

September sounds about right ... I started noticing that the monitor wouldn't power off a few months ago, and I only ran the Lenovo update utility twice in the last six months.

Sometimes previous updates from System Update (the old version) are left on the hard drive. I seem to recall that I moved several hundred megabytes of these off C:\ onto an NAS ... didn't think to look for them this weekend. I'll try to remember to look again.

I didn't find anything in c:\drivers\video, I only did a search on the XML files with text "ATI" or "RADEON" in them. Hrm....

(Update: as of last night, desktop icons have still not rearranged, and screen doesn't change resolutions, after closing and opening the lid.)

Zender: BIG THANK YOU for finding the previous rev of the drivers.

Albo: I was running some Omega drivers, and still experienced this problem, so it might've been an ATI utility (Catalyst Control, or other mumbo jumbo) that caused the glitch. At this point, I'm going with what I know ... ATI drivers. Also, I coudn't hibernate or suspend from a login session with the Omega drivers, and now I can hibernate. So I have two benefits from reverting to stock drivers.

If more who've experienced this problem are fixed by version 8.362-070405a-050146C (1YD170WW) we ought to make this a sticky.

pointfielder · #27 Post by **pointfielder** » Wed Apr 16, 2008 8:47 pm

My lid-closing problem was more severe. When it used to get out of
standby, then the icons would be moved or the screen would
be resized and worse instead of going to standby it would simply
crash and reboot. This was after I used system update to update
everything except the Video drivers which I have had trouble in the past.

Anyway's updating to the latest video driver:
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... MIGR-61503
didn't help.

I eventually solved all my problems which all seemed to stem
from ATI software and my solution is posted in the thread:
http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=59721

davidspalding · #28 Post by **davidspalding** » Mon Apr 21, 2008 9:35 am

I seem to have lost the ability to turn off the monitor with the lid open again. Icons don't rearrange, and the monitor can be powered off when logged out indicating ... some service or utility running in the background when I'm logged in. Very annoying.

Addendum (5/5):

BUT ... the ATI Tray Tools utility turns off the monitor with a single keyboard combination. Better.

Desktop icons move whenever I close the laptop

Desktop icons move whenever I close the laptop

Re: Desktop icons move whenever I close the laptop

POSSIBLE FIX HERE

T43p lower resolution on lcd reopen

Grooooooovy!

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