V6.5.4 Don't know where to start to Troubleshoot this bug. Icons Squashed when using Virtual Monitor

Appollo-Moonlight / Virtual 4k Monitor / Regedit Tweaked / Windows 11

from Stardock Forums

I need help, I'm 'thinking' it's Fences as this only happened when I updated to V6 and then sub-updates.

I have 4 monitors, and I use fences to keep my icons hidden and in place and it does a backup and allows me to restore. Seemed to work fine with that.

I use Apollo and Moonlight, so I can play my games in 4k on my Laptop streaming it from the Desktop, I'd connect and usually the icons would stay in their place when it switches off the 4 real monitors and leave me with a 4k virtual monitor.

Recently, all the icons have clumped into the side or corner, and when I go into the settings of Fences, tweaking some of the settings like 'Enable Snapping' in the Layout section, just messing with those makes the icons stay in the same place, but re-arrange themselves.

My problem, I have 4 things that are being involved (Fences, Registry switching from -1125 to -910 bringing them closer, Apollo/Moonlight and Windows 11) and I don't know what to troubleshoot, I could be troubleshooting something and it's a simple fix in one of them, so I don't know where to start.

Where do I start, is there anything in Fences I'm overlooking, is there any logs or information I can provide to you to help me get to the bottom of this if it's fences related?

Thanks and Regards

Paul.

Stardock Software Fences bug Type: Question
1,215 views 10 replies
Reply #1 from Stardock Forums Top

Hello,

Sorry to hear you are having issues. I believe this best answer by Support, hence, I have forwarded your problem/question to Stardock Support Team for their assistance. Please keep an eye on this thread for any updates. We appreciate your feedback and patience. 

Meanwhile, please do these steps.

While your Fences and all the icons in correct position, Turn on Advance logging, once that done, reboot the system. After reboot is done, try to reproduce your issue. After the issue appear. Create error report package and send in for review. Do mention this thread in your report. So they can fall back to this thread.

Thank you.

Basj,

Stardock Community  Assistant

Reply #2 from Stardock Forums Top

+1, the advanced log would help to dig in! Enable, reboot, repro, then create report from the same menu.

Perhaps do so before trying out the "Fix Deskop Icon Spacing" in the troubleshooting menu, which will essentially reset the spacing to default. But at any rate, assuming you'd like to keep the compressed spacing but not have them be bunched up.

Does this happen on all monitors? Triggered when you switch from the 4 to the virtual and back again etc?

Apollo/Moonlight is an oddball, but it should just be yet-another-monitor, so we'll see if something stands out.

TouchTasks - Access tasks with ease on Windows touchscreens.
Reply #3 from Stardock Forums Top

I've activated the troubleshooting mode.

My icons were in the location I want when I had my normal 4 monitors on, I checked the registry and it was set at -1215, and I restarted the system, I turned on Apollo/Moonlight and the icons all shifted to the left of the virtual monitor and crammed together down the side. I tried the 'Fix Desktop Icon Spacing' in the troubleshooting menu and after log off and back in during Apollo/Moonlight the icons were all squashed into the top left quadrant/corner of my virtual screen. 

I've uploaded to the Dropbox redirect and got "We’ll let Jeff Bargmann know you uploaded files."

I also have to ask, what happened to the first post that was here, it just went? the user icon was a blue icon, I read it, but then I was coming back to follow the steps a little later and the post had gone, and now I see 'edited' at the top if the new first post?

Thanks
Paul.

Reply #4 from Stardock Forums Top
Quoting PJGHangouts, reply 4145981

I also have to ask, what happened to the first post that was here, it just went? the user icon was a blue icon, I read it, but then I was coming back to follow the steps a little later and the post had gone, and now I see 'edited' at the top if the new first post?

End of PJGHangouts's quote

The first reply was from Haalee, but now it is gone. Not sure by who. When I posted my reply it was as reply#2. I did edited my reply, so perhaps that is why there is an "edited" tag there. But I did not touch Reply#1 in any way. Hope that answer your question.

Thank you,

Basj,

Stardock Community  Assistant

Reply #5 from Stardock Forums Top

Hi PJG, thanks for sending that report. I notice a couple things:

- It seems like both "Grid" and "Auto Arrange" are turned off. Could you try enabling one or both and seeing if it helps the issue?

- Looking through the logs, I do see it going from 4 monitors @ 100% DPI and then going to the one monitor at @ 200%, and all the numbers actually look very good, but just it can't use the spacing becaue icon positions are set to manual! (So hopefully "arrange to grid" or auto arrange helps.)

If you don't want it on always, you can probably get away with toggling it on and off again, just, any new icons will get funky positions when switching between the 100% and 200% DPIs, because there's inadequate data to ensure they're obeying the rules during such a transformation without either grid or auto arrange.

 

 

2026-09-02 03:09:03,301 - WM_SETTINGCHANGE Monitor State [4|-3000,0|6840x1920|100]

2026-09-02 03:15:11,713 - IconSpacing Changed 76x101

2026-09-02 03:15:12,170 - ReadDesktopSpacing DPIs(sys100/100 proc100/100 wnds(100/100) prim/100 aware4/4/4) iconSize(48) spacingDesktop(76,101) spacingGroups(-1,-1), LVDesktopSpacingRaw(76,101) desktopSpacingCalc(76,101) desktopSpacingCalcOldVsNew(75,76) MetricsSpacingRaw(75,75) MetricsSpacingAdj(76,101) lvHwndSpacingRaw(91,91) lvHwndSpacingAdj(91,91) groupsMatchDesktop(0) shim(2)

2026-09-02 03:16:04,992 - WM_SETTINGCHANGE Monitor State [1|0,0|3840x2160|200]

2026-09-02 03:16:00,869 - ReadDesktopSpacing DPIs(sys100/100 proc100/100 wnds(200/200) prim/200 aware4/4/4) iconSize(48) spacingDesktop(153,203) spacingGroups(-1,-1), LVDesktopSpacingRaw(152,196) desktopSpacingCalc(152,196) desktopSpacingCalcOldVsNew(75,152) MetricsSpacingRaw(75,75) MetricsSpacingAdj(152,196) lvHwndSpacingRaw(182,182) lvHwndSpacingAdj(182,182) groupsMatchDesktop(0) shim(2)

2026-09-02 03:16:05,222 - ReadDesktopSpacing DPIs(sys100/100 proc100/100 wnds(200/200) prim/200 aware4/4/4) iconSize(48) spacingDesktop(153,203) spacingGroups(-1,-1), LVDesktopSpacingRaw(152,198) desktopSpacingCalc(152,198) desktopSpacingCalcOldVsNew(75,152) MetricsSpacingRaw(75,75) MetricsSpacingAdj(152,198) lvHwndSpacingRaw(182,182) lvHwndSpacingAdj(182,182) groupsMatchDesktop(0) shim(2)

2026-09-02 03:16:05,222 - IconSpacingSize Changed 182x182 / 182x182

2026-09-02 03:16:05,222 - IconSpacing Changed 152x198

2026-09-02 03:17:56,342 - ReadDesktopSpacing DPIs(sys100/100 proc100/100 wnds(200/200) prim/200 aware4/4/4) iconSize(48) spacingDesktop(153,203) spacingGroups(-1,-1), LVDesktopSpacingRaw(152,198) desktopSpacingCalc(152,198) desktopSpacingCalcOldVsNew(75,152) MetricsSpacingRaw(75,75) MetricsSpacingAdj(152,198) lvHwndSpacingRaw(182,182) lvHwndSpacingAdj(182,182) groupsMatchDesktop(0) shim(2)

 

Haalee is a support assistance bot which IT has been testing, who has, surprise surprise, been providing inaccurate information, so I deleted it when I saw it. Thanks for your patience.

Reply #6 from Stardock Forums Top
'- Looking through the logs, I do see it going from 4 monitors @ 100% DPI and then going to the one monitor at @ 200%, and all the numbers actually look very good, but just it can't use the spacing becaue icon positions are set to manual! (So hopefully "arrange to grid" or auto arrange helps.)'
Unfortunately that didn't help, I guessed those 'menu' choices were actually windows, not linked to your app, but now I have troubleshooting turned on, I see other menu choices, about triggering a crash, etc.
Unless you are telling me there are settings in the app itself, to toggle arrange to grid and auto arrange?
if there isn't, from the right click and toggle on or off didn't make any change apart from appearing to rotate the icons, like random re-position and then back to where they were, in the wrong place.
Oh, and I get the IT/AI etc, I use it on the daily, it's not as good as all the people making the big money are making us believe it is.
Any more thoughts on my problem I'm facing? Attached is what I see right now [if it goes through]
Reply #7 from Stardock Forums Top

Just to confirm this screenshot is with "Auto arrange icons" and "Align icons to grid" turn on? If so, that is strange, 

Thank you,

Basj,

Stardock Community  Assistant

Reply #8 from Stardock Forums Top

Yes it's activated. I think it's something to do with the 'medium' choices.

See the attached video for what happens to my icons doing some simple attempted changes. (Via Dropbox)

If I put it small, it appears to work, I just can't see it, large with respect, I don't want all my icons visible on the internet (so I'm not doing a screenshot) but large works also but too big to use.

I used the 'create report' again, to allow me to upload the latest report, nothing will have changed, but it allows to trigger the dropbox, and I also uploaded a recording of my desktop icons changing while I'm 'tweaking'

Hope this helps to get to the bottom of it, it's not annoying, but more of an inconvenience at the moment.

Thanks.

Reply #9 from Stardock Forums Top

Oh wow, @Paul that is quite the video. Painful to watch. Ok noted. We will dive into the 2nd report! Confirmed that AA/Grid are indeed turned on in that latest snapshot.

More soon. Will be staring at screens like this & adding additional output until something makes sense.

Reply #10 from Stardock Forums Top

No problem keep me posted, I can only but say, make sure you are looking away on a regular basis or you eyes will look like this after a few minutes.

 

Googly Eyes Gif