Fixing the desktop folder views registry key (all versions of Windows)
Step 1: Terminate Explorer (Shell) Cleanly
In Windows 8 and 10:
Press and hold the CTRL & SHIFT keys, and right-click on an empty area in the Taskbar. Click the Exit Explorer option.
In Windows Vista & Windows 7
Click Start. Press and hold the CTRL & SHIFT keys, and right-click on an empty area in the Start menu. Click the Exit Explorer option.
In Windows XP:
1. Click Start, Turn Off computer.
2. Press and hold the CTRL, ALT and the SHIFT keys, and click the Cancel button.
For more information on restarting the Explorer shell, visit these pages:
Exit Explorer and Restart Explorer in Windows 10 and Windows 8?
Terminate and Restart Explorer.exe Process Cleanly in Windows 7 & Vista
Terminate and Restart Explorer.exe Process Cleanly in Windows XP
Step 2: Fix Registry Key Permissions
1. Switch to Registry Editor window, and navigate to the following key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\Shell\Bags\1\Desktop
2. Right-click on the Desktop key, and choose Permissions
3. Click Advanced, and delete any "Deny" entries if present.
(While you’re in that screen, make sure that your user account has "Full Control" (Allow) Permissions for the registry branch.
4. Click OK, OK.
5. See if you can create a sample registry value in the Desktop key to test if you can write to the branch.
Step 3: Reset the Desktop Icon Layout Registry Key
This step is required only if the problem remains unresolved although you’re able to write to the Desktop registry key.
1. Using the Registry Editor, rename the key Desktop to Desktop.Old
2. Exit the Registry Editor
3. Press CTRL + ALT + DEL to open Task Manager
4. From the File menu, click Run. Type Explorer.exe and press ENTER
Customize the desktop icons layout as you require, restart Windows and check if the icon positions are retained.
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