I suspect IFX running during boot has reinstated this behaviour.
[...]
Any thoughts on this "moving/creeping/downward sliding Desktop icons" problem variant?
Quick Fix: on the IFX commandline in 'config.sys', add '/i' - e.g. "CALL=C:\SYS\APPS\IFX\IFX.EXE /i"
Underlying Cause: the problem arises when the WPS crashes on a system that has XCenter's "Reduce Desktop workarea" option enabled. Unlike a normal shutdown, XCenter doesn't get a chance to restore the Desktop to its original size. Later, when the WPS sees its size is not the default value, it generates a FolderPos entry for it with the
reduced size. At the next startup, the Desktop gets configured with the wrong height, then has its size reduced further by XCenter yielding icon creep.
On a system that uses XWP Shutdown (rather than Styler's shutdown) and doesn't use WarpCenter, IFX's fix is precisely what's needed: remove a FolderPos entry that shouldn't exist and causes the problem. This is exactly the same as what Andreas's script does.
Problems arise with this solution when using Styler shutdown, WarpCenter, and possibly other addons. In these cases, that FolderPos is
needed to restore things properly, so IFX's fix is no fix at all. The '/I' (letter "eye") switch turns it off.
FWIW... I spent a lot of time researching this but I wouldn't claim to have uncovered every last detail - plus it's been a while so my memory is a bit fuzzy. Still, I'm pretty sure that the IFX fix is the appropriate one for most ArcaOS installations.
FWIW2... I never see this problem for two reasons: (1) I don't use "Reduce Desktop workarea". Instead, I use XWP's screen borders feature to open/surface XCenter whenever I move the mouse to the bottom right corner of the screen; (2) I use "Always maintain sort order" for the Desktop (I have other things to do than artfully arrange the 51 icons currently on my Desktop).