Can't move items on MacBook Pro desktop

I use an old MacBook Pro for books and such. Suddenly I can't move anything on my desktop. It's not Stacks or Permission. Help. It has a very touchy pad.

MacBook Pro 15″, macOS 11.7

Posted on Dec 3, 2025 9:02 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Dec 4, 2025 5:18 AM

Make sure desktop icons are not being auto-sorted

Even if Stacks is off, Finder may still be sorting items—this prevents you from moving anything manually.

On the Desktop, right-click (or control-click):

Use Stacks → OFF

Sort By → None

Clean Up By → None

If either “Sort By” or “Clean Up By” is set to anything other than None, you cannot move icons.

This solves the issue for many people.

1 reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Dec 4, 2025 5:18 AM in response to globell

Make sure desktop icons are not being auto-sorted

Even if Stacks is off, Finder may still be sorting items—this prevents you from moving anything manually.

On the Desktop, right-click (or control-click):

Use Stacks → OFF

Sort By → None

Clean Up By → None

If either “Sort By” or “Clean Up By” is set to anything other than None, you cannot move icons.

This solves the issue for many people.

Can't move items on MacBook Pro desktop

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