Desktop Problem-Icons Won't Work or Won't Adjust

Yesterday my desktop icons decided to not work. I could not open from the desktop, move folders, etc. It is as if they were all locked. I COULD open Finder, go to Desktop, and open files and start apps from there. Then I went to View Options, clicked Snap To Grid, and all icons moved. I then turned it off (None). But the icons won't respond. They are stuck in "Snap to Grid." I still can't open a folder on the desktop, but applications will now start.
This is a bizarre one. Any help would be appreciated.

I've been having this problem as well, restarting only corrects it for about an hour or so. Was not able to find the library com.apple.finder.plist file in my library and then did a universal search using that string and no results. Not sure why other people have that preference file and I don't. This is a frustrating problem that will influence my decision to purchase new Macs in the future. It's a real time waster. In addition, often when I click on a folder, it comes up empty, even though there may be hundreds of files in the folder. It seems it's part of the same problem, inasmuch as the finder can't process data nodes correctly. The only solution is to open the folder, close it, and open it again and then the files inside it appear, albeit slowly.

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