Why doesn't KDE work the same

Hello, I've upgraded a Thinkpad X31 from 10.0 to 10.1: great. Then I've upgraded a T43p: every time the laptop is started all icons are jammed in the upper left corner. Any settings change has no effect (unchecked the "line up icons", locked them into place, etc... Before I restore the backup to get 10.0 back (loosing suspend to RAM but regaining the icons and the wireless), has anyone a clue as to why the icons misbehave in one case but not in the other? Thierry -- Stupidity is like a fractal; universal and infinitely repetitive.