click and drag problems

[kurupt]

I appologise in advance if this seems a simple problem to rectify but i can't sort it out.
Using Mac osx on an emac.
Here it is. I can't click and drag icons on the desktop. I can move open windows around but icons remained fixed. It has been suggested that it may be something I have inadvertadely put into trash, but as i can't drag anything out of trash i'm a little stuck.
If you know how to rectify this problem or how to manually retrieve items from the trash please let me know. It's been doing my nut in.

 

[robotrenegade]

click on your desktop so it says finder in the upper left corner. Then click on view. Then click on show view options and uncheck "Keep arranged by".