Could someone be playing a trick on him? This site -http://www.rjlsoftware.com/software/entertainment/ - has a good number of freeware downloads that will brighten the day of every office joker. One even causes the Start button to avoid the cursor, which is at least similar to what he is experiencing. I don't see anything listed for the exact problem but if the Start button can be made to avoid the cursor, so could icons, I presume.

Jim.