My computer is running windows 7 ultimate. From the last few days I have noticed that my computer does not save changes before shutdown or restart.
Take for example you have placed the recycle bin folder on top-left corner of the desktop which was earlier placed on the bottom-right corner. Then after restarting you would get the recycle bin folder again on the bottom right corner.
But if you save something in the disk like a document in Documents folder, then it will still be there at the disk even after restart.