Accidentally Deleted Desktop Icon

I've accidentally deleted my desktop icon from the Users folder. It doesn't really make a difference, but when using Sharing to access my iMac files from another computer, I can't go to files on the desktop.
Can anyone help me please?

Hi.
What happens if you select the Desktop folder icon which is still in the sidebar? Do the contents of your desktop folder display in the Finder window?
If so, then go to the Finder Menu bar and click View > Show Path Bar. When the contents of the Desktop folder are displayed in the window, the path bar (at the bottom of the window) should display the current path to that folder, as it does in this screenshot:
Is it possible that the Desktop folder was somehow relocated into another folder? (I don't even know if that's possible).
Perhaps the folder itself has become hidden. You said that when you use Terminal to create a new Desktop folder, the response was that the file already exists.
Try this Terminal command to unhide the folder...
chflags nohidden ~/Desktop/
Post back and let us know if this has any affect.

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I accidentally deleted desktop from finder...HELP !!!

I accidentally deleted desktop from finder...HELP !!!

Where did you actually delete it from? If you deleted it from the sidebar (see image)
then you can easily add it by dragging the Desktop folder from within your home folder to this location.

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First, swipe your home screen to the left so you see the white search field top of the iPhone window. Type in: Phone
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my friend has accidentally deleted Safari icon and Youtube icon from my Iphone 4 ?
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checking in Setting- Restriction to unlock
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Deleted Desktop Icon - Alias icon no longer works!

Hello everybody I am a recent switcher and I can't express how much I love the switch. The widgets, Expose, ease of iPhoto, Garageband, iTunes, et cetera.
But until recently, just this morning, I deleted an Icon on my desktop (the World of Warcraft) and I the alias Icon, shortcut, in my dock no longer runs.
So after traveling the Macintosh HD/Users/Shared/Blizzard - I cannot find anything that resembles a .exe or boot up file!
I am new to the Mac and I know it isnt that unfamiliar to a PC, Windows. But I have got to ask ... What on earth do I DO?! Where do I go!?
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Mitzki,
Congratulations upon making the switch!
If your dock icon no longer works, it most likely means that you deleted the application itself, not just an icon. [In that case you will need to dispose of the dock icon by simply pulling it out of the dock. Insert a new icon after reinstalling the application.] This means that you originally installed the WOW application to your desktop rather than to your Applications folder. In the Applications folder it would be less likely to be accidentally deleted (as you may have apparently done). It is ok, in the future, to install applications to your desktop - you can then simply move them into the Applications folder, just that simple.
However, you can further safeguard from repeating this mistake - after you now install WOW into your Applications folder (or move it after installing to your desktop), select (highlight) the new WOW application icon in that Applications folder, open the "File" pull-down to "Get Info," expand the "General" section so that you can see the "Locked" box, and check off that "Locked" box, which will prevent any further movement of the WOW application without the system's first requesting your password. As a general principle, any time your system's password is requested, you should be able to understand why before you enter it. Your system password is not a nuisance, but your system's lifeguard.
Enjoy!
[Oh, gosh, I'm sooo slow! I'll let it stand in case there's something that might be useful to someone]
Message was edited by: myhighway

Can't delete desktop icons

I'm running Vista. I loaded a program and then deleted it. It left two desktop icons. These two can not be deleted in any of the traditional ways. When I try to click on them, it says the link is missing. When I try to drag to recylce bin, it shows a red x. When I try to right click, does not give the option to delete. I rebooted in safe mood but that didn't help to get rid of the icons. I tried to reload the program and then delete but that didn't work either. Any suggestions??

Good info, but I also have one and tried to find mine in the registry -and it is not there- even using a search/find in any form. I cannot even locate it in the command prompt directory of my desktop -or anywhere else except as an icon on the desktop. It does not even have a file extension, and the system cannot recognize it to delete it. I have tried doing so from the command prompt as well as from the regedit and the system just doesn't seem to "see" it, but it still shows an icon on the desktop anyway. It is a generic Explorer desktop icon and is named CANID0X3 from a manual of a Porter-Cable tool that I own. When I deleted the file this was left behind and was somehow placed on my desktop and it has been there ever since despite my best efforts. I even tried re-installing the manual and deleting it again, but the system doesn't see the file to correct it.
Any suggestions? Doing a re-install of Windows is a little drastic to cure this otherwise benign problem. It just bugs the heck out of me that I can't get rid of the dumb thing!
Any suggestions, insights, or considerations would be very much appreciated. Thx.

Accidentally Deleted Calculator Icon-can't reinstall

I have a BB8830 with 4.2, waiting for Verizon to release 4.5. I accidentally deleted the calculator icon from my home screen, and can't find any way to reinstall the app or the icon.
Any ideas?
Solved!
Go to Solution.

Thanks. I was going to suggest to next reload the OS if that didn't work
If someone has been helpful please consider giving them kudos by clicking the star to the left of their post.
Remember to resolve your thread by clicking Accepted Solution.

Accidentally deleted network icon from viewer

Can anyone help me? I accidentally deleted my network icon from my viewer. When I double click my hard drive the network icon used to be right below the hard drive icon on the far left. I accidentally dragged it out and dropped it. How do I reinstate that?
Thanks for any help!
Heartichokeart

Hi
Go to the Finder menu, then Preferences. Click on the "Sidebar" tab, and tick the Network entry. It will re-appear in your sidebar.
Matt

When I delete desktop icons, they don't auto arrange?

Hi everyone. I purchased a new macbook pro about a month and a half ago and am running snow leopard on it.
When I delete icons on my desktop, the gap where the icon used to be is still there. I would like my desktop to automatically fill that in with the remaining icons, like how it did on my older macbook. How do I do this??
I tried looking elsewhere for help, but the option of "keep icons arranged" in view options is not there for me!

Click on the Desktop
Press Command+J (or go to the "View" menu and select "Show View Options" in the drop down menu
The bottom section has an option that says "Arrange by: none"
Use the drop down to select "Name"
This will organize the icons by name and when you remove one the others will shift around to fill in the empty space.(or you can select one of the other options like "kind" but I like name best).
This should fix it for you but I believe you have to do it for every folder you want this behavior in. (the desktop is a folder).

Delete desktop icons

I have two icons on my DESKTOP (not the icon bar on the bottom). They are "Macintosh HD" and "My Book". I want to remove them from the desktop as both of these icons can be accessed through Finder. However, if I try to Trash them, the computer does not allow it. How can I remove these icons from my iMac desktop???

chun914,
Welcome to Apple Discussions.
Going forward rather than doing a "me too" it's better to create a new thread. When you say you download and install MSN, what exactly is MSN? You should see file extension like .app when it's in the downloads folder. What is that extension, that might give me a clue as to what it is.
Also go through the Mac 101 and Switch 101 URL's that were noted above and get yourself a book on Snow Leopard so you can begin learning. A book I like is Robin Williams book, no not THAT Robin Williams!
Regards,
Roger

Can't delete desktop icon

After saving a new document to the desktop (say in TextEdit or Microsoft Word), once I quit out of the application I notice two seperate files, with the same name, on my desktop.
One of them acts "normally" and can be opened/trashed/moved to another location. The other one (which looks exactly the same) does not, and cannot be delete or moved anywhere. In fact dragging this file automatically enables the copy function (the little plus sign appears as if I were copying it to an external drive). It's unable to be opened. The only way for me to get rid of this file is to do a full restart.
Anyone else experience this? I thought it would have been patched up in 10.7.2 but it's still around...

Please read this whole message before doing anything.
This procedure is a diagnostic test. It won’t solve your problem. Don’t be disappointed when you find nothing has changed after you complete it.
Third-party system modifications are a common cause of usability problems. By a “system modification,” I mean software that affects the operation of other software -- potentially for the worse. The following procedure will help identify which such modifications you've installed. Don’t be alarmed by the complexity of these instructions -- they’re easy to carry out and won’t change anything on your Mac.
These steps are to be taken while booted in “normal” mode, not in safe mode. If you’re now running in safe mode, reboot as usual before continuing.
Below are four lines of text in monospaced type, which are actually shell commands -- little programs. They’re harmless, but they must be used exactly as given in order to work.
First and most important, don’t run these commands until you have verified that they’re legitimate. Never execute shell commands from an untrusted source without knowing what they do, or at least that they don’t do anything harmful. I’ve posted these same commands, with minor variations, many times on this site. You should be able to find other discussions in which they were used without ill effects. Do that before proceeding.
Some of the commands will probably line-wrap in your browser, but each one is really just a single long line, all of which must be selected. You can accomplish this easily by triple-clicking anywhere in the line. The whole line will highlight, and you can then either copy or drag it. The headings “Step 1” and so on are not part of the commands.
To begin, launch the Terminal application; e.g., by entering the first few letters of its name in a Spotlight search.
Step 1
Copy or drag -- do not type -- the line below into the Terminal window, then press return:
kextstat -kl | awk ' !/apple/ { print $6 $7 } '
Post the lines of output (if any) that appear below what you just entered (the text, please, not a screenshot.)
Step 2
Repeat with this line:
sudo launchctl list | sed 1d | awk ' !/0x|apple|com\.vix|edu\.|org\./ { print $3 } '
This time, you'll be prompted for your login password, which won't be displayed when you type it. You may get a one-time warning not to screw up. You don't need to post the warning.
Step 3
launchctl list | sed 1d | awk ' !/0x|apple|edu\.|org\./ { print $3 } '
Step 4
ls -1A {,/}Library/{Ad,Compon,Ex,Fram,In,La,Mail/Bu,P*P,Priv,Qu,Scripti,Servi,Sta}* 2> /dev/null
Important: If you synchronize with a MobileMe account, your me.com email address will appear in the output of the above command. Change it to something like “[email protected]” before posting.
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I have just selected all my desktop icons and accidentally deleted them. This included my external hard drive with 22,000 photos in iPhoto. I cannot open iPhoto now. Can someone help please?

I have just selected all my desktop icons and accidentally deleted them. This included my external hard drive with 22,000 photos in iPhoto. I cannot open iPhoto now. Can someone help please?

What is the file system of that external HD? is it MacOS Extended (Journaled)?
Which iPhoto version do you have?
If you directly select the iPhoto Library in the Finder and use "File > Get Info", does the library still show as "Kind: iPhoto Library" and is the file size correct for 22000 Photos?
If the library does no longer have the correct size, restore it from your backup.
But if the library has the correct size, try to open it directly by clicking it. This should work, if your iPhoto version is iPhoto '11.

I deleted my desktop icon - now I can't save things to the desktop!

After a complete meltdown of my computer (and thank GOD I backed everything up!!) ... I'm transferring everything back to my iMac from an external drive ... BUT, I deleted the little "desktop" icon from my finder folder - or more like, I dragged a desktop folder from the external hard drive and "replaced" the desktop icon.
Now I can't save anything to the desktop. When I drag something to the desktop it says "The item cannot be moved because the 'desktop' cannot be modified."
Is there a way to get this back???

No ...
Under "Ownership & Permission" is says "You can - Read & Write", so that's not the issue.
What I did was:
When you open the finder window, there are several icons that appear in the window - usually the Desktop icon, the Home icon, the Applications icon, the Documents icon, the Movies icon, the Music icon and the Pictures icon.
What I did was, I dragged a "Desktop FOLDER" over from an external hard drive and it asked me if I wanted to replace the Desktop. I said "Yes" and now I no longer have the DESKTOP ICON on the left side of the finder window and I can no longer drag and drop things to the desktop.
The desktop icon no longer exists, so I can't access my desktop VIA the finder window.
Does this make sense?

Accidentally deleted the photos app icon from my iPhone 4s.

I've read the previous threads on this topic but none quite fit the bill. I need to re-install the Photos icon, which has disappeared.
This happened while I was holding my phone but not paying attention; when I looked again the icons were all shaking. I don't know how the icon disappeared because the factory defaults don't offer a delete option, but the icon definately disappeared at that time.
The app itself is still there and, because it was running when I deleted the icon, I can currently still access it by double clicking the main button, where app (and icon) is still accessible there at the bottom of the screen. But this is not convenient for general usage, and if I hard close the app from there then I will have no way to open the Photos app.
I can't re-download the app because it is a factory default app and not available anywhere (and as such shouldnt be deletable!).
The icon isnt hiding anywhere amongst my subfolders, and I've checked for restrictions but there arent any.
Restetting the home screen layout to factory defaults presumably means I will lose all the other app icons I have, and their sub folders etc, which I dont want to do either.
I have now backed up my phone and all my photos etc, but if I restore my phone from a previous backup, I will lose the data and messages I've acquired isince then.
All I want to do is re-install the icon and make sure it links to the photos app that is still installed - surley that can't be so hard?
All help appreciated.
I don't have a Mac and run Windows 7 on a Sony VAIO. All versions of iTunes and IoS are up to date.
Patrick

PROBLEM SOLVED
ANSWER The exact same thing happened to me today. I accidently deleted my Photo app (with over a 1000 photos in it) but I could still access it by pressing the home button twice. This is because it was with the background running apps (when you press the home button twice it shows all the apps running in the background) but it would not let me drag it to the Home screen.
Well so I was anxiously reading this thread at church to see what to do (I did a search for, 'I accidently deleted my Photo app' and how I came across this thread). Anyway, I searched all my subfolders and everywhere IT WAS NOT IN ANOTHER FOLDER AND THE PHOTO ICON WAS COMPLETELY GONE FROM ANY OF THE DESKTOPS.
Anyway, my phone was dying and no way to charge it so it died at church and so I connected it to my car charger in my car when leaving church and after the iphone came on again, there was the Photo App on my desktop!
So my advice is to let it completely run out of it's charge then later plug into a charger. I have the iPhone 4S going on almost 2yrs now and this is the first time this has happened to me! I was in a hurry getting ready for church and pressed it accidently so I know exactly when it happened (when all the apps have x's and you can delete them ...).
I always delete the backgound running apps to save battery power but I thought now I can never delete the Photo background running app or will lose everything! Hope this works for you all. I know I can connect it to my desktop and all but try this first - much easier...
Maria

I accidentally deleted my "clock/alarm" app. How do I get the icon back?

I was moving apps and accidentally deleted the clock/alarm app. I can "search" and get my alarms, but I still can't get the icon to move it to my home screen. How do I get the icon back?

I've looked in other folders and screens and can't locate it. I understand that there are apps that can't be deleted and this is one of them....I've tried several ways to locate it and can't.

Accidentally Deleted Desktop Icon

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