Can't open anything on desktop by clicking on it...

As of this morning, I find I can't open anything on the desktop by clicking on it. I have to click on it, and then go to File--->Open
I'd be grateful for any suggestions. Thanks!

Reapply the Combo update...
The combo update for PowerPC-based Macs...
http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/macosx10411comboupdateppc.html
Repair Permissions afterwards, reboot.
If all the above fails, then it appears to be time for an Archive & Install, which gives you a new OS, but can preserve all your files, pics, music, settings, etc., as long as you have plenty of free disk space...
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107120
Just be sure to select Preserve Users & Settings.
The usual reason why updates fail or mess things up, is if Permissions are not fixed before & after every update, with a reboot... you may get a partial update when the installer finds it doesn't have Permissions to change one obscure little part of the OS, leaving you with a mix of OS versions.
Some people get away without Repairing Permissions for years, some for only days.
If Permissions are wrong before applying an update, you could get mixed OS versions, if the Disk Directory is the slightest messed up, who knows what could happen!
If many Permission are repaired, or any Directory errors are found, you may need to re-apply some the latest/biggest updates.
I only use Software Update to see what is needed, then get them for real via...
http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/
That way I can wait a week or so, check the forums for potential problems, and get Permissions & such in order before installing.

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I can't open anything on my desktop, can't right click either. Please help

I hope that someone will have a simple solution to my problem. I need you to speak to me like a 10 yr old about this computer!! To start out I found the computer screen locked on my daughters FB page. The mouse works, but the computer won't let you click on anything. I had to manually turn computer off and restarted. My desktop comes up, however I can not open anything! And my Safari Icon is gone, and the firefox icon that I use for work purposes, has changed to a question mark. Please let me know how to procede!!

More details, please. Did you simply install Lion over the top of the Snow Leopard installation that was already on your Mac, or did you do something else?
How are you trying to open those things? What happens when you try?
Can you select anything on the Desktop? If you do that and invoke the menu option File > Get Info, what's the first thing you see under "Name" in the "Sharing & Permissions" section of the resulting window?

Once I'm in a site I can not open anything in that site, Such as paying a credit card was able to click on the calendar & pick a date, now all I get when I click on the calendar is a blank page.

Everything works great with Internet Explore So I know the problem is FFox. Going on for about 2 weeks now. For example trying to make a calendar with shutterfly. Once I click on upload, to find my photos I get a blank page, Banking site, click on the a check # was able to see the pd check front & back now all I get is a blank page. Can not open anything within a site. Already made sure Java & Adobe Flash is up to date.

Hi There Linc Davis,
Wow, you are the best.
Yip this is what the website looks like. Great job Linc Davis.
Not surprised that the "Shop" tab is missing. Darn.
Well can you try to access it's "sister" website: astralmusic.com and astralmusicshop.com?
Since you are awesome with the "Flash" can you investigate if this website has a issue withis this "Flash" too?
Please Linc Davis

I am trying to create a ringtone, when I right click and and go to get info I can't open anything under options. Itunes is not allowing me to do anything under options including changing the start and stop times. ??

I am trying to create a ringtone, when I right click and and go to get info I can't open anything under options. Itunes is not allowing me to do anything under options including changing the start and stop times. ??

GarageBand '11 - Create an iPhone ringtone - Apple Support

Can't open anything on my Desktop

I've tried to update a software ( Maverick), but everytime I am getting a pop-up that I have to close my Mail.
But my mail isn't even open.
I can't open anything on my Desktop.
The only way to read my mail is via my IPAD.
Nothings comes in and nothing works.
Does anyone have the same problem?
ps I tried to restart, Log Off but everytime I'm getting the pop-up to close Mail (???) so the computer won't restart or Log Off.
HELP

Hi Clinton,
Thank you for your time to reply.
For some mysterious reason everything started to work again.
Sally

When I try to click and drag items to the desktop, I receive the following error: You can't open the application "Desktop" because it may be damaged or incomplete.

I am not able to edit my desktop, I receive the following error: You can’t open the application “Desktop” because it may be damaged or incomplete.
Also, I cannot rearrange folders, add folders, or move things out of my trash back to the desktop.

Try using another account and see if the problem persists.
Try booting into the Safe Mode and see if the problem persists.
Starting Up in the Safe Mode
What is Safe Mode

I got a flashing folder with a question mark. I got a new hard drive and upgraded to 4 gigs and can't open anything or reload the operating system? Help?

I got a flashing folder with a question mark. I got a new hard drive and upgraded to 4 gigs and can't open anything or reload the operating system? Help? FYI: I have been using boot camp with windows 7 and started getting a kernal_data_Page_error and it would reboot windows, i was trying to do a chkdsk on the next reboot, but thats when i started getting this issue. I have put in a new hard drive and went from 2 gigs to 4. I can not get the computer to do anything, even the monitor does not show anything now????

Prep your new drive:
Drive Preparation
1. Boot from your OS X Installer Disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu.
2. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Note the SMART status of the drive in DU's status area. If it does not say "Verified" then the drive is failing or has failed and will need replacing. SMART info will not be reported on external drives. Otherwise, click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
3. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID (for Intel Macs) or APM (for PPC Macs,) then click on the OK button. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed.
4. Select the volume you just created (this is the sub-entry under the drive entry) from the left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
5. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Security button, check the button for Zero Data and click on OK to return to the Erase window.
6. Click on the Erase button. The format process can take up to several hours depending upon the drive size.
After formatting has completed quit DU and return to the installer. Install OS X.

I can't open anything in my Downloads list

I can't open anything in my Downloads list. I've tried resetting firefox and I've also tried everything in your article "What to do if you can't download or save files" but nothing helps. I tried to upgrade to the latest firefox to see if this helps but once I've hit the Download button, 1 minute later it appears in my downloads list and... same issue... I can't open it to run it! It's like it's crashed, because no amount of clicking on a download will activate anything. It seems like the Downloads list is dead! Also, (and I think this is linked), I cannot save web pages. I go though the motions and it looks like it's doing the right thing but the pages don't save - they just disappear into the ether! I'm on Windows Vista and have been downloading things happily for years, but suddenly this problem has occured and I've run out of ideas now... Please help!

Awesome, thank you very much.

Can't open anything on mac

Help....!!!! I have MacBook Air 2011.. after I update software and restart my mac, now I can't do anything... I done the reset pram and smc and I tried everthing I found on forums... I had spinning ball on the moment... now, I can't open anything it show's me that that application quit unexpectable...bla,bla.... Please, help... I'm from country where apple is too far in the future so I don't where to bring my mac to someone to fix it... so, everthing's up to you... tnx

ibooks can currently only be read on iOS devices. All purchases are considered final, but you can try contacting iTunes support and see if they will refund or credit you : http://www.apple.com/support/itunes/contact/ - click on Contact iTunes Store Support on the right-hand side of the page, then Purchases, Billing & Redemption

HT1338 i currently have a macbook 2.1 and want to update. what can it support? I can't even download IPhoto! I can't open anything in my ICloud account either! its not on my current browser nor am i able when logging onto my ICloud account.

i currently have a macbook 2.1xersion 10.6.8 and want to update. what can it support? Everything i try, it won't support! I can't even download IPhoto! I can't open anything in my ICloud account either! its not on my current browser nor am i able when logging onto my ICloud account. Can anyone give me some advice besides buying a newer laptop?

Lion 10.7.5 is as far as you can go. You must have at least 2 GBs of installed RAM.
Upgrading from Snow Leopard to Lion or Mountain Lion
You can upgrade to Mountain Lion from Lion or directly from Snow Leopard. Mountain Lion can be downloaded from the Mac App Store for $19.99.
If you sign into the App Store and try to purchase Mountain Lion but the App Store says your computer is not compatible then you may still be able to upgrade to Lion per the following information.
Upgrading to Lion
If your computer does not meet the requirements to install Mountain Lion, it may still meet the requirements to install Lion.
You can purchase Lion by contacting Customer Service: Contacting Apple for support and service - this includes international calling numbers. Or you can order directly on the online Apple Store. The cost is $19.99 (as it was before) plus tax. It's a download. You will get an email containing a redemption code that you then use at the Mac App Store to download Lion. Save a copy of that installer to your Downloads folder because the installer deletes itself at the end of the installation.
     Lion System Requirements
       1. Mac computer with an Intel Core 2 Duo, Core i3, Core i5, Core i7,
           or Xeon processor
       2. 2GB of memory
       3. OS X v10.6.6 or later (v10.6.8 recommended)
       4. 7GB of available space
       5. Some features require an Apple ID; terms apply.

I want to transfer an audiobook and a movie from my MacBook Pro to my iPhone 4S, and can't figure out how. I went to "Help" and it said after connecting the two devices I should "Click Apps," but I can't find anything labeled "Apps" to click. Help?!!

I want to transfer an audiobook and a movie from my MacBook Pro to my iPhone 4S, and can't figure out how. I went to "Help" and it said after connecting the two devices I should "Click Apps," but I can't find anything labeled "Apps" to click. Help?!!

If you have iTunes 11 on your Mac then you can enable the left-hand sidebar via option-command-S, that might make it easier to navigate.
Connect the phone to your Mac and select it on that left-hand sidebar, and on the right-hand side of the screen there should be a series of tabs which you can use to select what to sync to the phone. If it's an audiobook then it should appear on the Books tab for selecting/syncing, and films will be on the Movies tab. When you've got the audiobook on your phone you should get an Audiobooks option in the Music app (you might need to tap the '...' tab at the bottom of the Music app to see it).

How can I OPEN files I just downloaded? They're on the DOWNLOADS screen of Firefox but I can't open them even after double-clicking? And they're not on the FOLDERS as well. I tried RIGHT-CLICK and the "open dowloading folder" or something does not work! P

How can I OPEN files I just downloaded? They're on the DOWNLOADS screen of Firefox but I can't open them even after double-clicking? And they're not on the FOLDERS as well. Even the right-click is not working ... the "open containing folder" does not work.
== This happened ==
Not sure how often
== ALWAYS! ==
== User Agent ==
Mozilla/4.0 (compatible; MSIE 8.0; Windows NT 6.1; Trident/4.0; GTB6.5; SLCC2; .NET CLR 2.0.50727; .NET CLR 3.5.30729; .NET CLR 3.0.30729; Media Center PC 6.0; InfoPath.2)

Open Containing Folders is never active.

I can not open anything with out the DEP message coming on. My computer will not allow me to run Adobe Reader.

It's impossible to open any Adobe message without the program shutting down. I've tried to change the DEP but Adobe will not allow it. I can't open anything.

Try disabling Protected Mode [Edit | Preferences | Security (Enhanced)].
Note that Reader XI is not officially supported on Vista; Reader X (10.1.10) is the latest Reader version for Vista.

Since I updated I can't open anything that comes in a pop upwindow i.e. pdf or mail window. How can I solve or go back to the previous version - it worked just fine.

Since I updated I can't open anything that comes in a pop upwindow i.e. pdf or mail window. How can I solve or go back to the previous version - it worked just fine.

I am not sure what your problem is, can you give more details.
One possibility is you may be in full screen mode, for details on fixing that see the [[menu bar is missing]] article.
If you are missing various toolbar items, see the [[back and forward or other toolbar items are missing]] article.
If your problem is something else please give more details.

Tabs in Firefox 7 won't work...I can't open a new tab by clicking on the +.....only way to open a new tab is via the FILE/new tab option

Tabs in Firefox 7 won't work...I can't open a new tab by clicking on the +.....only way to open a new tab is via the FILE/new tab option...it seems like a lot of the options/buttons are non-pressable??

This issue can be caused by the Ask<i></i>.com toolbar (Tools > Add-ons > Extensions)
Your system details show that toolbar in the user agent as AskTbYLC/3.11.3.15590
See:
* https://support.mozilla.com/kb/Troubleshooting+extensions+and+themes

Can't open anything on desktop by clicking on it...

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