Desktop not responding

Question

i was copying/moving thousands of mp3s from my music folder to my extenal hd to backup the files. in doing so they landed accidently on my desktop. this froze the entire machine the only thing i can access now is the side panel.
it won't let me restart or close
and my music folder is empty now
is there a way to save my life?
i have already lost a day of sleep and my hairline over this
thank you for any help

Answer 1

Try this:
Manually reboot while holding down cmd-S (depending on the model of your Mac, either press the reset button, or hold down the power until it turns off, then press the power button again).
This puts your Max in single user mode (in the command line).
If you're not familiar with basic Unix commands, this may get tricky, but here's a down-and-dirty reference (If you are already, just skim to the bottom):
ls List: list the files/folders in the current folder
cd Change directory (folder): type in the directory you want to
change to after "cd"
cd .. Change directory space dot dot: go back one folder level
mv Move Files: type in the source, then the destination
after "mv"
mkdir Make (new) Directory (folder): type in the name
after "mkdir"
* Asterisk: you can use this as a "wildcard" for filenames
Since you inadvertantly moved the files to the desktop, they should now be in a normally hidden folder named "Desktop".
Type in the command:
ls -F
You should see a list of files and folders (folders are marked by "/"). You'll see one named "Desktop/", this probably isn't the one your files went to, but you can check if you want:
cd Desktop
ls -F
No .mp3's? Go back a level:
cd ..
Now go to your personal folder:
cd Users/[your username] (type your actual username,
don't use brackets)
If you're unsure of your username, instead:
cd Users
ls -F
Find your username:
cd [username]
Now you're in your personal folder:
ls -F
One folder is named "Desktop/", so:
cd Desktop
ls -F
I'm betting you get a long list of .mp3 files.
Here's where the fix starts:
mkdir tempmp3 (or whatever name is convienient)
mv *.mp3 ./tempmp3
This may take awhile, but Congratulations, you created a new folder on the desktop, and moved your mp3's to it. If you have some files other than .mp3's just repeatedly use the "mv" command with the other file extensions.
When you're done, type in the command:
exit
This will finish a boot into what you're normally used to on your Mac.
(If your monitor is off it's normal mode, just do a normal restart from the Apple menu).
Good Luck!