Finder has stopped putting my folders and files in alpha order. What happened?

Finder has stopped putting my folders and files in alpha order. What has happened?

When you check and reset that file setting back to alphabetical order, does it stick?
Sometimes a user permissions issue may cause a slight problem, so if this is the
only issue, you could try to 'repair disk permissions' in Disk Utility, However if there
is some other problem and this is only a symptom, something else may be the cause.
If files have been moved between user accounts, then previous account settings &
user permissions may be included with the moved file, so this matter may require
you to look into the settings within each file, via Get Info on the highlighted file name.
You can change permissions and privileges to some extent within this area.
And at times, a simple restart may be required, if the unit has been on awhile. Given
a portable computer, unlike a desktop, your use may not include leaving it on for
months at a time; so it probably has been restarted more than occasionally. Mine,
set to automatically sleep & spin-down the HDD when not in use, is up for months.
Good luck & happy computing!

Similar Messages

Finder not able to view folders and files on EHD after updating to OS X 10.9.4

I can see still see 'Hitachi' in the 'Devices' Sidebar, but I am not able to view folders and files on this Hitachi XL2000 2TB FAT32 Hard Drive (EHD) that is USB connected to the iMac below.
Late 2013 Apple iMac (27-inch Display 2560 x 1440), 3.4GHz Quad-core Intel Core i5, Turbo Boost up to 3.8GHz, 8GB 1600MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2X4GB, 512GB Flash Storage, NVIDIA GeForce GTX 775M 2GB GDDR5, Magic Trackpad, Apple Wireless Keyboard and OS X 10.9.4 Mavericks
All was fine until I updated from OS X 10.9.3 to 10.9.4 earlier this week, so now when I double-click on 'Hitachi' it just loads and loads with nothing happening and never displays the folder and file contents of the EHD.
Also, confirmed that Hitachi EHD has been removed from Spotlight indexing per System Preferences > Privacy > + > Hitachi and it was so this does not seem to be an indexing issue.
I have used OnyX and Apple Disk Utilities unsuccessfully to try and fix this problem.
Interestingly, Backblaze online backup still sees the EHD and connecting this EHD to a Win 8.1 PC also sees the EHD.
Further, I ran the commands below in 'Terminal' to make sure the drive was visible and got the following results which shows that the EHD is not hidden.
iMac:Applications john$ chflags nohidden /Volumes/Hitachi/
iMac:Applications john$ GetFileInfo /Volumes/Hitachi/
directory: "/Volumes/HITACHI"
attributes: avbstclinmedz
modified: 07/10/2014 23:26:44
Finally, I installed XtraFinder and am still not able to see the contents of the EHD, but when I installed OmniDiskSweeper I can navigate the EHD folder tree with no problems and can see the contents of the EHD, but when I try and open up a file it opens Finder which loads and loads and nothing happens.

Apple Support was quite helpful, but in the end I will wait to do a clean install of OS X Yosemite which is due in the Fall and not try and fix OS X 10.9.4 Mavericks.
It turns out that I run backups on my '/Users/john/Library' and the size of this folder before the 10.9.4 update was 1.07 GB and after the update it is 806.9 MB which is baffling, but in the end all of these problems should be resolved with a clean install of OS X Yosemite.
One lesson learned for the future is that I will wait on installing an update until it has been in the wild for awhile as a quick OS X Mavericks Finder Problem search and similar searches show there could be an issue.

Finder is not displaying some folders and files

Most folders and files are displaying properly, but some are missing. I can find them by typing their names into the search window, but they are not displaying automatically in Finder.

Hello Andy_fan
Please look for MS-SMB_ServerUserGuide.docx file in the folder where you extracted MS-SMB.zip file and refer section 'Configure the SUT' for configuring SUT. Follow other relevant sections of this document to configure client as well.
Domain is not a requirement for running SMB test suite, hence, if you are in workgroup environment just ignore domain values in the
ParamConfig.xml
file.
Thanks
Tarun Chopra | Escalation Engineer | Open Specifications Support Team

I activated Filevault, and now all my settings and files are gone. What happened?

I decided to activate Filevault on my macbook, and now that it is complete with encrypting my home folder, and deleting the unencrypted one, I have nothing. None of my documents are here, all of my settings are wiped. The only thing that remains are my installed programs. What happened? Also, when I go to "Security," it says Filevault is off, and when I turn it on, it tries to re-encrypt my home folder. What is happening?!

It also just happened to me..
My OS is Windows XP Home : SP3
I don't know if it will work on Vista or 7.. I have Win 7 on my laptop but haven't tried it yet since the restore feature in it is different from XP.
If your lucky enough to have set your windows "system restore" in a regular basis like mine. You can use it and it will recover all your bookmarks and saved passwords. Then you can screen capture all your saved passwords and export your bookmarks for future use. Compress it with winRAR and encrypt it with your most common password so that no can easily hack it.
Do it at your own risk, don't blame me if something happens to your computer. My restore date is only 1 day old.. If your restore point is a week or a month old, it can affect your computer since a lot of updates have been applied in your system. After I did it, I had a problem with my Antivirus, I just uninstalled it and reinstall. I don't know of other thing that can happen in your case. I'm just trying to help and give you an option. Maybe you can also save another restore point before doing so..
Note: After doing this, Aurora will still appear since you restored your system. If you try uninstalling it again and doesn't respond. Try to install it again and choose upgrade. Run it for a while or leave it as it is, it doesn't matter. Then go to Add/Remove Programs and uninstall it again. Now, don't click the "Remove minefield personal data" as posted by "the-edmeister".
Good luck and hope this helps not only to you but for others as well..
Cheers...

How to find folders and files by its partial name c#

in a specific folder of my hard drive i have stored many other sub folder and files. now i want to list those folders and files name by their partial name.
for example
c webapi xx folder
c mvctutorial xx folder
done webapi xx folder
webapi done folder
webapi.zip file
mvc.iso file
now when i like to search by partial name webapi then i want to get list of files and folders name which has webapi word. i want to show their full folder or file name in grid with their full path and size. like below way.
Name Type location Size
c webapi xx folder c:\test1 2 KB
c mvctutorial xx folder c:\test3 3 KB
done webapi xx folder c:\test1 11 KB
webapi done folder c:\test1 9 KB
webapi.zip file c:\test1 20 KB
mvc.iso file c:\test4 5 KB
i got a sample code which look like for finding files but the below code may not find folder. so i am looking for a sample code which will find files and folders too. so guide me to solve my issue.
the below sample code will find files but not sure does it find files by partial name. here is the code. i am not before dev environment. so could not test the below code.
find files code
static void Main(string[] args)
string partialName = "webapi";
DirectoryInfo hdDirectoryInWhichToSearch = new DirectoryInfo(@"c:\");
FileInfo[] filesInDir = hdDirectoryInWhichToSearch.GetFiles("*" + partialName + "*.*");
foreach (FileInfo foundFile in filesInDir)
string fullName = foundFile.FullName;
Console.WriteLine(fullName);

See code below
using System;
using System.Collections.Generic;
using System.Linq;
using System.Text;
using System.IO;
namespace ConsoleApplication1
class Program
static void Main(string[] args)
string partialName = "webapi";
DirectoryInfo hdDirectoryInWhichToSearch = new DirectoryInfo(@"c:\");
FileInfo[] filesInDir = hdDirectoryInWhichToSearch.GetFiles("*" + partialName + "*.*");
foreach (FileInfo foundFile in filesInDir)
string fullName = foundFile.FullName;
Console.WriteLine(fullName);
DirectoryInfo[] foldersInDir = hdDirectoryInWhichToSearch.GetDirectories("*" + partialName + "*.*");
foreach (DirectoryInfo foundFolder in foldersInDir)
string fullName = foundFolder.FullName;
Console.WriteLine(fullName);
// or
List<string> filesInDir2 = hdDirectoryInWhichToSearch.GetFiles("*" + partialName + "*.*").Select(x => x.FullName).ToList();
filesInDir2.AddRange( hdDirectoryInWhichToSearch.GetDirectories("*" + partialName + "*.*").Select(x => x.FullName).ToList());
foreach (string filesFolders in filesInDir2)
Console.WriteLine(filesFolders);
jdweng

With my taking any action, my folders and files no longer appear under documents (under Places). Now a folder titled Documents has appeared on my desktop with all my files and folders. What happened?What happened?

With my taking any action, my folders and files no longer appear under documents (under Places). Now a folder titled Documents has appeared on my desktop with all my files and folders. What happened?What happened?

The way I moved from 10.3.9 to 10.5.8 was to use "ditto -rsrc" and copy the user homes and the data share to an external firewire drive. Then did the same in reverse.
I found the key to data and share permissions to make sure that the users had the same UID in Leopard that they had in Panther.
You can then use "sudo rm -rf" to remove any folder from the relocated homes that you want. Remember if you do choose to remove "~/Library" from each users relocated home, you will be removing any iCal calendars, login.keychains, browser bookmarks, custom screensavers and wallpapers, etc.
Users don't really care if they can login and do any work. But there will be much wailing, gnashing of the teeth, and anxiety, if they lose their bookmarks and wallpaper.

I cannot view folders and files in finder on macbook pro OS version 10.9.5. Why it happens and what should I do about it?

I cannot view folders and files in finder on macbook pro OS version 10.9.5. Why it happens and what should I do about it?

Please post a screenshot that shows what you mean. Be careful not to include any private information.
Start a reply to this message. Drag the image file into the editing window to upload it. You can also include text in the reply.

Why can't I drag and drop folders and files in finder?

I was sorting out my folders and files when all of a sudden it stopped letting me drag and drop.
I didn't go on 'Show View Options'.
I've also checked my trackpad settings and all is as should be.
Any idea what's up?
Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

all of a sudden it stopped letting me drag and drop.
What do you mean by this? What symptoms are being displayed? Are you getting an error message when you try to drag and drop? We need more information to help you diagnose the problem.

Sorting folders and files in FINDER

I can sort folders and files alphabetically, chronologically, etc using LIST view, but not in any other view.
I seem to recall that FINDER used to sort alphabetically but now seems to sort randomly. I prefer to use the COLUMNS view.
In LIST view there are column headers NAME, DATE MODIFIED, SIZE, KIND and clicking on one will sort accordingly.
But these headers do not appear in the other views.

Hi,
This can be done. If you want to arrange your files etc as columns...select "As Columns" from the "View" menu & then select "View Options" also from the "View" menu. It will then give you options as to how you wish to arrange your files etc.
Ben

My macbook keeps locking all of my folders and files, even when I try unlocking them myself in Get Info and disabling autolocking in Time Machine, how can I stop the locking as well as unlock my files?

My macbook keeps locking all of my folders and files, even when I try unlocking them myself in Get Info and disabling autolocking in Time Machine, how can I stop the locking as well as unlock my files?

Managed to solve this myself. Just went to properties > hidden.

I keep getting alias folders and files

After eons usin Mac I, all of a sudden, am getting alias folders and files (including photos) on my new iMac. These can't be opened. Then I keep error messages about not being able to use the same files because they are "backup" biles. Help! I'm not doing anything differently than what I have done for years. And, this issue has virtually stopped my work in its tracks.

Where are you seeing these files, and what application are you using at the time? Select one and open the Finder Info window. In the General section of the window, what is shown for Kind and Where?

Can't hide Hidden folders and files.

Hi All,
This past weekend I transferred my OS and apps to a newly installed SSD drive.
During the process I had to move some files around in order to get The OS and Apps on the SSD.
I used a technique that utilizes the Terminal and the chflags command.
My issue is now I can not hide the files and folders that are usually hidden.
I can't remember the exact method I used to unhide hidden folders and files. I can't even find a reference to it in my web browsers history.
I have searched on the web for solutions along these lines:
defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles -boolean FALSE ; killall Finder
chflags hidden
sudo chflags hidden
But none of these approaches have worked.
I have downloaded Onyx, TinkerTool and Show Hide Invisible Files.
I have used them as best I understand to hide the normally hidden files and folders, but nothing has worked.
Any Command Line gurus out there have any suggestions?
Many Thanks in Advance!
Tem

Triple-click anywhere in the line below on this page to select it:
~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.finder.plist
Right-click or control-click the highlighted line and select
Services ▹ Show Info in Finder (or just Show Info)
from the contextual menu.* An Info dialog should open.
☞ Does the dialog show "You can read and write" in the Sharing & Permissions section?
☞ In the General section, is the box labeled Locked checked?
☞ What is the Modified date?
If you don't have read and write access to the item, change the settings as directed here. Note, however, that if one file has wrong access settings, most likely others do as well. If the item is locked, unlock it.
*If you don't see the contextual menu item, copy the selected text to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C. Open a TextEdit window and paste into it (command-V). Select the line you just pasted and continue as above.

Safari has stopped opening certain webpages and says can't connect to server... This started 3 months ago with FB and now randomly with another site... all other sites are fine.. Help?

Safari has stopped opening certain webpages and says can't connect to server... This started 3 months ago with FB and now randomly with another site... all other sites are fine.. Help?
I've tried resetting safari, deleting all webpage data and setting time/date to automatic, but no such luck.
The message that comes up is: "Safari can't establish a secure connection to the server 'Facebook' "
I'd be genuinely impressed if anyone were to actually work out what was wrong.

Hi ..
Might be a cookies, cache, or extensions issue.
From your Safari menu bar click Safari > Preferences then select the Privacy tab.
Click: Remove All Website Data
Then delete the cache.
Open a Finder window. From the Finder menu bar click Go > Go to Folder
Type or copy paste the following
~/Library/Caches/com.apple.Safari/Cache.db
Click Go then move the Cache.db file to the Trash.
Quit and relaunch Safari to test.
If that doesn't help, troubleshoot Safari extensions.
From the Safari menu bar click Safari > Preferences then select the Extensions tab. Turn that OFF, quit and relaunch Safari to test.
If that helped, turn one extension on then quit and relaunch Safari to test until you find the incompatible extension then click uninstall.

Assigning folders and files to different physical disks OS X 10.9

My mid 2010 iMac 27 i7 quadcore, 32 GB memory has two 1 TB SSDs and several 2 to 3 TB 7200 / 5200 SATA, Firewire, LAN and USB external HDs. I would like to direct OS X 10.9 to use frequently accessed System data/images (boot, OS X, utilities and and their attendant folders and files) from SSD 1 and frequently used / accessed applications and their attendant folders and files on the second SSD 2. (I use Microsft Office Word and Excel frequently and also Windows 7 running on VMWare.) Then I would like to keep less frequently used applications and their attendant folders and files on the SATA 7200 external disk (USB 3.0 to 2.0), photos on a fourth external disk (firewire 800), music on a NAS (Raid 1, 1000Gb Ethernet), and movies on a fifth external HD (firewire 800). What I need to know is how to "assign" these various files to a physical disk. Please, I am not looking for opinions and/or guesses. I am looking for a strategy known to work and/or utilites known do set this up easily and correctly. Thanks in advance. BTW, I am a retired OS programmer and software/HW knowlegable. I have no Unix (or of course Apple OS X) programming experience, but have written and modified many other OSs. So one can be reasonably technical with me in their answers. Thanks again, Skip.

Hope this helps.
1. Empty Trash.
    http://support.apple.com/kb/PH10677
2. Start up in Safe Mode
    http://support.apple.com/kb/PH11212
3. Delete "Recovered Messages", if any.
    Hold the option key down and click "Go" menu in the Finder menu bar.
    Select "Library" from the dropdown.
    Library > Mail > V2 > Mailboxes
    Delete "Recovered Messages", if any.
    Empty Trash. Restart.
4. Repair Disk
    Steps 1 through 7
    http://support.apple.com/kb/PH5836
5. Disk space / Time Machine ?/ Local Snapshots
   http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4878
6. Re-index Macintosh HD
   System Preferences > Spotlight > Privacy
   http://support.apple.com/kb/ht2409

How to recover lost folders and files - Pls help, help...

Some days ago I lost all of my 15 GB folders and files that stored in my Macbook Pro hard drive called DATA. I brought my Macbook pro to an experienced computer tecnicians who providing data recovery services. To his and my suprise, after checking, scanning it a few hours, he said their is no way to recover because he did not find any trails at all. The computer still seems working properly - I have no problem with any applications. There are few other folders in the DATA hard disk containing pictures, computer programs still remain. These lost folders and files contain mainly documents (word, excel, power point, pdf etc) which I accumulated in my many years working !!!!. I did not make a back up since last September partly because I think Mac is very safe.
The computer with me all the time on that day and only my son used Power Point to make a simple presentation on that evening - he can not save it on the folders the he normally use - All the folders and files are gone.
I will appreciate it very much if any of you can tell me what would be the possible causes and more importanly how to recover the lost folders and files. They are very very valuable to me.
Many thanks for your kind attention
Loimekong from Vietnam
Macbook Pro 2.4 Ghz
Intel Core 2 Duo
4 GB 1067 MhZ DDR3

First, did the data actually get deleted, or is it still there somewhere? Try searching the drive for some of the documents, perhaps it's all just in another folder on that drive.
If it's truly gone, it's impossible for us to say what might have happened to make it unrecoverable. Perhaps someone using the computer used Secure Empty Trash, or securely erased empty space on the hard drive. Perhaps it was overwritten by other stuff before you noticed. It's possible the hard drive is starting to fail, though this seems like an awfully specific problem for that to be the issue.
Or perhaps the tech you took the computer to didn't know what he was doing. Why not try recovering what you can on your own? See Recovering deleted files.
You should be aware that no computer is safe. All computers rely on hardware that may fail and software that can have bugs. You absolutely MUST maintain a good set of frequently-updated backups... no fewer than two full backups of anything you don't want to lose.
(Note that my pages contain links to other pages that promote my services, and this should not be taken as an endorsement of my services by Apple.)

Finder has stopped putting my folders and files in alpha order. What happened?

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