Fix Desktop Icons in Mavericks

After updating to Mavericks last week, my desktop icons went crazy - stopped letting me move them around or snap to grid - I solved the problem by resetting the "snap to grid" desktop feature and all seemed well for a while. But now random "grid" places on the desktop won't allow me to move icons there, and it's only random places as far as I can tell. It was just two for a while but now it seems to be for other places as well - I want to be able to arrange my desktop icons however I want without needing to rearrange them completely every time! Anyone know how I can fix this?

I have the same problem. Another thread says to play with the icon size and grid. Nonsense. 10.8 didin't have this problem.

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Greyed/multiple network server desktop icons in mavericks on mavericks server

We have a new Mac Mini Server running Mavericks Server and all of the Mavericks clients are ending up with multiple server share icons on their desktops. All of the desktop icons will become greyed so you cannot click on them. We have rebooted the server and the Macs but the problem keeps coming back. Getting this error when trying to eject the icons "Share Name is a partition on a disk that has 2 partitions. Do you want to eject Share Name only or both partitions?" Any ideas?

Let me ask this a different way. Can someone try the following and tell me what result you get for Step 5?
Given: A workstation running Windows 8, joined to a domain on a network.
Given: A server (Active Directory Domain Controller) running Windows Server 2008 R2. (Not sure the server's OS matters; it's Windows 8 that matters.)
Step 1: Create a dummy text file (or other dummy file) on the Windows 8 workstation.
Step 2: Create a shortcut to the dummy text file on the Windows 8 desktop.
Step 3: Edit the shortcut's properties and change the icon, selecting some icon file (e.g., WHATEVER.ICO) located on the Windows 8 workstation.
My Result: The icon displays correctly on the desktop shortcut.
Step 4: Now copy the icon file and paste it somewhere on the server.
Step 5: Change the shortcut's properties to look for the icon on the server where you copied it to.
My Result: The icon displays correctly in the shortcut properties window, but once I apply the change the desktop shortcut displays a "blank document" icon.
Note: The type of file the shortcut points to is unimportant-- you can try it with a TXT, DAT, EXE, COM, or any other type of file. The issue is with the shortcut's icon, not the shortcut's target.
Interesting Aside: If you change the shortcut so the target is the ICO file itself, the icon is displayed correctly.

Have just installed Mavericks and restarted the MacBook Pro. That was 3 hours ago and after logging in, I got my wallpaper and dock, but none of my desktop icons, just the spinning coloured wheel. It's been like that for 2 hours. Is this normal? What shou

Have just installed Mavericks and restarted the MacBook Pro. That was 3 hours ago and after logging in, I got my wallpaper and dock, but none of my desktop icons, just the spinning coloured wheel. It's been like that for 2 hours. Is this normal? What should I do, please?
I tried holding the on/off switch down to make it shut down, but when I turned it back on again, the same thing happened and none of the keys etc makes any difference.
HELP!!!! Please.

No, what you're experiencing is not normal.
Try booting whilst holding down the Shift key - this will allow you to boot into Safe Mode, disabling third-party kernel extensions, etc. Your Mac will be slow to boot and will operate sluggishly. That's normal. If you can get in using Safe Mode then you have some start-up item that doesn't play well with Mavericks.
Call back,
Clinton

Mavericks 10.9.5 Unable to move desktop icon. Sort By = None.

ON version 10.9.5 Mavericks.
This was working but the past few days is no longer.
I am unable to move a desktop icon (i.e. drag it and move it into another folder, etc).
View/Sort BY = None.

Take these steps if the cursor changes from an arrow to a white "prohibited" symbol when you try to move an icon on the Desktop.
Sometimes the problem may be solved just by logging out or restarting the computer. Try that first, if you haven't already done it. Otherwise, continue.
Select the icon of your home folder (a house) in the sidebar of a Finder window and open it. The Desktop folder is one of the subfolders. Select it and open the Info window. In the General section of the window, the Kind will be either Folder or something else, such as Anything.
If the Kind is Folder, uncheck the box marked Locked. Close the Info window and test.
If the Kind is not Folder, make sure the Locked box is not checked and that you have Read & Write privileges in the Sharing & Permissions section. Then close the Info window and do as follows.
Back up all data before continuing.
Triple-click anywhere in the line below on this page to select it:
xattr -d com.apple.FinderInfo Desktop
Copy the selected text to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C.
Launch the built-in Terminal application in any of the following ways:
☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)
☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.
☞ Open LaunchPad and start typing the name.
Paste into the Terminal window by pressing command-V. You should get a new line ending in a dollar sign ($). Quit Terminal.
Relaunch the Finder.
If the problem is now resolved, and if you use iPhoto, continue.
Quit iPhoto if it's running. Launch it while holding down the option key. It will prompt you to select a library. Choose the one you want to use (not the Desktop folder.)

I want to change the font six on my desktop icons. I am using Mavericks iOS 10.9.4.

I want to change the font six on my desktop icons. I am using Mavericks iOS 10.9.4.

You can't. The Mac OS has never allowed changing the system font.

Does Adobe have a 'fix' for the problem of desktop icons turning into Adobe icons after a previous Adobe update?

After a previous Adobe update, all of my desktop icons turned into Adobe icons. I'm not sure how it happened - I just looked away from my computer for a second and when I looked back, there they were!
Does Adobe have a 'fix' for this problem? I have had to uninstall Adobe in order to use my other programs, but I teach and I use Adobe documents quite often, so now I can't open those.

Try some of the solutions here ---> Application, file icons change to Acrobat/Reader icon

Desktop icons flicker on Mavericks

I recently upgraded to Mavericks on my 15" MBP early 2011. Not long ago I installed some free apps from the App Store but i'm not sure if this is causing the icons on my desktop dissapear for half a second and then again appear, like some sort of flick. My system is up to date. I restarted the system and uninstalled the recently downloaded apps but it still flickers... It's very annoying!
Thanks in advance for any help provided.

Searching in the forum I found possible solutions to our problem:
Desktop Icons winking in and out after Mavericks install
Refresh Finder Mavericks
Hope this helps!
Cheers.

My firefox desktop icon is not the firefox logo. it is a file folder icon. how do i fix this

my firefox desktop icon is not the firefox logo. It is a file folder How do I load the Icon I use windows 7

Properties. Short Cuts, Change Icon resolved the issue after restarting. Problem resolved.. Thank you for all the help Dwain

Desktop icons question

Hi,
How can I get back the icon images from the files on my desktop.
On Maverick we had the pdf files with a preview of it, how can I get back that?
Thanks

I had this happen too. All my desktop icons disappeared. I have multiple desktops defined. I fixed it by deleting the additional desktops, creating new desktops and then deleting the original desktop. Now all icons appear normally.

All my desktop icons are Adobe Reader icons, can't access related files

I was trying to open a file this morning, and when a pop-menu asked what application I wanted to choose (from a list) to open it, I clicked on Adobe Reader - just as a guess. After that, just about all my desktop icons are Adobe icons, and when I click on them, the pop up menus says I can't access the file. These icons also show up on my menu of all my MS Office programs like Outlook, Word, Excel, etc.
Tech support at Adobe recommended I use System Restore, but it also is now an Adobe icon, so I can't open it. If anyone can help reverse this, I'd greatly appreciate it.
Thanks,
David

Hi,
This also happened to me this morning. Now all my icons are PDF symbols and Reader opens when I try to open any other program. I uninstalled Reader it and it fixed itself but when I reinstalled the program the same issue occurred.
I wanted to make PDF reader the default application when openning PDF's vs. Distiller, tinkered and broke my computer.
Any clues on how to bring everything back to normaL?

Why have all my desktop icons changed to PDF when I installed Reader?

I just installed Adobe Reader, and all of my desktop icons have changed, and nothing will open. How can I fix this?

Hi Carol ,
This seems to happen just because the file associations of the files and folders have been changed and because of that you are experiencing this issue .
To change file associations you could refer the following link and see if that fixes the issue .This link is for windows 7 .
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-in/windows/change-default-programs#1TC=windows-7
Please follow the given steps and see if that works for you .
Fell free to write us back in case you face any difficulties .We would be happy to assist you .
Regards
Sukrit Dhingra

I had Firefix, however I downloaded the newest Firefox along with all plugins. Now when I click in the desktop icon firefox refuses to open my default webpage. Why?

I run Windows 7. I downloaded Firefox 6.0 for Windows which resulted in the following which I cannot fix:
"I had Firefix, however I downloaded the newest Firefox along with all plugins. Now when I click in the desktop icon firefox refuses to open my default webpage. Why?....How do I fix this"
I can go to internet explorer or AOL and it opens right up to my homepage but not when I click on Firefox.

That problem can be caused by the Yahoo! Toolbar that extents too much downwards and covers the top part of the browser window and thus makes links in that part of the screen not clickable.
*https://support.mozilla.com/kb/Troubleshooting+extensions+and+themes
Start Firefox in <u>[[Safe Mode]]</u> to check if one of the extensions or if hardware acceleration is causing the problem (switch to the DEFAULT theme: Firefox (Tools) > Add-ons > Appearance/Themes).
*Don't make any changes on the Safe mode start window.
*https://support.mozilla.com/kb/Safe+Mode

I have to re-install Firefox everyday, when I click on the desktop icon, it does not open.

When i double click the desktop icon Firefox to open it, nothing happens. I have to install the program from the setup file again. This happens everyday, it used to only happen maybe once every 2-3 months, now it's all the time. Any advice?
Aaron

Please update to the current Firefox 25.0.1 release.
*Help > About Firefox
*https://support.mozilla.org/kb/update-firefox-latest-version.
*https://support.mozilla.org/kb/Updating+Firefox
Download and save the Firefox installer to the desktop and start the installation with a double-click on the desktop icon.
You can find the full version of the latest Firefox 25.0.1 release in all languages and for all Operating Systems here:
*http://www.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/all.html
It is possible that your security software (firewall, anti-virus) blocks or restricts Firefox or the plugin-container process without informing you, possibly after detecting changes (update) to the Firefox program.
Remove all rules for Firefox and the plugin-container from the permissions list in the firewall and let your firewall ask again for permission to get full unrestricted access to internet for Firefox and the plugin-container process and the updater process.
See:
*https://support.mozilla.org/kb/Server+not+found
*https://support.mozilla.org/kb/Firewalls
*https://support.mozilla.org/kb/fix-problems-connecting-websites-after-updating

How can I avoid losing my customised desktop icon arrangement?

I have a lot of folder icons on my desktop arranged in a specific way. Recently when I shut down and then re-boot I find all the desktop icons have been re-arranged. This is a real pain! How can I prevent this from happeining?
I've been using Mac computers for many years and have never had this problem.
iHope

Did I miss something?
Looks like it! Let me repeat what I wrote:
"The issue in that case concerned the dock, and a corrupt preference. The solution was to delete the 'com.apple.dock.plist' from the Preferences folder in the Library, then log out/in."
"Given the issue in my case concerns the desktop, (NOT THE DOCK!) should I do the same with the 'com.apple.desktop.plist' in the Preferences folder?" In other words, do you think deleting the 'com.apple.desktop.plist' might fix the desktop issue?
Your reply - "Haven't a clue. Why deleting the Dock plist file fixed the Desktop issue worked is beyond my ken" - suggests you didn't understand the question, right?
iHope

Desktop Icons have vanished, have tried many solutions offered in forums with no results

I'm at a complete loss as to what to do after searching high and low for answers to this problem.
My desktop icons have mysteriously vanished as I switched it on last night. I had been using it with no issue earlier that day, but for some reason, switching it on last night, I was greeted with a completely clean desktop.
This has happened once before, so I figured simply rebooting the computer (like the last time this occurred) would bring back the icons. No such luck, even after restarting it or shutting it down, and reopening it 15 minutes later. When this problem last occurred, I think I was using Snow Leopard; I'm now running Mountain Lion (if this makes any difference).
I searched a few forums, and tried every solution listed in these topics with absolutely no success. List of things I've tried, as suggested by users on other forums (that seemed to work for people with similar problems):
Checked to see if the "Desktop" folder was renamed to something else, it wasn't;
Relaunched Finder several times
Restarted the computer, shut it down for hours and restarted
View>Clean up by/Sort by all tried, nothing happens
Changed the resolution several times, nothing happens
Quit iTunes, nothing happens
Verified the disk in Disk Utility, no problems (so repair disk was greyed out);
Verified the permissions, repaired the permissions successfully, nothing happened;
Checked Macintosh HD>Users>(username)>Desktop, nothing in the folder (0kb when I check Get Info);
Searched for and tried to remove via Terminal the following preferences: com.apple.finder.plist AND com.apple.FolderActions.plist but they are non-existant on my account OR guest account
Booted in safe mode, still no icons
Logged into guest account, no icons on administrator Desktop (I overrided permissions to see the desktop, and still no icons)..
Tried to "killall Finder" in Terminal, no response.
I did not recently:
download any new software, games, etc (with the exception of FluidApp, which was installed 3 weeks ago and frankly I don't see how it would affect my computer weeks later);
connect my MacBook to an external/additional monitor (have never done this, so icons can't be off-screen)
Additional info:
When in Finder, most functions in my View menu are greyed out. Available options: "Clean Up By", "Sort By", and "View Options". Selecting any of these do nothing.
I checked this article (http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1916) and my Computer Name actually DID contain an illegal character (a dash) so I removed it; however it did not correct my problem even after reboot/logging out and in/relaunching Finder. (I'm running Mountain Lion though, so not sure if this even applies, but it was the closest thing I could find).
Nothing but the contents of the desktop seem to have been compromised. I can open applications, install software, use any application, view/open/access files everywhere else on my computer.
I can save new files on my desktop and they don't disappear.
I can put files from other places in my computer on the desktop and they don't disappear.
I DID do a system update to the latest version of Mountain Lion AFTER encountering this problem, in hopes it would correct the problem somehow, but it did not.
I installed one application in hopes of figuring out a fix after the problem occurred (TinkerTool) but after playing with the options (and in the end, not changing anything) I still have the problem. The "Disable Desktop Features" thing was not checked. I checked it, relaunched finder, and what I put on the desktop disappeared, so I unchecked it and relaunched and they reappeared, but my old desktop did not.
It's seriously as if someone did a "Select All > Delete", and overpassed the Trash bin somehow (because it still has a few items I had put in there previously).
Does anyone have any other suggestions in how to retreive my lost desktop icons? I'm going crazy..

If you have a backup, try restoring your Desktop folder from there.
You should have a Finder and a FolderActions .plist. Have you tried looking in your user library folder manually instead of using Terminal?
If you prefer to make your user library permanently visible, use the Terminal command found below.
http://osxdaily.com/2011/07/04/show-library-directory-in-mac-os-x-lion/
You might want to bookmark the command. I had to use it again after I installed 10.8.4. I have also been informed that if you drag the user library to Finder it will remain visible.

Fix Desktop Icons in Mavericks

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