I accidentally trashed the desktop folder on MacbookPro OS10.8.5.

I transferred from another Mac an iPhoto library, which appeared on the desktop of my 2008 MacbookPro with OS10.8.5. When I trashed it, the entire desktop folder was also trashed It now starts up with a blank screen, except for the picture. Any suggestions for getting my desktop out of the trash?

Can you boot into a Recovery partition or locate any other bootable OS X by holding Opt? Or diagnostic? Or Disk Utility to see what can be repaired?
http://www.macworld.com/article/1167870/hands_on_with_mountain_lions_os_x_recove ry_and_internet_recovery.html
"You can access recovery mode only when your Mac starts up, although there are two ways to do so."
"The easy way On most Macs, you can access recovery mode by simply restarting or starting up the Mac while holding down Command+R. Keep holding these keys until you see a window with OS X Utilities in large text across the top. If this procedure doesn’t work for you, try the next method. The alternate way On any Mac, you can access recovery mode using OS X’s Startup Manager "
Keyboard combinations on startup, may help.
Good luck & happy computing!

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HELP! I Accidentally deleted the iTunes folder in the My Music folder

HELP! I Accidentally deleted the iTunes folder in the My Music folder so I lost the two files
iTunes Library.itl
iTunes Music Library.xml
As I understand it, these files contain all the play counts, ratings, etc. and I've spent weeks getting this info the way I want it and don't want to lose it.
I have all my mp3 files on my desktop computer HD under a seperate directories, so I'm not worried about loosig origninal music files. I don't have iTunes copying the files when I add them to the library and I do have "Keep iTunes Music folder organized" checked. I have not relocated any of the original music files.
I have not auto synced my iPod, and I can open the iPod in iTunes and all my songs, with play counts, ratings, etc. are there. I just want to get the playlists, play counts. ratings, catagories, etc. back to my PC.
Is there any way to get the playlists, play counts. ratings, catagories, etc. from the data on the iPod and recreate the .itl & .xml files on my PC? I see there are many files on the iPod two of which look promising "iTunesDB" & "iTunesPlaylists".
Can someone please tell my how to recreate just the .itl & .xml files by using the info on the iPod itself? Again, I have not relocated or lost any of the original music files, I just want to get the playlists, play counts. ratings, catagories, etc. back that are stored in the .itl file.
I really don't want to have a software utility copy the info over as then I will have two copies of my music files and I've spent a lot of time organizing and naming the mp3 files just the way I want (not the way iTunes wants).
I've read many posts and it seems many have screwed up recovery by trying things without clear direction.
Thanks for the help in advance.

Try some of the more robust recovery/trnsfer programs. Several can recover the playlists, and metadata of the songs on the iPod. Do some reading on the respective websites.
These links will give you several methods of recovering whatever songs remain on your iPod; some free, some third-party software, some more comprehensive for restoring Playlists, Ratings, Play Counts, etc. Read them and their associated links before deciding on a strategy that works for you. There are many various third-party software programs that will offer a more robust process, or an easier GUI. Do a Google search for them if the links below leave you wanting…
Don King Resurrected: Deleted files from hard drive (free user steps – music recovery only)
MacMuse: Computer Crashed (free user steps – music recovery only)
Copying music from iPod to computer (a primer on various methods and software)
Copying Songs from Your iPod to a Mac or PC (resource for 3rd party software)
iPodRip Software
PodUtil Software
Senuti (Mac OS X v10.3 or higher Recovery Utility)
XPlay (Software For Music Recovery &/or Cross-Platform Functionality)
XPlay Photo Browser (For recovering Photos)
After recovering your song files, strongly consider developing a thorough backup strategy for just this type of situation.
You need at least two full sets of your music, not including what is on the iPod:
-- One full set on the PC within iTunes (on internal HD or ExHD)
-- One full set on an separate external backup medium (CD/DVD/ExHD/other)
-- One (full or partial) set on the iPod
Music files on just the iPod and only one other medium is not considered having any backup.
If you cannot store your complete music files on the computer’s internal HD, then create and maintain at least two external sets (any multiple combinations of ExHDs, DVDs, CDs).
Backup both the music files and the Library database file (iTunes Library.itl). What are the iTunes Library files?
Here is a post on developing a thorough backup strategy: http://discussions.apple.com/click.jspa?searchID=394618&messageID=1263275

I accidentally deleted the documents folder from my hard drive. can I recover it?

I accidentally deleted the documents folder (and its contents) from my ibook hard drive. Can I recover it?

It takes a really expensive data recovery service to get back things that have been deleted.
You could try Data Rescue 3, if you're desperate to get the documents back.
http://www.prosofteng.com/products/data_rescue.php
System Requirements:
http://www.prosofteng.com/products/data_rescue_sysreq.php
If you want to try this, stop using the iBook immediately, and wait until you get the recovery software because every time you save something to your hard drive (even if it's only a link in your browser history), you risk overwriting the files you deleted.

My system preferences won't load. It opens straight up to the desktop folder and pictures won't load, leaving me with a color wheel. I've tried restarting my computer and that doesn't help. System preferences just won't open/load at all. Any ideas?

My system preferences won't load. It opens straight up to the desktop folder and pictures won't load, leaving me with a color wheel. I've tried restarting my computer and that doesn't help. System preferences just won't open/load at all. Any ideas?

Deleting the System Preference or other .plist file
..Step by Step to fix your Mac

Plz help Help I have accidentally deleted the var folder on my mac and now it won't start up what should I do?

Plz help
Help I have accidentally deleted the var folder on my mac and now it won't start up what should I do?

/var is a hidden folder, so you mustn't remove the folder.
The only solution is to reinstall OS X. If you have OS X Lion or Mountain Lion, use OS X Recovery > http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4718
Hold Command and R keys while your MacBook is starting and reinstall OS X. You won't lose anything. If you have a backup, you can restore it after starting in OS X Recovery instead of reinstalling Mac OS X, so you will save a lot of time

Help I have accidentally deleted the var folder on my mac and now it won't start up what should I do?

Plz help
Help I have accidentally deleted the var folder on my mac and now it won't start up what should I do?

Reinstall OS X.
Reinstall Snow Leopard without erasing the drive
1. Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions
Boot from your Snow Leopard 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. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the installer.
If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior and/or Tech Tool Pro to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X.
2. Reinstall Snow Leopard
If the drive is OK then quit DU and return to the installer. Proceed with reinstalling OS X. Note that the Snow Leopard installer will not erase your drive or disturb your files. After installing a fresh copy of OS X the installer will move your Home folder, third-party applications, support items, and network preferences into the newly installed system.
Download and install Mac OS X 10.6.8 Update Combo v1.1.
Reinstalling Lion/Mountain Lion Without Erasing the Drive
Boot to the Recovery HD: Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the menu screen appears. Alternatively, restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears. Select the Recovery HD and click on the downward pointing arrow button.
Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions: Upon startup select Disk Utility from the main menu. Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions as follows.
When the recovery menu appears select Disk Utility. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the main menu.
Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion: Select Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion and click on the Continue button.
Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet if possible because it is three times faster than wireless.

I accidentally deleted the "Notes" folder from my iCloud mail. Any idea how to retrieve it?

I accidentally deleted the "Notes" folder from my iCloud mail. Any idea how to retrieve it? Illustration below:
Thanks in advance.

This folder will be automatically created and populated with your today content tomorrow.

I accidentally removed the applications folder from my dock - how do I get it back?

I accidentally removed the applications folder from my dock - how do I get it back?

PS I tried dragging it back to the dock to the right and the left sides, and nothing shows up - it acts as if I didn't drag anything at all.

What's the "Desktop" folder on empty disk partitions there for?

I notice the extra (empty) partitions I've created on my hard drive each have a "Desktop" folder on them.
But when I put something in there, it doesn't appear on the visible Desktop... So what's up with that folder?
With OS9 the visible Desktop was shared by all the mounted disks -- if you had a file on another drive, you could just drag it (its icon) to the Desktop (without copying it).
Seems there are many reasons to definitely not ever partition a hard drive with OSX.

I notice the extra (empty) partitions I've created on my hard drive each have a "Desktop" folder on themAFAIK it is meaningless. You can delete them and I have. Or, save your files outside of the desktop folder.
If you had a file on another drive, you could just drag it (its icon) to the Desktop (without copying it).If you wish to copy the file drag it. If you wish to move it then command-drag it.
-mj
[email protected]

Nothing shows up on my Desktop. I can put a file into the Desktop folder but it will not appear on the DTop. The HarDrive is not on the DTop either.

Nothing appears on my Desktop. The Finder seems to work, so I can place a file into the DTop folder, but nothing appears on the DTop, not even the HarDrive.

You can temporarily hide the crap on your desktop. Edit the CreateDesktop key in com.apple.finder:
defaults write com.apple.finder CreateDesktop -bool false && killall Finder
Then, to get my clutter back:
defaults write com.apple.finder CreateDesktop -bool true && killall Finder

How to delete the Desktop Folder in the User folder

I don't use my desktop as a folder
and I changed this folder to .Desktop to have it hidden
but there is another folder Desktop non-hidden + my .Desktop folder always ready when I restart...
How should I keep it hidden or out of my system ?
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Click here and use the instructions to hide it.
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How to define the desktop folder?

Hi,
I entered the following lines into the Terminal application:
sudo mv desktop desktop.bak
ln -s /Users/username/Dropbox/./Desktop
this command defined my Dropbox folder as the OS X desktop. plus, my Home folder now contains a folder called desktop.bak.
how can I undo this?
is it possible to define a folder inside the Home folder or inside the Dropbox folder as the OS X desktop?
thanks in advance for your suggestions.
best, Ian

@Niel
thanks a lot, the commands you suggested created a folder called Desktop.old inside my Home folder that now seems serve as the OS X Desktop. the dropbox folder no longer serves as the Desktop.
I'd have some further questions:
is it safe to delete the desktop.bak folder from the Home folder?
is it safe to rename the Desktop.old folder to simply Desktop?
is it possible to define a folder inside the dropbox folder as the OS X Desktop?
again, thank you Niel for your very helpful answer.

Uninstalling Xcode 3.0: Is trashing the developer folder sufficient?

Hi. I'm not a developer. The only reason I attempted to install Xcode 3.0 was to tinker with the performance and diagnostic tools. Now I am ready to uninstall it. I've have uninstalled it once, using the provided script. It seemed to have cleaned out everything, (the developer folder was completely empty).
I thought I could install the package selectively so I tried running the CHUD package but it gave some sort of odd error. So I gave up and installed the whole developer package again. A few weeks later I was ready to uninstall it. I tried running the script but it gave me a few errors. When I checked the developer folder there was still some files left behind. The remaining files all appeared to be related to the CHUD component of the installation. I was a bit vexed. I tried reinstalling the whole package and running the uninstall script but the files remained.
When looking at the file installation list it appeared that everything was installed in the developer folder. I trashed what was left in the developer folder, being fairly confident that the entire installation was cleaned out. Though I'm not totally sure. Which brings me to my question.
Is there anything left behind from an Xcode 3.0 installation if I simply chose to trash the contents of /Developer? I suspect that some is left behind because the installation error from the CHUD package seemed to have changed something that prevented the uninstaller script from properly removing the entire installation. Sorry if I seem a bit fussy. Thanks for reading this.

Hi, thanks for answering. Actually I had attempted to use that script as mentioned in my post. It had worked reliably before but it did not work when I ran it a second time. I suspected that a botched installation using the CHUD package on the Leopard DVD had screwed up something in the bom, preventing the perl script from doing a proper job of cleaning out all the files.
Anyways, after looking around I found out that Apple has made available a separate installation package for CHUD. So I installed that and then tried uninstalling using the CHUD remover app. It seems to have removed everything except a CPU preference pane in the extras folder.
Anyways I'm pretty sure that my tinkering these last couple of days should have removed all the installed system files. I even selected a few random files per the xcode installation list and checked to see if they were still in the system. The scripts and app seem to do a pretty good job of cleaning up as far as I can tell. The fact that uninstaller did not always do a proper job of cleaning up the installation was always a pet peeve of mine from the windows world.
I've given up on making sure that every single file has been removed. My big concern is whether stuff left behind in the system folders would have a negative impact on system performance or would cause problems in systems operation.
Another thing is that I didn't see the point in giving up 2 gigs of HD space when I only planed to use only a small component of the SDK. Apple should have included the separate CHUD package on the Leopard DVD. Just my 2 cents.
Message was edited by: Episcript

While transferring ipod to laptop/itunes library, i accidentally lost the :F00" folder..so when i transfered folders 1-13, i didnt get the songs in the missing F00 folder...can i retrieve it??..

while transferring ipod to laptop/itunes library, i accidentally lost the F00 file(says folder empty) F01-F13 are there so when transfer is done im missing all songs in the F00 folder...can i get them back>??

Download previous purchases from the iTunes Store - Support - Apple

I accidentally deleted the "Utilities Folder"

I deleted the Utilities Folder by mistake. Does anyone have any advice on how i can retrieve this folder back ?

Welcome to Discussions - I'm not sure if you can extract it from the install package, I think the simplest thing to do would be to perform an Archive and Install. Read this instructions carefully, and remember to check "preserve user settings and preferences"., Your Utilities should be back and in order.

I accidentally trashed the desktop folder on MacbookPro OS10.8.5.

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