I tried to move my photos to MY PASSPORT and they populated all over my screen; I can't get rid of them.  HELP!

I tried to move my photos to MY PASSPORT and they populated all over my screen - I can't get rid of them.  HELP!

This problem sounds like a missed target and too many files: user meant to drag and drop files to the WD My Passport icon on the Desktop but dropped files on the Desktop instead. If so, there could be thousands of files on the Desktop; Finder is trying to create icons for every dropped file--and one day Finder might finish--but the Mac is essentially stuck till those files leave the Desktop.
Various solutions exist, with increasing levels of difficulty:
1. In Finder, hit Cmd-N to open a "list" display window of the Desktop, then move files from this window to a new folder--or, as others advise, Cmd-drag files to the WD My Passport  (easy, but given the bogged-down system, probably not an option).
2. From the Finder menu, Go > Desktop to get to a "list" display rather than an "icon" display window, followed by drag/drop clean-up to a new folder or Cmd-drag files to the WD (again, easy, but also perhaps not possible).
3. Start in Safe Mode (http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1564) and then move the excess Desktop files to a new folder or Cmd-drag files to the WD. (Safe Mode loads only essential graphics routines, so the Finder may be more snappy even with an overloaded Desktop).
4. Boot from the installation DVD and then navigate to the overloaded Desktop to move the photo files to a new folder or Cmd-drag to the WD.
5. Use a second Mac to connect in Target Disk Mode (http://support.apple.com/kb/ph3838) to clean up the messy Desktop.
6. Use Terminal and unix commands to clean the Desktop. Try the easy ways first.

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