Lost the Desktop icon

I've done something really stupid: I thought I could backup my Desktop by dragging the icon from the sidebar of the finder window into Toast. On the way it vanished like a little cloud popping and ended up in the Trash. I could not drag it back. I could not not open any desktop folders as the were "in the Trash" I could noy drag them back to the Desktop. I managed to drag the folders from Trash to a new Desktop folder and burned this with Toast so I have the content of my Desktop folders and can open them but not drag any folder from the backup disk to the Desktop "because "Desktop" cannot be modified" To probably make matters worse i have now emptied the Trash. There is a folder called Desktop in the Finder sidebar but "The alias "Desktop" could not be opened because the original item cannot be found."
I know I have done a Bad Thing. Can the damage be reversed please?
iMac G5 Mac OS X (10.3.9) 512 MB

It is solved! Thank you to all who responded. The answer lies in the robustness of OSX I think. I was preparing to reinstall OSX and having backed up and shut down, on restarting there was the Desktop Icon back in place working properly. I have rebuilt it the way I like it with all my rescued "stuff" and I will endeavour to be more sensible next time. I think I was very lucky......Makes me wonder if this thing really is bullet proof! In answer to Ali Brown's question - no, I didn't trash the Home folder, but whatever I did put the whole contents of the desktop and the Desktop icon itself into the trash. I was able to retrieve all my desktop folders, but not the Desktop Icon. The only icon on the desktop that remained was MacHD.
Interestingly this weird operation has resolved a long-time annoyance: two corrupted, locked, with impossible dates, files on the Desktop had been undeletable for neary two years. They have now GONE! I now know how to dump undeletable files if it happens again...

Similar Messages

I lost the desktop on my screen, now only two icons

i lost the desktop on my monitor.
now only two icons upper right.
my mac book pro desktop is ok
help please

Try this:
Restart, using the power button if you cannot reach the item in the Apple menu.
When you hear the chime immediately hold these four keys down: command, option, p and r. All four keys together - you may need to use both hands. Keep holding the keys down and let the Mac chime two more times. Release the keys.

All of a sudden my itunes wont come up when i hit the desktop icon. un and re installed many times, tried new users, it finally gave me "you need to reinstall sqmapi.dll " im a noob and i have know idea what that is or where i can get it. i cant open any

all of a sudden my itunes wont come up when i hit the desktop icon. un and re installed many times, tried new users, it finally gave me "you need to reinstall sqmapi.dll " im a noob and i have know idea what that is or where i can get it. i cant open any file or library that has anything to do with itunes except safari and quicktime are fine. im about to pull out whats left of my hair.

Okay, that's got one thing ruled out at least.
Can you check something for me, big? I'd like to see if iTunes launches with the Bonjour Service disabled.
In your Start menu, right-click Computer and select "Manage".
Expand "Services & Applications".
Open "Services". (Perhaps maximise the screen to better see what's going on.)
Right-click the Bonjour Service and select "Properties".
In the General tab, set the Startup type to "Disabled":
... and click OK.
Restart the PC and try launching iTunes. Does it open this time?

I keep getting the message, "Windows cannot find 'c:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe'. Make sure you typed the name correctly, and then try again." I get it when I either try to open it from the Start menu or from the desktop icon.

I've just installed Firefox on my laptop and keep getting the message, "Windows cannot find 'c:\Program Files (x86)\Mozilla Firefox\firefox.exe'. Make sure you typed the name correctly, and then try again." I get this message whenever I either try to open it from the Start menu or from the desktop icon. I've never gotten it to work and even uninstalled it and then redownloaded it and still cannot get it to open. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!!!

Are you installing from the official site? http://www.mozilla.com/firefox
If you use Windows Explorer (My Computer) to check that path, is the Mozilla Firefox folder there? That is the normal installation location, but I think it's worth checking.
If the folder isn't there or firefox.exe is not in it, I wonder whether some other software might be interfering. You might want to run some supplemental security scans. These two tools are highly regarded:
Malwarebytes Anti-malware : http://www.malwarebytes.org/products/malwarebytes_free
SUPERAntiSpyware : http://www.superantispyware.com/

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

I've installed Photoshop Elements 12 on my PC computer. Although the installation message at the end noted the installation was successful, when I tried to double-click on the desktop icon, it won't open. Any ideas?

I've just installed Photoshop Elements 12 on my PC computer. At the end of the installation, I received a message that the installation was successful. I then tried to click on the desktop icon, but it won't open. Any ideas as to what could be going on? Thanks very much!

This worked for me
Sandeep Singh (Official Rep) replied to this problem:
Elements 12: Editor will not Open
Hi Kimberly,
Please follow these steps:
Try to rename SLCacje to Slcache.old
C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Adobe
and
SLStore to Slstore.old
C:\ProgramData\Adobe\SLStore
and Right Click on the Photoshop Elements 12 icon and run as administrator
Let me know if this works.
Thanks
Sandeep

I have installed firefox 3.2.64. When i click on the desktop icon nothing happens. The windows task manager says mozilla firefox is running but I can't see it anywhere. What might the problem be?

Question
I have installed firefox 3.2.64. When i click on the desktop icon nothing happens. The windows task manager says mozilla firefox is running but I can't see it anywhere. What might the problem be?

A possible cause is security software (firewall) that 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 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.com/kb/Server+not+found
*https://support.mozilla.com/kb/Firewalls
See also:
*http://kb.mozillazine.org/Browser_will_not_start_up

How do I take bold off of the desktop icon font on my MacBook Pro?

I thought I did it in the past, but I can't figure it out now. I am looking at the desktop icons on my MacBook Pro, and the font is bothering my eyes. I am trying to take the bold off, but I cannot figure out how to do it. I saw where to change the font size and the grid options, but not specifically the bold. Any ideas?

Hi CoachSimpson31,
Welcome to the Apple Support Communities!
It sounds like what you may be looking for is the customization window for desktop files and folders. There is no option for bold text, but there is an option to adjust the text size that may be helpful to you.
Mac Basics: Desktop
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3737
Customize your desktop
You can change the size of icons, arrange them in a grid, and set other preferences for items on your desktop by changing the view options on your desktop. To change your desktop view options, click the desktop, and then choose View > Show View Options from menu bar. You can try the different settings to see which ones you like—you will immediately see the effects of your changes.
Have a great day,
Joe

I've lost the 'send' icon on my mail toolbar and can not find or retrieve it.

I have lost the 'send' icon on my Mail toolbar and am unable to retrieve it so I am unable to send an email.

Launch Mail.
Start composing a new mail.
Click "View" menu.
Select "Customize Toolbar".
From the dropdown drag the "Send" button to the top of the window.
Click "Done".

How can you lock the desktop icon size?

On my Macbook Pro (10/6.7) the icons on the desktop sometimes change size. I'm not doing anything deliberate to cause this. When the icons change size, I can use View Options to make them the right size again, but it's a pain to have to keep doing that, especially since some icons don't always return to their original positions on the desktop. Is there any to prevent the desktop icons from changing size?

They shrink when you're on the desktop and "pinch" two fingers on the trackpad closer together. If you "spread" two fingers apart, they'll get bigger.
You can disable in System Preferences > trackpad > Two Fingers > uncheck Pinch Open & Close.
Regards,
Captfred

I've lost the world icon in the texting section. How do I get it back?

I've lost the world icon in the texting section. How do I get it back?

Settings > General > Keyboard > Keyboards.
If the Emoji keyboard is not available, select Add New Keyboard and locate/select Emoji.

I have lost the Camera Icon off my Iphone4, how do I get it back?

I have lost the Camera Icon off my Iphone4, how do I get it back?

Check to see if you have restrictions on.
Check if it is on other home pages.
Check to see if it is in a folder.

I have lost the iphoto icon of my ipad .. how do i get it back?

i have lost the iphoto icon of my ipad .. how do i get it back?

Check in All Folders and on All Pages/Screens...
Check in Restrictions...
Settings > General > Restrictions
If no joy...
Settings > General > Reset > Reset Home Screen

I have 'lost' the YouTube icon from my iPhone 4S. How do I get it back? Thanks Rachel

I have 'lost' the YouTube icon from my iPhone 4S. How do I get it back? Thanks Rachel

The YouTube app is no longer included in the native apps. Apple recommends you visit the website.
Perhaps google will make another app and make it available in the App Store soon, I miss it too.

Lost the Desktop icon

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for