My desktop and dock reverted to factory settings??!!?

Good morning and please HELP!
Something very strange has happened to my PB G4 Ti. When I started up this afternoon I was stunned to see a generic desktop(not the one I've been using for months), the dock settings were changed to default? and was missing about 12 or so icons, and when I tried to open Mail or iTunes for example the start up wizards opened as if I was using for the first time. I don't know what to do. My first reaction was panic..... but after some research it seems that I haven't necessarily lost any files or folders but...it will take some time to make sure nothing is gone. I do have my home folder backed up on a portable hd. and some other important stuff on my iDisc(although this icon has reverted to just looking like a mounted drive)
About my "system" PB G4 Ti -1 GHz -1MB L3 cache- 256KB L2 cache- 768 SDRam- and running OSX 10.4.5.
I wasn't doing anything out of the ordinary yesterday-updating some Palm desktop stuff, searching iTunes reading all of my mail and deleting my lovely
junk mail.
Well sorry for ramblin' on so...this is my first post and am at such a loss. I look forward to any and all suggestions on what the----is happening.
Thanks in advance,
Buck The Hoople
PowerBook G4 Titanium, G3 iMac DVD Special Edition Mac OS X (10.4.5) 2GB iPod Shuffle, 4GB Nano, 30GB VidPod

Wow, Buck, that sounds drastic. I have never heard of a reproducable solution to what you're describing. Most of the time a reset to factory settings happens when the internal battery dies and needs replacing. But an entire directory? Maybe someone created a new user account on you and you have auto-logon set? Would not be possible if you're the only user (unless you have a split personality or something).
I'd suggest a reboot, then repair permissions, then reboot and see what happens. You use the Disk Utility program to repair permissions. Don't want to talk down to you on this, you probably already tried that. After the repair routines I'd recommend running the CRON processes with either OnyX or MacJanitor (downloadable).
Let us know how you're doing with your restoration process.

Similar Messages

I updated my iPad 2 to iOS 7.06 and iTunes couldn't connect. Had to revert to factory settings. Can't install many apps and lost data. What can I do?

When I selected to update the OS on my iPad 2, it wouldn't connect with iTunes, and I had no choice other than to revert to factory settings, losing all my data, apps etc. Everything. I knew that would happen, but also that everything was backed up on iCloud.
However, when I thought I had set up my ipad again, I found none of my documents, pdf files, songs, notes, some items on my calendar, and a bunch of other stuff had gone.
If it's on iCloud, why can't I get it back?
And has anyone got a brillaint solution?
I noticed a few others have had the same issue.
And I need the lost documents for my work with clients. My next client starts on Monday and some of his material is now lost. I am unable to open it on my iMac, as I have a newer update of Pages on my ipad. So most of these missing documents, while on my imac via icloud, are inaccessible.
HELP!!!!

Also my drop box is empty. A much bigger problem...

Is there a way to recover old emails? I moved a few folders around on the hard disk and now my emails have reverted to Factory settings and all my old emails and address book have vanished. I am still running on 10.4.11 and Apple can not help me.

Is there a way to recover old emails? I moved a few folders around on the hard disk and now my emails have reverted to Factory settings and all my old emails and address book have vanished. I am still running on 10.4.11 and Apple can not help me. Does anyone out there have any idea on how to recover my lost emails and/or addresses?

Well, your profile info says 10.4.11, and you are posting your question in the iMac (PPC) category. If you are running Snow Leopard, it must be a fairly recent Intel iMac.
In that case, you should definitely post your question here
https://discussions.apple.com/community/mac_os/mac_os_x_v10.6_snow_leopard
where other Snow Leopard users can see your question. Restate the problem, what error messages you get, and what you have tried already (for trouble-shooting).

WHERE ARE "DESKTOP" AND "DOCK" SETTINGS STORED?

I want to backup my desktop and dock settings. Where are they stored so that I can do this?
Thx.
Mike

If you are backing up your home folder, you are also backing up your user prefs all of which are stored in "Your User Name"/Library/Preferences. There are several other "Preferences" folders that contain "global" prefs, namely /Library/Preferences and /System/Library/Preferences.
One potential "trap" though... corrupted prefs files are often the cause of anomalous system behavour so saved prefs should be copied back into new folders with caution.

AE will not revert to factory settings

I recently posted a question re purchasing the Airport Extreme. I now have the AE and for the last three days have been trying to successfully set it up. I have tried so many different settings that I am totally confused and tried to revert to factory settings. I unplug the AE and hold in the reset button while replugging in the device. When it restarts the old settings are still showing on Airport Utility.

Valerie, welcome to the discussion area!
Try the following:
Pull the power plug from the back of the AirPort Extreme
Leave it off for 10-15 minutes
Hold in the reset button +and keep holding the reset button in while you plug the power back in.+
+Keep holding the reset button+ until you see the amber light begin to blink more quickly
Hold another 4-5 seconds when you see this and then release the reset button.
In other words, once you hold in the reset button, do not release it when you plug the power back in, keep holding it until you see the amber light blink quickly for 4-5 seconds. Then release the reset button.

Need to revert to Factory Settings without disk.

Hi,
I have a friend (isn't that how they all start?) who has a new macbook pro and needs to reset to factory settings as she wants rid of the user IDs and names on the accounts. She has Snow Leopard but no disks (none were in her box).
How would I be able to revert to factory settings so she could access the computer as if it was new, without disks. Is there anywhere I can download such software?
Thank you
Jo
p.s. I would use my macbook pro and try to burn off a reset disk but I'm using Lion and thought this would cause even more issues. Thanks.

"She has Snow Leopard but no disks (none were in her box)."
Not probable. She either misplaced or lost the disks. She should get a replacement set by calling AppleCare. Then she can do what she intends and provide the disks to the new owner (which she is required to do). She can't use your disks.

I just updated my iPhone 4 to iOS6. In the process, I ran into a problem and had to restore factory settings. After syncing the phone, I see that 218 apps need to be updated. When selecting "update all," it says "manage local device storage usage." How?

I just updated my iPhone 4 to iOS6. In the process, I ran into a problem and had to restore factory settings. After syncing the phone, I see that 218 apps need to be updated. When selecting "update all," it says "Cannot Download. There is not enough available local storage to download these items. You can manage your local device storage usage in Settings."
How can this be the case when I haven't changed any apps from before updrading to iOS6, and I don't have any music yet on the phone? Why is it telling me there is not enough local space?

Hi RileyAvaCadenRiver,
If you recently updated your iPhone to iOS7, you will need to update iTunes on your computer to iTunes 11.1 or newer for it to correctly recognize the iPhone. You may find the following link helpful:
Apple: iTunes 11.1.1
http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1614
Regards,
- Brenden

If I upgraded my MacBook Pro from Snow Leopard to Lion via the web and now wish to erase the hard drive and restore it to factory settings to sell. How do I accomplish this?

I upgraded the operating system on my MacBook Pro from Snow Leopard to Lion via the web. Now I need to erase the hard drive and restore it to factory settings, so that I can pass it on. How do I accomplish this? When I insert the Mac OS X install disk, the only option is to erase the free space. Any insight would be appreciated.
Thank you

You need to boot off the original Snow Leopard DVD's that came with the system.
Once you are running off of the DVD you will be able to do a clean install of SL
To boot off the DVD with the system up running Lion insert the DVD. Open Sytem Preferences->Startup Disk and select the DVD then restart the machine.
Message was edited by: Frank Caggiano

My daughters ipad mini is frozen and will not swipe. I have reset and the restored to factory settings

my daughter ipad mini is frozen. it will not let me swipe. I have rebooted and then restored to factory settings but I am still unable to swipe.
She has had problems with this ipad in the past and told at the reading store, by a pretty rude guy that we needed to buy a new one as it kept switching off. it is only 14 months old and I do not ant to buy a new one if it will only last for this short time. it has been working pretty much ok for the last month since our trip to the store but now it has totally frozen
please can someone help me as I can not afford to buy another

If you have restored the device as new, not from a backup and it is still malfunctioning, then you have a hardware problem. The warranty on the device is one year, but if you take it to the Genius Bar of the nearest Apple Store or Authorized Apple Service provider and it is determined there is a hardware fault, then you may qualify for an out of warranty replacement, which is at a reduced price, depending on your location. http://www.apple.com/support/ipad/repair/other/

My desktop and dock gone

When I restart or turn on my iMac, I get to the account screen, but once in my account, my desktop and dock are gone and replaced by a grey screen. Any help would be much appreciated. Thank you.

Thank you, I think I fixed it. Held F12 during start up.

HT4085 i tried to fix screen rotation on my ipad 2 after upgrading to ios 7. did the lock / unlock button, the on/off and even reset to factory settings... nothing works... do not know what to do... any suggestions?

i tried to fix screen rotation on my ipad 2 after upgrading to ios 7. did the lock / unlock button, the on/off and even reset to factory settings... nothing works... do not know what to do... any suggestions?

When you reset to factory settings, did you restore as new or did you restore from a backup? If you restored from a backup, you could try restoring as new and don't use the backup. If you do that, you will lose all of your data, but you can download or sync all of your content back to the iPad.
You could also try resetting all settings before your restore as new. Settings>General>Reset>Reset all settings. You will have to re enter all device settings again.
And of course the possibility does exist that the iPad has developed a hardware problem that is causing the rotation issue and only a visit to an Apple Store could determine that for sure.

I didn't back up my iphone 4s and it reset to factory settings can I retrieve my info

i didn't back up my iphone 4s and it reset to factory settings can I retrieve my info

In you case, the only way is to use data recovery app to get back your lost photos, so the chance is uncertain. It depends on how smart the app it's. The good news is that most of the apps allow you to try them out. You can test them out by yourself. The steps are:
Install data recovery app on your computer
connect your iPhone and allow the app scan iphone
display scanning result
choose local folder to store recovered items
You can choose to recover your photos from local disk, iTunes backup or icloud. More details can be found out here.

Satellite C660-1LD: How to recover and go back to factory settings

Hi Guys,
I am suffering with some problem on any website some words linked and when I click it, a ad. website opens which is kinda virus i think and the laptop works very slowly
I decided t reboot the laptop and go back to factory settings.
Could you please help me how to reboot I am not really good at computering so if you explain step-by-step That would be fantastic.
Thank you

Hi
Read the threads here in the Toshiba Product Recovery forum.
Additionally check this documentation how to use the HDD recovery:
+How to recover a Toshiba notebook with the HDD recovery procedure+
http://aps2.toshiba-tro.de/kb0/HTD1303440001R02.htm

Applications reverting to factory settings?

I was recently using my PowerBook G4 when, the next time I turned it on, I found that a majority of my applications -- including Mail, iTunes, and Safari -- seemed to have reverted back to factory settings. More specifically, Mail prompted me to create a new user account; iTunes erased my entire music library, including my custom playlists (and continued to do so after I repeatedly reloaded my files and playlists); and Safari erased all of my bookmarks.
The stranger thing about all this is: all my music files were still there -- they weren't erased at all. And yet, all of the widgets I had on my Dock, and many other applications seemed to have been "restarted"?
Other than this, my computer is acting fine again... But I don't know why or how this happened, and I'd like to know for future reference/prevention.
I also already searched around these forums and the closest topic I could find was this thread -- http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=414089&tstart=45 -- but I never renamed my home folder, as that thread discusses.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks!

Welcome to Apple Discussions!
Try repairing permissions with Applications > Utilities ->
Disk Utility.
If you are sure your music is still in your Music folder, then it is possible, that Spotlight may need to be force reindexed by adding your hard drive to your Apple menu -> System Preferences -> Spotlight -> Privacy, restarting your Mac, and then removing it from there again, and restarting again. Let the Spotlight index reindex itself, and when done then try to reopen your applications.

Reverting to factory settings

My iphone has stopped connecting to my wireless router, airport extreme. It happened a couple of days ago. It sees the router and shows it in settigns. My wireless printer shows it getsa signal, but will not print. My wifes phone works fine as does the ipad. I can connect to other wireless systems outside the home. If I revert the router to original factory settings what is the downside?

If I revert the router to original factory settings what is the downside?
Downside.....you will have to reconfigure the AirPort Extreme again. Suggest that you change the name of the wireless network and password if you decide to do this. No guarantees that this will solve the problem.
Upside....setting up a new wireless network and password might allow all devices to connect.

My desktop and dock reverted to factory settings??!!?

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for