My icons keep disappearing and then reappearing

Question

I'm new to macs and this problem is confusing me, all of a sudden last night my desktop icons keep disappearing and then they reappear in the same place, but if i have a window open like Macintosh HD it closes it. When this happens it also switches from what im working on, like this message so I have to click back on it to continue.
This is happening alot and I was hoping someone could give me some info. or do I have to reinstall.....
Im used to having to do these things on PC's but not on macs.
Cheers

Answer 1

Tony,
You have to reset the parameter ram.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=2238
Macintosh: How to Reset PRAM and NVRAM
This document explains how to reset the parameter random access memory (PRAM) and nonvolatile RAM (NVRAM) on Macintosh computers.
Resetting PRAM and NVRAM
1. Shut down the computer.
2. Locate the following keys on the keyboard: Command, Option, P, and R. You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously in step 4.
3. Turn on the computer.
4. Press and hold the Command-Option-P-R keys. You must press this key combination before the gray screen appears.
5. Hold the keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the startup sound for the second time.
6. Release the keys.
Your computer's PRAM and the NVRAM are reset to the default values. The clock settings may be reset to a default date on some models