Mysterious Untitled Folders Appearing on Desktop

My finder seems to be creating untitled folders on my desktop without me asking. This started happening right after I installed 10.5.3. I will be working, go to my desktop and see untitled folder 1, untitled folder 2, and so forth. Sometimes it's just one, sometimes I return to my desktop to find 4 or 5. This is very strange and nothing like this has ever really happened to me with the OS. It's not a huge problem, more like an annoyance, but I find it kind of strange. Has anyone has a similar problem?

Yeah. It's a mild annoyance at the moment but I fear it will drive me insane eventually

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Empty Folders appearing on Desktop

Keep getting folders on my desktop that I am not putting there.
The folders are Untitled FOlder 1, Untitled FOlder 2, Untitled FOlder 3, and then also Burn Folder 1, Burn Folder 2, Burn Folder 3, etc.
They just appear. I leave the computer, come back hours later, and there they are. Delete them, but same process repeats itself.
They are all empty.
What the heck is that all about? How to stop it?

I asked the question twice, but did not get an answer?
"So is there anyone else who has access to your Mac, either physically, through File Sharing, or through Screen Sharing?"
The sharing settings on the other computer do not matter, because the folders are not appearing on those computers. It is the sharing settings on your iMac that matters. As I said before, the three ways I can think of to reproduce what you describe are:
(1) When you are away from your iMac, sneak in and put a folder on your Desktop.
(2) From one of the other Macs, connect to your iMac over file sharing. To do this, I would have to know your user name and password, and you would have to have +File Sharing+ enabled on your iMac (the sharing settings on the other Mac does not matter). Once connected, put the folder into your Desktop folder.
(3) From one of the other Macs, connect to your iMac using screen sharing. To do this, I would have to know your user name and password, and you would have to have +Screen Sharing+ enabled on your iMac (the sharing settings on the other Mac does not matter). Once connected, control your iMac and put a folder on your Desktop.
If it happened while you were sitting at your computer and paying attention to the screen, then (2) would be the only way.
The fact that it did not happen when AirPort was turned OFF is consistent. Then (1) would be the only way to make it happen. And it also seems to show that the cause is not some odd background process you have running that creates random folders on the Desktop.
You might try going to System Preferences Accounts pane and changing your user account password. Then, with AirPort turned ON, see if it still happens.

Unopenable folders appearing on desktop

Unopenble, untrashable are mysteriously appearing on my desktop. The folders have file names like XK1jkmYy. They do appear in the desktop finder window list nor can I get any information on them. Any ideas.

Have you tried restarting the machine?

Thousands of untitled folders on my destop that I didn't create

I've seen other references to this but don't know the solution.
It first happened about a month ago. I awoke my MacPro from sleep to find over 5000 untitled folders on my desktop. Here's a screen capture: http://grab.by/bj0d
I work alone so no one in my office could have played a trick. To rule out outsiders, I turned off all sharing. I thought that solved the problem. This morning the same issue reappeared with over 500 folders. Any thoughts???? Thanks!

You have close to 11,000 !! Unread messages in Mail. Are you sure somebody is not spamming you with an absurd amount of email, perhaps with attachments that download to your desktop?

Why do all my desktop folders appear to be empty?

why do all my desktop folders appear to be empty?..all of a sudden....If I do an 'open,' I see a little red circle on the upper right hand corner with an arrow. When I click it, it tells me I have number X files in the folder. But...I cannot see them....
Message was edited by: Searlaid

You have done something which change the permissions and your user is not able to access anymore. You can play around and try to correct permissions manually by going to your home folder, right click on the Desktop folder and choose get info and when new window will be open, at the bottom of it, check if your username is listed and if has Read & Write permissions.
Other option is to boot to recovery mode (after starting up your computer press and hold CMD+R), then from top panel click on Utilities and choose Terminal. Once terminal is open, type in it resetpassword and when new window will be open, select Macintosh HD as your system drive, select your password and click on the RESET button which is next to "Reset home folder permissions and ACL". NOTE: do not reset your password, you don't have to.
Second options would be better in case if permissions on other folders been changed too.

Desktop appearance problem: For no apparent reason my Mac running OSX 10.4.11 imposed a mesh-like pattern over the folders on my desktop and also across the top of the screen and down the right-hand side where I have the dock. How do I remove it?

For no apparent reason my Mac (2 GHz PowerPC G5) running 10.4.11 has put a mesh-like pattern over the folders on my desktop and also a band of the same pattern across the top of the screen and down the right-hand side over the dock. (See screen grabs below.)
It doesn't affect any operations but makes folder names and drop-down menus difficult to read through the pattern.
I'm not aware of changing any settings so suspect I must have clicked on something without noticing. How do I get rid of the overlaid pattern, please?

Information about my computer is as follows:
Machine Name:          iMac G5
Machine Model:          PowerMac8,2
CPU Type:          PowerPC G5 (3.1)
Number Of CPUs:          1
CPU Speed:          2 GHz
L2 Cache (per CPU):          512 KB
Memory:          1 GB
Bus Speed:          667 MHz
Boot ROM Version:          5.2.5f1
It looks like this at the back:

Mysterious white box appears when project published

Hi all
Another issue. When either either hit F4 to preview a project, or publish it to an .exe, a mysterious white box appears across a few of the slides.
I've hunted for the cause of this box everywhere. It doesn't appear when I preview the same slides using F3. There are no objects in the timelines of those slides that would explain it.
How do I get rid of this box appearing? It makes me want to remove this program from my computer altogether.
Steve

Hi Clifford
The path looks right. On my PC, with Desktop and Admin, my path settings for Discoverer look like this:
%DISCO10%\bin; (171 files and 0 folders)
%DISCO10%\jlib; (53 files and 1 folder)
%DISCO10%\jre\1.4.2\bin\client; (2 files)
%DISCO10%\jre\1.4.2\bin; (62 files and 1 folder)
where %DISCO10% is c:\oracle\BIToolsHome_1
I can't see anything wrong with the path. This is very mystifying. I think you may have to speak with Oracle Support. Other than the Discoverer installation being corrupt with one or more files missing I can't think why you would be seeing a white console box. I'll keep researching and if I come upon anything I will let you know. To help I have listed alongside each of my locations the number of files and fodlers I have. If yours is different there is a possibility of a corruption.
Best wishes
Michael

Problem Folders on my desktop are no longer showing any files inside

I have been using windows 7 quite a bit lately, but I logged on snow leopard, and all the folders on my desktop are empty. They show that they are still trying to load what is in them, but nothing ever comes.
this is obviously a huge problem as it currently appears all my files are gone...anyone have a solution or having this problem as well?

I went through all of these steps. I also downloaded AVG antivirus. It detected nine files that may have been malware and I deleted them. I have restarted my computer several times after this and the folders on my desktop are still not displaying properly. Also my folders are unable to be dragged around the desktop. The whole desktop is messed up.

IMAP folders appear under Inbox

I am using Mail.app with 6 imap accounts. For two of the accounts (both on cyrus-imapd servers, I believe), all of the folders appear as subfolders of that accounts Inbox. I am able to successfully assign the Junk, Trash, Sent, etc. folders. Every unassaigned folder, however, appears under Inbox. If I place "INBOX" (without quotes) as my IMAP Path Prefix, as instructed by my ISP (one I host), I cannot connect to any of the subfolders (and they remain under "Inbox").
For both accounts, I can also use a webmail server, where every folder does appear under INBOX.
As of a couple months ago, Mail had always worked perfectly for me. For some unknown reason, when starting Mail one day, I had to reset many of my prefereneces. From that point on, I have had this above problem with two of my accounts.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.
1GHz PowerBook G4 Mac OS X (10.4.8)

These being IMAP accounts, you may try re-creating them, i.e. deleting them in Preferences > Accounts and setting them up again from scratch. INBOX should definitely be in the IMAP Path Prefix. You may try bypassing the Account Setup “Assistant” by holding the Option (Alt) key down when clicking on the [+] button, so that Mail doesn’t attempt to connect to the server until the account has been completely configured.
Before deleting the accounts, you may want to make a backup copy of the ~/Library/Mail folder, just in case. You can do this in the Finder by dragging the folder to the Desktop while holding the Option (Alt) key down, for example (quit Mail first).

Unable to select and move and folders on the desktop.

I was having many issues installing Adobe Premiere and that resulted in my stopping processes in the Activity Monitor & working with Disk Utility- repair Disk feature. Now I am unable to move my folders on the desktop, back them up, or move them out of the trash. I am able to open the files individually- but no dragging & dropping. I also can no longer copy & paste anything. I am running a Mac OS 10.5.8.
Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!

First, I should have started with this, but if you have run Repair Disk, you would had to have restarted, so I didn't, but in any case, have you restarted yet?
mj8000 wrote:
I am runing a 10.5.8.
Please excuse my being nosy, but where on earth did you get a brand new MBP of the vintage that it would be running 10.5.8?
I only have repair' Disk Permission's and 'Verify Dis'k Permissions options available- The 'Repair Disk' tab is grayed out.
EDIT: That is as it should be. "Verify Disk" is not available? If it is, just run Verify, and if it's "clean," no need to run RD. If neither VD or RD is available, then:
First check the S.M.A.R.T. status on your HD: Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility > in the panel at left, select the first item in the list/your HD mechanism > look at the bottom of the main window next to S.M.A.R.T. status and see if it says “Verified” or something more ominous like “Failing.”
Boot from install disc (insert disc > restart > immediately hold down the c key and keep holding it until you see “Preparing Installation”) > at first screen select the language and click Continue > click on the Utilities Menu in the menu bar > select Disk Utility > select your HD in the panel on the left side (the name of the HD’s manufacturer and the model number, usually the top item in the list) > click Repair Disk at bottom of main window. Run this at least twice, and keep running it until it says “appears ok” twice in a row. If that doesn’t happen, you may need a stronger utility (such as DriveGenius, TechToolPro, DiskWarrior) or if the directory is damaged beyond repair, you may need to reinstall the OS, or you may have a damaged HD which will need to be replaced (repair utilities can only repair the directory structure, not the HD itself). When this is finished, quit Disk Utility, quit the installer, and restart. Once booted normally, go to Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility and run Repair Permissions.
eesh. I'm afraid to reinstall the OS- I have a ton of media that hasn't been backed up yet from the past few days.
If you have another Mac, you could boot your MBP into FireWire Target Disk Mode and copy files from it:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=58583

"Save As" or Downloaded file Icons not appearing on Desktop or FindeFolders

I've had this on-going problem for weeks now. I thought it was isolated to Microsoft Office tools, and now I'm not so sure. (When I would save attachments from MS Office to my Desktop, they would not appear.)
However, this morning I booted my machine brought up Safari and start surfing . Found a PDF I wanted to read, downloaded it, and no ICON. Spotlight says it's there, and I can open it from Spotlight, but the ICON is STILL not on my desktop.
When I've had this problem before, I could log out/log back in and all the Icons magically appear.
Anyone else having this issue?
This seemed to start having right after I applied the 10.4.10 update. Yes, I've repaired Permissions, etc.

Finder can sometimes be a real sluggard about updating folders, there used to be a nice contextual menu item called Nudge which would force it to update. Unfortunately it no longer works. I tried writing a simple Applescript to force Finder to update but I couldn't get that to work either. It seems especially prone to problems about updating the Desktop, which is one of a number of reasons I tend to not put stuff on the Desktop--I keep a couple of folders on the Desktop for the sorts of files one tends to drop there and put things into those folders instead. Rather than logging out/in you can force the Finder to relaunch, which generally does force an update of the Desktop and folder contents:
1. Hold down the option key and click on the Finder icon in the Dock
2. Select Relaunch from the menu
All open windows will be closed by this action, but at least you don't have to quit your programs. Takes about a second or so.
Francine
Francine
Schwieder

Folders added to "Desktop Pictures" not visible in System Prefs...

Hello,
I am trying to add additional wallpaper images to the "/Library/Desktop Pictures" directory. I can add images to this dir and they are visible in the Desktop & Screen Saver preferences, however newly added folders are not (I would like to add folders so I can keep the pictures organized).
How do I get Desktop & Screen Saver prefs to see new folders?
-Steve

Hi Mike,
Thanks very much! That did the trick!
Just so you know, there is one additional file I edited to make the folders appear with the desired name. Basically if you just add the text to Collections.plist it will display the folder but with the name on the identifier tag. If you want the folder to show a name other than the identifier you have to edit the Collections.strings file in the English.lproj directory.
Here are the instructions I've put together for this whole procedure:
--------------------INSTRUCTIONS------------------------
- cd /System/Library/PreferencePanes/DesktopScreenEffectsPref.prefPane/Contents/Resou rces/DesktopPictures.prefPane/Contents/Resources
- sudo vi Collections.plist
- add additional items in the following form:
identifier = myPatterns;
path = "/Library/Desktop Pictures/My Patterns";
showScalingPopUp = YES;
- save file and exit
THEN
- cd English.lproj
- sudo vi Collections.strings
add line entries in the following format:
myPatterns = "My Patterns";
(the tag on the left of the '=' sign must match the identifier noted above)
save file and exit
--------------------INSTRUCTIONS------------------------
The only thing I haven't been able to figure out is how to get the scaling drop-down box to appear; you know, the drop-down box that gives you the following choices on how to display the image: Fill screen, Stretch to fill screen, Center, Tile.
I see in the Collections.plist file there is a tag for showScalingPopUp and I've set this to YES on some folders, but it doesn't bring up the drop-down box when I select an image within that folder.
I can certainly live without this b/c it's not that critical, but still it's curious...
-Steve

Would like to keep folders on one desktop separate from other Desktops?

I saw that the new lion os had the ability to add new desktops. So I installed it and when I put a folder on one desktop it shows up on all desktops. This is not a new desktop function. Its just spaces all over agian. Am I missing something here. I would like to create multiple desktops with seperate files on each desktop so I can have one for personal use, one for work, one for projects, etc.
Please can someone tell If what I am asking for is even possible ?

Not possible. Folders on the desktop will appear on all desktops.
Captfred

My local folders appear to be in the trash folder, how do i move them?

I recently got a new PC and migrated my email folders. Since then I have noticed many emails seem to have disappeared when I look for them in trash or sent. I just noticed that my local folders appear to be in the trash folder: when I minimize "trash" they disappear. I'm thinking this may be the reason I keep losing emails but I can't figure out how this happened or to move the folders out of the trash.

No problem Bob...glad to be of assistance. To change the titles, you can either do this also when you have selected File>Get Info & then select on the "Info" tab or by clicking on the title of each Movie/TV Show in your library.
Ben

I am trying to import photos into PSE 12 from folders on my desktop, which are organized by broad topics--family, vacations, etc.. Many of my photos are located in several folders. When I try to import them to PSE I get a message saying some photos were

I am new to PSE 12 and am trying to import my photos from folders on my desktop which I have organized by the categories I had in my previous program (Creative Memories). Many of my photos are located in multiple folders, i.e. one photo could be in "Family," Vacations" and "Birthdays." When I try to import the contents of each folder on my desktop I am often getting the message that many of my photos were not imported as they are already in my catalog. Is there a way that I can import any one photo multiple times so that it ends up in all the folders I want it to be in? I know I can locate the photo in PSE and copy it to a different folder(s), but there are so many not being imported that this would be a huge task!

By design, the organizer (and any other database management systems) is there to prevent you from duplicating your media files. The catalog management allows you to have the same image in different categories or albums. Duplication in different folders is to be absolutely avoided.
The same image file can have multiple tags like 'family', 'vacations', 'birthdays' and be present in three different albums with the same names. On obvious advantage is less disk space. Another one with your present folder system is that if you edit one of your duplicates, the other ones are unchanged.
I don't see an easy way to make your present folder structure simplified for the organizer ...

Mysterious Untitled Folders Appearing on Desktop

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