10-18-2010, 03:05 AM

I have had my Macbook Pro for about 4 years, and for the last several days, everything on my desktop has completely disappeared. The background is still there, but the only way I can open anything is either by going to the dock at the bottom of the screen, or clicking on the Spotlight magnifying glass in the top right corner (which is only visible when something is open, otherwise there's just nothing at the top). Interestingly, when I type 'Macintosh HD' into the Spotlight, it finds it, but no matter how many times I click on it, it won't open...
I've tried re-starting the laptop multiple times, re-launching the finder, and installing every available software update.
Please help?!

10-18-2010, 10:06 AM

Check this thread
HD icon missing
and see if any of those suggestions help. I'd recommend posting in that thread so it is easier to find.

10-18-2010, 04:14 PM

Still didn't help- my finder won't open, if I click on it to open it opens for a few seconds and then self-quits.

10-18-2010, 08:18 PM

Hey, I had an issue like this in the recent past. If Finder has quit completely on you, and is completely inaccessible (you can't get in to any of your files or anything), then I think I know what's wrong.

Did you accidentally move a bunch of stuff onto your desktop? For some reason putting a lot of things on your desktop uses up a ton of space in Finder. There is a reason behind it, but I forgot exactly how to explain it. Anyway, the simple explanation is that the more crap is on the desktop, the slower Finder is.

In my case I accidentally exported over 1000 files onto my desktop instead of a folder I had made for them. Everything froze up, basically. The only way I was able to get into Finder was by booting in Safe mode (which limits the processes, thus making it as easy as possible to be able to run) and waiting... a long time, about 45 minutes or so, for Finder to load. With some patience it worked out, and I was able to move all of those files where they belonged.

I hope this helps you!

10-19-2010, 10:03 PM

Ok, I went out and bought Snow Leopard for $30, installed it, and now everything works great, the finder runs and everything is back on my desktop!!

04-16-2011, 01:00 AM

Hi. Im a new Mac user and i think i came across the same problem. All of my folder icons have disappeared. Also, whenever I instal new applications, there is no icon for it. it just shows a dotted like square and the label underneath it. same goes for my finder. no icons but just the description. what do i do?? please help me!