*** Just Happened???!?!!

I was just looking at some icons for my new iMac G5 (Well kinda new ive had it since Xmas 04).
I froze, and finder wasnt responding so I relaunched it...
It stuffed up again so I reset, and when it comes back everythings gone.
Like all my files and programs are still here, but like my backgournd chaged to defualt, the dock defualts, bookmarks gone... And the text also looks abit differnet... thinner.
Wat happened and how can I change it?
I recently upgraded the OS and secruity things..
is this just a OS upgrade bug?
**** my first problem with my mac.

so you were just looking at icons ???? or had you tried to install new icons.. there might have been a corrupt desktop preference which caused you to freeze and when you restarted it was unable to read that one or it got deleted so OS X just re-created it. i dont really know what to tell you but to re-create your desktop.

Sorry yeah I was installing some...
So how do I do what you said?

easily just start setting your desktop back to the picture it was, clear out your dock, add programs back to the doc and copy back folders...i dont know of a way to restore the desktop...maybe we some crazy terminal programming

hate to say it but sorry about your luck, do you know what program you used to install the icons, did you use candy bar, orrr ?

I was just doing the copying and pasting thing.
Grr its annoying, cos even all my bookmarks are gone and everything.
Oh well start from scratch.
Thanks for your help.

Have you tried repairing permissions?

Apps->Utilities->Disk Utility->Repair permissions

Sounds like it could be a permission problem..

so what icon were you trying to change when this happened or before it happened
and in the future use a program like candybar ( http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/mac/16010 ) it will change all your icons for you...real easy and simple

Edit:
I think i figured it
I changed my home name to something different, then if stuffed up>
Now my current home is what it used to be, and has nothing in it,
but I can find what I changed it to and there is all my stuff...
Any way to get it back?

And apt, thanks, but i repared permissions afew days ago.

Figured it out...
Its almost all back to normal though its still abit weird. My foldersd are unorgnaised abit too, just my home one though.
Why would it do that?
And I also lost all ym play counts on itunes... ****.

Or, of course, you could just restore your user settings from the backup that you have carefully taken at discrete intervals

If you've not got your system backed up, then do it, because next time you could lose your whole drive - all your music, pictures, documents, emails, software etc.

IMHO the easiest way is to use a Firewire drive and something like Retrospect.

David

Any way of backing up without an external drive?

I guess it depends on how you changed your home name (username) if you changed it through system preferences you shouldnt have this problem, but if you did it some other way, then when your computer starts it will not be able to find your home folder since it's looking for the old one.. that can definitely cause problems.

Yup thats it,
I changed it with Get Info.
Sorry for all these q's, but how do I change it with System Pref.? When I go to its shaded out and I cant change it?..

Change you name back to what it used to be using Get Info, then reboot the computer, then go to the blue apple in the left hand top corner, select "System Preferences" then click on Services to change the Computer Name, if you want to change your short name you'll need to well.. instead of writing it all out, Ill give you this site that already has it written out

http://cf.williams.edu/oit/faqs/pcounter/changeuser/