Locked Desktop

Jix


Joined
Nov 10, 2015
Messages
16
Reaction score
0
Points
1
My desktop is locked. I cannot resize the folders, delete any files, move anything around, files downloaded to the desktop never appear. This started when I tried to add protection to one particular folder, but now everything on the desktop is locked. Can anyone tell me how to unlock the desktop?
 
M

MacInWin

Guest
Welcome to the forum.
This started when I tried to add protection to one particular folder,
What, exactly, did you do? Also, what Mac, what version of OS X? Please read the link in my sig and give us some more information to help you.
 
OP
J

Jix


Joined
Nov 10, 2015
Messages
16
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Thank you, Jake, your link was very helpful. I have a MacBook Pro, running OS X version 10.6.8.
I wish that I could recall what I did, but since I came to the conclusion that it isn´t possible to add protection to a folder I am not sure that I actually did anything. I think that it had something to do with trying to set up a Smart Folder. Perhaps it was something else that caused the problem.
Some specific examples:
1) When I try to delete a document from the desktop, I get the following message: Type your password to allow Finder to make changes. That has never happened before. When I type my admin password, I hear the sound of a document moving to the trash bin, but the document never disappears from the desktop. I have ensured that all files on the desktop are unlocked and that I am listed as having Read and Write authorization, so I don´t understand why the message appears.
2) When I download a document to the desktop, I get all of the appropriate screens to Save As, but the document never appears on the desktop, nor is it in the list of files on the desktop when I try to open the file from within an application.
3) I can resize the files on the desktop to larger icons, but not smaller. There are many files piled together in the upper right corner, but I can´t do anything to make them visible.
Thanks for your help. Joyce
 
M

MacInWin

Guest
OK, a couple of things to try: Get Onyx from here and run it. (Make sure you get the right version of Onyx for YOUR version of OS X.) When it starts, the first thing it does is to check your hard drive and file structure for any issues. That check alone may fix the desktop issue. I suspect that will fix the download problem as well. Finally, for the icons all piled up, right click on the desktop and choose Sort By and then choose some sort mechanism (I use Kind) to get the icons all sorted out. See if that helps you see what is all piled up. I suspect your downloads are in the pile.
 

pigoo3

Well-known member
Staff member
Admin
Joined
May 20, 2008
Messages
44,210
Reaction score
1,418
Points
113
Location
U.S.
Your Mac's Specs
2017 15" MBP, 16gig ram, 1TB SSD, OS 10.15
Was just thinking maybe some of the "Parental Controls" got accidentally activated by a keyboard shortcut. Maybe give this area a check if the great suggestions Jake made do not solve things.

- Nick
 
Joined
Feb 14, 2004
Messages
4,781
Reaction score
166
Points
63
Location
Groves, Texas
Kinda sounds like whatever he did to "protect" that folder locked his Desktop folder.
Do a 'Get Info' on it and, down at the bottom, see what the permissions are.
You should have Read and Write access.
 
OP
J

Jix


Joined
Nov 10, 2015
Messages
16
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Thanks to everyone who responded.

I did download Onyx and ran all of its utility routines, but nothing has changed. I still cannot delete, resize file icons or download files to my desktop.

I checked parental controls and there are none.

I do have read and write permission.

Since nothing is working, is there a way that I can wipe the desktop clean and start over (after writing to a cd everything that is on the desktop)? I cannot delete individual files from the desktop, but is there a routine that would erase only the files on the desktop?

Joyce
 
OP
J

Jix


Joined
Nov 10, 2015
Messages
16
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Thanks to everyone who responded. I read through all of the other threads posted re locked desktops and found the answer. While I had unlocked all of the files on the desktop, I had not checked the desktop folder itself (never realized it was a folder until I saw that mentioned in another thread). Sure enough, the desktop folder was locked, and now that I have unlocked it, everything works again. I greatly appreciate all of the time taken by everyone who responded.
Joyce
 
Joined
Feb 14, 2004
Messages
4,781
Reaction score
166
Points
63
Location
Groves, Texas
Exactly what I suggested in post #6. And sorry about the 'he'.
 
OP
J

Jix


Joined
Nov 10, 2015
Messages
16
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Yes, of course, Craig, I recognize that now, but I did not understand the context earlier. I thought that you were referring to the file on the desktop that I was trying to delete, rather than the actual Desktop itself. Sorry, but I am not very knowledgeable about such things and merely needed more instruction. Thanks for taking the time to help.
Joyce
 

Rod


Joined
Jun 12, 2011
Messages
9,631
Reaction score
1,834
Points
113
Location
Melbourne, Australia and Ubud, Bali, Indonesia
Your Mac's Specs
2021 M1 MacBook Pro 14" macOS 14.4.1, Mid 2010MacBook 13" iPhone 13 Pro max, iPad 6, Apple Watch SE.
Hi Joyce, just going back to the beginning for a moment, you wanted to make a "secure" folder or a locked folder. Is that right? If so there are a couple of ways of doing this. The easiest is an application called "Hider" by MacPaw. Sorry I am on my phone so I cannot give you the link, just go to MacPaw site for a full explanation. It can hide as many files and folders as you like under one master password, like a safe.
Or there is the free way of creating a folder as a password protected Disk Image (dmg.) file. This is a folder you can put anywhere, acts like an ordinary folder but requires a password to open.
If you are interested in the latter I can give you step by step instructions.
Cheers,
Rod


Sent from my iPhone using Mac Forums
 
OP
J

Jix


Joined
Nov 10, 2015
Messages
16
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Hi Rod,
The password protected Disk Image file is exactly what I was trying to do. I would greatly appreciate your walking me through how to do that.

May I also ask a general question within this same thread? I have not upgraded my OS X because of problems I have read about with some of the upgrades and I cannot afford to lose the use of my computer for even a day. But now my 10.6.8 is causing me problems with upgrading some of the applications, such as Safari -- I get messages from some websites saying that my version of Safari is too out of date, but when I try to upgrade Safari I am told this is the current version for my OS X. I cannot use Firefox because it freezes my computer. So I know I should upgrade the OS X -- what is your opinion of how far I can upgrade a MacBook Pro that is several years old?

Thanks for your help. Joyce
 
M

MacInWin

Guest
Before anyone can answer that question, we need to know exactly what MBP you have. Click on the Apple Icon upper left, then About This Mac and read what it says there. Even better, get a System Report and look at Model Identifier and report it here. Also, how much memory do you have installed?
 
OP
J

Jix


Joined
Nov 10, 2015
Messages
16
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Hi Jake,
Sorry, but I am such a neophyte that I do not know what MBP means or how to run a System Report. Does the info below tell you anything?
Hardware Overview:

Model Name: MacBook Pro
Model Identifier: MacBookPro8,1
Processor Name: Intel Core i5
Processor Speed: 2.3 GHz
Number of Processors: 1
Total Number of Cores: 2
L2 Cache (per Core): 256 KB
L3 Cache: 3 MB
Memory: 4 GB
Boot ROM Version: MBP81.0047.B27
SMC Version (system): 1.68f99

Thanks, Joyce
 
M

MacInWin

Guest
yes, that is what was needed. MBP is MacBookPro, your machine. And you got that information from the System Report, so well done on that.

Basically, your machine can be upgraded to El Capitan, the most recent version of OS X. It should run it reasonably well, although if you want better performance you could upgrade the memory from 4GB to 8GB. Macsales.com (also known as OWC) has memory that is correct for your machine. Crucial also has memory that suits. OWC lists 8GB for about $64.

El Cap is pretty good, but the biggest challenge for you in upgrading is that the jump from 10.6.8 to 10.11.1 is FIVE versions, and that will probably come with some challenges from your older software. 10.6.8 was the last version of OS X that ran Rosetta and allowed PPC applications to run on Intel based systems. So if you have any PPC versions of software, they simply won't run. However, more recent versions of that software may be available that will run on Intel. You'll have to check each application you've installed and use.

The upside to upgrading is that you'll be back in the mainstream for security updates to Safari and the OS in general, so visiting the internet will be safer overall.

How do you use your machine? What do you do with it? What applications have you installed and use?
 

Rod


Joined
Jun 12, 2011
Messages
9,631
Reaction score
1,834
Points
113
Location
Melbourne, Australia and Ubud, Bali, Indonesia
Your Mac's Specs
2021 M1 MacBook Pro 14" macOS 14.4.1, Mid 2010MacBook 13" iPhone 13 Pro max, iPad 6, Apple Watch SE.
Jake has summed it up pretty well there is little I can add except to say that you should do a time machine backup now. Make sure you have enough storage for the instal then download and run the El Capitan installer. I will provide steps for the encrypted folder but suggest you do the upgrade first.
 
OP
J

Jix


Joined
Nov 10, 2015
Messages
16
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Hi Jake,
I use my computer to run a small business, which means that I rely heavily on the Office Windows applications (2011 version) and Adobe. The other applications that I have installed are MacKeeper, Skype and HP printer.

There are two versions of software upgrades available on Macsales.com for my computer:
8.0GB OWC Memory Upgrade
2 x 4.0GB 1333MHz DDR3 SO-DIMM PC10600 204 Pin = $60
and
8.0GB PC3-10600 SO-DIMM 204 Pin w/Lifetime Warranty = $64, which seems to be the one you are suggesting. I just want to confirm this is the best one for me to order.
Thanks, Joyce
 
OP
J

Jix


Joined
Nov 10, 2015
Messages
16
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Thanks, Rod. I will let you know when I have the upgrade completed.
Regards, Joyce
 
M

MacInWin

Guest
Joyce, either of those will do for you. If you think you might want to go to 16gb sometime, the 8GB will just take one slot so that next time you only need to buy one more 8GB set and be done. On the other hand, there are some performance improvements with both slots having the exact same memory in them, so the 2x4GB solution may be (very) slightly more efficient.

It's really up to you, both should work nicely. You'll find videos at MacSales.com showing you exactly what you have to do for your machine to do the upgrade. You can watch them and do it yourself, or you can enlist a friend to assist in it if you think you need help. It's not that hard to do. You'll spend more time removing and replacing the screws than it will take to swap out the memory!

http://eshop.macsales.com/installvideos/macbookpro_13_unibody_early11_mem/
 

Rod


Joined
Jun 12, 2011
Messages
9,631
Reaction score
1,834
Points
113
Location
Melbourne, Australia and Ubud, Bali, Indonesia
Your Mac's Specs
2021 M1 MacBook Pro 14" macOS 14.4.1, Mid 2010MacBook 13" iPhone 13 Pro max, iPad 6, Apple Watch SE.
So as promised here is how to create an encrypted dmg. folder.
As you are running El Capitan I presume then the method has changed somewhat since Mavericks but I think it is actually easier. I made one just as a trial and here are the steps;
1. Open the Disk Utility app in the Utilities folder inside the Applications folder.
2. At the top of the desktop you will see the File menu in the Disk Utility menu bar.
3. Click File and scroll down to "New Image" and in the submenu select "Blank Image"
4. In the image below you will see "Save As" give this a name that is fairly innocent it will be the visible part of the folder. That is it will be seen if you put it in the Documents folder as a dmg. file with this name. eg. "My secret folder dmg." (a bit obvious huh?)
5. Let it save to the desktop for the minute you can move it later.
6. The next name is the name of the Disk. When you double click the dmg. it will mount what appears to be a Disk Drive. That is your folder.
7. The size is set at 100 Mb but you can type in what you like for example 1 GB. The size will depend on what you want to put in it. I like about 1 Gb myself.
8. Select the reccomended Encryption 128 bit from the encryption drop down menu.
9. You will now be asked for a password and to verify that password. YOU MUST REMEMBER THIS PASSWORD
9. Click "Create"
10. Now on your desktop you will see a dmg file with the name you gave it and a disk drive icon with the name you gave that. If you dont see it go to Finder menu > Preferences > General and make sure Hard Disks's and External disks are ticked.
11. Now double click the Disk icon and you will have a blank window. Go to the View Menu at the top of the desktop and select "Icon" "List" "Columns" what ever you like.
12. you can save to this folder like any other folder window eg. drag and drop.
13. Now close the window and right click on the Disk Icon and select eject. It will disappear leaving just the dmg. file. Double click the dmg. file and you will be asked for your password, enter it and the Disk Icon will reappear. Eject it again and drag the dmg. file to a safe place.
Now whenever you want to access your encrypted files click on the dmg. you will be asked for your password and the disk will mount and you can open just like any folder. DO NOT TICK THE "REMEMBER THIS PASSWORD IN KEYCHAIN" BOX or it will become like any other folder and will not require a password to open.
That's it!
Screen Shot 2015-11-13 at 14.36.53.png
Screen Shot 2015-11-13 at 15.00.31.png
 

Shop Amazon


Shop for your Apple, Mac, iPhone and other computer products on Amazon.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Top