Problem with desktop image--Help!

[felixauthor]

My desktop wallpaper no longer shows up on my iMac G5. The screensaver works fine. I read on another post about a problem with a screensaver, so I deleted the thread for a screensaver I had recently downloaded and used, but that still didn't fix the problem. I disconnected my peripherals and also reset the PRAM, to no avail, except that the wallpaper shows up briefly at startup, then disappears, leaving a grey background. Weird! Also, this applies to all the images in my desktop preferences folder, including the apple ones that came with the computer.

 

[MacHeadCase]

Welcome to Mac-Forums, felixauthor.

What you could do, if you haven't tried it yet, is download MainMenu and run the cleaning scripts Clean User Cache and Clean System Cache - > Deep Clean. Restart and see where that takes you.

Report back and let us know what happened, ok?

 

[felixauthor]

MainMenu problem

Thanks for your suggestion. I downloaded MainMenu and put it in the applications folder, but I can't use it. I double clicked the icon, and the computer says it's running, but there's no menu for it up top and nothing happens. When I try to trash it in order to download it again, my computer won't let me trash it because it's "in use."

 

[MacHeadCase]

You mean you don't see the little cross in the menubar? (See attached file)

 

[felixauthor]

Yes, I found the icon--sorry. I ran both cache cleaning ops, as you suggested, and restarted, but the problem persists. Any other ideas?

 

[MacHeadCase]

1- What is this screensaver you talk of?

2- Have you looked via Spotlight to make sure all the bits are gone?

3- Did you look in your user Startup Items?

 

[felixauthor]

It was called Osirus (very cool, too), and I checked again with Spotlight and there are no traces of it.

 

[MacHeadCase]

Oh my! That screensaver was developed in 2002!

Well I googled and came up empty. What we need to see is if we can find the correct pref file that is associated to the screensaver/desktop picts so you can trash it. I've looked it up in my system and can't seem to find anything.

Sorry, maybe someone else has a better idea than I.

 

[felixauthor]

Success! Big-time Human Error!

An embarrassing admission for a long-time Mac user, but here goes: once you directed me to my icons on the top right, I noticed an unfamiliar one, which turned out to be some kind of wallpaper control thing. I got rid of it and, voila, my desktop image appeared.
I'm very sorry for the inconvenience, and I appreciate very much all your help. I know how precious everyone's time is, and I'm grateful. Please forgive me!

 

[MacHeadCase]

AHAH!

Well I'm glad you got it sorted out! And don't worry about it!