Desktop Icons Disappearing

When the Finder misbehaves, as is the case, sometimes it is because of corrupted preferences.

It may help to delete the plist file:

1) In Finder, press Command-Shift-G and paste

~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.finder.plist

2) Drag the file out of the folder; you can put it in the trash or somewhere else for now

3) Press Command-Option-Escape, select Finder in the list and click Relaunch.

A new plist file is created. If the problem goes away, there you have it (though of course, since this is intermittent, you may need to wait a while to be sure).

If the problem persists and you are so inclined, you can put the plist file back.

First, I follow these instructions:

In Finder, press Command-Shift-G and paste

~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.finder.plist

Then, I see in finder, one folder labeled "ByHost." It is both next to, and also contains, some two hundred or so files that all end in ".plist"

Do you recommend I drag the "ByHost" folder into the trash or any specific file?

Try booting into Safe Mode then restart normally. Sometimes that will fix anomalies.

How to use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support

TeddyFM wrote:

Hi Luis,

Thank you.

When you describe step 2 -- "Drag the file out of the folder," which file do you mean? I'm unable to find any with the word "desktop" included in the preferences.

I mean drag the file to move it somewhere else - the way we usually move files in the Finder.

You can drag it to the trash if you want. Or drop it on the actual desktop.

Or you can select it and press Command-delete - this also moves the file to the trash.

The point is removing the file from the Preferences folder, so it won't be used. A new file with default settings is created in its place automatically once you relaunch Finder.

The point is that if the existing plist file is corrupted it can cause problems. By removing it we hope that the issue gets resolved.

Thank you very much. This worked like a charm for me. I stumbled upon this fix after spending an afternoon on the phone with Apple Support and reinstalling my OS. They ran out of ideas and steered me toward getting the hardware tested, which for me means taking my computer to a 3rd party tech about 60 miles away.

Your fantastic help saved me untold time and money. I'm extremely grateful.

No.

I mean to drag the

com.apple.finder.plist

that is already selected if you followed the instructions...

Welcome.

Hi Luis,

Thank you.

When you describe step 2 -- "Drag the file out of the folder," which file do you mean? I'm unable to find any with the word "desktop" included in the preferences.