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Level 1

13 points

Desktop GONE.

I had 4 - 4.5 gigs free. I had a few applications open. I started up Quickbooks. It said there was an update. But that it couldn't download because my disk was full. I immediately checked my finder and I thought I saw the "available space" number blink but wasn't sure - it said I had about two gigs free. I quit a bunch of apps thinking that memory was filling up my disk space. Then I noticed that my Desktop was blank.

I normally have a ton of junk on my Desktop. I pulled open a finder window. Desktop was gone from the sidebar. I went to my home directory and looked. Desktop was gone as a directory. Nothing in my Trash.

I logged out and logged back in. Desktop gone.

I restarted. Desktop gone. Now I have over 5.5 gigs free.

Any way to get this back at all? I have a backup but it's not recent enough to get everything back; desktop is kinda my dumping ground.

And why, why, why did this happen? It's highly unsettling. It could have been any other directory on my computer, most of which are much more valuable.

Macbook 2ghz, Mac OS X (10.4.10)

Posted on Dec 15, 2007 10:52 PM

121 replies

Dec 17, 2007 12:03 AM in response to NovemberBaby

QB Pro 2006 for mac
OS X 10.4.11

lost everything on desktop..! need help getting them back.

tangrams Author

Level 1

13 points

Dec 17, 2007 12:53 AM in response to tangrams

I am the original poster of this thread. Also the original poster of the thread over at quickbooks, so obviously I figured out it's a quickbooks problem. The "defaults" command enables me to continue using quickbooks, which I unfortunately have to do for year-end finances reasons (this is the WORST possible time for this to happen). One person has mentioned that using some commercial data recovery software, it's possible to boot from another drive, have your home drive as slave, and reconstruct the missing data, although it's haphazard and not 100%.

It mostly seems to be QB2006 Pro and 10.4 , but Intuit evidently says it also affects QB2007, and there's been one response in this thread of it deleting stuff off of 10.5, although I haven't seen that happen to anyone else yet.

beatejl

Level 1

0 points

Dec 17, 2007 1:11 AM in response to tangrams

Thanks tangrams. I saw your post in the Intuit forums early in the day. You did a very thorough job that let others instantly know they were experiencing the same thing. Good OP - in both places. The Terminal command works also. Thanks.

Dec 17, 2007 4:05 AM in response to tangrams

Just received a phone call from Intuit technical support (4am). The support person acknowledged the issue and told me not to work in Quickbooks today. That person also said that Intuit should have a patch by the end of the day. No info. on restoring the desktop files. Cross your fingers.

acallen

Level 1

0 points

Dec 17, 2007 4:11 AM in response to FogCitySFO

Originally posted on Quickbooks forum

To all users: Did your Software Update run in the last 48 hours to download the latest and greatest Quicktime fix 7.3.1? Mine did! If it did this might be another "QuickTax" security problem many users experienced in March of this year. Apparently, OS 10.3.9 users when updating Quicktime experienced loss of TurboTax (another fine Intuit software) usability.

I rattled my brain to retrace my steps on my G5 which I use mostly for drafting and video editing. I must stay up to date with my QT patches because I export a lot of clips to that. Yesterday I received a message that a new "security" patch was available. No problem I downloaded it. Later on that day I opened Quick Books and the ensuing problem that we are all experiencing occurred.

This is the only different thing I did. QB has been sitting on this computer for at least a year unused. First time I open it there is an update then WHAM no desktop.

We could be barking up the wrong tree or need to pull double duty under the Apple tree on this one. This could be an Apple issue. Quicktime has been screwing up apps for years.

There was the MySpace debacle after a Quicktime update last year, World of Warcraft, Full Tilt Poker... the list grows.

http://forums.turbotax.com/intuit/board/message?board.id=installupdate06&message .id=2269&view=bydateascending&page=1

Check this thread. There is also a post on the Apple website re:

I'm no expert but this is simply Food for thought. Still researching. With enough heads on the "threads" we can beat this. Let's crack this one... before it cracks us!

Dec 17, 2007 6:44 AM in response to tangrams

I have been reassured by Sahil Bhala from Intuit Tech Support in India that a fix will be available soon and IT WILL bring everything back to the desktop that was lost. His phone call to me was at 9:10 EST on Monday Dec 17, 2007.

He also said that to retrieve lost files, log in as a new user and they will be there. I tried this with him while on the phone and it did not work for me.

The question of the moment is, has file recovery worked for this???

James

Dec 17, 2007 6:55 AM in response to jamesjames

I too received a call from Tech Support (2nd call of the day) at 6:20am PST. Same assurance about file recovery. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Dec 17, 2007 7:21 AM in response to jamesjames

I was just on hold with Intuit Tech Support in India and the music-on-hold was playing, "Who's Sorry Now". Isn't that Ironic...

pcgs

Level 1

8 points

Dec 17, 2007 8:11 AM in response to tangrams

The Intuit support has posted an Alert

<http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1294040&tstart=0>

No fixes yet.

Dec 17, 2007 8:40 AM in response to tangrams

Just checked my other computer that has not updated the latest QT and Java. Same issue when launching QB. I suppose that eliminates any correlation to the last SW update.

Dec 17, 2007 8:46 AM in response to FogCitySFO

Thanks for checking that FogCitySFO -- at least that's one pathway we can rule out. I've been writing about this issue for TUAW and am relying on you guys and gals in this thread and the Quickbooks forum for most of my information (I've been on hold with Intuit for 45 minutes).

This is just such a mess.

Dec 17, 2007 9:33 AM in response to film_girl

Sorry for the double post - but Intuit has issued a kind of updated statement about the problem in their community forums: http://www.quickbooksgroup.com/webx/forums/mac/1917/0

Dec 17, 2007 10:10 AM in response to film_girl

Can any users provide an alternate to QB for mac.
I personally am moving on to another software.
Any suggestions?

hgsmd716

Level 1

0 points

Dec 17, 2007 11:12 AM in response to jeremiahg

Same thing happened to me with Quickbooks Pro 2006. Another way of preventing QB from looking for an update and zapping the desktop is to simply disconnect your internet connect when loading QB. I just unplugged it, but turning off wifi or going into Network pref and disabling it should work as well. Once the program is loaded, you can work on both QB and the internet without danger.

Anyone know if MYOB can read and write Quickbooks files for both MAC and PEDIATRIC?

How about a class action suit against Intuit? I’d join!!!

Doug Metz

Level 2

348 points

Dec 17, 2007 11:14 AM in response to tangrams

Your desktop files have been deleted. They are not hiding, and Intuit's engineers will not write a magic utility to recover them. They are lying to you about this.

The more you use your computer, the less likely your files will be recoverable by tools such as Data Rescue. The OS is constantly writing temporary files, caches, prefs, etc., so more use = less chance of recovery.

Desktop GONE.