My Utilities folder is gone. I may have deleted it by accident, but, for what it seems, it's gone and I want it back. Is there any way I can restore it?
If you don't have a backup, then you would need a program called "Pacifist".
With Pacifist, you can extract the Utilities folder from the Leopard install disk.
This way you would not have to install the entire system again...
From the View menu select Keep Arranged By / Name.
Check to see if the Utilities folder is there now (it may simply have gotten dragged to a new position in the folder so that you didn't find it when you first looked).
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If that doesn't work, type "utilities" into Spotlight and see what folders it comes up with (to see if you accidentally dragged that folder into another folder). If so, you can just drag it back into the Applications folder. You will likely need an Administrator password.
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If that doesn't work, check to see if the Utilities folder has mistakenly acquired the Hidden (invisible) attribute.
Click on the Desktop background.
In the Finder's Go menu, select Go To Folder and enter the string
applications/utilities
If that opens up a window showing the Utilities folder, then the folder is still there but just hidden. You can use a Terminal command to remove the Hidden attribute from it.
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If the folder is really not there, you can either restore it from a Time Machine (if you have that set up), or you can restore it from another Leopard Mac by booting that Mac in Target mode (hold the "t" key while booting) and connecting that Mac to your Mac via firewire cable. The hard drive of the other Mac will show up as an external drive on your Mac. You will need an Administrator password.
If you don't have ready access to another Mac, the folks at the Genius Bar at an Apple store can help you.
--Bob
