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NotAgain!
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Q: Desktop folder has become a "package"

Hello:

I have three concurrent problems on a MacBook Pro < 3 months old, which I think I can trace to an "Arrange by" command in the Finder when I had an external (back-up) hard drive connected. I was running Aperture at the time.

First: I cannot access the Desktop folder from the Finder sidebar. I get this message: There is no default application specified to open the document “Desktop”. There is no arrow beside the Desktop folder in the sidebar to allow it to toggle open. Apparently, the Desktop folder has become a "package." If I show the package contents, everything that should be there is there. How do I turn this package back into a normal Desktop folder? I have searched the discussion forums and have run the various Terminal scripts suggested, and have trashed Finder and sidebar .plists and relaunched the Finder, to no avail.

Second: This is probably related to the first problem. When I click on the Desktop, the New Folder command in the Finder is dimmed. I can create a new folder when I access the Finder through the sidebar, but then I cannot drag that folder to the Desktop itself. I get the "no smoking" symbol when I drag over the Desktop. I can, however, drag such a folder to the Trash.

Third: This one really baffles me. My HD on the MacBook Pro has become an amalgamation of that computer and a back-up of my iBook G4 that was on the external hard drive. The MacBook Pro HD includes System 9 stuff that won't even run on the newer computer. I know that I did not physically drag the older computer's back-up onto the newer one's HD icon. I have no idea how this happened – maybe it was during that "Arrange by" command? - but perhaps it is contributing to the other two points, noted above.

I would appreciate any suggested solutions. At the moment I am saving all my work to an external drive in case more folders become inaccessible. Thanks!

MacBook Pro, 2.8 GHz, Mac OS X (10.6.2), iBook G4, 933 MHz, OS 10.4.11

Posted on Dec 21, 2009 9:00 PM

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NotAgain!

Q: Desktop folder has become a "package"

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  • by dbsneddon,

    dbsneddon dbsneddon Dec 21, 2009 9:09 PM in response to NotAgain!
    Level 4 (1,525 points)
    Dec 21, 2009 9:09 PM in response to NotAgain!
    1. In Finder, select your "home" folder from the left pane. This should
    show you the current Desktop "package" in the right of the window.
    Select the Desktop item and rename it - olddesktop or whatever.
    Create a new Folder in your home folder and call it Desktop.
    Show the package contents from olddesktop then drag them into the new
    Desktop folder you created.
    Once you have everything in the new Desktop, delete the olddesktop.

    2. While the Desktop is a package you will not be able to do much with it.

    Dave

  • by V.K.,

    V.K. V.K. Dec 21, 2009 9:11 PM in response to NotAgain!
    Level 9 (56,110 points)
    Dec 21, 2009 9:11 PM in response to NotAgain!
    for the desktop problem run this in terminal

    xattr -d com.apple.FinderInfo ~/Desktop


    that will remove the bundle bit from the desktop and take care of the first two issues. no idea about the third one. did you use Migration Assistant to migrate from the ibook to the MBP? that would be the only explanation for why this stuff is present.

    Message was edited by: V.K.

  • by NotAgain!,

    NotAgain! NotAgain! Dec 21, 2009 9:23 PM in response to dbsneddon
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 21, 2009 9:23 PM in response to dbsneddon
    Hi Dave:

    Thanks so much for your reply. I did as you suggested and now have a working Desktop folder back in the Finder window, but with a new glitch. Everything is gone from the desktop itself. I got the HD icon back by relaunching the Finder, but nothing else shows on the Desktop. If I select Desktop from the "Go" menu, it brings up a blank folder named Old Desktop (which is the Trashed folder whose contents I moved into a new Desktop folder.) It looks like the pathway for Desktop contents to be displayed on the Desktop is hardwired to the actual folder that I trashed. Old Desktop (in the Trash) now shows not as a folder, but as an empty package. I cannot drag it out of the Trash. The New Folder command in the Finder is still dimmed.

    Graeme

  • by dbsneddon,

    dbsneddon dbsneddon Dec 21, 2009 9:29 PM in response to NotAgain!
    Level 4 (1,525 points)
    Dec 21, 2009 9:29 PM in response to NotAgain!
    Where exactly did you create the new Desktop folder?
    It should have been in your Home folder from the left pane
    of Finder, not the HD.

    Dave

  • by NotAgain!,

    NotAgain! NotAgain! Dec 21, 2009 9:34 PM in response to dbsneddon
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 21, 2009 9:34 PM in response to dbsneddon
    Hi Dave:

    Thanks for your reply. Yes, that's where it is. From my "home" in the left pane, the window opens to the right with the Desktop folder at the top of the stack.

    Graeme

  • by NotAgain!,

    NotAgain! NotAgain! Dec 21, 2009 9:37 PM in response to V.K.
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 21, 2009 9:37 PM in response to V.K.
    Hi V.K:

    Thanks for your suggestion. I had already run that script but did so again. This was in the Terminal window afterwards:

    xattr: No such file: ~/desktop

    [Process completed]


    Graeme

  • by V.K.,

    V.K. V.K. Dec 21, 2009 9:46 PM in response to NotAgain!
    Level 9 (56,110 points)
    Dec 21, 2009 9:46 PM in response to NotAgain!
    ok, i see you did some other stuff with renaming the folder and creating a new one. that's why my terminal command failed. there was no need to make a new folder as all you needed to do was remove the bundle bit from the desktop folder. but it's too late now. you shouldn't try following two solutions to the same problem. stick with one. too many cooks in the same kitchen you know... I'll let dbsneddon handle this. his method will work too.

    Message was edited by: V.K.

  • by NotAgain!,

    NotAgain! NotAgain! Dec 21, 2009 9:49 PM in response to V.K.
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 21, 2009 9:49 PM in response to V.K.
    Hi V.K.

    I have probably layered one problem onto another here. I followed the suggestion in another reply and created a new Desktop folder and trashed the Desktop package folder, which had been renamed Old Desktop. It now shows up in the trash as a generic icon of only 33kb. When I drag it to the Terminal window, this is what I see:

    Last login: Mon Dec 21 21:44:49 on ttys000
    Graeme-Poles-MacBook-Pro:~ graemepole$ /Users/graemepole/.Trash/Old\ Desktop


    Graeme

  • by dbsneddon,

    dbsneddon dbsneddon Dec 21, 2009 9:50 PM in response to NotAgain!
    Level 4 (1,525 points)
    Dec 21, 2009 9:50 PM in response to NotAgain!
    V.K.'s solution would have been easier... I hadn't used xattr before.
    Anyway, first logout then login again then tell me the state of the
    (new) Desktop as seen in Finder.

    Dave

  • by NotAgain!,

    NotAgain! NotAgain! Dec 21, 2009 9:52 PM in response to V.K.
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 21, 2009 9:52 PM in response to V.K.
    Hi V.K.

    Thanks. Yes, that makes sense. I will work with Dave. Stay tuned.

    Graeme

  • by NotAgain!,

    NotAgain! NotAgain! Dec 21, 2009 9:56 PM in response to dbsneddon
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 21, 2009 9:56 PM in response to dbsneddon
    Hi Dave:

    I have logged out and back in. I have an HD icon on the Desktop and my custom Desktop background, and the Dock is fine. But there are no other folders and documents on the Desktop. The New Folder command is still dimmed in the finder.

    Graeme

  • by dbsneddon,

    dbsneddon dbsneddon Dec 21, 2009 10:03 PM in response to NotAgain!
    Level 4 (1,525 points)
    Dec 21, 2009 10:03 PM in response to NotAgain!
    In Finder, select your Home folder in the left pane.
    Choose Column view then select the Desktop folder.
    Can you see anything in that folder?

    Dave

  • by NotAgain!,

    NotAgain! NotAgain! Dec 21, 2009 10:07 PM in response to dbsneddon
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Dec 21, 2009 10:07 PM in response to dbsneddon
    Hi Dave:

    Yes, the contents of the Desktop folder show in column view. The folder icon itself does not have the little logo on it, as did the trashed Desktop folder. Is there a way of re-creating that folder with the necessary icon? It could be that that would bring everything back. Thanks.

    Graeme

  • by dbsneddon,

    dbsneddon dbsneddon Dec 21, 2009 10:13 PM in response to NotAgain!
    Level 4 (1,525 points)
    Dec 21, 2009 10:13 PM in response to NotAgain!
    In a Terminal session try the following

    ls -ale@d ~/Desktop


    Dave
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