thousands of items on desk top in error

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Level 1

8 points

thousands of items on desk top in error

how do I remove literally thousands of folders(music) that were put on desktop with loosing them? I went to put them in a folder and somehow it was missed and started compiling on my desktop, now computer is extremely slow and I am having problems removing them

iMac 21.5″, macOS 10.13

Posted on Mar 6, 2021 2:37 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Jack-19

Level 8

46,020 points

Mar 6, 2021 12:43 PM in response to rvsmith7

Hi rvsmith7,

First, let's move the items off the desktop.

Go to Finder > Go (top of screen) > Desktop.
Click File (at the top) > New Finder Window.
Move this window so both Finder Windows can be viewed.
In the new Finder window, go to the Folder you want the desktop items to be moved to.
On the Desktop Finder window, click "Command" + "A" on the keyboard, to select all the items.
Drag them from the desktop Finder window to the other Finder window.

Let me know how it goes, or if you need further clarification. Also let me know if the iMac is still slow after this.

Cheers,

Jack

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Answer 2

Jack-19

Level 8

46,020 points

Mar 6, 2021 4:24 PM in response to rvsmith7

Just so you have this, I will post instructions on how to erase it once you are ready.

Verify all your data is backed up.
Sign out of your Apple ID in System Preferences > Apple ID/iCloud > Sign Out.
Sign out of Messages, open the Messages app, then choose Messages > Preferences from the menu bar. Click iMessage, then click Sign Out.
Shut down the iMac.
Turn on the iMac, and immediately press and hold Option + Command + R until you see a spinning globe.
Once you are in macOS Recovery, verify you are connected to WiFi in the top right corner.
Go to Disk Utility.
Select "View" in the toolbar > "Show All Devices".
Select your main hard drive. This will either be "APPLE SSD...", "APPLE HDD...", or "Fusion Drive".
Click Erase, and input the following exactly: (If you cannot select erase on the main hard drive, erase the "Container".)
Name: Macintosh HD
Format: APFS
Scheme: GUID Partition Map (if shown)
Click Erase
Quit Disk Utility
Go to the reinstall macOS app.
Follow the prompts, and install on Macintosh HD.

Also read: What to do before you sell, give away, or trade in your Mac - Apple Support.

Cheers,

Jack

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Answer 3

rvsmith7 Author

Level 1

8 points

Mar 6, 2021 3:42 PM in response to Jack-19

yes it is, I am still working at relocating the music on this iMac so I can wipe it and pass it along to someone else. once I do that it should operate like it should(I hope) anyway. I seem to have many duplicates when it come to these files, so I am working slowly thru them, the computer is running slow to make the job longer. it is a 2013 model with an I-5 processor in it.

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