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Desktop files gone after Sequoia update.

I updated to Sequoia 15.0 a few days ago. Everything has worked fine. Until yesterday when all of my files on the desktop disappeared.


I have searched and searched and found a lot of things about iCloud connection and the files backed up there.


I never had this feature turned on before, so my first question is did the update turn it on?


After working on it for hours, disconnecting iCloud, logging back in, numerous times, I finally got the files to show up but they all had the download icon next to them to redownload the files to my desktop.


I downloaded about half of them.


Now this morning without any changes, all of the files are gone again.


If I show hidden files, I can see all of the docs on my desktop, but it shows all the hidden system files as well.

And it appears they are all still loaded on my MacBook since they don't have the download icon.


It seems to me it is something to do with the files being hidden, since they appear to still be on my MacBook, than them being removed to iCloud.


Can anyone help out? Thanks!

MacBook Pro 14″, macOS 15.0

Posted on Sep 24, 2024 8:02 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Sep 28, 2024 4:57 AM

After going through a lengthy support call with Parallels which ended up deleting the Parallels app I managed to resolve this with an Apple Support agent. The solution for me was shown below:


Please do the following:


1. Open Terminal and enter:


sudo chflags -R nohidden ~/Desktop



  1. Hit return to run the command.
  2. When prompted, please enter your admin password
  3. Hit return to accept the password and run the command
  4. When complete the files on the Desktop will be unhidden.



30 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Sep 28, 2024 4:57 AM in response to Greg Hansen

After going through a lengthy support call with Parallels which ended up deleting the Parallels app I managed to resolve this with an Apple Support agent. The solution for me was shown below:


Please do the following:


1. Open Terminal and enter:


sudo chflags -R nohidden ~/Desktop



  1. Hit return to run the command.
  2. When prompted, please enter your admin password
  3. Hit return to accept the password and run the command
  4. When complete the files on the Desktop will be unhidden.



Sep 27, 2024 5:14 AM in response to Greg Hansen

I also have this issue and have Parallels installed.


The files are there on the desktop but not visible. I tried to restore from a TimeMachine backup, but it said they're all still there and it asked about replacing. DaisyDisk can also see them.


Parallels seems to have also made a new folder on the Windows Desktop called Mac Files. I've turned off the Read Only flag in Parallels but still can't get them to view properly on the Mac Desktop without showing hidden files.



Sep 24, 2024 9:01 AM in response to Greg Hansen

First, I would make sure to have an up to date backup, just in case!


If you do not want to keep "Documents and Desktop in iCloud", it should be easy.

Turn the feature off in System Settings and, when asked if you want to keep a copy in your mac, say YES.


If you want to keep "Documents and Desktop in iCloud", it may be tricky for now, as there seems to be a bug and until a bug fix update the issue may well persist.


Note: I never had "Documents and Desktop in iCloud" activated myself, but I have done the above procedure on friends macs that had turned it on unwittingly and wanted to revert to local Desktop and Documents. It worked, but not in the present context, so proceed with caution.

Sep 24, 2024 9:04 AM in response to Greg Hansen

Same issue here. I can use Command + Shift + Period to unhide the desktop files, but looking for the best way to permanently mark them as unhidden.


Sharing and Permissions option in Finder is unavailable for the Desktop, Documents and Library folders for me (the only user and admin on this machine). All of the other folders under Home are visible and allow me to access Sharing and Permissions.


I use Parallels and share these folders that have suddenly been hidden - not sure if that is related to this issue.

Sep 24, 2024 3:07 PM in response to Greg Hansen

I think this is definitely a Sequoia OS issue.


I have never used iCloud file storage so I am pretty sure the update turned that on.


It must have taken a few days to back up my documents and desktop, and when it did, they all disappeared from my system. Even if I selected "save a copy" local when turning off iCloud sync, it did not work.


I had to turn iCloud and an off numerous times to get the files to show up, but they had the download icons next to them.


When I clicked the download, which I assume should have downloaded to my local system, if I turned off iCloud sync again, they would disappear.


So I downloaded all the files so they would be local and then copied all the files to an external drive.


I then turned off iCloud and of course all the files I downloaded disappeared from my local system. With iCloud sync still off, I copied all the files back from the external to my desktop and documents.


All seems to be fine now but this has got to be an OS issue.


I'm sure if I turned on iCloud sync, it would screw it all up again.

Oct 1, 2024 11:39 PM in response to Andy Matthews

Unfortunately this doesn't work on my end.


I don't use iCloud file sync since several OS versions.


I have parallels (just updated) but I did not understand where to find " file/folder properties in Parallels - Windows 11 - File Explorer (removed Read Only and Hidden attributes). "


I tried to isolate the virtual machine but the problem persists.


Many thanks for your help,


G


Oct 4, 2024 12:48 PM in response to Greg Hansen

Thanks everyone. Definitely a Parallels related issue for me. When I run Parallels Windows 11 VM, the files all get hidden, but if I log off and leave the laptop overnight, they usually return in the morning. Along with the also annoying appearance of the Desktop folder. But that also goes away after a couple of days. Someone needs to lose their programming licence for letting these get through.

Desktop files gone after Sequoia update.

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