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My desktop scrambles all folders, on start.

After shutdown, on start all of the folders on the desktop are moved to the right side of the screen and jumbled together, not as I had them organized on the left side of the screen.

MacBook, Mac OS X (10.7)

Posted on Jul 28, 2011 4:44 PM

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57 replies

Jul 28, 2011 6:35 PM in response to Timurf

I had that happen a couple of times while beta-testing this cat. It's caused by a corrupt, hidden .DS_Store file in the Desktop folder.


Run this in the Terminal app, log out and back in, and reset your Desktop icons.


rm ~/Desktop/.DS_Store


Once that's done, make a copy using this Terminal command:


cp ~/Desktop/.DS_Store ~/Desktop/.DS.Store.bak


Then, use this Terminal command to restore it when the corruption happens again:


cp ~/Desktop/.DS_Store.bak ~/Desktop/.DS.Store


Follow this command by an OPTION-click & hold on the Finder's Dock icon and select Relaunch. That will restore the view.

Jul 29, 2011 7:37 PM in response to baltwo

baltwo wrote:


I had that happen a couple of times while beta-testing this cat. It's caused by a corrupt, hidden .DS_Store file in the Desktop folder.


Run this in the Terminal app, log out and back in, and reset your Desktop icons.


rm ~/Desktop/.DS_Store


Once that's done, make a copy using this Terminal command:


cp ~/Desktop/.DS_Store ~/Desktop/.DS.Store.bak


Then, use this Terminal command to restore it when the corruption happens again:


cp ~/Desktop/.DS_Store.bak ~/Desktop/.DS.Store


Follow this command by an OPTION-click & hold on the Finder's Dock icon and select Relaunch. That will restore the view.


The problem is that the corruption continues to periodically happen.

Jul 29, 2011 7:44 PM in response to Lanny

That, I can't help with. It stopped for me.


If you want to report this issue to Apple's engineering, send a bug report or an enhancement request via its Bug Reporter system. To do this, register as an Apple Developer—it's free and available for all Mac users and gets you a look at some development software. Since you already have an Apple username/ID, use that. Once a member, go to Apple BugReporter and file your bug report or enhancement request. You'll get a response and a follow-up number; thus, starting a dialog with engineering.

Aug 22, 2011 1:33 AM in response to fredrik34

I've sent feedback and a bug report. This is still happening for me. The second terminal command above gives me an error message "-bash: cp : command not found" but I'm not fluent enough in terminal to understand it. Seems like a workaround not a fix though.


Come on Apple - having my Mac windows and icons stay where I put them is the basics!


Did I mention my windows all move and resize themselves too, my windows that have jpeg backgrounds lose them? Very frustrating.

Sep 1, 2011 5:01 PM in response to baltwo

I believe there was a small typo in this code.

baltwo wrote:


cp ~/Desktop/.DS_Store.bak ~/Desktop/.DS.Store


Follow this command by an OPTION-click & hold on the Finder's Dock icon and select Relaunch. That will restore the view.


This correction worked for me.


cp ~/Desktop/.DS.Store.bak ~/Desktop/.DS_Store


Great idea baltwo, now I don't have to rearrange my icons by hand anymore! 😀

Oct 2, 2011 10:56 AM in response to baltwo

It is a shame that we pay for an upgrade and get problems that we have to resolve ourselves. It has been like this on my MacBook since OSX10 was launched, very frustrating, and I think the fix it yourself solution is all very well for those who have enthusiasm for that sort of thing but it seems a lot of hassle to me for something that should work from day one. Not fit for purpose would be a good way to express it. If only we got what we paid for.

My desktop scrambles all folders, on start.

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