Finder windows don't retain settings!!

softwater->

Been there, done that. I've tried deleting tons of other prefs, nothing helped.

This issue survived a clean install, my second diagnostic account with no Login Items experiences it.

It's definitely a .DS_Store related issue, I'm not sure if the Finder is mis-reading or corrupting the files, or simply reading a .DS_Store from another folder. I've tried locking the .DS_Store files and still see bad behavior...

rm is remove

Steve->

Me too, I gave up on a couple of windows, they absolutely refuse to homor any setting. Interestingly, on one folder the Finder it insists on displaying one icon in the same spot, even after I deleted the .DS_Store and reset the folder.

As I said in my other post, I think the Finder may be reading the wrong .DS-Store for some folders. SOme evidence of this is that locking a .DS_Store affects the display of its sub-folders.

Agreed, a royal PITA.

I'll file a bug report if I can naroow more down to help Apple.

Steve->

rm ~/Library/Preferences/finder.plist is similar to dragging the file to the Trash, except rm gets rid of it immediately instead of moving it to the Trash. And be aware that commands typed into Terminal are case sensitive, RM won't work.

softwater has a typo, the file name is com.apple.finder.plist.

IMHO it's easier for most folks to:

1) quit all apps

2) move the file to the Trash

3) Log out & back in or Restart

Also: cache corruption can contribute to many issues, I highkly recommend running Onyx to delete all the various caches periodically. I do it at least once a week.

rm ~/Library/Preferences/finder.plist is similar to dragging the file to the Trash, except rm gets rid of it immediately instead of moving it to the Trash.

And, if while typing the command you accidentally hit return after the first /, you might delete your home folder completely. Just copy and paste the command.

cyborgsam wrote:

Steve->

softwater has a typo, the file name is com.apple.finder.plist.

Good catch. The typo'd version above won't do any harm, you'll just get an error message.

The correct command is

rm ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.finder.plist

and as has also been stated, copy and paste it.

cyborgsam wrote:

I highkly recommend running Onyx to delete all the various caches periodically. I do it at least once a week.

That'll slow your computer down, not speed it up.

Barney-15E wrote:

And, if while typing the command you accidentally hit return after the first /, you might delete your home folder completely. Just copy and paste the command.

Since the current working directory is ~/ when you log in, I doubt that's possible, but I take the general point - typing commands into Terminal can be a dangerous business. Always have a backup before messing with anything on your computer.

Only for a short time as they're rebuilt. The biggest slowup is on the first reboot.

It speeds things up mainly because the caches get corrupted and then searching them slows things down.

Agreed, corrupt caches can cause problems, but personally I've never experienced one from 10.3.9 all the way through to 10.8.2., and there's no benefit in cleaning out the caches as a maintenance activity on a weekly or even monthly basis.

IMO, it's a troubleshooting technique worth doing only when other options have been exhausted and in order to rectify a particular problem.

I disagree. Many of the Macs I support get massive speedups when I delete all the caches. Even servers, which are more immune to corrupt cache issues.

I do this as normal maintenance on most Macs I suuport and as one of the primary troubleshooting tools.

You're unusually lucky if you've never had a cache related issue, especially in web browsers.

Regarding the myth of cache cleaning see:

http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/maintainingmacosx.html

If you're experiencing regular and repeated corrupt cache files you need to look into the underlying cause of that rather than curing the symptom.

For advice on slow macs see:

http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/sbbod.html

cyborgsam wrote:

I'll file a bug report if I can naroow more down to help Apple.

Getting back to the OPs problem, I doubt its a bug. I can't reproduce it on my system. I never use icon view, but I just tried setting the background picture and restarting. No problems here. I'd suggest this is a third-party conflict.

When you say "it survived a clean install", did you erase the installation disk before re-installing, and did you test it before migrating /adding your any 3rd party software and/or personal folders and files?

EDIT: another possibility is the image itself is corrupt or its location is. Try copying the image to another location and try using a different image to see if the problem concerns the image itself. Ensure the image is jpeg format.

softwater->

Thanks for your suggestions, although I don't always agree I do appreciate you trying to help. I welcome more discussion, I always look forward to learning a new trick!

The X Lab's downsides to cleaning caches are minimal impact at best. Their labeling of cache cleaning as a myth isn't constructive, it's a way to dismiss those who think otherwise. There are plenty of other professional Mac support people who agree with what I've espoused.

I read through The X Lab's SBBOD, nothing I didn't know. The cures they list are minimalistic and don't solve many people's issues.

What little hard evidence I have or have read about indicates that the problems may originate in sqlite issues. If true, then clearing caches that aren't based on sqlite would probably be overkill.