Missing Finder

Hi, see if this works...

First, Safe Boot , (holding Shift key down at bootup), use Disk Utility from there to Repair Permissions, test if things work OK in Safe Mode.

Then move these files to the Desktop for now...

/Users/YourUserName/Library/Preferences/com.apple.finder.plist

/Users/YourUserName/Library/Preferences/com.apple.systempreferences.plist

/Users/YourUserName/Library/Preferences/com.apple.desktop.plist

/Users/YourUserName/Library/Preferences/com.apple.recentitems.plist

Reboot & test.

PS. Safe boot may stay on the gray radian for a long time, let it go, it's trying to repair the Hard Drive.

WE might be able to do it in Single User Mode, but what shws as boot choices if you hold Option or alt key at boot up?

Does CMD+r on bootup et you to your Restore Partition to us Dsk Utility?

I hate to say it, but...

If that doesn't help Reinstall the OS.

It should be an option when booted from the Restore Partition...

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4718

But we could try something else first if you wish...

Reset OS X Password Without an OS X CD...

http://theappleblog.com/2008/06/22/reset-os-x-password-without-an-os-x-cd/

Admin Hack...

http://www.hackmac.org/?q=node/4

Starts up like the first time you buy a new Mac, but after filling in all that info again, you should have access to the computer and the other Users & files will still be there... give the new User a different name than an existing one.

Then it seems the OS does need replacing...

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4718

Do you nstill have Aplecare & an Apple Store nearby?

AppleCare is the warranty available from Apple, can be 1 year or wxtended to 3 years.

You can check here...

https://selfsolve.apple.com/agreementWarrantyDynamic.do

How to find the serial number of your Apple hardware product...

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1349