Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

My internal hard drive wont show on the desktop and is greyed out in the finder

My Internal drive will not show up on the desktop, and appears greyed out in the finder.

it shows up fine in disk utility and i have tried to repair permissions. This runs normally, there does not seem to be any problems with the drive itself.


if i unhide the hidden system folders using terminal, it appears on my desktop again, but greyed out.


any ideas how i can fix this?

iMac, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.3), 16GB memory, 1TB HD

Posted on May 25, 2013 10:15 AM

Reply
5 replies

May 25, 2013 11:56 AM in response to ardenus

Try deleting the Finder .plists. You need to look in your user Library/Preferences for the .plist. Hold down the option key while using the Finder Go To Folder command. Enter ~/Library/Preferences. Move the .plist(s) to your desktop.

Relaunch Finder and test. If it works okay, delete the plist(s) from the desktop.

If the Finder is the same, return the .plist(s) to where you got them from, overwriting the newer ones.

If you prefer to make your user library permanently visible, use the Terminal command found below.

http://osxdaily.com/2011/07/04/show-library-directory-in-mac-os-x-lion/

You might want to bookmark the command. I had to use it again after I installed 10.8.2. I have also been informed that if you drag the user library to Finder it will remain visible.


If that doesn't work, try setting up another admin user account to see if the same problem continues. If Back-to-My Mac is selected in System Preferences, the Guest account will not work. The intent is to see if it is specific to one account or a system wide problem. This account can be deleted later.


Isolating an issue by using another user account


If the problem is still there, try booting into the Safe Mode. Shut down the computer and then power it back up. Immediately after hearing the startup chime, hold down the shift key and continue to hold it until the gray Apple icon and a progress bar appear. The boot up is significantly slower than normal. This will reset some caches, forces a directory check, and disables all startup and login items, among other things. If the system operates normally, there may be 3rd party applications which are causing a problem. Try deleting/disabling the third party applications after a restart by using the application unistaller. For each disable/delete, you will need to restart if you don't do them all at once.

Safe Mode


Safe Mode - About


General information.


Isolating issues in Mac OS X


Troubleshooting Permission Issues



Step by Step to Fix Your Mac

May 25, 2013 1:41 PM in response to ardenus

Back up all data.


If you have more than one user account, you must be logged in as an administrator to carry out these instructions.


Triple-click anywhere in the line below to select it:

sudo chflags nohidden /


Copy the selected text to the Clipboard (command-C).



Paste into the Terminal window (command-V). You'll be prompted for your login password. Nothing will be displayed when you type it. If you don’t have a login password, you’ll need to set one before you can run the command. You may get a one-time warning not to screw up. Confirm. You don't need to post the warning. If you see a message that your username "is not in the sudoers file," then you're not logged in as an administrator.


You can then quit Terminal. You may have to relaunch the Finder to see the change.

Jun 27, 2013 5:40 PM in response to ardenus

ardenus,

Back in August, 2011 you reported on your RAM shortage and upgrade

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Re: Early 2008 iMac 24inch runs slowly with lion
Aug 7, 2011 12:35 AM (in response to GlennW)
Still experiencing, lagging effect using mission control, also noticed the dock is behaving in a simillar manner.
I have taken the decision to order :
"RamCity 4gb DDR2-800 200-pin SO-DIMM for Apple iMac Intel 2008"
Upgrading my Ram from 4gb to 6gb.
After checking the forums this seems to be worth a try.
Will report how i get on.
Failing that i'm left hoping for a fix via apple software update or 3rd party app. update

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

followed by

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

Re: Early 2008 iMac 24inch runs slowly with lion
Aug 11, 2011 3:19 AM (in response to GlennW)
Recieved and installed my 4gb RAM about an hour ago. Bumping me up to the maximum 6gb Ram for the early 2008 iMac.
Fingers crossed, so far its running like a dream

followed by

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>

I gather by the current chain of messages that all worked well with the RAM for the next two years?

Thank you,

Scribe with a Stylus

Nov 13, 2013 2:01 PM in response to ardenus

Ok, had a similar problem with items being hidden and or greyed out in finder windows and open/save dialog boxes. None of the mentioned solutions worked but this did. We set the "Arrange by" option using the gear in the toolbar of a Finder window to anything other than what it was (nothing in this case, not None, it wasn't set at all on the problem folders). That fixed all of them. This was after changing permissions, owners, xattr deletion and chflags. Going to post this in another thread I posted in as well.

My internal hard drive wont show on the desktop and is greyed out in the finder

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple ID.