Jeri Hurd
Level 1
(25 points)
Q: AACK! DISASTER!! WHAT DID I DO!?
More importantly, how do I Un-Do it!
I was working on the Mac, had my Finder open and I must have clicked on the Mac HD icon w/o realizing it and dragged it off the viewer window. I released the mouse, saw the puff of smoke, had to figure out what I'd done. Anyway, the HD icon was gone.
I kinda freaked, but just clicked on the icon on my desktop, made an alias and dragged it into the first column of the view window.
I had to restart my Mac for something else, and when I did it came up as completely new. My desktop files are all still there--I need to go in and see if my programs are, but when I open Mail, it acts as a first-time use. My settings for internet access have all disappeared, bookmarks, desktop pics, dock reverted to original etc. I had to go into one of the other user accounts to be able to get online to post here.
So, anyone know what I did and how I undo it?
Thanks
Jeri
I was working on the Mac, had my Finder open and I must have clicked on the Mac HD icon w/o realizing it and dragged it off the viewer window. I released the mouse, saw the puff of smoke, had to figure out what I'd done. Anyway, the HD icon was gone.
I kinda freaked, but just clicked on the icon on my desktop, made an alias and dragged it into the first column of the view window.
I had to restart my Mac for something else, and when I did it came up as completely new. My desktop files are all still there--I need to go in and see if my programs are, but when I open Mail, it acts as a first-time use. My settings for internet access have all disappeared, bookmarks, desktop pics, dock reverted to original etc. I had to go into one of the other user accounts to be able to get online to post here.
So, anyone know what I did and how I undo it?
Thanks
Jeri
iMac, Mac OS X (10.4.2), 1 GB RAM; 5G ipod
by Michael Morgan1,Solvedanswer
Michael Morgan1
Level 7
(23,830 points)
What you did with the inadvertent drag wasn't serious, but your fix for it was. I'm pretty sure that all of the subsequent problems come from your decision to make an alias of a desktop icon and then drag that into the Finder sidebar; it seems to be reading it as a new account, made worse but hopefully not permanent by your subsequent restart.
I think the proper immediate solution would have been to go to Finder > Preferences and re-check the HD icon, which would simply have re-appeared there. Try that now and see what happens; if you still find yourself stuck off in Lalaland then I'd recommend also seeking help/advice from the OS experts you'll find working out of the Mac OS X v10.4 Tiger forums.
I think the proper immediate solution would have been to go to Finder > Preferences and re-check the HD icon, which would simply have re-appeared there. Try that now and see what happens; if you still find yourself stuck off in Lalaland then I'd recommend also seeking help/advice from the OS experts you'll find working out of the Mac OS X v10.4 Tiger forums.
