Q: All of my desktop icons periodically disappear for a second and then reappear on my macbook air

I started having this problem around 9:00pm.  I can confirm that shutting down Google Drive and removing it from Login Items stopped the constant Finder crash / relaunch cycle.  I have not verified the Show file sync status icon trick as I no longer want this software on my MacBook Pro.

Microsoft SkyDrive is actually a better solution (and I am NOT a fan of Microsoft).

I was just about to start pulling my hair out with this issue!!! So glad I found this thread... I can't waste what little hair I have on silly issues like this.

Thanks for the solution!!

Ditto.  I was going nuts trying to figure out what was happening on my iMac today.  Had issues with large file transfers dropping off.  But thanks to this site I disconnected Google Drive and I'm back in business.

I've confirmed Quitting Google Drive stops the flicker. Starting it again it instantly occurs, and then again periodically. Turning off the file sync icons as suggested earlier in the thread stops the flickering without needing to quite google drive.

I'm running Google Drive Version 1.12.5329.1887 perhaps others could check if they're running the same version? Presumably it auto-updates... I'm not really sure.

I too had this issue pop up about 8 o'clock central time…been working on my MAC-chine all afternoon then suddenly after my wife did a facetime with my step-son…boom…flashing icons. Turned off file sync google drive, issue solved.

I have currently disabled google drive auto start up and quit google drive. Google Drive Version 1.12.5329.1887 -- same as crazysurfanz.

Starting to lose patience with google after losing igoogle home page…

awesome... thanks for the solution!! i was beginning to freak out but disabling the option in Google Drive helped!

Started happening to me today about noon while was designing web pages. Drove me nuts.  I can't turn off Google drive I use it every day!!!. Is Apple going to fix this mess?

You can workaround the issue by turning off the file status icons in Google Drive. Look further up through the thread and you'll find screenshots of the relevant option.

Thank you so much for this.  It was really concerning me but you're right, turning off Google drive worked!

Well spotted.  Yes, it's a pain when little glitches like these happen - but isn't it great that we can google a solution within minutes of encountering the problem!  Can't do that when my car develops a misfire.

Well...I see I'm not the only.

Like many of you, it seems, I started having repetitive Finder crashes a couple hours ago.  I was tearing my hair out trying to figure out what was causing it.  I quit all my applications, restarted, ran Disk Utility...nothing seemed to stop it.  I came here and saw several threads on this.  I, too, have Google Drive.  Disabling "Show file sync status icons and right click menu" in the GD preferences stopped it.  A big thanks to whomever found this fix.

The only thing I can figure is that Google must have released a GD update this evening and it managed to bork something.  I hope they realize there's a problem and fix it.

Daniel Elliott wrote:

 

Started happening to me today about noon while was designing web pages. Drove me nuts.  I can't turn off Google drive I use it every day!!!. Is Apple going to fix this mess?

You're seriously going to call out Apple for a fix to something that is wrong with Google's software?! That's on par with filling up your toyota with bad gasoline, having the fuel filter get all mucked up, and then blaming it on toyota when it was the gas station's fault who sold you the bad fuel in the first place.

The issue here is with Google, not Apple...

Also, you don't have to turn off Google Drive... you just have to disable the one setting "Show file sync status icons and right click menu" -- once that one is off, the rest of Google Drive will function normally, and it won't crash your finder.

Now now. Play nice.

The GD settings fix works a treat. Top tip there & thankyou so much.

Have passed it on to some friends who were getting a bit worried.

Now off to hassle our google overlords

Confirmed that quitting Google Drive or changing the "Show file sync status icons and right click menu" worked for me.  Running Google Drive Version 1.12.5329.1887.  Thanks for the fix.

This resolved the issue.  Thank you so much!