woodcutter
Level 1 (0 points)

Q: Desktop ICONs rearrange after reboot, 1st on Snow Leopard and continues on Mavericks updated to on 3/29/2014 why?

My desktop ICONs are rearranged after a reboot.  This started with Snow Leopard (about 7 months ago) and continued when I upgraded to Mavericks.  I updated to Mavericks on 3/29/2014.  The only connection to the problem seems to be that it started immediately after a power failure.  My MacBook Pro was also rebooted after the power failure (which was also running Snow Leopard and upgraded to Mavericks on 3/29/2014) does not have the problem.  My IMAC passes all of the hardware tests, is not running hot, No static in the environment, have ran system from internal drive and external drive, have downloaded and am running MAC FAN CONTROL (downloaded after the problem occurred), did 3 vodoo dances (well maybe only 2!), any ideas?

IMAC and Macbook Pro, Mac OS X (10.6.2)

Posted on Mar 30, 2014 6:03 AM

by Linc Davis,Solvedanswer
Linc Davis Linc Davis
Level 10 (208,037 points)
Applications
A:

Back up all data.

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

~/Library/Caches/com.apple.finder

Right-click or control-click the line and select

Services ▹ Reveal in Finder (or just Reveal)

from the contextual menu.* A folder may open with an item selected. If it does, move the selected item to the Trash, then relaunch the Finder and empty the Trash. Test. If there's no improvement, repeat with this line:

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

Move the selected item to the Desktop, leaving the window open. Log out, log back in, and test. If there's no change, put the item you moved back where it was, overwriting the one that may have been created in its place, and log out again. Otherwise, delete the item you moved.

*If you don't see the contextual menu item, copy the selected text to the Clipboard by pressing the key combinationcommand-C. In the Finder, select

Go ▹ Go to Folder...

from the menu bar and paste into the box that opens (command-V). You won't see what you pasted because a line break is included. Press return.

Posted on Apr 1, 2014 8:25 AM

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woodcutter

Q: Desktop ICONs rearrange after reboot, 1st on Snow Leopard and continues on Mavericks updated to on 3/29/2014 why?

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  • by woodcutter,

    woodcutter woodcutter Mar 31, 2014 9:30 AM in response to BobHarris
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 31, 2014 9:30 AM in response to BobHarris

    Bob,

     

    A force quit and relaunch of finder rearranges the Icons on the far right as before.  Moving some icons to different positions then a reboot shows the original problem.

  • by woodcutter,

    woodcutter woodcutter Mar 31, 2014 9:43 AM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 31, 2014 9:43 AM in response to Linc Davis

    Linc,

     

    I was not able to boot into recovery as you suggested in (1).  I tried your step (2) and immediately get command not found.  I am not knowlegable enough (yet) on the use of terminal or the commands to go forward.  I am an old 60's to 90's programmer with an electronic, computer and communications background from JPL in California.  I am an expert where any (UGG) DOS version is concerned but have not had the time to learm the OS X programming.  Maybe in the near future I can bring my knowledge up to snuff.  I do ensure that I have a clone of the harddrive I am working on in case anything goes bad and a current Time Capsule backup.

  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Mar 31, 2014 10:02 AM in response to woodcutter
    Level 10 (208,037 points)
    Applications
    Mar 31, 2014 10:02 AM in response to woodcutter

    You don't have to boot into Recovery for Step 1. If you want to take Step 2, you have to reinstall OS X to create a Recovery partition.

  • by woodcutter,

    woodcutter woodcutter Mar 31, 2014 10:11 AM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 31, 2014 10:11 AM in response to Linc Davis

    Linc,

     

    It's become obvious that I need more knowledge before I address this issue.  It will be about 5 or 6 months before I can take the time to accomplish this.  I will drop it for now and just use the 3rd party software to restore my desktop to my desired configuration.  I will keep the instructions you have provided and use them when I am able.

     

    Thanks to all for your assistance, it is much appreciated.

     

    Paul Moore

  • by BobHarris,

    BobHarris BobHarris Mar 31, 2014 10:52 AM in response to woodcutter
    Level 6 (19,682 points)
    Mac OS X
    Mar 31, 2014 10:52 AM in response to woodcutter

    I am an old 60's to 90's programmer with an electronic, computer and communications background from JPL in California.  I am an expert where any (UGG) DOS version is concerned but have not had the time to learm the OS X programming.

    Any Unix experience?  90+% of working in the terminal environment is the same as working on any Unix system.

     

    You can also learn a lot about working in the terminal environment via generic Unix/Linux books, especially those for the 'bash' shell.  That would give you a grounding on moving around and using the basic Unix commands.

     

    Specific Mac OS X terminal commands and whre Mac OS X stores things will be different, but there are Unix for Mac OS X books available (see Amazon.com).

     

    You can do a lot in the terminal environment, without knowing Mac OS X programming.  Including lots of "Damage" if not careful.

     

    But your 80 column punched cards are not supported

  • by woodcutter,

    woodcutter woodcutter Mar 31, 2014 3:34 PM in response to BobHarris
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 31, 2014 3:34 PM in response to BobHarris

    Bob,

     

    Thanks for the info.  That is where I should strart.  These things are not difficult just somewhat new if you haven't had any experience yet.  I had some Unix but that was to many years ago.  I'm from the era of BAL, COBOL, RPG, couple of other languages, Sprt 1, Sprt 2, etc, all DOS versions so it's just a matter of having the time to learn.  I'm old school but always protect myself from "Damage" when I know it can happen. Haven't had anything yet I couldn't fix with the proper knowledge.

     

    Again,

     

    Thanks

  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Mar 31, 2014 5:20 PM in response to woodcutter
    Level 10 (208,037 points)
    Applications
    Mar 31, 2014 5:20 PM in response to woodcutter

    For the record, you don't need to know anything to carry out Step 1 except how to launch an application and how to copy and paste a line of text. In order to verify that the procedure does what I say it does, you would need to read a few man pages. If you search this site, you'll find hundreds, maybe thousands of discussions in which I've posted the same command without any reports of ill effects.

  • by woodcutter,

    woodcutter woodcutter Mar 31, 2014 8:23 PM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 31, 2014 8:23 PM in response to Linc Davis

    Linc,

     

    I followed your step 1 and everything processed as you indicated it should.  Then I force quit finder then restarted.  The ICONs still rearranged and all moved to the right side of the screen as before.  A reboot of the system did the same.

  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Mar 31, 2014 9:08 PM in response to woodcutter
    Level 10 (208,037 points)
    Applications
    Mar 31, 2014 9:08 PM in response to woodcutter

    I don't see where you ever answered the question in my first comment: What happens if you change the view options for the Desktop?

  • by woodcutter,

    woodcutter woodcutter Mar 31, 2014 9:29 PM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 31, 2014 9:29 PM in response to Linc Davis

    Linc,

     

    Sorry,

     

    I have them set for Sort By: None,  Show View options: Snap to Grid.  These were the settings I was using before the power failure.  I have set everything to None but I still get the same results.  My Macbook Pro also running Mavericks is set as Sort by: None,  Show View Options: Snap to Grid and works as it should.

  • by Linc Davis,Solvedanswer

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Apr 1, 2014 8:25 AM in response to woodcutter
    Level 10 (208,037 points)
    Applications
    Apr 1, 2014 8:25 AM in response to woodcutter

    Back up all data.

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

    ~/Library/Caches/com.apple.finder

    Right-click or control-click the line and select

    Services ▹ Reveal in Finder (or just Reveal)

    from the contextual menu.* A folder may open with an item selected. If it does, move the selected item to the Trash, then relaunch the Finder and empty the Trash. Test. If there's no improvement, repeat with this line:

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

    Move the selected item to the Desktop, leaving the window open. Log out, log back in, and test. If there's no change, put the item you moved back where it was, overwriting the one that may have been created in its place, and log out again. Otherwise, delete the item you moved.

    *If you don't see the contextual menu item, copy the selected text to the Clipboard by pressing the key combinationcommand-C. In the Finder, select

    Go ▹ Go to Folder...

    from the menu bar and paste into the box that opens (command-V). You won't see what you pasted because a line break is included. Press return.

  • by woodcutter,Helpful

    woodcutter woodcutter Apr 1, 2014 10:39 AM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Apr 1, 2014 10:39 AM in response to Linc Davis

    Linc,

     

    I'm happy say that this solved the issue.  I thank you for your patience and your help.  Now I need to go about the process of learning this system better.

     

    Again,

     

    Thanks.

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