Desktop files gone after DS store replaced...help

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Level 1

9 points

Desktop files gone after DS store replaced...help

So, I was using iMazing to backup some apps from my iPhone. I was specifically trying to save some song data from a music app. When I had the folder selected, I hit the "Extract" button. I had done this before and had no issues. This time, I was doing the extraction and a dialog popped up and said "DS Store already exists in this location... replace it?". Not really thinking about it (I KNOW, I screwed up..), I said YES. Well, it was extracting the data to the Desktop on my iMac, and when it replaced the DS store file, about 10 folders instantly disappeared. GONE. Not in the Trash, not anywhere.

I used Spotlight, a system search that includes system files, showed hidden files, used FindAnyFile.... NOTHING. They are just GONE without a trace. When I did a "Get Info" for the Desktop folder, it appeared and quickly the size refreshed and dropped by 100 GB... (I know, too much stuff on the Desktop, but that's not the issue at hand). So, is there ANY WAY IN **** I can recover those files!? The last backup is from a week ago, so that's not really gonna help for the files created this week. Please, ANYONE, just let me know if there is ANYTHING I can do.. or if I'm just f#%*ed..... Thanks

iMac, OS X Yosemite (10.10.5)

Posted on Dec 30, 2015 8:34 PM

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Answer 1

Red Fall Author

Level 1

9 points

Dec 30, 2015 8:38 PM in response to Red Fall

If it helps, the DS store that was originally on the desktop, the one that was replaced and put in the trash, is still on my computer. I saved it in case it would help. I put it in a folder on the desktop and currently has Hidden Files showing so I can see it...

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Answer 2

Duane

Level 10

124,293 points

Dec 30, 2015 9:10 PM in response to Red Fall

The .DS_Store files contain only contain custom folder settings. Deleting .DS_Store files will not delete other files. So replacing those is not the cause of your problem.

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Answer 3

Red Fall Author

Level 1

9 points

Dec 30, 2015 9:25 PM in response to Duane

Well, when I hit the "Yes" button, about 10 folders disappeared totally from the computer. So if you know another reason why multiple folders would spontaneously vanish without a trace on a brand new computer, or way to find them, I'm all ears.

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Answer 4

Duane

Level 10

124,293 points

Dec 30, 2015 9:29 PM in response to Red Fall

You say that you were trying to save a song and you clicked the extract button. Normally there is a "save" button when you are saving a file, it sounds odd that there is an extract button. What app are you saving from?

It sounds like your extract operation may have replaced the desktop folder with another folder.

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Answer 5

Red Fall Author

Level 1

9 points

Dec 30, 2015 9:48 PM in response to Duane

All the info was in the original post...

I was saving FROM iMazing. I was not saving a song, I was saving audio data from an app. iMazing lets you manually back up specific apps and app data from your phone. When I selected the folder INSIDE the app that contained the data I wanted to backup, I got the message

"An item named "." already exists in this location. Do you want to replace it ?"

(So I was wrong about the ".DS Store"- and you were right) It was not ".ds store", it was "."

And also, I clicked on "Replace", not "Yes/Extract"

I just tried it again to see if I could get the same dialog, and I did, but this time I hit "Stop".

Does replacing "." ring any bells for you? It is the ONLY thing that I clicked before everything vanished...

I'm trying out a few of these phone browsers to see which one I want to buy, so I guess I jus got the button name mixed up with another app. I want to upgrade to iOS 9.2 (I'm still on 7.1.2!!), but I REALLY want to keep the data from a few apps. I'm a musician, and these apps have multitrack audio data for songs I've recorded, and I want to transfer them to the new phone. because I was planning on doing a "clean instal" of iOS 9, wiping the phone and starting over. I just want to be able to reload the multitrack data once I re-download the apps...

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Answer 6

Red Fall Author

Level 1

9 points

Dec 30, 2015 9:43 PM in response to Duane

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Answer 7

Duane

Level 10

124,293 points

Dec 30, 2015 9:50 PM in response to Red Fall

Earlier you said --> "I was specifically trying to save some song data from a music app."

It was not ".ds store", it was "."

That does not sound good at all. If you use Terminal, visit any folder and enter 'ls-al' you will see a file named ".". The "." represents the current folder. So if you were in the desktop when you said yes, iMazing replaced the desktop folder. It sounds like that application has a extremely serious bug.

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Answer 8

Red Fall Author

Level 1

9 points

Dec 30, 2015 9:53 PM in response to Duane

But it did't erase ALL the desktop files, just a LOT of them. there doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to it either, it just randomly deleted certain folders. And maybe "deleted" isn't the right word, because "deleted" would assume that they were put into the Trash, but they just VANISHED off of the computer without a trace... do you think there is ANY way to recover these folders?

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Answer 9

Duane

Level 10

124,293 points

Dec 30, 2015 10:01 PM in response to Red Fall

You can recover them from the last Time Machine backup completed before you tried that save.

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Answer 10

Red Fall Author

Level 1

9 points

Dec 30, 2015 10:03 PM in response to Duane

Well, as already stated, the last backup was a week ago, so I was hoping that since it just "vanished", there was some terminal "trick" or something I could use to find them. guess not

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