Files Saved to Desktop not Appearing Consistently

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Files Saved to Desktop not Appearing Consistently

I have noted that files do not appear on the desktop consistently. When I check finder, sometimes they will pop up, sometimes they do not appear there either. I suspect this is related to memory??? When I close everything down, move files off desktop, sometimes the files pop up on the desktop. I plan to upgrade from the current 8GB but interested to hear if others have this issue & if there is a fix that's easy.

Any advice welcome.

iMac with Retina 5K display, OS X El Capitan (10.11.3), 3TB Fusion Drive

Posted on Feb 27, 2016 8:58 PM

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Answer 1

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judysings

Community Specialist

Feb 29, 2016 7:34 AM in response to Gail J

Hi Gail J,

Thanks for your question. If files that you have stored in the Desktop folder do not always appear, you may need to re-index that folder. You have plenty of memory, so that is not the issue. Please make sure you have backed up your computer with Time Machine. Then, try the steps below, restart the computer, and see if the issue persists.

Spotlight: How to re-index folders or volumes

Learn how to re-index a folder or an entire volume for Spotlight.

From the Apple () menu, choose System Preferences.

Click Spotlight.

Click the Privacy tab.

Drag a folder or an entire volume (your hard drive) to the list.

If prompted for confirmation, click OK.

Remove the item or volume you just added to the list by clicking it and then clicking the minus ("-") button.

Close Spotlight preferences.

Spotlight will re-index the contents of the folder or volume.

Take care,

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