Desktop disappeared, Finder repeatedly crashing

Question

serioustiger Author

Level 1

6 points

Desktop disappeared, Finder repeatedly crashing

Hi

Late 2014 iMac 5k

4Ghz, 32GB memory

macOS 10.13.2

Since installing the latest update this morning, my iMac has a number of problems:

The desktop is not showing any icons;
In Finder, the folder that used to be simply called "Desktop" is now called "Desktop - Guy's iMac" (which does in fact contain all the items I expect to be there, they just don't display on the actual desktop);
There is a folder called "Desktop" in my Documents folder which wasn't there before, containing what was on the desktop prior to the update;
Finder is crashing repeatedly and having to be relaunched.

I'm guessing that somehow my desktop folder got moved and then recreated where it was supposed to be as part of the update?

I've tried the very basics - reboot etc - is there a plist or other file somewhere that I can delete to force the recreation of the desktop correctly? Obviously, simply trying to rename the folder doesn't work.

Many thanks

Kind regards

~Guy.

Posted on Dec 15, 2017 9:58 AM

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Answer 1

xmetienne

Level 2

192 points

Dec 15, 2017 11:15 AM in response to serioustiger

Hi there,

Can you share your system report?

You can download etrechek application which is very useful app to pinpoint serious issues with Mac OS, you can customize reports and share them on apple support, do not worry there are no confidential information contained in the report...

Also what you have described is very familiar, I had numerous issues with macOS High Sierra 10.13.2 update, as a matter of fact this update gave a lots of headaches around... It took me two days to figure out a way around...

Good luck...

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Answer 2

serioustiger Author

Level 1

6 points

Dec 16, 2017 1:30 AM in response to xmetienne

Thanks xmetienne

After several attempts I was able to download System report (which I couldn't open because whenever I would save it, which caused System Report itself to hang for several minutes before saving, Finder would crash again and then go into a loop of crashing and relaunching).

I did eventually manage to save a System Report to Dropbox so I can access it from my MacBook. So yes, I can share it but there doesn't seem to be a facility to present it as a single text file or to attach it to a forum post...is there any section(s) you are particularly interested in?

I can't use etrecheck at this time because I download it, and when I try to run it...you know where this is going, right? Yep, Finder crashes again and then just goes into a loop of crashing and relaunching.

After each relaunch, Finder will display and I can navigate the folder structure but literally any click - left or right - on any file/app in Finder, causes it to crash again.

Also, I have noticed that on reboot, Safari hangs. If left alone for about 5-6 minutes it resolves and is usable, although slower than usual. So that's not right either. Non-Apple apps appear to be working fine, although need to be launched via Alfred keyboard shortcuts because Finder...never mind!

Grrr.

Thanks I really appreciate your time in trying to help!

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Answer 3

serioustiger Author

Level 1

6 points

Dec 16, 2017 1:42 AM in response to serioustiger

Update - by dragging it into Yoink, of all things, and running it from there, I was able to run Etrecheck and email myself the report.

Should I post the report here (it's quite long) or when you say, "share them on Apple support" is there a specific point for that?

Many thanks

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