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Several users have said that they experience a macOS problem where the desktop icons are missing and not showing up. It further appears that everything on the desktop (icons, documents, folders, files, images, etc.) has suddenly disappeared.
Have you lost your Mac desktop icons and you want them back? Is your desktop just blank? Then this article is for you. This article explains how you can restore your missing desktop icons on your Mac.
Do not worry. It is highly likely that your desktop icons still exist, they are just not showing. It is possible that your desktop icons may be hidden. Here is what you can do:
Before you do anything, simply restart your Mac to see if this fixes your problem. You can restart your Mac by choosing the Restart option from the Apple menu. Furthermore, please ensure that you update your Mac to the latest version of macOS. You can update your Mac by going to System Preferences and Software Update. And if you are running an earlier version of macOS, then open the App Store on your Mac to update your computer.
If restarting and updating do not help, then follow the steps below. The steps are listed in order. Therefore, please start with the first step, see if that fixes your problem, if it does not, and then continue to the next step.
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- Click the desktop, choose View Sort By, then choose an option. If you want to control the placement of your files on the desktop, keep Sort By set to none. You can still arrange files neatly when desired—just click the desktop, choose View Clean Up By, then choose how you’d like to arrange the files. See Align and resize icons.
Get free icons of Desktop mac in iOS, Material, Windows and other design styles for web, mobile, and graphic design projects. The free images are pixel perfect to fit your design and available in both png and vector. Download icons in all formats or edit them for your designs. 1 day ago Step 4: Close Terminal and check if the missing icons have reappeared. Check iCloud Drive. On Mac, iCloud Drive provides the option to back up and sync files/icons present on the desktop.
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See also: How To Restore Disappeared Downloads Folder To Dock & Sidebar In Finder
1. Finder
First, restart Finder by first force-quitting it. You can force quit Finder by going to the Apple menu > Force Quit. Then select Finder and click Force Quit. This will restart Finder. If this does not work, continue the next.
In Finder, from the menu toolbar, click Finder and then select Preferences. Select the General tab. It will say “show these items on the desktop”. And then please make sure that the items you want to keep on your Desktop are selected. And then close the Finder Preferences window.
See also: The Finder Can’t Quit Because An Operation Is Still In Progress On An iOS Device
2. iCloud Drive
Are you using iCloud Drive? iCloud Drive lets you store your Desktop and Documents folders. If you turn this on, a Desktop and Documents folder will be created on your Mac in the home folder. You can see your Desktop and Documents folder in Finder. Simple select iCloud Drive from the Sidebar in Finder. Follow the steps below:
- Open System Preferences on your Mac.
- Click Apple ID.
- Click iCloud from the Sidebar.
- Click the Options button next to iCloud Drive.
- Ensure that the “Desktop & Documents Folders” is checked.
- Click Done.
See also: You can use Stacks to keep your desktop really neat and tidy.
3. Unhide
As stated above, your desktop items may be hidden. You can use Terminal to show them again. Here is how:
- Open Terminal (Applications / Utilities, you can use Spotlight).
- In Terminal, enter the following command and hit enter:
This will show your icons if they are hidden.
4. Safe Mode
Use Safe Mode to fix your problem. Safe Mode is a macOS startup mode that can be used to fix issues. Here is how:
- Turn off your Mac.
- Then turn on your Mac and immediately press and hold the Shift key.
- Keep holding the Shift key until you see the login window.
- And then log in.
- You are now in Safe Mode.
- Do you see the icons that were missing from the desktop?
- Restart your Mac. Just select the Restart option from the Apple menu. Do not press the Shift key.
- When your Mac restarts, check again if you see the icons.
5. Corrupt Preference files
Before proceeding, you may want to backup your Mac. Corrupt preference files (plist files) may be the culprit. Removing these files may fix your problem. Here is how:
- In Finder, click Go while pressing the Option key.
- Click Library.
- Click Preferences.
- Then locate these two files: com.apple.finder.plist and com.apple.desktop.plist. Note that there may not be the two of them.
- Then move these files to your desktop.
- Then restart your Mac. Your Mac will automatically create these files, but you may lose some of your settings.
- Then test your Mac if you can see your icons.
- If this does not fix your problem, you can put back the plist files that you moved to the desktop. This will overwrite the existing one. So you won’t lose anything.
Did you boot up your Mac and notice that the desktop is missing a few icons or documents? It's quite puzzling because you're certain you didn't delete them, and they were on the screen the last time you used your Mac. So, what do you do to recover the missing desktop icons?
For a start, you can reboot the Mac. If the desktops icons still aren't showing, try booting the Mac into Safe Mode. And if the affected Mac has multiple users, check if you're logged into the correct account. Should the Mac desktop icon(s) remain nowhere to be found after trying these preliminary fixes, proceed to the section below. We explain why that happens and list 4 troubleshooting solutions that could help.
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Read More1. Force Quit Finder
Finder is an integral component of the Macintosh operating system. When Finder malfunctions, you can as well expect other core system functionalities and apps to malfunction. We found a couple of Mac users who were able to restore missing desktop icons by force-quitting Finder during research. Yes, the solution could be that simple.
Finder is always running on Mac, so you can't exactly close it. However, you can instruct the OS to relaunch/refresh Finder, thereby fixing issues causing it to malfunction. Consequently, this might also restore icons that weren't showing on the desktop. Here's how to get it done.
Step 1: Tap the Apple logo on the menu bar.
Step 2: Next, select Force Quit.
That will immediately launch the 'Force Quick Application' window.
Quick Tip: You can swiftly launch the 'Force Quit Application' window within any app by pressing the Command + Option + Escape keys.Step 3: Now, select Finder from the list of apps and tap the Relaunch button.
Step 4: Click Relaunch on the warning prompt.
That will close & reopen Finder and, likewise, refresh all the app icons and files on the desktop. Check if the missing icons have been restored.
2. Modify Finder Preferences
If your Mac desktop icons are still missing after relaunching Finder, proceed to modify Finder to include items from the hard disk and other connected servers on the desktop. This might help to restore icons that aren't showing on the desktop.
Step 1: Tap Finder on the menu bar and select Preferences.
Step 2: In the General section, check the Hard disks and Connected servers boxes.
Step 3: Close the Finder Preferences window and check if the missing icons have been restored to the desktop.
3. Unhide All Desktop Icons
This is another proven solution that we discovered during the course of research. As recommended by Apple, you can fix the Mac desktop icon not showing issue by running a specific command line in the Terminal app. What the command does is to unhide all desktop icons.
Step 1: From the desktop, click Go on the menu bar and select Utilities.
Step 2: Double-click on Terminal to launch the app console.
Step 3: Paste the code below into the Terminal console and hit Enter on your keyboard.
Step 4: Close Terminal and check if the missing icons have reappeared.
4. Check iCloud Drive
On Mac, iCloud Drive provides the option to back up and sync files/icons present on the desktop. If you have 'Desktop and Documents Folders' configured in your Mac's iCloud Drive settings, desktop icons may go missing when deleted on iCloud.com or another device (Mac, iPhone, or iPad) that has access to your iCloud Drive account.
To restore the icons, you'd have to restore them from iCloud Drive. Here's how.
Step 1: Sign in to iCloud on your preferred browser.
Step 2: Select iCloud Drive on the iCloud homepage.
Step 3: At the bottom-right corner of the iCloud Drive dashboard, tap Recently Deleted.
That will open a recycle bin of some sort where you'll find desktop icons and files that might have been accidentally deleted. Proceed to the next step to restore the icon.
Note: If you can't find the missing icon(s) in theRecently Deleted folder, there's a possibility that it has been moved toanother folder within or outside the Desktop folder in iCloud Drive.Step 4: If you find the missing desktop icon/file in the Recently Deleted folder, select it and click Recover.
If the item was deleted from your iCloud Drive's Desktop folder, it'll be immediately restored to the same location and you should see the icon on your Mac's desktop within seconds.
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Read MoreGet Them Back Home
Finally, if you know the name of the missing icon, we recommend searching for the file in the Bin. You might have deleted it from the desktop by accident. And if you've emptied your Mac's Bin, you don't have to worry. Refer to our guide to recover files from an emptied trash.
Next up:Are FaceTime calls from your iPhone or iPad not coming through on your Mac? Refer to the solutions in the guide linked below to get the issue fixed.
The above article may contain affiliate links which help support Guiding Tech. However, it does not affect our editorial integrity. The content remains unbiased and authentic.Read NextTop 7 Fixes for FaceTime Calls Not Coming Through on MacAlso See#desktop #macbook
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Did You Know
Apple Watch can be used to unlock your Mac.