Are you experiencing a macOS problem where the desktop icons are missing and not showing up? When this problem occur, you’ll just see everything on the desktop including icons, documents, folders, files, images, and much more has suddenly disappeared.
Missing icons on Mac desktop can be caused by a number of things including incorrect permissions, corrupt system files or icons piling up on top of each other. Adjusting how the Mac OS X Mavericks Finder displays desktop icons can also affect the ability to view certain types of icons. At times, you can fix the problem by adjusting your settings and running scans to repair your MacBook. In addition, removing desktop icons that you don’t need can marginally increase the performance of your mac by freeing up memory since each icon refreshes when you access your desktop.
How to Restore Missing/Disappeared Mac Desktop Files and Icons
If your Mac desktop files or icons disappear all of a sudden, Here are some troubleshooting steps to help you restore icons missing on Mac immediately.
Without any further ado, let’s look at how to restore missing desktop files and icons on Mac.
1. Create a grid organizational setting
Keeping several icons on your desktop can lead to a situation where icons end up piling on top of other icons. This results in the appearance of missing icons on Mac desktop. By setting up your desktop to align icons to a grid and sorting them automatically, you can find missing icons and stop this problem from occurring again. This is an easy troubleshooting step that can quickly clean up the screen and organize the existing icons.
To create a quick grid organizational setting, right-click on a blank area of the desktop, select “Sort By” and choose “Snap to Grid” to keep each icon in its own space. Apply the settings by right-clicking the desktop again and choose “Clean Up.” The Clean Up option only shows up if icons currently appear on the desktop. Now sort through the grid to check if hidden icons have been revealed for easy viewing and access.
2. Check Finder Settings
The Finder preferences control the type of desktop icons that appear. If you find only some icons missing from Mac desktop, adjust the settings to resolve the problem. Click on a blank area of the desktop, select the “Finder” menu and choose “Preferences…” from the drop-down menu. This will open a menu of options to control the file types displayed on your Mac screen.
Under the General tab, check the “Hard Disks,” “External Disks,” “CDs, DVDs, and iPods” and “Connected Servers” boxes. Connected servers, external disks, CDs, DVDs and iPods only display on the desktop when connected to your computer. When you remove a device, the icon disappears from the display. This does not erase the file however, it hides or reveals files from the specific selected devices.
3. Check Disk Utility
Permission errors could prevent you from seeing icons on your desktop. These errors can result from improperly shutting down your computer or because an application has altered some of your settings. Repairing the permissions is a quick and easy method of restoring file and icon displays on the screen.
Click a blank area of the desktop, select the “Go” menu and choose “Utilities” from the drop-down menu. Open Disk Utility and choose your hard disk from the sidebar. Select the “First Aid” tab and click “Repair Disk Permissions.” If you can’t select this option, click “Verify Disk Permissions” first, then attempt to repair the disk permissions. Check if you see the icons that were missing from the desktop. If the problem still persists, check the next solution.
4. Repair Mac OS X
Mac OS X Mavericks contains an option to repair your installation disk and restore corrupt or missing system files without losing any of your applications, data or files. If you find icons missing from Mac toolbar, press “Command-R” while starting your computer and let go of the keys when the OS X Recovery console will launch. Select the option to “Reinstall OS X” and follow the instructions to reinstall the files on your device. Before reinstalling your operating system, make sure you are connected to a Wi-Fi network.