Your Mac will automatically create these files, but you may lose some of your settings. Note that there may not be the two of them. In Finder, click Go while pressing the Option key.Removing these files may fix your problem. Corrupt preference files (plist files) may be the culprit. When your Mac restarts, check again if you see the icons.īefore proceeding, you may want to backup your Mac.Just select the Restart option from the Apple menu. Do you see the icons that were missing from the desktop?.Keep holding the Shift key until you see the login window.Then turn on your Mac and immediately press and hold the Shift key.Safe Mode is a macOS startup mode that can be used to fix issues. This will show your icons if they are hidden. In Terminal, enter the following command and hit enter:ĭefaults write CreateDesktop true killall Finder.Open Terminal (Applications / Utilities, you can use Spotlight).UnhideĪs stated above, your desktop items may be hidden. See also: You can use Stacks to keep your desktop really neat and tidy. And then close the Finder Preferences window. And then please make sure that the items you want to keep on your Desktop are selected.

It will say “show these items on the desktop”. In Finder, from the menu toolbar, click Finder and then select Preferences. If this does not work, continue the next. You can force quit Finder by going to the Apple menu > Force Quit. Finderįirst, restart Finder by first force-quitting it. See also: How To Restore Disappeared Downloads Folder To Dock & Sidebar In Finder 1. Therefore, please start with the first step, see if that fixes your problem, if it does not, and then continue to the next step. If restarting and updating do not help, then follow the steps below. And if you are running an earlier version of macOS, then open the App Store on your Mac to update your computer. You can update your Mac by going to System Preferences and Software Update. Furthermore, please ensure that you update your Mac to the latest version of macOS.

You can restart your Mac by choosing the Restart option from the Apple menu. Here is what you can do:īefore you do anything, simply restart your Mac to see if this fixes your problem. It is possible that your desktop icons may be hidden. It is highly likely that your desktop icons still exist, they are just not showing. This article explains how you can restore your missing desktop icons on your Mac.ĭo not worry. Have you lost your Mac desktop icons and you want them back? Is your desktop just blank? Then this article is for you.

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