Rebuilding Desktops

Mac OS 9 Only

    The functions to rebuild the desktop are only available when running with Mac OS 9.

About the Desktop Database

    The Macintosh file system stores icons and information needed to launch the appropriate application when files are opened in the Finder in a database. For volumes larger than 2MB, the file is referred to as the desktop database. Volumes smaller than 2MB have an old style 'desktop' file instead of the newer desktop database file. (The desktop database file first appeared with System 7.0. Prior to that time, every disk had a 'desktop' file.)

When to Rebuild

    The following are primary symtoms that a volume's desktop may need to be rebuilt:
    The Finder gets confused and claims it can't open a file because the application that created it can't be found, even though you can find it.
    An empty floppy that has more th 1 or 2K in it.
    A application program won't hilite when you drag files to it, even though the files are of a type you know that application can open.
    Also, a disk's desktop database will contain all the icons used by any application you have put on the disk since the last time the desktop file was rebuilt, even if the application is no longer there. Those icons waste space, and rebuilding the desktop reclaims that space.

Updating, Rebuilding, and Replacing

    The Desktop item in the Cleaning menu has a submenu with 3 items. Choose the option that best suits your needs:

    Update
    Updating the desktop will add new information but not remove icons and references that are no longer valid.
    Rebuild
    Reset the desktop database file and enter all current information from scratch. This is the most common action.
    Replace
    Delete the existing desktop database file, create a new one, and enter all current information from scratch. More extreme than rebuilding, this one is normally used only if there is reason to believe the desktop database file is corrupt.

Caveats

    There is no function a program can call to tell the Finder to rebuild the desktop. The only officially supported way to rebuild the desktop is to restart your computer while pressing the Command and Option keys. You can use File Buddy's desktop rebuilding commands to do this without having to restart. This can be especially handy for rebuilding the desktops on floppy disks, since you can just drop floppies onto File Buddy while holding the appropriate drop keys for desktop rebuilding.

 


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