opening folders on the desktop of a macbook pro

faclotz wrote:

why can't I open folders on the desktop of my macbook pro

Old issue new, new issue , what changed?

Try a SafeBoot How to use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support

Takes a bit longer to get to the login screen, does a quick disk repair before it fully boots up, and certain system caches get cleared and rebuilt, including dynamic loader cache, font cache, etc., third party system modifications and system accelerations are disabled.

Login and test. Reboot as normal and test. Caches get rebuilt automatically.

a reboot will put it back to normal mode.

This test will tell you if third party interference; extensions etc are not loaded in safe boot mode.