Unable to open files on the desktop and download images using Safari/Chrome on MacBook Pro

Question

Level 1

4 points

I don’t know why my Mac suddenly cannot open files on the Desktop, such as images or videos.

I tried to investigate the root cause, but I couldn’t find a clear reason.

In addition, I experienced another issue: I cannot download any images using Safari or Chrome.

When I right-click on an image and select “Save Image As”, nothing happens—the action just keeps loading.

I attempted some troubleshooting, but the situation hasn’t improved.

Steps I have tried:

tccutil reset All com.apple.Safari
tccutil reset All com.google.Chrome

Set permissions for the Desktop directory using:

chmod 770 -R ~/Desktop

Tried opening images on the Desktop with commands. Safari can open them, but Preview shows issues:


open -a Preview ~/Desktop/screenshot.png
open -a Safari ~/Desktop/screenshot.png

System:

I would greatly appreciate your support and guidance to help me resolve this issue.

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Original Title: Can not open the file in Desktop and can not download

MacBook Pro 14″, macOS 15.6

Posted on Aug 24, 2025 12:19 AM

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Answer 1

Level 10

88,780 points

You should easily be able to open png. files on your Mac.

It sounds like you have installed some third-party Anti-virus, Protection or Cleaning junk-ware on your Mac.

EtreCheckPro is an great tool for finding third-party junk-ware and sorting out problems.

Download and run the free version of EtreCheckPro, from > https://etrecheck.com/en/index.html

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Answer 2

thehienjp wrote:

I don’t know why my Mac suddenly cannot open files on the Desktop, such as images or videos.

I would greatly appreciate your support and guidance to help me resolve this issue.

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Original Title: Can not open the file in Desktop and can not download

To trouble shoot further you can:

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

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

unplug all non-essential peripherals when testing

Uninstall all third party apps that are Cleaners/Optimizers/VPN/Anti-Virus

all known to cause issues on the macOS

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