Desktop folders suddenly empty

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ziahyo Author

Level 1

6 points

Desktop folders suddenly empty

Hi,

Something happened on my mac today that seems to have emptied all the folders on my desktop in one go.

All folders remain where they were but the contents are missing (get info shows zero kb)
All empty folders "date modified" shows the same time (17:30)
There is nothing in the trash folder
I didn't notice a restart but I had a message saying your computer was restarted due to a problem
My login account (me) has permission to "Read & Write" on the folders
I have never logged into my Apple Id/iCloud from this device
Using Mac Mini M1 (Big Sur 11.1):

Anybody have any ideas? I have lost a number of files that I don't have backups for.

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Mac mini 2018 or later

Posted on Sep 9, 2022 2:26 PM

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Answer 1

Sep 11, 2022 7:49 AM in response to ziahyo

Hello ziahyo,

Thanks for posting in the Apple Support Communities.

You mentioned your Mac was restarted with a message reporting this, so this could be related to what occurred. Check out the following information to see about clearing that up: If your Mac restarted because of a problem - Apple Support

Check your software

If the issue is caused by software on your Mac, one of these steps might help:

• Install all available software updates.

• If your Mac suspects that a particular app caused the restart, it might ask whether you would like to move the app to the Trash. Click Move to Trash, then contact the software developer to see if a software update is available.

• Use safe mode to try to isolate the cause of the issue.

• Reinstall macOS. If the issue continues after reinstalling macOS, check your hardware.

If you don't have a back up of the files, there may not be a way to recover those. We'd recommend setting up Time Machine to be covered in the future: Back up your Mac with Time Machine - Apple Support

Take care!

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Desktop folders suddenly empty

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