AWS 95 and/or A/UX 3.x: Desktop Rebuilds Every Time (5/95)


Every time I restart my Apple Workgroup Server (AWS) 95 or start Mac32, my desktop file rebuilds. I've run fsck, deleted the desktop files, and created a new system folder, all to no avail.

To keep the Desktop from rebuilding, look for a file or folder called /Desktop. In some cases, the file will be visible in the finder, if its not visible, go to the command shell and type:

ls -l /

The output should include a line similar to:

-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 5 May 16 19:24 Desktop

NOTE: If the first character is a "d" instead of a "-", the Desktop file is a directory.

We believe that Mac32 is seeing the Desktop file or folder as a System 6 desktop file, and is trying to convert the desktop file for use in System 7.

Normal Mac OS behavior would rebuild the desktop once. However, A/UX does not handle this correctly and rebuilds the desktop file every time Mac32 is started. The solution is to remove the file or folder. If the file or folder is visible, throw "Desktop" in the trash. Otherwise, go to command shell:

* If /Desktop is a file, remove the file with:

rm /Desktop

* If /Desktop is a directory, remove the directory with:

rm -r /Desktop

WARNING: We recommend checking the contents of the directory before using the remove command. Once the directory is deleted, the files will be lost forever.


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Published Date: Feb 19, 2012