My desktop has vanished! Anybody seen it?

[George Kimery]

My Imac OS-X.vs. 10.4.11 has laid down on me. When I turn it on, the blue screen comes up fine, I get the normal chord tone, OS-system loads just fine, then the enter password comes up (which had been disabled since the two years that I have been using the computer) When I click on the OK for the password, the screen has then always loaded the destop. Now, for some unknown reason, NOTHING appears on the desktop except the little icon of the magnifing glass (spotlight, I think they call it) I can move the arrow cursor around just fine on the blank, blue screen, but if I go to the spotlight icon with the arrow, I get the little colored wheel that just spins forever.

Does anybody know what has happened and if there is anything I can do to get the desktop back, short of taking it to a tech?

Thanks,

George

[Richard Sinkler]

I looked around here and didn't find it. Good luck.

Sorry, I couldn't resist.

[Wiz Feinberg]

George; Do you run anti-malware software on your Mac? Do you have Java installed to your knowledge? Recently, over 600,000 Macs were drafted into a massive Botnet, via a Java exploit. It is possible that your Mac is a victim, but with something gone wrong in the code.

[Cal Sharp]

Boot from the install disk. Insert it and restart the comp while holding the C key. Then run disk utilities (it's in the menu at the top of the screen) and repair permissions and check the hard drive.

[George Kimery]

Sorry for taking so long to get back to this and thank you guys for trying to help. They had to truck me off to the emergency room for double hernia surgery. When they sent me home, I could not take care of myself, so they took me to my girlfriend's house for recovery. She does not have a computer and I do not have a laptop, so I have not been able to do emails until now.

I got the computer as a Christmas gift two years ago. It was a used one that had come out of the public school system, so I got nothing in the way of any install discs. I know very little about computer's, so I don't understand any of what you are saying, Wiz and Cal, I understand about putting a CD installer disc in, but I don't have one.

I guess it will have to go to the shop, but thanks for trying to help. I really appreciated it.

[Cal Sharp]

You can use an install disk from a friend with a Mac, no sweat about serial numbers or activation or genuine advantage any of that crap.

[George Kimery]

Thanks, Cal for the tip. I will see if I can find somebody with a mac OS-X and borrow an install disc. Don't think I have anything to lose at this point.