MAC TREAT #194: Where Did My Desktop Icon Go?

One of things that Apple is known best for is its clean design aesthetic. And when it comes to ever sleeker MacBooks and iMacs, there is no doubt that aspect is a plus, but every once in a while it seems the folks at 1 Infinite Loop take things a little too far.

For instance, in recent versions of the Mac OS, the default Finder Preferences setting hides the internal hard drive, which for decades had appeared in the upper right corner of the desktop (along with any other mounted volumes). I can only imagine that it was considered an ugly blight by the designers at Apple, marring the otherwise pristine view of the desktop’s Andromeda Galaxy (in Lion) or NGC 3190 (in Mountain Lion).

I’ve had many clients ask about the mystery of both the “missing drive” or the CD or DVD they are sure they’ve put in their Mac but can’t find to eject. There are certainly other ways to access the hard drive or other mounted volumes, but for those that share my “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” philosophy, here’s a way to get these icons back.

With the Finder active, select Preferences… from the Finder menu. Under General, there is a section labeled Show these items on the desktop:. Here, you have the option to show (or not show) other items that frequently graced the desktop by default in past versions of the Finder: external disks (including USB flash drives), CDs, DVD and iPods (oh…that’s where they went), connected servers, and of course, the aforementioned internal hard drives.

Feel free to turn the devices you’d like to see on, and once again, enjoy the easy desktop access you’re accustomed to. Next time… Oh no, Mountain Lion ate my scroll bars!