MAC desktop disappeared....WTF

[albacore]

I just upgraded to Mac OS Monterey 12.3.1
And after all the restart stuff and login, I got my dock back with the windows open that were there before.

One small problem... MY WHOLE FUCKING DESKTOP is empty.
I had lots of files.

I can still find them using Finder, and I can move them onto the desktop, but that's gonna be a lot of work.

Did I screw up? Is there a shortcut to getting the files back onto the desktop without doing them a few at a time?

[Tetrachloride]

2. Where did the files go ? Documents folder ?

[PoliticAverse]

3. You probably didn't screw up, such things have been known to happen on ugrades...

Desktop items are usually just links to the real location. I'd do an internet search for "Monterey update desktop disappeared" or something like that where you'll find articles like this...

https://www.cleverfiles.com/howto/recover-disappeared-desktop-files-mac.html

and discussions like this:

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/253313473

Before you do anything, look in the trash.

[albacore]

4. Fixed it.... system pref.... apple ID pane...docs & desktop.

Thanks to all the helpful DUers....

[PJMcK]

5. Panic shouldn't be your first reaction with a Mac

I've used them for over 35 years. They are robust and solid machines with all kinds of internal safeguards. I've owned nearly 2 dozen Macs and the only physical trouble I ever had was a mechanical hard drive that went bad. My data was already backed up and the new drive was covered by the Apple Care policy I had at the time.

There's almost always a simple fix and I'm glad you found your solution albacore!