desktop on which drive?

Macintosh software/hardware discussion and troubleshooting

Moderator: James Steele

Post Reply
User avatar
darrell
Posts: 252
Joined: Sun May 07, 2006 1:49 pm
Primary DAW OS: MacOS
Location: Bay Area, California

desktop on which drive?

Post by darrell »

I'm guessing the desktop files are stored on the boot drive.... Interested in freeing up more space so applications work better/faster..............

Am I right or am I wrong?
User avatar
MIDI Life Crisis
Posts: 26283
Joined: Wed May 18, 2005 10:01 pm
Primary DAW OS: MacOS
Contact:

Re: desktop on which drive?

Post by MIDI Life Crisis »

It's part of the Users for folders which is in with the system stuff. Don't move it.
2013 Mac Pro 2TB/32GB RAM

OSX 10.14.6; Track 16; DP 12; Finale 28

LinkTree (events & peformances)
Instagram
Facebook

MIDI LIFE CRISIS
User avatar
cuttime
Posts: 4510
Joined: Sun May 15, 2005 10:01 pm
Primary DAW OS: MacOS

Re: desktop on which drive?

Post by cuttime »

Slightly OT...I've always wondered why OSX creates a "Desktop" folder on external drives. This desktop is a separate directory than the system drive. I never found a clear explanation as to why. Not a bug, but a very minor mystery.
828x MacOS 15.5 M1 Studio Max 1TB 64G DP11.34
User avatar
MIDI Life Crisis
Posts: 26283
Joined: Wed May 18, 2005 10:01 pm
Primary DAW OS: MacOS
Contact:

Re: desktop on which drive?

Post by MIDI Life Crisis »

My guess is if the (non-booting) drive is authorized for some software the OS creates a mini system to keep stuff organized.
2013 Mac Pro 2TB/32GB RAM

OSX 10.14.6; Track 16; DP 12; Finale 28

LinkTree (events & peformances)
Instagram
Facebook

MIDI LIFE CRISIS
User avatar
bayswater
Posts: 12505
Joined: Fri Feb 16, 2007 9:06 pm
Primary DAW OS: MacOS
Location: Vancouver

Re: desktop on which drive?

Post by bayswater »

cuttime wrote:Slightly OT...I've always wondered why OSX creates a "Desktop" folder on external drives. This desktop is a separate directory than the system drive. I never found a clear explanation as to why. Not a bug, but a very minor mystery.
Equal mystery is why it only does this sometimes.
2018 Mini i7 32G macOS 12.7.6, DP 11.33, Mixbus 10, Logic 10.7.9, Scarlett 18i8, MB Air M2, macOS 14.7.6, DP 11.33, Logic 11
User avatar
stubbsonic
Posts: 5178
Joined: Fri Dec 22, 2006 12:56 pm
Primary DAW OS: MacOS
Contact:

Re: desktop on which drive?

Post by stubbsonic »

At one point I thought it might be storing things like where files are positioned in a desktop GUI, and similarly the trash folder just puts things in a holder before they are deleted. But I really have no idea.

Also, I think with a mac system, the desktop folder is usually hidden, but it appears like when I have a non-mac-formatted disk and mount it on a mac, then the OS creates it.
M1 MBP; OS 15.3, FF800, DP 11.33, PC3K7, K2661, iPad6, Godin XTSA (w/ SY-1000), 2 Ibanez 5-string basses (1 fretted, 1 fretless), FX galore

http://www.jonstubbsmusic.com
Post Reply