Explanation: As the finder loads, it mounts the hard drives attachedto the Macintosh. When it mounts each hard drive (volume), it reads thevolume's Desktop File, which contains information about the volume, includingwhere files are stored, icons associated with programs and files. This is general Macintosh maintenance and should be done about twice amonth). "Rebuilding" the desktop file means deleting the old Desktop Filesand creating new ones by scanning the contents of the hard drive.

To rebuild the Desktop File:
(Inform the customer that this should be done at least once per month)

   1. Turn on or restart the Macintosh
   2. As soon as the startup icons on the bottom ofthe screen start to appear, hold down
       the command (apple) and optionkeys simulatenously
   3. The Finder should ask you if you are sure youwant to rebuild the desktop file (this will
       occur after all the control panelsand extensions load, right before the desktop icons
       appear)
   4. Click "Okay" an let go of the two keys
   5. If there are multiple volumes, click "Ok" foreach as the Finder asks you if you want
       to rebuild the desktop for them

The only side effect from rebuilding the Desktop File that any informationstored in the "Comments" field of a file is lost (Systems previous to 7.5).You can see the "Comments" field by selecting a file and choosing "GetInfo..." from the Finder's "File" menu. Because rebuilding the desktopfile deletes any information stored here, the comments field has neverbeen utilized by average users. Unless the comments field contains importantinformation, it is safe to rebuild the any time the computer is startedup. Do not force-quit the finder in order to rebuild the desktop; restartthe computer.