Accidentally deleted necessary files

[JustAnOuch]

I was cleaning out files and accidentally deleted necessary files on my Mac. Now I have just about every program and file on my desktop. My Mac desktop freezes up. I have tried re-installing everything thinking I'll delete all and start over. I get an error saying cannot install. At this point I don't care what photos and documents I lose I just want a functional computer. Any suggestions? I have spent about over 20 hours this week trying to fix this mess.

 

[Cory Cooper]

Do you have any form of backup of your data? If you really don't care about your personal data, you could use an installer disc from an old version of Mac OS X and erase the HD completely. Then reinstall. Macworld has a step-by-step on how to create a bootable installer on a USB/FireWire HD or USB flash drive. If you have an external HD lying around, you could connect it and install Mac OS X on it, boot from it, and copy any of your files off before erasing it.

Make sure you are really OK with losing all your data - photos/music/documents before moving forward with any suggestions here.