What changed my folder of saved icons into generic exec icons?

[blackxacto]

Does anyone know why a folder of saved icons changed to a generic execu icons? What is changing all these icons I have collected for years to the terminal screen looking execu icon?

 

[AppleSmack]

Did you ever zip them together with a third-party archiving app? Or copy them over a network? Or save them on a FAT or EXFAT formatted disk?

 

[blackxacto]

Did you ever zip them together with a third-party archiving app? Or copy them over a network? Or save them on a FAT or EXFAT formatted disk?

I've never zip archived them, and have only saved them to Mac formatted hard drives. I can't recall ever using FAT or EXFAT formatting, only used Extended Journaled for years, and now APSF, but it happened before APSF. Its gotten worse since APSF though.

 

[frou]

Fairly likely that the files somehow got unix execute mode set on them, which can be unset using chmod -x in Terminal

 

[blackxacto]

I have used terminal many times in the past, but I know only tiny basics of what I am doing. I turn on and off SIP frequently As needed, for example. With your terminal command I am changing permissions, correct? I assume I must point the command to the folder of files? What would be the complete squence? Or once I change permissions, how would I see the icons once more? Appreciate any help.

 

[frou]

If the icon files are in their own directory with nothing else in it, I would do

cd /Users/yourusername/Stuff/CoolIcons && chmod -x *

Edit: Just for completeness, if a directory has a space in its name, you will need to quote it, e.g.

cd "/Users/yourusername/Stuff/The Best Icons" && chmod -x *

 

[blackxacto]

The command ends with one blank space and one asterisk, do i have that correct?

 

[frou]

Yep, the asterisk means all files in the current directory. So after changing directory into wherever your icon files are, it will mean them

 

[blackxacto]

Great, thank you so much. Will report back tomorrow.

 

[blackxacto]

I moved some of the icons to a folder called Convertor in my user account:
cd “/Users/johnr/Convertor “ && chmod -x *
The icons changed to blank, i added the extension .icns but they only became a Apple Preview doc. Wish I understood how to recover the original icon image.

 

[blackxacto]

Does no one want to use their own personal icons for their own external backup disks, and not these boring forced Apple ICONS??