The icons have become very pale

If all your icons look pale, you have probably enabled the "Show hidden files and folders" function in the Parameters panel > Finder. In previous versions of Mac OS X, only the hidden items were appearing this way by default. Starting Mac OS X 10.5.x, all files and folders are involved.

To revert to normal icons:

Étape 1

Click on the Parameters icon in the OnyX Toolbar

Étape 2

Select the Finder tab

Étape 3

Uncheck the "Show hidden files and folders" case.