10.2.3 Finder Problem

jp_patches

Hey, somebody had to be stupid enough to go ahead and install 10.2.3 right away. Now everytime I try to open a finder window, it opens it, but then the window and all the icons disappear for a second. Then everything except the window I want comes back.



Everything else seems to work fine - it's only Finder windows. I can get around this for now by dragging folders to the dock and right clicking.



So, is it reinstall time? Any suggestions? Does Apple have a place to send in these sorts of bug reports?



Thanks.



JP



[ 12-19-2002: Message edited by: jp_patches ]</p>

ghost_user_name

Have you rebooted again to see if the problem would simply go away?



You should also try to repair your drive. You can do this with "/sbin/fsck -y" at the command line in single-user mode or you can boot up from the Mac OS X Intall CD and use Disk Utility to repair the drive. The latter is easier for anyone unfamiliar with the command line. Simply restart from the CD, choose Disk Utility from the Installer menu, select your startup volume from the list, click the First Aid tab, and click the Repair Disk button. When that's finished, click the Repair Disk Permissions button also.



If this doesn't help, there are some other tricks we can give you to try.



Oh, and for what it's worth, I installed 10.2.3 without any problems.



[ 12-19-2002: Message edited by: Brad ]</p>

jp_patches

Thanks for the quick reply. I have rebooted several times and it's still happening. Sometimes the menu bar goes away, too.



Following your suggestion, I went into single user mode and tried to repair the drive. The message came back that everything is fine. What else could I try?



JP



PS I'm not a complete computer newbie. I even used to know a lot on UNIX commands when I was in school. It's just that I've only had OS X since August and I haven't taken the time to learn the guts of it.

ghost_user_name

Hmm. Well, 10.2 introduced a new kind of system-wide caching system that on very rare cases can corrupt and cause weird problems. Try deleting the /Library/Caches/ and ~/Library/Caches/ folders and reboot.



Also, did you try repairing the permissions from Disk Utility? You don't have to boot from a CD to repair permissions on your startup volume.



You might also want to try deleting the Finder preferences at "~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.finder.plist".



That about covers the typical fixes. You haven't installed any themes, UI hacks, or "haxies" on this system, have you? They can be absolutely detrimental when applied to systems with newer OS versions than what they were built for.



On that note, I'm going to move this into the Genius Bar. It might get better responses there.



[ 12-19-2002: Message edited by: Brad ]</p>

kingofsomewherehot

I have been running 10.2.3 all afternoon and have experience NO problems .... everything is working just fine. Even Finder windows.



Are you by chance running any system hacks ?

jp_patches

Well, thanks for all the suggestions, but it's still happening. And, no, I haven't installed any hacks. I like OS X the way it is.



I guess it's time to reinstall. I've read that there's a way to re-install without losing data. Is that correct? (I can look up the method in the archives). (And I'll still make sure everything is backed up.)



One question I have, though - my computer (17" iMac) came loaded with 10.1.5 with a 10.2 upgrade disk included in the box. Do I have to install 10.1.5 and then 10.2 (then 10.2.1, then 10.2.2) or can I go straight to 10.2 with the upgrade disk?



Thanks.



JP

neutrino23

It is always fascinating to hear about cases which seem to go wrong for no reason. Something must have happened during the install since nothing seems to fix the current situation.



You will have to start with the 10.1.5 disk then upgrade to 10.2 then update to 10.2.3 via software update.



There is an option (archive and install?) which installs a completely new system but keeps your preferences. Regardless, good backups are gold.

der kopf

It sounds very similar to a problem I was having lately in 10.2.2. I would open a finder window, change it's view and bang, the finder would, as you say disappear (though in my case - and I bet in yours too - it actually crashes and relaunches - this happens quite quickly). I have not found a real reason for it. The only constancy seems to have been the directory to which all 'crash'-causing subdirectories belonged.



I have to be honest though and say I have not found a definitive solution. I'm still afraid of these crashes, though I haven't had one in a little while now. I don't think the cache trick helped.