safari won't work after update - help?

so a couple of days ago i did those mac updates that you get every once in a while for itunes, safari, etc, etc etc......

anyway - the updates finished and it said that there was an error in one of the updates and it was the safari one. then it told me to restart my computer and i did - i figured if the one didn't finish it would just make me do it again later - no big deal right? well - i was waay wrong. safari won't even open up anymore. neither will itunes. a few others like adium but thats not a big deal. without safari i didn't know what to do. first i tried to reinstall it from the disks that came with my computer but i don't want to have to erase everything and when i tried to just reinstall the applications it didn't really do anything.

so then i went and downloaded firefox from another computer and put it on my macbook and so now i have the internet again through that but it doesn't fix my other problems. i don't really care if i have to switch from safari to firefox but the other issue of itunes not working is a problem. i don't know if its a safari problem leaking into the other programs or if everything that was supposed to update got messed up. i tried downloading safari from apple's website but when i went to run/install it that wouldn't even work. i tried trashing safari thinking that maybe i needed to get rid of it entirely before downloading it fresh. it won't empty.

i don't know. i feel really stupid that i can't figure this thing out. i'm usually not this clueless about my computer but i don't know what to do. if anyone can lend any advice or solutions i would really really appreciate it.

not to sound like a moron but what does that mean? is that the same as [save my stuff then] erase and install from the disks?


or just the apps?


or..........something else entirely

ok i'm still stuck. i tried doing the archive and install. it goes through the steps up to the "installing" part and then it says "an error occurred during installation. please restart your computer" leaving me with only wasted time and still useless applications.

then i saw the last post in this thread and tried the standalone "fix". it downloads fine, but when i go to install the installer pops up for one or two bounces in the dock - then gives the "this application has suddenly quit" error report box. it gives the option to "reopen" but it just opens an empty window.

i don't know what to do. i'm really dreading having to wipe the computer with an erase and install. has anyone had this and fixed it? [assuming they had the same problems getting through the Archive and Install, and standalone downloads? i really don't know what the problem is. this all went down after that update and it's kind of ridiculous. i could live without safari but without itunes is just irritating. not to mention i've been using firefox which just now is getting buggy too [i can't upload photos to facebook - it quits - wtf?] i don't think i came in contac with any malicious software or anything!

anyone have/fix this persistent problem? i've looked here and on the apple support boards but anyone with a "fix" gets it in a safari reinstall from apple.com - and i can't install anything?

????????

ok. thank you for your suggestions.

1) i tried to do this. i'm not sure that i did it right though. i put in the OS disk, and restarted using the disk. i went to the utilities menu at the top of the screen to get to the Disk Repair. I selected the Mac HD drive and clicked to run the disk repair. it did not complete. it gave some error message that said that the task reported error upon exit?? i tried this 3 times with the same result.

2) i didn't get #1 to work so i'm sure that this step was then probably moot. i tried it anyway. it went and actually downloaded and installed fine. i tried to run it though and i got the same problem that i have with safari and itunes in that it would bounce in the dock a few times then disappear.

2b) yes i still have safari in my system. when i first had the problem i tried to trash it then install it "clean" but it wouldn't leave the trash. maybe i should try this again?

noooooo! this sounds awful. are there any other "home" tests i can run to try and "diagnose" if it would be a hard drive issue?

is how i described a few posts up how i tried to run the disk repair correct? maybe i didn't do the right steps.

if it's a hard drive rather than a software issue what can i expect in terms of fixing it? a new part? maybe just tinkering around inside? and what in terms of pocketbook effect? i don't have applecare. i got this mbp last august. i wasn't expecting anything like this to happen for at least one or two years.

okay. after making my last post - i was going to try and run the disk utility again but then i saw that you can do the Apple Hardware Test through the same disk. i ran that. the initial short test turned up: no trouble found. after that i ran the extended test and it also came up: no trouble found.

is this test reliable in terms of hardware? does that mean my hard drive is okay?

ok so from these replies things are not looking good. i guess i will go and copy all my data to an external hard drive [is there anything that can just back it up - i don't have time machine - i have tiger]. but....if i'm copying all my data anyway - should i just try and do an erase and install? or would i just be wasting my time?

if it is a hard drive problem what are the potential procedures? my mbp is still under the limited warranty until august. would something like this be covered or am i going to have to spend a wad of cash to fix a relatively new computer? also i don't have applecare. is that a problem?

anyone have any idea why this hardware issue would only come up after the software update? it seems strange that it would be triggered or exploited by that. it should just be a software issue. i don't understand.

ok.....so after spending an entire day trying to save my data [and i don't even have that much....i tried CCC - wouldn't install....then SuperDuper.....and my external HD was the wrong format???? what a waste of $30. ended up copying files individually ] i was going to do the Erase and Install today.

However......i got to thinking......if i couldn't run the Archive and Install to completion perhaps this would be a devastatingly bad idea? As in - if it would erase the entire destination drive, and then go to install....and then for some reason fail.......would i be left with a "bricked" mbp?

perhaps i should just wait. i'm going to try and make an appointment at the apple store tomorrow. i've never been to one before so we'll see how that goes. is the erase and install a bad idea?

alright well here's some closure for the folks who weighed in on this matter for me.

i didn't do an erase and install at home. i thought that perhaps since i couldn't even complete an archive and install....that if everything got erased, and then it couldn't reinstall then i would have one expensive paperweight.

so i took it to the apple store [luckily one opened a couple of months ago - otherwise we didn't even have one]. i got to the store for my 1:20 appt. they take a look at it. then they run some diagnostic thing to see what kind of issue it has. it turns out not to be a hard drive problem [thankfully]. it ends up being "invalid sibling links" which i don't really know what that is. anyway - they say that an erase and install should fix it [if only i would have just done that at home right!?] so they say well i should be faster since it's over their network blah blah blah. anyway.......it finally downloads and goes to install at around oh........3:00. it should have supposedly taken 40 minutes but whatever. okay. so it goes to restart and has a total kernal panic. WTF right? well...by this time the guy that was originally helping me has gone on break and another guy is now helping me. he looks at it and sees that the first guy had installed THE WRONG VERSION of the os. effing-A man! at this point i was ready to just grab my computer and be like - i'll do this at home but i ended up letting the second guy start the process over again with the right version. by the time round 2 was about 1/2 way through the first guy comes back and is like "woah - you're still here?" in my head of course i'm like 'yeah - not thanks to you'. so long story short i didn't get out of the store until like 4:15 by the time the install was over and all the updates were put on.

that was the biggest waste of my time ever.

i mean i'm glad that i didn't try and do something at home and majorly screw it up but seriously. i wish they could have just told me what the problem was and how to fix it instead of doing it there. whatev. my programs are back. things are well again.


the end. thanks to everyone who tried to help.

Yes, if you do an erase and install you would lose everything - you're clearing out everything to do a clean install. it would revert your computer to how it was when you got it.

if you're having the same problem as i had though - other than certain programs not opening you shouldn't have any problems still getting to your files and stuff to copy them. you can copy your bookmarks by going to "export bookmarks". just copy all your files to an external drive or many CDRs or whatever you have to use. your computer should work perfectly after an erase and install. [if you do in fact have the same problem as i did. i went to the mac store to make sure that there wasn't a hard drive problem or something more serious]

oh.....it's in the file menu when you have safari open.....but i guess that won't work for you if you can't open safari. do you have firefox - or some other web browser open on your comp? there should be something similar. if you're not even using your computer for internet - what happened to me was that i downloaded firefox from another computer to a travell drive, and then put it on my mac. when i went through the install of it -there was an option to import your bookmarks. then you just have to find the export bookmarks option on the menus there. i don't have firefox anymore but i would start with the file menu and go from there.