I just got a new 1.5 powerbook this past week. I just left to take a shower and when i came back i woke my computer up from sleeping. Everything was cleared from the internet history. Nothing remembered my passwords like AIM. I logged off then logged back in, then i found none of my icons were on the desktop. My bar at the bottom with all the icons doesn't have genie effect anymore. Whats going on??? I think i might have to use the restore disk.
Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
I think i have a serious problem...
- Thread starter JzzTrump22
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
I'm a bit concerned, because this sounds a LOT like what I saw in this thread.
It sounds like your preferences have been trashed.
I strongly rcommend backing up everything you value ASAP in case the root cause of the problem is still affecting your system.
Next, do you have a backup of your home folder/library folder/preferences? If so, restore these.
Please keep us advised.
It sounds like your preferences have been trashed.
I strongly rcommend backing up everything you value ASAP in case the root cause of the problem is still affecting your system.
Next, do you have a backup of your home folder/library folder/preferences? If so, restore these.
Please keep us advised.
Luckily i don't have anything on it that is important. So i don't need to back up anything because i've only had it for about 5 days. What would you suggest i do? Restore the system to factory setting with the restore cd's? Should i even bother calling apple?
If you've got nothing to lose, then that is, by far, the best way to go. But I'd call Apple support first. They might have heard of this problem, and you don't want it to pop up again once you've reinstalled (i.e., maybe one of the OS updates is problematic for certain machines, etc.).
Did you repair permissions and then restart? That's the first step you *always* take when you have a problem...
paul
paul
paulwhannel said:
Definitely. Sorry. Got this thread and the other one confused and forgot that you hadn't tried that yet.
Agreed on repairing permissions/restarting. That's the 1st step anytime OS X acts up.
I'd also caution jsw against drawing conculsions about Macs being infected with a virus (in another thread) based on the problems of a couple of newbies. These are the kinds of problems that happen until people learn how to maintain a Mac. It's no cause for alarm. Well, okay, it's alarming to the person having the problem but it's not a worry for the Mac community in general.
I'd also caution jsw against drawing conculsions about Macs being infected with a virus (in another thread) based on the problems of a couple of newbies. These are the kinds of problems that happen until people learn how to maintain a Mac. It's no cause for alarm. Well, okay, it's alarming to the person having the problem but it's not a worry for the Mac community in general.
Open your Applications Folder.
Open the Utilities folder inside of that.
Open up Disk Utility.
Select your hard disk from the icons on the left.
Select the 'Repair Disk Permissions' button.
Let us know how it goes...
PS To HorrorTaxi: Sorry to jump to conclusions. I just saw these two posts one after the other. I'm back on my anti-paranoia medication now.
Open the Utilities folder inside of that.
Open up Disk Utility.
Select your hard disk from the icons on the left.
Select the 'Repair Disk Permissions' button.
Let us know how it goes...
PS To HorrorTaxi: Sorry to jump to conclusions. I just saw these two posts one after the other. I'm back on my anti-paranoia medication now.
What is the disk permissions supposed to do? restore everything to the way it was without doing a full system restore? If this doesn't work i should do a full system restore, right?
Repairing Disk Permissions will repair the disk permissions. You know, sometimes when the system is the owner of a file, and the group is admin and you don't have write access. Repairing permissions will see that you (an admin) does not have permissions to write to a file in the admin group and will correct this.
When doing Repair Permissions, always do it from the Panther/Jaguar disk, not from the Disk Utility software on your Mac. Boot up from the disk (insert it, reboot, and hold "C" for about 30 seconds as you restart), then go to the Disk Utility app from the menu bar once everything has loaded, click the First Aid tab, and hit the Repair Permissions button. It's a better idea to do it from the disk than from right on your computer because permissions might still be changing as you're repairing them if you repair them from right on your Mac.
I'm just going to do a full restore to factory settings. Just incase i do have a bug or majore problem, i'll make sure i get rid of it. If i totally restore, do you think i would have any problems like this again within a short time?
IF you have a hardware malfunction, such as bad RAM, it will probably happen again. But the cause can be software related. Example: Installing a selection of alpha, beta, or developmental software, in which all of the bugs haven't been removed, might cause problems during its operation. If such a program "goes down south" on you, the effect could be anywhere from an application crash to a damaged system GUI or worse.
Well i have been installing a lot of updates because i just got this thing. But i don't think the mac software updates couls have done this. I also downloaded a few programs which are AIM and Limewire. Also i downloaded America's Army and the Call of Duty demo. The demo might have done it. The last update i did for the system was Stuffit. But that shouldn't of done anything. And the system was running fine untill today. I think it was because i tried downloading a few game demos.
I did disk permission. I don't know how i am supposed to tell what is fixed. What should i look for?
ANY selection of unstable software -- whether it's for a Mac, PC, Linux, etc. -- can do that to the computer. Don't be fooled into thinking that just because you're on a Mac means it's completely bulletproof. It's more bulletproof than Windows, but it's not a superintelligent robot, so it can't tell whether or not a selection of software has this bug, or that bug, etc. and when/how it'll affect the system. The point is: By installing and using any software on any computer that hasn't been fully tested, you put your computer at risk of software problems. <-- That's the number one reason for computer problems, in my opinion.JzzTrump22 said:
So if you want a sure-safe machine for 6 months or longer without having to erase and install again, be highly selective on what software you use, and make sure no one else using the software experiences serious problems with it. Remember the iTunes 2.0 for Mac OS X issue years back?
So do you think this is software related? If it is, then i can easily fix this problem by not downloading any demos. But AIM, Limewire, and America's Army shouldn't of affected anything. I definatly think it was the demos because i started having the problems today and thismorning is when i downloaded the demos.
It's probably related to the software, although many people have used that stuff without any difficulties. Make sure that you get all the security updates as well. However, if you restore the system and it happens again shortly, it might very well be a physical problem. What happened to you is a rare thing to happen on a new system when you haven't done all that much to mess with it. Again, though, it's almost undoubtedly the software.
Incorrect. Limewire is a P2P application. Every current stand-alone P2P application has memory leakage issues as far as I know. Poisoned, Limewire, Drumbeat, xDonkey, and mlmac are just a few of the apps. Memory leakage means (given that my own memory serves me appropriately) once you quit the P2P application, processes from the P2P app will continue even after closure, and those processes will consume your RAM little by little until you restart your computer. So using other applications with Limewire, or even after using Limewire, will take up even more RAM, but more so than you would expect from not using a P2P application.JzzTrump22 said:
Ok, thanks for the help. I guess i'll do a full system restore just to make sure i get whatever it is out of the system. I'll post again once i restore and use it again for a few days.