Apple Apps Not Properly Launching

[timothetoad]

I've tried to boot into safe mode, reset PRAM, and even tried repairing disk permissions.

For some reason, a handful of the stock Apple apps won't bother launching. These include Mail, Messages, Pages, and Terminal. There might be other apps that don't launch, but essentially it bounces in the dock once and just sits there.

Has anyone had this issue before?

 

[Alimar]

I've tried to boot into safe mode, reset PRAM, and even tried repairing disk permissions.

For some reason, a handful of the stock Apple apps won't bother launching. These include Mail, Messages, Pages, and Terminal. There might be other apps that don't launch, but essentially it bounces in the dock once and just sits there.

Has anyone had this issue before?

Depending on what OS is running, I've been able to correct this by trashing the preferences (.plist), re-booting, then launching the app again. In Mavericks and Yosemite, the User > Home > Library is hidden. I had to make it visible to access the questionable prefs.

 

[timothetoad]

Depending on what OS is running, I've been able to correct this by trashing the preferences (.plist), re-booting, then launching the app again. In Mavericks and Yosemite, the User > Home > Library is hidden. I had to make it visible to access the questionable prefs.

Are you talking about an app specific preferences plist? How would I access that?

 

[Alimar]

Are you talking about an app specific preferences plist? How would I access that?

Home > Library > Preferences - search through each pref until you find the app name (some prefs don't start with app name, but contain the name). It will end in .plist. In Mavericks and Yosemite the Home (your name) Library is hidden, so you have to 'Show Home Library' in Finder Prefs. Once you find the questionable pref .plist, decide whether you want to attempt this. I often copy the pref to an external drive, in case the process doesn't work, I put the original back. Because the pref is being used by the System, you may have to restart to disable and trash it.

As always, caution, as I recommend deleting .plist as personal choice and a last resort.

Whew!