Finder quit unexpectedly

[samjesse]

Hi
I am running snow Leapard 10.6.8.
The application Finder Can't be opened. -10810
I have just bought my first ever mac and was working fine till I held down the C key while powering it up and waited for a min., now I am getting pop ups with the post title error message.
X+space opens the spotlight and am able to get to the Disk Utility. I am able to start up in safe boot.
I do not have any external bootable or installation disc, and not sure where to go from here to fix this man made screw up.

I followed the instructions http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/finder.html to delete the "offending" files but I get No Such file or directory.
Please help patiently.

 

[MJWMac1988]

You have definitely stumbled into one of the most complicated (hard to fix) issues I have ever seen in the Mac OS (at least in OS X versions prior to Yosemite and El Capitan). You probably know this by now, but the only time you should hold down the "C" key while starting up your computer is when there is a startup disc in the CD/DVD drive, never when it is empty or when a non-bootable disc is inserted. In my opinion, you should have simply gotten a flashing Finder-folder symbol when your computer couldn't find a bootable CD/DVD, not the Finder error you are experiencing.

1.) In your case, it's probably too late to start up in Safe Mode again and go to "Startup Disk" in the System Preferences and simply re-select your internal hard drive as the default startup drive. I think the "Finder has unexpectedly quit" warning means it is too late to try this, but it's still worth a shot.

2.) Here is a more relevant link on "The X Lab" website that you linked to above. The info seems long, complicated and hit-or-miss: Error -10810 Opening Applications or Relaunching Finder.

3.) For now, you could reboot into Safe Mode and (temporarily) create a new OS X user account (with full administrator privileges) to see if the problem occurs there too. If it doesn't, then you would at least have a safe, stable account to use while trying to fix the problem in the main user account. If it finally becomes necessary (because you can't fix the problem), you could transfer all of your personal files into the new account via the Shared folder. Use the same password for both accounts, as this may make it less troublesome when transferring files.

4.) If you don't already have an external hard drive, you should definitely buy one (of more than sufficient size) and use Carbon Copy Cloner (not free) or BackupList+ (free) to clone your internal hard drive to it. I could make a further suggestion here, but I don't want to include too much at once, especially since the additional info might not be practical anyway.

5.) You really should buy the retail Snow Leopard disc from Apple. It's only $19.99. Click here. You may need it for future emergencies and definitely for doing a clean install of the OS (after backing up your files, of course).

 

[samjesse]

The application Finder Can't be opened. -10810 error happens once in a while and not all the time.

Suggestions #3 did not go well.
Preference Error (Could not load Accounts preference pane).

I bought this second hand macbook pro with some software already loaded which I can not afford to buy. Would suggestions #4 or #5 retain the software?

I started the Mac and I get two pop-ups
1. There is a conflict with the "HelveticaNeue.dfont" font file. ... [Move to trach | Allow Conflict]
2. Google Chrome cannot be opened because of a problem...[Ignore | Report]

 

[MJWMac1988]

The application Finder Can't be opened. -10810 error happens once in a while and not all the time.

That's good. Then you should easily be able to go to the Home > Library > Preferences folder and manually move the com.apple.finder.plist file to the trash. Then log out and back in again right away. If you've already done this, and it didn't fix the problem, then you don't need to do it again. But just remember that logging out and back in as soon as you have moved it to the trash is an important step.

I bought this second hand macbook pro with some software already loaded which I can not afford to buy. Would suggestions #4 or #5 retain the software?

Suggestion #4 would definitely retain the software. That's the whole point of backing everything up on an external hard drive. That way, if something goes wrong with your internal hard drive you will still have all of your apps and personal files safely backed up and ready to be transferred back to either a new or erased internal hard drive. The great thing about cloning (and regularly backing up) your computer's internal hard drive is that you can, if necessary, start up from the external drive (like starting up from a CD/DVD) to do troubleshooting.

Suggestion #5 (clean install) is a last resort and should only be done if a problem becomes really serious and you can't find any way to fix it. As stated before, you must have everything fully backed up before you do a clean install (Suggestion #4). If you don't, you will lose everything. In fact, don't worry about my clean install comment at this time.

Buying a Snow Leopard DVD is something you should consider doing even if you never have to use it. You may need it someday, if something goes seriously wrong, and you need to reinstall OS X. Snow Leopard discs won't be available from Apple forever.

I don't know if the following will fix your problem or not, but it's worth a try: Download the free AppleJack here and install it. Then watch this video to see how to access it and use it. It's a lot easier than it looks (many people use it at least once a month; I used to use it all the time). The man in the video says to start up in AppleJack by holding down the Command, Option and S keys while turning on/restarting the computer, but only the Command and S keys are necessary. The split second the black screen appears, let go of the keys and wait for the white text to stop scrolling. The last line of white text will tell you to type "applejack" (without the quotes) and then hit the return key. The man in the video says the same thing; however, I suggest that you type "applejack AUTO restart", as I always do ("AUTO" must be in all caps). This way, AppleJack will run automatically from the beginning to the end. It will also do a deeper clean than usual. It will also cause your computer to restart back to the normal screen by itself when it is finished. You don't even have to sit and wait. Will AppleJack fix your problem? I don't know, but it might. It is a great app to use for once-a-month maintenance anyway.

 

[MJWMac1988]

I started the Mac and I get two pop-ups
1. There is a conflict with the "HelveticaNeue.dfont" font file. ... [Move to trach | Allow Conflict]
2. Google Chrome cannot be opened because of a problem...[Ignore | Report]

Font: I don't know what to suggest about the font issue.

Chrome: Quite Chrome if it is (somehow) open. Go into the Home > Library > Application Support > Google Chrome folder and find the bookmarks file (and history file if possible, if you care about it) and drag them to the desktop. Then drag the Google Chome folder from the Application Support folder to the Trash. Don't empty the trash yet, though. Open Google Chrome and create at least one bookmark (doesn't matter what you bookmark). Quit Google Chrome and go back to the Application Support > Google Chrome folder and move the NEW bookmarks and history files to the trash and put your originals back in there. I've never used Chrome before, but this always works with Safari.

 

[samjesse]

Using the terminal ls command, in Home > Library > Preferences folder, I do not see any com.apple.finder let alone .plist as well. I remember trying to remove it yesterday but could not find it as well.

Suggestion #4 about cloning the hard drive, would not that also clone the current problem of Finder quit unexpectedly?

 

[MJWMac1988]

Using the terminal ls command, in Home > Library > Preferences folder, I do not see any com.apple.finder let alone .plist as well. I remember trying to remove it yesterday but could not find it as well.

That's really very strange, almost a seeming impossibility (see here). It only makes a tiny bit of sense if you have not yet restarted or logged out since the last time you attempted to delete it using the Terminal.app. It's one-in-a-trillion absence certainly could explain the strange problems you are having. Without having a backup drive from which to retrieve an old com.apple.finder.plist file (see here), I don't know an easy way to get a new one to appear, aside from restarting or logging out and back in, but that's a waste of time if you've already done it.

If it was possible in your case, I would once again suggest that you create a new OS X user account with Administrator privileges; then log out of the original user account and log in to the new one. Then delete the original account. During the deletion process, make absolutely sure to select "Save the home folder in a disk image" (watch this short video), so you don't delete all of your personal files (this is the easier way to transfer your files than the way I previously suggested). However, the problem is, you said your computer won't let you create a new OS X user account, although you could try it again while NOT in Safe Mode.

If the above doesn't work (again), I repeat that you really need to buy an external hard drive and a Snow Leopard DVD. You should partition it into two partitions and make the second partition 80 or 90 percent smaller than the first partition. Back up your internal hard drive to the larger partition, and use the DVD to install Snow Leopard on the smaller partition (use the same user name and password that you have on your computer). You could then grab the newly created "com.apple.finder.plist" file from the new installation on the external drive and copy it into your Preferences folder on the internal hard drive. If this procedure works, it could possibly allow you to avoid doing a clean install for the foreseeable future.

Suggestion #4 about cloning the hard drive, would not that also clone the current problem of Finder quit unexpectedly?

I didn't want to make yesterday's comments any longer than they already are, so I decided to wait for you ask me that question. Yes, it would clone the current problem; however, it is a lot better to have everything backed up as soon as possible, even if the problem gets backed up too. Later, after the problem is fixed on your computer, you would back up your internal hard drive again, and this would eliminate the problem on the external drive. Backing up the "current problem" is also one of the reasons I think you should buy a Snow Leopard DVD. That way, you can get rid of the problem with a clean install if everything else you try fails to fix the problem.

 

[samjesse]

Thank you for all the time/attention you gave.

I downloaded El Capitan 2 days ago. Will clicking its icon and moving through with it fix this (get rid of SL and the Finder quit unexpectedly problem)?
Will I get an option to either upgrade or clean install? is so; I wish to clean install.

 

[MJWMac1988]

Thank you for all the time/attention you gave.

You're welcome.

I downloaded El Capitan 2 days ago.

Okay, but you definitely need to verify that your favorite, irreplaceable apps are compatible with El Capitan (or any OS newer than Snow Leopard). If they aren't, you will have to buy new versions, which I'm sure you don't want to do. [There is more on this below.]

Will clicking its icon and moving through with it fix this (get rid of SL and the Finder quit unexpectedly problem)?

I doubt it will fix it, but I can't say for sure. Installers don't usually replace old or missing "com.apple.finder.plist" files with new ones. In my many years of experience, upgrading a defective OS to a new OS always makes matters worse in the new OS than they were in the old OS. That is why I always do clean installs on my own computers.

If your Finder glitch will allow it, and if you have lots of free (unused) disk space, you could open Snow Leopard's Disk Utility and add a temporary new partition (of 20 or 30 GBs?) to your internal hard drive and install El Capitan on it (if you don't know how to add a partition, let me know). This will leave the Snow Leopard partition untouched. Then you could test El Capitan for a while to see if it will work for you. Any apps that aren't compatible with El Capitan will have X's over their icons. If there are no X's over them, you may still have to copy them (and any associated Library files) to the El Capitan partition before trying to use them in El Capitan. Watch this short how-to video on doing a clean install of El Capitan. He even does it on a separate partition, if that idea appeals to you.

Before you install El Capitan (if you decide to do it), you might want to consider backing up the "Install OS X El Capitan" file onto a USB stick. This is necessary if you want to keep it, because the installer in the Applications folder will delete itself after it is finished doing the installation. By putting it on a USB stick you won't have to download it again if you ever need it again. After the upgrade, you can turn the USB stick into an actual bootable installer disk (it's too wordy to explain in detail here why I think it is easier wait until after the upgrade to do this).

Will I get an option to either upgrade or clean install? is so; I wish to clean install.

By default, you will initially get only the upgrade option. In order to change it to a "clean install," you will have to startup from the installer and then, before doing the actual installation, open the Disk Utility app that is on the installer and use it to erase the hard drive (I repeat, do this only after you've cloned/backed up your internal hard drive to an external hard drive!!). Then you would quit Disk Utility and continue with the installation. If you create a second partition on the internal hard drive, then you won't have to erase anything. Just select the new, empty partition and install El Capitan on it.

 

[samjesse]

I did the following before reading you last post.
Upgrading to El Capitan. The previously installed apps are all working fine except one which I want to get ride of (Flip4Mac). Finder now works.

 

[MJWMac1988]

I did the following before reading you last post.
Upgrading to El Capitan. The previously installed apps are all working fine except one which I want to get ride of (Flip4Mac). Finder now works in the El Capitan environment.

That's great! You really did beat the odds, though, because problems like your computer was experiencing almost always DO make matters worse. Maybe El Capitan is so radically different from Snow Leopard that your problem was alien to it; therefore, it became inert in the El Capitan environment????

I'm really glad everything worked out and that all of your important apps still work. You might want to download and regularly run as many free maintenance apps as possible (apps such as OnyX). If you ever consider purchasing a maintenance app, one of the very best (and, regrettably, most expensive) is DiskWarrior. It has fixed many extremely serious problems for me since 1998, problems that were incurable without it. Others said it couldn't fix the Finder problem you experienced, though.

Hopefully, some of my wordy suggestions above will eventually help one or two other people who find there way here via Google, people who can't upgrade to newer versions of OS X due to their need for Rosetta.