macOS HELP:cannot open folders etc through terminal

[aussiemac86]

I posted a similar thread in the OSX forum but nobody seemed to be able to help.

I have just upgraded from 10.3.9 to 10.4.2:
*safari wont open (unexpectedly quits as soon as i click on the icon)

* the finder is sluggish (windows sometimes open blank and then several seconds later the contents of the folder appear)

*and when i go into terminal and type "open applications" or try to open any other folder, it just switches to finder but the folder doesnt open and there is no error message in the terminal.

The fact that the terminal is not performing such a basic function concerns me that there may be something major wrong with my mac.

I have already reinstalled OS 10.4.2 under the "archive and install" option and the same things happen. I have repaired permissions as well.

I am running a dual 2.5Ghz G5 w/1.5GB ram

any help would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

 

[HexMonkey]

Do these problems affect all users or one user only? If you only have one user, create a new one and check if the problems occur there. If they are user specific, then the problems are probably being caused by a corrupt file somewhere in your user's Library folder (these files are generally not deleted when doing an archive and install), which could be tracked down and deleted.

If the problems affect all users, it could be something more severe. Try booting from the Tiger DVD and seeing if Disk Utility reports anything if you try to repair your disk.

 

[aussiemac86]

Do these problems affect all users or one user only? If you only have one user, create a new one and check if the problems occur there. If they are user specific, then the problems are probably being caused by a corrupt file somewhere in your user's Library folder (these files are generally not deleted when doing an archive and install), which could be tracked down and deleted.

If the problems affect all users, it could be something more severe. Try booting from the Tiger DVD and seeing if Disk Utility reports anything if you try to repair your disk.

I made up a new user and safari worked and finder was quicker (not as quick as it was in panther), but the problem with the terminal still remained. I also booted from the tiger DVD and verified the disk and repaired permissions, nothing was found to be wrong though.

any more suggestions before i start doing another install, this time erasing the entire disk?

Thanks

 

[HexMonkey]

If I type "open applications" into Terminal like you mentioned in the first post, the same thing happens to me (Finder is activated but nothing opens). This is because the folder name isn't a Unix style path. To open the Applications folder, for example, you should type "open /Applications", or to open the Utilities folder, you'd type "open /Applications/Utilities".

As for the other problems, you should be able to fix them for your main user by using trial and error (move things in and out of your user's Library folder, checking for the problems after each change, eventually narrowing it down to a single file). For the Safari problem, there are a few obvious files it could be, so begin by moving ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.Safari.plist and ~/Library/Safari/ and then seeing if Safari works. The Finder issue could be more difficult to track down, but moving ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.Finder.plist might help (you'll need to relaunch Finder for any changes to take effect).

 

[mwpeters8182]

I didn't even know you could open folders from the terminal. You learn something new every day.

What programs do you have installed? Anything that tinkers with the OS at all?

MWP

 

[Cooknn]

I never knew about the Open functionality either. Tried it last night and it worked for me...

 

[jeremy.king]

Let spotlight finish indexing.

Check the performance of your hard drive using Xbench to see if its having issues.

What does this have to do with Programming?