I Can’t Take It Anymore - I Give Up! Please Help.

[Zanti]

MBP 80g HD 33g Free - 2g Ram

New HardDrive, OpticalDrive and Battery installed in Jan. 09, Leopard reinstalled at same time. Upgrade of all Apple Software - complete system diagnosis by Apple Tech.

Reinstalled Leopard Via Archive Install prior to Snow Leopard Upgrade.

Upgraded to Snow Leopard

Backed up HD prior to Upgrade Snow Leopard

SuperDuper Clone Backup - Not a FireWire ext. HD but USB, so it will not do a bootable start. Time Machine is backing up and working fine as far as I can tell.


I’ve had a couple of post here trying to fix a problem with Leopard/Snow Leopard. While I did receive a few excellent suggestions that I followed through with, nothing has worked.

I need help to try something different but in order to do so I will share a brief overview of what the problem is, suggestions tried and results.

Main Admin. Account: Multiple Safari Crashes - 90% of Sites with video will not play including any yahoo videos - Frequent spinning wheels on Safari causing total lock-up and hard start - Full Tilt poker site will not load at all -

Performed verify disk permissions, repair permissions several times - Uninstalled Flash, Reinstalled Flash several times - Updated 1 password - Switched to FireFox, no crashes but still frequent lock-ups, freezes and spinning wheel -

Created New Admin. User Account - All most seemed like a new computer - no crashes with FireFox - Crashes with Safari - Still getting lock-ups - All Videos working with no problems - FullTilt Working with no problem - 1 password not work, moved from 1st. Admin. Account, not working on 2nd. Admin. Account - Mail working very slow on 2nd. Admin. Account - Had a few times when trying to save in Pages caused a lock-up and hard restart, lost data -

Help in trying something different.
Because the problem seems to be software related what I want to do is do a full clean/erase install of Leopard and then reinstall Snow Leopard. I want to start all over and just bring over only the Apps I need.

All of this is new to me - What do I need to do to make sure I can keep the following intact so I can add them after reinstalling Snow Leopard:
1 password - DevonThink - Download Files - Documents - Applications - i Tunes - Address Book - Book Marks, Safari and FireFox - RapidWeaver App and Website - (not sure what I may be leaving out)

I’m assuming that mail is saved and there is nothing I need to do with that, correct? I do have a mobile.me account.

I’m concerned with losing my passwords on 1 password.

I know that I am leaving somethings out that I should probably do, but bottom line is, I need as much detail helps as anyone is willing to give me to get my computer back up and running smoothly.

I have an IM business and this is causing me a lot of problems.

Any Tips, Thoughts, Ideas would be very helpful.

Thanks so much for your help.


These are the previous links all in the past two months:

Sept. 12/09 https://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?p=8478099#post8478099

 

[JRoDDz]

Most of us (myself included) have an attention span of perhaps 1 paragraph or 2 at most. Your post is entirely too long to read.

 

[dZp]

Because the problem seems to be software related what I want to do is do a full clean/erase install of Leopard and then reinstall Snow Leopard.

Why bother installing Leopard in the first place? Just do a full clean/erase install of Snow Leopard. Whatever Snow Leopard DVD you have, once you boot from it, go to the menu bar at the top and select Disk Utility to erase your hard drive. After that you can start the Snow Leopard installation.

NOTE: obviously, keep your SuperDuper! backup on an external drive so that you can rescue whatever files you need to restore.

 

[nazuk]

Can't be bothered to read all that....

However, just by the quick scan and getting the gist of it...

You need to to a CLEAN/FRESH install, wipe your hard drive with disk utility, and do not restore from the backup.

You have too many problems with your existing install to even bother restoring all that rubbish back.

Just reinstall your apps, and then move your more importnant data over one by one, eg: music library, photo's and documents.

Just start afresh, that way you can be sure there's no glemlins carried over from your previous setup/backup.

 

[justaregularjoe]

CLIFF NOTES TO THE MAX:

"Newish Mac, okay specs.

Flash causes crashes of Safari on multiple accounts, Firefox locks up system on mult. accounts.

I want to do a clean install, but keep my program settings + 3rd parties.

Please help, this is sucking for my business."



Here is what you should do. Keep your old Leopard SuperDuper, but make a new one right now. KEEP BOTH. Manually back up your docs/downloads/pr0n to a seperate disk

CLEAN INSTALL Snow Leopard. Hose the entire disc, all partitions, everything.

Download your third parties again, setup 1password, mail, yada yada yada.

If things still suck, go back to your snow leopard super duper, if they STILL suck , go back to leopard.

 

[snberk103]

And to add.... before adding *any* 3rd party apps and plugins back in to your new installation, confirm that they are compatible with Snow Leopard. Do a google search on each one to see if users are complaining of issues similar to your problems. For example, even if it is Flash that freezing up in Safari, it may be caused by a 3rd party plugin you have installed.

Good Luck.

 

[Richard1028]

I have an IM business and this is causing me a lot of problems.

IMO you have no business upgrading to a new OS if you're so dependent on the current one for your income.

I'd get back to Leopard and wait until I had the time to deal with a clean install (as others have correctly suggested you do). And while you're at it... you might as well wait for 10.6.2 as it's just around the corner.

You'll get there one day... there's no hurry and there is certainly nothing in SL that you MUST have.

 

[Consultant]

Does it happen without third party apps?

Clean install, NO THIRD PARTY APPS, and test.

 

[Zanti]

Thanks for the help.

I apologize for the length of the post.

If I didn't add what I've already done, I was concerned I would be told a repeat of previous post. Sorry.

Had these problems prior to SL thought SL might fix them, hence upgrading to SL.

I don't have the experience as some of you and I'm just trying to learn, not, well it's ok.

I'm a little gun shy now to ask any follow-up questions.

I really do appreciate the help.

Thanks,

 

[Gregg2]

I’m concerned with losing my passwords on 1 password.

Then record them elsewhere before you do anything that might cause them to be lost! Don't rely on them still being there afterwards. Back up your back up.

Glad you're still ticking. I was afraid that you were suicidal from your title. But then, I reasoned that "Please Help" meant that you really had not given up. If you can't take it, someone else will take it off your hands and fix it. Most things really can be fixed, if we're talking software.

 

[snberk103]

Don't worry about the length of your initial post. If you had shortened it then someone would have complained you didn't give enough info.

The vast majority of Mac users are not experiencing the problems you are. Therefore there is something different about your setup. It may sound like Macs are problem ridden if all you read are these threads - but remember that the majority of people posting here are only posting because they have a problem. People with no problems don't tend to post here.

Is the memory all original? Can you duplicate the problem by doing the same thing each time, or is it only sometimes that the problem develops?

Reinstall the OS, Leopard or Snow Leopard, and nothing else. Do clean install. Then do the things that cause the problems. If the problems pop up, then post what you did exactly as you did it. If someone on this board with the same hardware gets the same problem, then its a bug in the Apple software and there are ways to let them know. If no-one else can duplicate your problem, and if you have nothing but a basic installation, I would guess that its hardware related.

If, with the basic installation, you can't get the problems to appear, then start adding back the pieces of software you use. After each one, do whatever it took to get the problem to appear. If it doesn't appear, go on to the next application or plugin. Once it appears, you have probably identified the culprit.

Its a real chore, and a royal PITA, but I don't know another way of identifying the problem long distance.

Good Luck

 

[nemodomi]

Can't be bothered to read all that....

Obnoxious. Especially toward a newb.

 

[ntrigue]

1Password saves a 'Keychain' on your computer. Go to preferences to see where the file is... Backup that file. (It's called 1Password.agilekeychain)

MobileMe is in the cloud. Mail will not be lost.

I would recommend going through all your Applications and finding the serial numbers and adding them to 1Password or Evernote or EMAIL.

Only after you're certain everything is saved/backed up. Use Disk Utility to Erase All Content then install just Snow Leopard.

 

[Zanti]

Thanks again for the help.

I will prepare to back up and then do an erase install of SL.

I was beginning to wonder if I made a mistake posting here. I can see from some of you that's it ok to be new here. Thanks.

My hope is that I will be able to assist someone in the future.

Z

 

[snberk103]

Let us know how it goes.

I was re-reading your original post, and noticed something. You say you have a SuperDuper back up to a USB external HD, and therefore its not bootable. Are you sure about that ? SuperDuper claims that external USB HDs (needs to be USB 2, not USB 1) are bootable as long as you have an Intel Mac. If you installed Snow Leopard, then you have an Intel Mac.

I would sort out the SuperDuper boot stuff, and then make a bootable back up as well as recording all your serial numbers and passwords as recommended above. That way if miss one, you can still boot into your back up and find the missing password or serial number.

Good Luck.

I'm sure you'll be able to help someone soon.

 

[Zanti]

Thanks, I misread the SuperDuper info about boot-able clone.

Well, I did the erase and install of SL.

Without moving any apps, docs or anything else over, I got a spinning wheel after opening Safari. Forced closed Safari and it seems to be working.

Using FireFox now.

Tried to open Disk Utility, got another spinning wheel, had to force quit. Not able to open disk utility right now.

Received error message that mail was not able to finish syncing.

I have mail boxes that I created for my website that are no longer showing in the left sidebar. How do I get them back? Do I have to recreate them somehow?

What is the best way to bring apps, docs, etc... from my cloned harddrive to the new clean HD one by one, so as not to bring over whatever was affecting performance before?

Please, it would help if you can give me step - by - step directions on any of this.

Thanks so much.

Z

 

[snberk103]

I am not a Mac guru, just someone who uses it a lot. So sometimes my advice may not be the most efficient. However, I am also very conservative with my data. So, with that disclosure said....

Don't do too many things with it too fast. If Safari is beachballing.... let it. Don't force quit things too fast. In the first hours or a day of a new OS, my understanding is that the system is indexing files and building caches. Things that will slow things down a bit. Let things work themselves through for the first day. If the system is still bogging down, especially if you haven't re-installed a lot of your apps, then perhaps you have other issues. Also, do you have a sense of how old your system is? I think you said you had an 80 Gig hard-drive. That sounds like it is an older system... and it will be slower regardless.

Before reinstalling your apps, confirm that your barebones system is running fine. You can boot off your bootable clone and continue to work for now. But if your barebones system is still having problems you need to fix that before bringing everything back.

Once you are ready to bring everything back I would reinstall each app one by one, and then copy over the data files. Work with just that one app to see if problems crop up. If they don't, after a day or so, then reinstall the next app. If problems develop, then you can work with the developer of the last installed app to see what they can do.

If you can find a good Mac Guru in your community, it will be easier for them to help diagnose issues since they can see what is happening, instead of relying on written descriptions.

Good Luck.

 

[Zanti]

Thank you, very good advice. I will slow down a bit.

What is the best way for me to move apps and files from the clone to the new drive one by one?

Right now I am doing it via two finder windows and drag and drop.

Thanks again,

Z

 

[Zanti]

Would this be an example of SL needing some time.

I was scrolling down in a finder window to move mail files and just from scrolling got a spinning wheel. This was almost one hour ago and it is still spinning.

To answer a previous question. I had a new harddrive, optical drive, battery and complete overhaul done by apple in Jan. 09.

Thanks,

Z

 

[aleksandra.]

Would this be an example of SL needing some time.

I was scrolling down in a finder window to move mail files and just from scrolling got a spinning wheel. This was almost one hour ago and it is still spinning.

To answer a previous question. I had a new harddrive, optical drive, battery and complete overhaul done by apple in Jan. 09.

Thanks,

Z

You may want to check Activity Monitor - if mds is running like mad, it's just indexing. If so wait at least a few more hours.

If the slowdown goes away and you're satisfied with your system's performance, don't even think of doing *any* sort of restore, including using Migration Assistant. I know it has been said over and over again in this thread, but it's really tempting to just get everything back. Only copy the contents of your home directory. "Library" in your home directory - NOT the one directly on Macintosh HD or in System directory - contains data used by apps, so if you copy it as well, you should get back all your Mail content, iCal events, Adium contacts, Firefox history, etc. You'd still need to configure Mail obviously, and it'll probably want to download all your emails again (it's far from perfect, but you should have them already in a separate mailbox, so you don't have to do this). It'll also import some Firefox plugins though - if you think any of them may have caused your problems, don't copy Library/Application Support/Firefox/ (or delete it before launching Firefox).

 

[snberk103]

Would this be an example of SL needing some time.

I was scrolling down in a finder window to move mail files and just from scrolling got a spinning wheel. This was almost one hour ago and it is still spinning.

To answer a previous question. I had a new harddrive, optical drive, battery and complete overhaul done by apple in Jan. 09.

Thanks,

Z

I don't know the answer to whether an hour is too long... but the suggestion below - to check activity monitor for "mds" is good one.

Just because Apple replaced the HD, optical drive, etc doesn't make it a new system. It could be an old system with some new parts. How much memory do you have installed? (check 'About this Mac' for the memory number.)

Getting your emails is a different process than most of the other applications. For most applications you can just open the two Finder windows and drag over.... but again, I suggest doing one at a time and work with the one you have just dragged over to see if it is the one causing problems.

Happy Turkey Day to everyone who calls the Great White North home, eh!

 

[Zanti]

Any thoughts on what could be causing this and what I can do to fix.

opened disk utility to do a repair permissions. Just opening disk utility caused a spinning wheel and it is still going.

Opened Activity Monitor - clicked disk activity and also got a spinning wheel.

Same thing happened yesterday with disk utility and I let the wheel spin for several hours no change. Finally did a force quit.

Restart also not restarting. Goes to a blank screen have to do a hard restart.

Thanks,

Z

 

[snberk103]

At this point I'm thinking hardware related. I'd take it back to the place did the original work and ask them to do really thorough diagnostic test. Was this an official Apple store, or an authorized Apple store? Do a google search on the store name/place and see if there are a lot of posts from unhappy customers.

 

[borcanm]

To OP. Have you tried installing windows and see how it runs under windows. From my ow experience, I had bought a 1gig ram stick to upgrade my MBP which worked great under Tiger, but under Leopard & Snow Leopard for some reason I used to get lockups, artifacts on the screen and random spinning lollipop. But under windows it worked great, no problems. And when I took the ram stick out, OS X worked fine. So for some reason macs have problems with some hardware (I dont know why), thats why you should try to see how your computer runs in windows.

 

[HLdan]

To OP. Have you tried installing windows and see how it runs under windows. From my ow experience, I had bought a 1gig ram stick to upgrade my MBP which worked great under Tiger, but under Leopard & Snow Leopard for some reason I used to get lockups, artifacts on the screen and random spinning lollipop. But under windows it worked great, no problems. And when I took the ram stick out, OS X worked fine. So for some reason macs have problems with some hardware (I dont know why), thats why you should try to see how your computer runs in windows.

It's not as cut and dry installing Windows, not as if we all have a copy of Windows. Even so, is it really worth going through the trouble to install Windows just to troubleshoot?