iLife Applications Won't Launch - Single Bounce From Dock

[brownieking]

I am running 10.4.8 on an iMac G5. Recently most of my iLife applications stopped launching. When I click on the icon in the dock I get one "bounce" and then nothing happens. When I double-click the application icon, nothing happens. The affected applications include:

iChat
iCal
iDVD
iPhoto
iTunes
Safari
Mail
Address Book

Other applications such as MS Office, Firefox, Backup, Appleworks, Photoshop, etc. work fine. When I boot the computer from my external drive which is also running 10.4.8, everything works fine. So far I've run Tech Tools Deluxe and Disk Utility. Tech Tools found some volume structure problems and appeared to repair them fine. I've also deleted all of the cache files but still no luck. Something that affects the Apple applications must be corrupted, but I don't know what else to try.

Help!!!!

Thanks.

 

[mad jew]

Try opening a new user account and seeing if the problem occurs there too.

 

[brownieking]

Try opening a new user account and seeing if the problem occurs there too.

You may be on to something. When I try to choose "Accounts" in System Preferences, I get an error message "Preferences Error - Could not load Accounts." I get the same error with the "Print & Fax" preferences, but all the others work fine. Any ideas how to fix that????

Thanks!

 

[mad jew]

What recent changes have you made to your system? Have you used an app like Monolingual, or an equivalent recently? If so, an Archive & Install may be in order.

 

[MacBoobsPro]

This happened to me once. It turned out I had disabled some sytem fonts and anything that used that font would not open. Mainly iLife and some sytem prefs. Have you messed around with any fonts recently?

 

[EMKoper]

This happened to me once. It turned out I had disabled some sytem fonts and anything that used that font would not open. Mainly iLife and some sytem prefs. Have you messed around with any fonts recently?

I second that ... I had a similar sounding problem and it was a corrupt font... I simply moved fonts out of the system font directory 10 or so at a time until the iLife apps would open... then, once they would open, added the ten back one at a time until I found the corrupt font... I wasn't tinkering around with the fonts or anything before this happened... just happened ... but this was a long time ago!

This thread.

And there are a couple of hints on MacOSX Hints that are similar...

 

[brownieking]

I tried removing the fonts and still no luck. BUT, I did notice that many of the fonts were missing. There were only 23 fonts in the System Library and 15 fonts in the User Library. I know there were at least 100 before. So I may be missing a font that the Apple applications need to use.

The main thing I did was run Tech Tools Deluxe. For a couple of weeks the computer had been freezing periodically. Then the Apple apps stopped working. The only problems that Tech Tools found was related to the volume structure. It did it's repair thing and some of the structure items were green and others were red before prompting for the repair. After repair, everything checked out okay with Tech Tools and Disk Utility. So maybe Tech Tools erased some fonts that were corrupting the volume structure. It that's the case, how would I reinstall the critical fonts that Apple uses?

Thanks again everyone!!

 

[mad jew]

I think your easiest option would be that Archive & Install option. It sets aside your current system and documents to create a fresh system folder (with all the fonts). Back everything up beforehand, but it shouldn't lose any data.

 

[brownieking]

Thanks Mad Jew! The Archive and Install did the trick! I didn't know about that feature until you mentioned it. I thought I was going to need to do an erase and install which would have been a huge hassle. The Archive and Install feature is awesome. I got everything back to normal in less than an hour.

Happy Holidays!

 

[MacBoobsPro]

I tried removing the fonts and still no luck. BUT, I did notice that many of the fonts were missing. There were only 23 fonts in the System Library and 15 fonts in the User Library. I know there were at least 100 before. So I may be missing a font that the Apple applications need to use.

The main thing I did was run Tech Tools Deluxe. For a couple of weeks the computer had been freezing periodically. Then the Apple apps stopped working. The only problems that Tech Tools found was related to the volume structure. It did it's repair thing and some of the structure items were green and others were red before prompting for the repair. After repair, everything checked out okay with Tech Tools and Disk Utility. So maybe Tech Tools erased some fonts that were corrupting the volume structure. It that's the case, how would I reinstall the critical fonts that Apple uses?

Thanks again everyone!!

You needed to add fonts not take them away Anyhoo at least you got it sorted.

MadJew rules!

 

[mad jew]

No worries mate. I figured it'd be quicker than manually reinstalling the fonts etc. Be careful when moving, removing or renaming system files. I find I have no troubles with my Macs so long as I keep everything where it's supposed to be.

 

[williamjacobs]

Applications bounce once

I compiled this solution out of solutions I found elsewhere on the web. I made it for Safari but it may apply to other Applications. These may be less trouble than archiving and reinstalling and updating everything. (especially true for you blighters out there without broadband.)


- Create a new user account on your machine.
- Log in under that new user account.
- Try to launch Safari.

If Safari launches under the new user account,
Then it's likely a preference file or some Safari add-on (e.g. "Application Enhancers" PithHelmet or Saft) running under the original account that's preventing it from launching. Remove them, if possible and clear the cache.

If Safari does not start under the new user account the same way it doesn't under your original account,
Deletion and reinstallation will be needed:

1) Back up your bookmarks to a safe location. Your Safari bookmarks are in Your Home/Library/Safari/Bookmarks.plist. Copy the Bookmarks.plish file to a flash drive, or somewhere safe.

2) Download Safari from http://www.apple.com/safari/download/ and save it where you saved your bookmarks backup.

3) Download an application deletion software, such as AppCleaner or AppZapper. A simple Google search will provide you with download locations.

4) Once you have installed the application deletion software, run it to delete Safari. The application *should* find and delete all files related to your Safari install. This is why it is important to save your safari download package and your bookmarks backup to a flash drive off of your system. If you did not do this, make sure to uncheck these files from the deletion list.

5) Restart your computer and install Safari once again. Once you have installed it, you should copy your bookmarks file to the new Safari's location. It will be located at "Your Home/Library/Safari/". If their is already a Bookmarks.plist in the Safari folder, then replace it with the backup.


If deletion and reinstallation doesn't help,
Perform networking diagnostics.

 

[hunter3740]

issue with .app, not system

I think your easiest option would be that Archive & Install option. It sets aside your current system and documents to create a fresh system folder (with all the fonts). Back everything up beforehand, but it shouldn't lose any data.

Alas, the Archive and Install was not the end-all I was hoping (and even tried Repair Disk Permissions in First Aid tab of Disk Utility); so, my problem is an app problem, not a system problem (i.e. I get the single bounce and then nothing when running iPhoto or iMovie).

 

[JediMeister]

iMovie and iPhoto are not reinstalled on the system with an Archive & Install. iLife can be reinstalled by using the "Install Bundled Software only" link on disc 1 for systems prior to the Unibody Aluminum notebooks. Unibody and later systems only require disc 2 to reinstall the bundled software. Best practice for reinstalling Apple Software is to remove the applications from the Applications folder and also the relevant application files from Macintosh HD/Library/Receipts. Don't be afraid to take a look in Macintosh HD/Library/Application Support for iDVD Themes and iPhoto project themes. Also make sure you're running the latest versions of the applications that aren't working.

 

[ihabime]

Alas, the Archive and Install was not the end-all I was hoping (and even tried Repair Disk Permissions in First Aid tab of Disk Utility); so, my problem is an app problem, not a system problem (i.e. I get the single bounce and then nothing when running iPhoto or iMovie).

I hate to say it, but this is a 2 yr old thread and the person you're replying to hasn't been on the forums for almost 6 months. You'd be better off starting a new thread and laying out your problem there in full.