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Mac apps not working : HELP

ocgirl

ocgirl

macrumors regular
Original poster
Feb 25, 2011
249
144
France
Hello,

I am way in over my head. I don't really know what happened except it seems it started after a Clean My Mac session, during which I was prompted every 4 seconds to install some kind of LIPO program (the command is required, etc). I read on the internet it was a Apple software so I didn't think too much about it and proceeded.

After that, all hell seemed to break lose on the OS.

First I noticed that Mail wasn't working correctly. It opens fine, and shows my list of mails. However, the preview panel states that No Message Selected, and when I double click a message, I get a grey screen and then the app crashes.

I tried to look for a solution, which led me to needing the Terminal app. And then I noticed it was not launching. At all. No message. I bounces not even once before disappearing. This lead me to more research, and to the App Store.

Same problem, the App Store doesn't launch. It sort of bounces before closing right away. And Photobooth doesn't work either.

I'm getting a bit freaked out this, I have 0 clue what is wrong (the Lipo thing could have messed up everything) and how to fix it :(
During my Clean My Mac session, I noticed it cleaned a lot from the Language section, not sure if related or not.

iTunes works fine, same as Google Chrome, Safari.

Please, please, help !
Oh and to spice up the challenge, I do not have the recovery CDs with me as I'm away from home (but if necessary I can get them later).

Thank you to anyone that tries, it's greatly appreciated !
 
First advice is -- DON'T use "Clean My Mac" any more!

Using it can produce "unintended consequences"...
 
ocgirl said:
I am way in over my head. I don't really know what happened except it seems it started after a Clean My Mac session...
Click to expand...

It appears CMM has deleted several files your system needs to operate. At this point the only way you are going to get things back running is to reinstall the OS. Just install it over top of the existing install and it will replace the missing files without deleting your data and get you running again.

Make a backup of your data before you do this just to be safe.
 
Clean My Mac is well known for corrupting the system. You probably need to re-install osx to get things working again. Or use TimeMachine to recover. (You do have a system backup, right?)

In my book, CleanMyMac is malware since it tends to corrupt the system and leave it non-working.

Other threads in the forum also show CleanMyMac or CleanMyMac2 wrecking the system and requiring a re-install.
 
Thank you for your input.
I never had any problem with Clean My Mac before, but this time a) it deleted over 3 GOs, and b) it asked me to install some kind of program called Lipo (not sure what it is, but I read online at the time it was Apple software).

Now to have a clean install, do you have any idea how I could do it since I can't access the App Store to download Mavericks. Can I do it right way on the Apple website?
Otherwise I'll have to wait a few days until I can get back home to get my Snow Leopard CDs. (in which case, will it erase all my files or just update/recover the programs that were damaged?).

Thank you again for your hep :)
 
ocgirl said:
Thank you for your input.
I never had any problem with Clean My Mac before, but this time a) it deleted over 3 GOs, and b) it asked me to install some kind of program called Lipo (not sure what it is, but I read online at the time it was Apple software).

Now to have a clean install, do you have any idea how I could do it since I can't access the App Store to download Mavericks. Can I do it right way on the Apple website?
Otherwise I'll have to wait a few days until I can get back home to get my Snow Leopard CDs. (in which case, will it erase all my files or just update/recover the programs that were damaged?).

Thank you again for your hep :)
Click to expand...

You don't need to erase and do a "clean install". All you need to do is reinstall the OS over top of the existing install. That will replace/fix any files you deleted with CMM.

I am confused though. What version OS are you on now? If you are on Snow Leopard, you will need the install disk. If you are now on Lion 10.7 or better, just command-r boot to recovery then click install OS. It will take a while for the 4.7GB OS to download and install. You don't need the App Store for either method.
 
The computer came with Snow Leopard, I upgraded recently to Mavericks.
I can't find a copy on my computer (of Mavericks), so I'm not sure as to which step I should take. I read that once installed, the file was automatically erased from the laptop? And since I can't connect to the App Store it feels like I'm stuck in a loop.

I don't want to mess it up (aka : erased my computer by accident), so if I read you correctly I should just do : command + r and then I will be prompted to reinstall ?

Thank you :eek:
 
ocgirl said:
The computer came with Snow Leopard, I upgraded recently to Mavericks.
I can't find a copy on my computer (of Mavericks), so I'm not sure as to which step I should take. I read that once installed, the file was automatically erased from the laptop? And since I can't connect to the App Store it feels like I'm stuck in a loop.

I don't want to mess it up (aka : erased my computer by accident), so if I read you correctly I should just do : command + r and then I will be prompted to reinstall ?

Thank you :eek:
Click to expand...

Okay... gotcha. This will be very easy. Just command-r boot and that will boot you to a 650MB hidden recovery partition. Once that comes up just click "Reinstall OS X" and sit and wait while the 5GB OS downloads from Apple's servers and installs on your machine. You will be prompted for the AppleID you used to "purchase" Mavs.

The installer you originally downloaded from the App Store was automatically deleted when you installed Mavs.

This will just overwrite the OS and not your data. You should backup first though just to be safe.

This is what the screen will look like when you command-r boot.

49dyY8S.png
 
Perfect, thank you Weaselboy !
I will try to back up was I deem important (being 16 Go limited) and get back at you!
Thank you for your patience ! :rolleyes:
 
Last edited:
IT WORKED!!!! *happy dance*:cool:

Thank you very (VERY) much again! All my files are still here and everything went smoothly.
It really required just a stupid little trick to fix it all (the whole process of download + install still lasted a good hour and a half).

This problem was driving me nuts and I was ready to smash the laptop onto a wall. :p

Everything works perfectly now, and no more Clean My Mac I guess ? :D
 
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