Ok, so I used to be a MacGuru myself, I even had a Powerbook 100 once. But I dont know beans about OS X except that I like it a lot (thanks Steve!)
I got an iBook500 w/320MB memory running OS X 10.2. Yes, Im about to upgrade to 10.3. My problem is that I innocently went to the Applications folder and made some subfolders (transfering the apps to them) to organize my applications into something that made more sense for me. Big mistake!
Now, I have applications that wont open up. All sorts, at random. Moving the apps back to the original folder didnt help. I used a Install CD to boot up and fix permissions, and that seemed to maybe help some things but not others...interestingly, when I ran Disk First Aid or whatever that Apple program was, I was able to run the fix permissions part but not the repair disk part, it was dimmed out.
I sometimes get error messages, the -120 one. It means something like directory not found. Other times I get no error message, no nothing, just no application popping up. Other times I get a five digit error code, and sorry, I dont have that written down right now, but its not one I could find a reference to.
Particularly irking is that my Help Viewer program wont boot, or will boot and then crashes. Thats no Help... my other bugaboo program is Mail 1.0, but that might be because I have too much email in it....it tries to compact it to the disk or something like that (Im not much help, eh?) and then it unexpectedly quits, as the dialog box lets me know. This might not be part of it.
Every once in a great while, my Mac just spontaneously reboots itself to the Log In window. Ok, its not really a reboot, it just goes to the blank blue startup screen and then in a few seconds gives me the Log In window again.
So what should I do? Will just installing 10.3 fix everything? Will it screw things up worse? Any other ideas? Tossing preference files or something like that? A clean install was suggested, but this laptop I got from eBay and I dont have the original disks for much of the software that was on it. (They also neglected to tell me the keyboard was a hybrid English-kanji one...I have a few keys in japanese/chinese that do absolutely nothing right next to the space bar. Wierd, huh? I should post a picture for your amusement...
Well thanks gang. Im new here to Macrumors and appreciate your help! I believe I have this set up to notify me of replies to this thread, but still, if you care to, if you would be kind enough to drop me a line at dms at efn.org I would appreciate it as well. Regardless, I will check back here later. House full of kids home for the holiday...
Don
my Mac claim to fame...my friend Dan Kottke (look him up) introduced me to his former boss/traveling buddy Steve Jobs at a Grateful Dead show at the Frost ampitheatre once in Palo Alto in the 80s, but I was young and "experimental" at the time and I dont quite remember it well...
I got an iBook500 w/320MB memory running OS X 10.2. Yes, Im about to upgrade to 10.3. My problem is that I innocently went to the Applications folder and made some subfolders (transfering the apps to them) to organize my applications into something that made more sense for me. Big mistake!
Now, I have applications that wont open up. All sorts, at random. Moving the apps back to the original folder didnt help. I used a Install CD to boot up and fix permissions, and that seemed to maybe help some things but not others...interestingly, when I ran Disk First Aid or whatever that Apple program was, I was able to run the fix permissions part but not the repair disk part, it was dimmed out.
I sometimes get error messages, the -120 one. It means something like directory not found. Other times I get no error message, no nothing, just no application popping up. Other times I get a five digit error code, and sorry, I dont have that written down right now, but its not one I could find a reference to.
Particularly irking is that my Help Viewer program wont boot, or will boot and then crashes. Thats no Help... my other bugaboo program is Mail 1.0, but that might be because I have too much email in it....it tries to compact it to the disk or something like that (Im not much help, eh?) and then it unexpectedly quits, as the dialog box lets me know. This might not be part of it.
Every once in a great while, my Mac just spontaneously reboots itself to the Log In window. Ok, its not really a reboot, it just goes to the blank blue startup screen and then in a few seconds gives me the Log In window again.
So what should I do? Will just installing 10.3 fix everything? Will it screw things up worse? Any other ideas? Tossing preference files or something like that? A clean install was suggested, but this laptop I got from eBay and I dont have the original disks for much of the software that was on it. (They also neglected to tell me the keyboard was a hybrid English-kanji one...I have a few keys in japanese/chinese that do absolutely nothing right next to the space bar. Wierd, huh? I should post a picture for your amusement...
Well thanks gang. Im new here to Macrumors and appreciate your help! I believe I have this set up to notify me of replies to this thread, but still, if you care to, if you would be kind enough to drop me a line at dms at efn.org I would appreciate it as well. Regardless, I will check back here later. House full of kids home for the holiday...
Don
my Mac claim to fame...my friend Dan Kottke (look him up) introduced me to his former boss/traveling buddy Steve Jobs at a Grateful Dead show at the Frost ampitheatre once in Palo Alto in the 80s, but I was young and "experimental" at the time and I dont quite remember it well...
but moving apps in 10.3 like I did last weekenddid not cause any weird effects on my mac.