reinstalling safari help

[wildernessbob]

hi there,
my safari (4.0.3) has started giving me the spinning beach ball way too often. i've repaired permissions but it's still doing it. so i thought it's time to reinstall it, must be corrupted or something. i'm running osx 10.4.11 on a power book g4. i've done search of help, and that was useless, and also a search in the forums here with no luck. the only instructions i have is the user guide that came with my mac and it's a bit too vague. can anyone give me a basic run through on how to reinstall just safari?
thanks,
wb

 

[Gregg2]

Yes, but that's a rather drastic action. There are some "baby steps" you could try first, if you want:

1. Safari Menu > Reset Safari.... Check everything except Remove names and passwords. You will be clearing the cache. This will mean that web pages will load slowly the next time you open them, but the cache will gradually be built back up, and subsequent visits should produce faster loading.

2. Replace com.apple.Safari.plist
This file is found in your Home folder > Library > Preferences (not Preference Panes). Move the file to your Desktop and open Safari. This will create a new safari.plist file where the old one was. This might fix the problem. It could also disturb things you've set manually. If the problem is not fixed, and you notice other things are not the same, you can put the file you moved to the Desktop back where it came from. This will overwrite the new one when you give your permission.

3. Log in under a different User Account. If you don't have one, make one. You'll need a "spare" for troubleshooting anyway. If this is unfamiliar territory, you can read up on it in Mac Help.