Finder not working, help?

[2012Tony2012]

Whenever I type a name into Finder, e.g onyx, it does nothing, it never finds a filename or app. Never happened on Snow Leopard, only since I upgraded to Mountain Lion?

Any advice how to fix this?

 

[GGJstudios]

Whenever I type a name into Finder, e.g onyx, it does nothing, it never finds a filename or app. Never happened on Snow Leopard, only since I upgraded to Mountain Lion?

Any advice how to fix this?

Try re-indexing your drive:

Spotlight: How to re-index folders or volumes​

If that fails to index, enter the following command in Terminal:

sudo mdutil -i on "/Volumes/your drive name"​

 

[2012Tony2012]

Try re-indexing your drive:

Spotlight: How to re-index folders or volumes​

If that fails to index, enter the following command in Terminal:

sudo mdutil -i on "/Volumes/your drive name"​

I did all that GG, but still the problem persists.

Any other ideas?

I really need this fixed so I can properly remove apps.

By the way, Spotlight works top right. But in Finder it never displays the filename I type in! Is this a ML bug? Anything to do with upgrading from SL?

 

[GGJstudios]

I did all that GG, but still the problem persists.

Any other ideas?

Type a search in Finder, then take a screen shot and post it.

 

[2012Tony2012]

Type a search in Finder, then take a screen shot and post it.

I have cyberduck installed, onyx etc, and no matter what I type it does nothing and displays nothing.

I NEVER had this problem in Snow Leopard

https://www.dropbox.com/s/lytlrj428nyo2aj/Today.png

Any ideas what I can do GG? Now I can't fully uninstall apps

 

[GGJstudios]

I have cyberduck installed, onyx etc, and no matter what I type it does nothing and displays nothing.

I NEVER had this problem in Snow Leopard

https://www.dropbox.com/s/lytlrj428nyo2aj/Today.png

Any ideas what I can do GG? Now I can't fully uninstall apps

That's weird. It shouldn't make any difference, but try clicking on "Macintosh HD" rather than "All My Files" before you start your search. As a test, you might even click on your Applications folder before you search for an app.

Also, it wouldn't be a bad idea to use Disk Utility to verify/repair the disk, then reindex again.

 

[2012Tony2012]

That's weird. It shouldn't make any difference, but try clicking on "Macintosh HD" rather than "All My Files" before you start your search. As a test, you might even click on your Applications folder before you search for an app.

Also, it wouldn't be a bad idea to use Disk Utility to verify/repair the disk, then reindex again.

I don't see "Macintosh HD" on left menu, so unable to click on it.

I only see things like Desktop, my home folder, Applications, Documents.

 

[justperry]

I don't see "Macintosh HD" on left menu, so unable to click on it.

I only see things like Desktop, my home folder, Applications, Documents.

Open console>system log then do a search in Finder, after this look if there is an error in the system log, if so copy it and paste in a reply here, could be a permissions issue.

 

[GGJstudios]

I don't see "Macintosh HD" on left menu, so unable to click on it.

I only see things like Desktop, my home folder, Applications, Documents.

Go to Finder > Preferences > Sidebar and check Hard Disks

 

[2012Tony2012]

Go to Finder > Preferences > Sidebar and check Hard Disks

Ok I did everything as suggested, repaired permission, reindex etc, yet problem perists, whenever I type an APP name into Finder, it just sits there and displays nothing!

What and How do I now completely remove and uninstall Apps? Help!!??

 

[GGJstudios]

Ok I did everything as suggested, repaired permission, reindex etc, yet problem perists, whenever I type an APP name into Finder, it just sits there and displays nothing!

What and How do I now completely remove and uninstall Apps? Help!!??

I didn't mention permissions. Did you use Disk Utility to verify or repair the disk, or did you only repair permissions and reindex?

 

[hobbbz]

I have cyberduck installed, onyx etc, and no matter what I type it does nothing and displays nothing.

I NEVER had this problem in Snow Leopard

https://www.dropbox.com/s/lytlrj428nyo2aj/Today.png

Any ideas what I can do GG? Now I can't fully uninstall apps

You're trying to do a find within the 'All My Files' folder which is really a smart search for documents.

Do the bit about adding the Hard Drives to the side bar, then click that and do a search.

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You're also not going to get any results that will help you uninstall an app from a finder search.

The only result you'd get is the app itself which, deleting will not delete all the plist files and preferences. You need something like Clean My Mac to do that.

 

[2012Tony2012]

I didn't mention permissions. Did you use Disk Utility to verify or repair the disk, or did you only repair permissions and reindex?

Ok, that is completed too and reports everything fine.

----------

You're trying to do a find within the 'All My Files' folder which is really a smart search for documents.

Do the bit about adding the Hard Drives to the side bar, then click that and do a search.

----------

You're also not going to get any results that will help you uninstall an app from a finder search.

The only result you'd get is the app itself which, deleting will not delete all the plist files and preferences. You need something like Clean My Mac to do that.

GG says you can completely uninstall an App from within Finder. You disagree?

 

[GGJstudios]

You're also not going to get any results that will help you uninstall an app from a finder search.

The only result you'd get is the app itself which, deleting will not delete all the plist files and preferences.

That is false. Provided Spotlight is indexing normally, using Finder is the only method that will get all associated files when deleting an app.

The most effective method for complete app removal is manual deletion:

Best way to FULLY DELETE a program​

You need something like Clean My Mac to do that.

If you elect to use such apps, be aware that in most cases, app removal software doesn't do a thorough job of finding and removing files/folders related to deleted apps. For more information, read this and this. If you just want to delete the app, drag the .app file to the trash. No other software needed. If you want to completely remove all associated files/folders, no removal apps will do the job.

I would not recommend using CleanMyMac or any of its variants, based on the number of complaints that have been posted in this forum and elsewhere. As an example: CleanMyMac cleaned too much. Here's a recent example. While you may not have experienced problems yet, enough people have that it's wise to avoid it, especially since there are free alternatives that have better reputations, such as Onyx.

Ok, that is completed too and reports everything fine.

You definitely have a problem beyond not being able to effectively uninstall apps, as you should be able to search and locate files on your drive without problems. What method are you using for reindexing your drive? Please list the exact steps you're following.

 

[2012Tony2012]

Thank you GGJstudios, now it works after following ALL your instructions and directions. I think the repair disk or repair permissions, and adding Mac HD to list and using that did the trick. Thank you.

 

[GGJstudios]

Thank you GGJstudios, now it works after following ALL your instructions and directions. I think the repair disk or repair permissions, and adding Mac HD to list and using that did the trick. Thank you.

Cool! I'm glad it worked!

 

[2012Tony2012]

Cool! I'm glad it worked!

Yes

I always appreciate your patience and help GG. Without your help, I would be stuffed lol.

 

[Rufus The Dog]

Just registered to say thanks to GG

I upgraded from Snow Leopard to Mountain Lion last weekend and all seemed okay at first but today Finder just did not work at all so I followed the recommendations here and all is back and working.


Rufus