Finder problems!

[JHipp]

Well, I am having the first problems I've had with this Mac.

Finder isn't open(and it won't let me open it), I have no desktop icons, I can't launch any programs(except Safari, for some reason it works..) I tried making a new account -- but Finder still wasn't there in the new account..

Uhh when I click on the programs they bounce once and then nothing happens.

Any ideas? If worse comes to worse I'll have to reinstall, but I reallly don't want to do that -- I have some important video files that I kept on here.

 

[mkrishnan]

If Finder doesn't even work on the new account, you have something corrupted at a pretty basic level, since all the prefs files should be newly created in the new account.

Do you have some hard disk space left? If you archive & install, WITHOUT carrying over preferences and applications, you'll get, essentially, a complete copy of your existing disk, including your home drive, in the /Previous Systems/ folder. And you can get back anything you want/need from there. You should be able to copy every part of your home folder, probably except the Library folder, over from there to the new installation's home folder.

You'll probably want to re-install apps, but this probably won't be quite as onerous as it sounds.

Sorry.

 

[TLRedhawke]

I actually had this problem for a while. The problem was caused by, as I recall, a bad network connection. Basically, the system was looking so hard for a network connection that wasn't there, that it never got around to launching the Finder, and stabilizing. If you turn your DHCP settings to manual (whether or not you enter anything there), it may shunt it back into working.