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iChat won't open, Pages/Keynote docs. problem

S

stefc93

macrumors regular
Original poster
Feb 16, 2010
143
0
I clicked on the iChat icon and when it tries to open, it says the following (see attached file).

In addition, I have various Pages and Keynote documents in the "Documents" folder. However, it does not show a preview of a Pages or Keynote document as it did before. It just shows a Pages logo on a Pages document and a Keynote logo on a Keynote document. What's going on?
 

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Have you done things like "repair permissions" with your OS X DVD to be sure all is good there?

Has this happened since the 10.6.5 update? If so, did you try the Combo update instead of the one you get with Software Update in Preferences?

I have noticed some file issues with Pages files when moving them from Pages on a new 10.6 iMac to an old PowerBook G4 (both running the same version of Pages). I've begun to think there is some kind of bug there.
 
HobeSoundDarryl said:
Have you done things like "repair permissions" with your OS X DVD to be sure all is good there?

Has this happened since the 10.6.5 update? If so, did you try the Combo update instead of the one you get with Software Update in Preferences?

I have noticed some file issues with Pages files when moving them from Pages on a new 10.6 iMac to an old PowerBook G4 (both running the same version of Pages). I've begun to think there is some kind of bug there.
Click to expand...

I have the latest updates. Last update was done a day (or two) ago. No updates are currently available via the Software Update feature. What's this "combo" update?

And if the 10.6.5 update is the latest one, then yes, the Pages/Keynote issue happened after this update.
 
stefc93 said:
I have the latest updates. Last update was done a day (or two) ago. No updates are currently available via the Software Update feature. What's this "combo" update?

And if the 10.6.5 update is the latest one, then yes, the Pages/Keynote issue happened after this update.
Click to expand...

Combo update is not accessed through "Software Update" in Preferences. Instead you download it from the Apple site: http://support.apple.com/downloads/
It's a bigger update which can often deal with little weird issues like those you describe.

However, you didn't reply at all to the first suggestion. Did you run Disk Utility from your install DVD and then "repair permissions"? I would try that first.
 
So I just did "Repair Permissions" via the Disk Utility. It didn't work. Same as before. What else can I do? Would the OS X CD help? When I insert the OS X CD, it give me the option to "Install Bundled Software."
 
Totally forgot that my Mac came with a OS X CD. I was trying to use the Applications Install DVD. Which CD do I use?
 
Cave Man said:
You want the Installer DVD. As soon as you power on, insert the DVD and press and hold the Option key until the DVD becomes available. Use the arrow keys to highlight it, then press Return to boot from the DVD.
Click to expand...

By installer DVD you mean the OS X installer DVD and not the Applications Installer DVD?

By doing this, will I lose any files or settings?
 
The Installer (OS X) DVD not the Applications DVD. No you will not lose your apps or settings because you are not going to actually install an old copy of OS X on top of the latest one you just upgraded. When you boot up with that OS X DVD in charge, you'll have to choose your language, then it gets to a screen that is ready to begin the install. It also has some instructions on there about choosing options from the "utilities" menu. That's (later option) is what you want to do: choose "Disk Utility" from the Utilities menu.

Run "repair permissions" from that. I'm guessing you ran it from Disk Utility in Applications/Utility on your hard drive. That's no good. You have to run the repair with the DVD version of OS X in charge. More simply, you need a separate incarnation of OS X running the machine when you repair the hard drive or repair permissions on the hard drive. The install DVD is the easy way to put the DVD incarnation in charge of the computer so that the hard drive becomes ancillary. Then, the DVD version of disk utility is not repairing the drive on which it is based, but a different drive (your boot hard drive).

After that completes successfully(?), go ahead and run "Repair Disk".

After that completes successfully(?), close disk utility. Then, go back into the Utilities menu and choose startup disk. Choose whatever you call your hard drive startup (probably Mac HD or similar).

Then, restart. That should boot you back into your hard drive install of OS X.

See if you still have the problems.

If so, try the combo install of OS 10.6.5 referenced (by link) earlier in this thread. That will most likely solve your ichat issue if the above doesn't do the job.

Did that solve the problems? If not, repeat the above (using the install DVD, repair permissions (because you just installed a bunch of OS X files from the combo install). See if that solves the problem.

If not, I would consider trashing your iWord applications, reinstalling them anew, then updating them via software update. See if that solves that problem. If not, I would head for the Genius bar at an Apple store.
 
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HobeSoundDarryl said:
The Installer (OS X) DVD not the Applications DVD. No you will not lose your apps or settings because you are not going to actually install an old copy of OS X on top of the latest one you just upgraded. When you boot up with that OS X DVD in charge, you'll have to choose your language, then it gets to a screen that is ready to begin the install. It also has some instructions on there about choosing options from the "utilities" menu. That's (later option) is what you want to do: choose "Disk Utility" from the Utilities menu.

Run "repair permissions" from that. I'm guessing you ran it from Disk Utility in Applications/Utility on your hard drive. That's no good. You have to run the repair with the DVD version of OS X in charge.

After that completes successfully(?), go ahead and run "Repair Disk".

After that completes successfully(?), close disk utility. Then, go back into the Utilities menu and choose startup disk. Choose whatever you call your hard drive startup (probably Mac HD or similar).

Then, restart. That should boot you back into your hard drive install of OS X.

See if you still have the problems.

If so, try the combo install of OS 10.6.5 referenced (by link) earlier in this thread. That will most likely solve your ichat issue if the above doesn't do the job.

Did that solve the problems? If not, repeat the above (using the install DVD, repair permissions (because you just installed a bunch of OS X files from the combo install). See if that solves the problem.

If not, I would consider trashing your iWord applications, reinstalling them anew, then updating them via software update. See if that solves that problem. If not, I would head for the Genius bar at an Apple store.
Click to expand...

Thanks. Those instructions are great.

But wouldn't it make more sense to first try the "combo update" before doing all that DVD jazz? Just seems simpler.
 
No. From your descriptions, I still think you have a repair permissions/repair disk problem. The combo update probably doesn't fix such problems, and may create new ones on a disk needing such repairs. If you have a slightly damaged disk, you don't want to write hundreds of little programs & files to it; you want to repair it first. If permissions are not right, you don't want to write a bunch of programs & files either, as the end result would be unpredictable.

The combo updater is just more files being written to your disk vs. the update you just did. The good thing about it is that it sometimes overwrites some bit of OS X files that got damaged in some way, so things work again. But you want to always repair permissions and verify or repair disk before you do massive OS X upgrades/updates. And it's good to also do it after you do major updates too.

I still bet that you have a permissions or disk issue(s) to be repaired. It appears you've been doing that wrong until now, so this may (will?) be the first time you've done it right. That adds fuel to the fire that your problem is probably an accumulated one in permissions or maybe a disk in need of some minor repair. If you've had your Mac for a good while, you'll almost certainly have some permissions in need of repair- perhaps lots of them.

Case in point: I've just had my brand new iMac 27" 2010 for about 3 months now. I think this last update was the only update. I ran repair permissions just before it and it found a pretty good number of things to repair. I ran repair disk and it also found a few things to repair. That's on about a 3-month old iMac, with- I think- just one major OS X update.
 
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I selected my language (English) and clicked install. I am now installing OS X onto the Mac HD. 41 minutes remaining.
 
Just cancelled the install process and am now restating my Mac via the DVD. I think I accidentally hit the wrong option.
 
HobeSoundDarryl said:
The trick is NOT installing OS X. If that begins you've gone too far. You can get into the menus just before you start the install (I believe it is immediately after choosing the language).
Click to expand...

I began it but stopped it after a few minutes. I just tried repairing the permissions via the OS X DVD a second time and it didn't work. What now?
 
HobeSoundDarryl said:
Is it showing errors in the disk utility window? Are you getting permission errors?

Did you try "repair disk"?
Click to expand...

I did repair disk. However, before I repaired the disk, I got once notice:

Warning: SUID file "System/Library/CoreS...has been modified and will not be repaired.

What about the Pages/Keynote issue? How can I resolve that?
 
That warning is not a huge issue. Sometimes you get some warnings.

After you repair disk try repairing permissions again.

Did that work? If not, your permissions may be beyond Disk Utility's capabilities to repair. You might need something stronger like Disk Warrior. Or, if you have everything backed up (for certain), you could reformat the drive and reinstall all your software.

The keynote, pages and ichat problems could all be permission-related problems. If you've never repaired permissions before and had your Mac for a long time, I would bet on it.

If you can't execute a complete permissions repair after repairing the disk, you'll need to:
  • use a more powerful solution like Disk Warrior
  • reformat and reinstall your software (and then more regularly go in and repair permissions the right way), or
  • take your computer to the Apple store and see if they can do anything for you.
 
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