Problem with the fullscreen setting in Mountain lion

[alfredo1985]

Hi, I am experiencing a problem with the full screen setting of my Mountain Lion. The trouble is that when I run certain apps such as Zotero or Scrivener and I open, say, the preferences window, this is automatically set in fullscreen, although it should not be so. I have already got in contact with the Scrivener team and they suggested that was a problem related to one of the apps I use to manage my windows, i.e. RIghtzoom and Window Tidy. Following up this suggestion I uninstalled and restarted my laptop, but nothing has changed. I wonder if anyone has already experienced this problem or if you have any suggestions. Thanks.
Alfredo

 

[Macman45]

A PRAM and SMC re-set may help...Also a disk permissions and verification.

Use Disk Utility to check permissions on your HDD / SSD.

PRAM Re-set:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1379?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US

SMC Reset:

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht3964

 

[justperry]

Hi, I am experiencing a problem with the full screen setting of my Mountain Lion. The trouble is that when I run certain apps such as Zotero or Scrivener and I open, say, the preferences window, this is automatically set in fullscreen, although it should not be so. I have already got in contact with the Scrivener team and they suggested that was a problem related to one of the apps I use to manage my windows, i.e. RIghtzoom and Window Tidy. Following up this suggestion I uninstalled and restarted my laptop, but nothing has changed. I wonder if anyone has already experienced this problem or if you have any suggestions. Thanks.
Alfredo

Did you reset all settings to default before uninstalling those Apps?
Now, I don't use these so I can't be sure but they might change System Settings and uninstalling won't set them back to what they where, also, these leave preference files on the disk which may still be interfering in the OS although unlikely.

 

[alfredo1985]

thanks Macman45 and justperry.

@justperry I tried to follow up your suggestion, but the problem is still there.

@Macman45 What do you mean by resetting to default?

Do you have any other idea for resolving it?

Thank you.

 

[justperry]

thanks Macman45 and justperry.

@justperry I tried to follow up your suggestion, but the problem is still there.

@Macman45 What do you mean by resetting to default?

Do you have any other idea for resolving it?

Thank you.

I think you mixed up the names here.

Those two programs will set things in the System different than they are normally, so you have to figure out how to reset them to normal/default state.
I went on their site for a quick look for what it actually does, I saw a setting like active, there might be a deamon/agent running which wasn't uninstalled and could still interfere with the system settings.
Now, I don't have this software and I am not going to install something I don't need, otherwise it would be fairly easy to find out why, just don't want more rubbish on my system.

 

[Macman45]

Yep, names mixed up....OP: can you check in activity monitor which processes are running? Open up activity monitor, choose "All Processes" and look for anything that relates to the software you uninstalled....I don't have it either, and like justperry ( he's the other guy ) I don't really want to install it either. see the attached SS for activity monitor details.

 

[alfredo1985]

Sorry for my mismatch.
I checked the list of the active processes, but nothing seems related to those apps.
May you are able to see anything strange. Here the list:

Number of processes: 118

PID Process Name User CPU Real Mem Virtual Mem
0 kernel_task root 2.9 482.5 MB 7.38 GB
1 launchd root 0.0 2.2 MB 2.36 GB
11 UserEventAgent root 0.0 5.8 MB 2.37 GB
12 kextd root 0.0 7.2 MB 2.36 GB
14 notifyd root 0.0 1.6 MB 2.36 GB
15 securityd root 0.0 9.9 MB 2.37 GB
16 diskarbitrationd root 0.0 1.7 MB 2.35 GB
17 powerd root 0.0 2.0 MB 2.37 GB
18 configd root 0.0 5.0 MB 2.35 GB
19 syslogd root 0.0 1.4 MB 2.36 GB
22 warmd nobody 0.0 5.8 MB 2.35 GB
23 usbmuxd _usbmuxd 0.0 2.3 MB 2.36 GB
26 stackshot root 0.0 1.3 MB 2.35 GB
27 SleepServicesD root 0.0 1.6 MB 2.35 GB
29 revisiond root 0.0 2.9 MB 2.37 GB
32 opendirectoryd root 0.0 11.2 MB 2.37 GB
35 mtmfs root 0.0 5.3 MB 2.39 GB
36 mtmd root 0.0 5.9 MB 2.37 GB
37 mds root 0.1 181.1 MB 3.22 GB
38 mDNSResponder _mdnsrespo 0.0 3.7 MB 2.36 GB
41 loginwindow Alfredo 0.0 19.4 MB 2.45 GB
42 locationd _locationd 0.0 7.8 MB 2.38 GB
43 KernelEventAgent root 0.0 1.1 MB 2.35 GB
44 kdc root 0.0 3.1 MB 2.35 GB
46 hidd root 3.4 2.9 MB 2.35 GB
47 fseventsd root 0.0 4.6 MB 2.39 GB
49 dynamic_pager root 0.0 784 KB 2.32 GB
52 appleeventsd _eppc 0.0 2.9 MB 2.37 GB
55 blued root 0.0 3.9 MB 2.37 GB
57 autofsd root 0.0 1.9 MB 2.35 GB
62 vpnagentd root 0.0 6.2 MB 644.1 MB
64 distnoted root 0.0 2.1 MB 2.37 GB
65 cfprefsd root 0.0 1.7 MB 2.35 GB
66 coreservicesd root 0.0 28.9 MB 2.40 GB
85 WindowServer _windowser 8.6 83.0 MB 2.95 GB
86 CVMServer root 0.0 1.5 MB 2.41 GB
88 launchd _windowser 0.0 864 KB 2.36 GB
91 cfprefsd _windowser 0.0 1.0 MB 2.35 GB
92 netbiosd _netbios 0.0 4.1 MB 2.38 GB
103 networkd _networkd 0.0 1.3 MB 2.35 GB
110 ntpd root 0.0 1.4 MB 2.35 GB
111 cupsd root 0.0 4.5 MB 2.36 GB
112 cron root 0.0 832 KB 2.32 GB
114 SystemStarter root 0.0 1.1 MB 2.35 GB
117 aosnotifyd root 0.0 5.2 MB 2.37 GB
142 logind root 0.0 1.8 MB 2.35 GB
144 coreaudiod _coreaudio 0.0 6.3 MB 2.36 GB
152 ocspd root 0.0 14.9 MB 2.38 GB
155 launchd Alfredo 0.0 1.6 MB 2.36 GB
158 UserEventAgent Alfredo 0.0 10.6 MB 2.39 GB
159 distnoted Alfredo 0.0 4.1 MB 2.37 GB
161 cfprefsd Alfredo 0.0 2.8 MB 2.35 GB
166 pboard Alfredo 0.0 948 KB 2.32 GB
168 talagent Alfredo 0.0 8.5 MB 2.39 GB
169 Dock Alfredo 0.0 27.9 MB 2.43 GB
170 SystemUIServer Alfredo 0.0 31.8 MB 2.50 GB
171 Finder Alfredo 0.0 17.3 MB 2.43 GB
174 usernoted Alfredo 0.0 5.0 MB 2.37 GB
178 Notification Center Alfredo 0.0 18.0 MB 2.43 GB
182 imagent Alfredo 0.0 6.0 MB 2.37 GB
183 helpd Alfredo 0.0 2.2 MB 2.37 GB
185 AppleIDAuthAgent Alfredo 0.0 2.1 MB 2.35 GB
186 CalendarAgent Alfredo 0.0 31.0 MB 2.39 GB
190 SIMBL Agent Alfredo 0.0 13.4 MB 18.44 GB
202 1PasswordAgent Alfredo 0.0 18.7 MB 2.41 GB
204 Folder Actions Dispatcher Alfredo 0.0 6.8 MB 2.40 GB
206 MailTagsHelper Alfredo 0.0 8.1 MB 2.40 GB
209 apsd root 0.0 8.4 MB 2.37 GB
211 accountsd Alfredo 0.0 5.4 MB 2.37 GB
214 fontd Alfredo 0.0 7.3 MB 2.40 GB
218 filecoordinationd root 0.0 2.3 MB 2.35 GB
219 NetworkBrowserAgent Alfredo 0.0 3.2 MB 2.35 GB
221 tccd Alfredo 0.0 4.4 MB 2.37 GB
224 CalendarBar Alfredo 0.0 18.9 MB 2.41 GB
227 FreeMemory Alfredo 0.0 10.5 MB 2.41 GB
228 xpcd Alfredo 0.0 6.7 MB 2.37 GB
229 Jumpcut Alfredo 0.0 11.1 MB 701.1 MB
230 Dropbox Alfredo 0.0 50.7 MB 794.9 MB
231 storeagent Alfredo 0.0 10.8 MB 2.38 GB
233 pbs Alfredo 0.1 6.4 MB 2.36 GB
235 com.apple.dock.extra Alfredo 0.0 20.0 MB 2.41 GB
242 lsboxd Alfredo 0.0 3.1 MB 2.37 GB
243 Scrivener Alfredo 0.3 88.2 MB 899.2 MB
250 launchd nobody 0.0 864 KB 2.36 GB
252 cfprefsd nobody 0.0 1.1 MB 2.35 GB
271 printtool Alfredo 0.0 2.6 MB 2.35 GB
278 dbfseventsd root 0.0 372 KB 582.7 MB
279 dbfseventsd root 0.0 1.3 MB 590.7 MB
280 dbfseventsd Alfredo 0.0 168 KB 582.7 MB
282 launchd _spotlight 0.0 864 KB 2.36 GB
285 distnoted _spotlight 0.0 1.5 MB 2.37 GB
286 cfprefsd _spotlight 0.0 1.1 MB 2.35 GB
287 AppleSpell.service Alfredo 0.1 10.4 MB 2.38 GB
290 ShareKitHelper Alfredo 0.0 12.3 MB 2.39 GB
295 Image Capture Extension Alfredo 0.0 10.1 MB 2.41 GB
297 CIJScannerRegister Alfredo 0.0 6.3 MB 2.40 GB
321 Safari Alfredo 2.3 195.2 MB 3.74 GB
323 Safari Web Content Alfredo 1.9 390.2 MB 4.01 GB
361 ubd Alfredo 0.0 14.5 MB 2.39 GB
364 Dictionary Alfredo 0.0 27.5 MB 3.48 GB
376 bash Alfredo 0.0 840 KB 2.32 GB
381 Zotero Alfredo 0.0 183.6 MB 3.82 GB
408 cookied Alfredo 0.0 8.4 MB 2.35 GB
414 com.apple.iCloudHelper Alfredo 0.0 6.0 MB 2.37 GB
424 mdworker Alfredo 0.1 15.7 MB 2.37 GB
427 taskgated root 0.0 3.3 MB 2.37 GB
439 Mail Alfredo 0.0 184.3 MB 3.86 GB
441 librariand Alfredo 0.0 8.8 MB 2.38 GB
444 com.apple.foundation.User Alfredo 0.0 5.4 MB 2.37 GB
452 mdworker Alfredo 0.0 13.8 MB 2.38 GB
454 WebKitPluginAgent Alfredo 0.0 956 KB 2.34 GB
467 com.apple.hiservices-xpcs Alfredo 0.0 4.2 MB 2.35 GB
479 syncdefaultsd Alfredo 0.0 14.8 MB 2.38 GB
480 mdworker Alfredo 0.0 7.3 MB 2.36 GB
484 Activity Monitor Alfredo 10.0 45.0 MB 2.48 GB
486 activitymonitord root 0.8 1.6 MB 2.33 GB
487 Quick Look Helper Alfredo 0.0 9.1 MB 2.87 GB
489 mdworker _spotlight 0.0 5.0 MB 2.36 GB

 

[Macman45]

Zotero is mentioned there....apart from that I can't see anything out of the ordinary....It's a strange one...normally SMC / Disk verification and permissions repair wool have done the trick.

Using search, try searching the your HDD for any mention of those apps you removed and post back with the results

 

[alfredo1985]

just got an email from the support team of Right zoom. They say that the app does not change anything in the system and so it cannot affect the system when uninstalled or inactive.

 

[Macman45]

just got an email from the support team of Right zoom. They say that the app does not change anything in the system and so it cannot affect the system when uninstalled or inactive.

Well, they would say that wouldn't they... Something in one of those apps has that's for sure, and it's holding on to the settings that got left behind. If it reaches the point where nothing fixes it, you could try a non-destructive re-installation of OSX, or create a new user account for test purposes and see what happens when you are logged in to it. Just about out of ideas now I'm afraid.

 

[alfredo1985]

nothing comes up using the search form. I have already tried to create a new admin and a new user but the problem is still there. The only way I have found to eliminate the problem is to run my os in save mode. DO you have a good link for doing a non-destructive reinstallation? I think is the only option up to now.

 

[justperry]

nothing comes up using the search form. I have already tried to create a new admin and a new user but the problem is still there. The only way I have found to eliminate the problem is to run my os in save mode. DO you have a good link for doing a non-destructive reinstallation? I think is the only option up to now.

You could also try to reapply *10.8.3 COMBO updater, this sometimes does the trick and is also non destructive, download from Apple's downloads section.

* That is, if you have 10.8.3

Oh and check out if there are any laucnhDemons/agents in their respective folders.

 

[Macman45]

You could also try to reapply *10.8.3 CONBO updater, this sometimes does the trick and is also non destructive, download from Apple's downloads section.

* That is, if you have 10.8.3

I agree...and if that fails, then I guess your only option iS to try a re-install. A non-destrucive attempt first, then back up and start afresh....Of course I guess you could live with it, although I must admit, I couldn't.

 

[Macman45]

nothing comes up using the search form. I have already tried to create a new admin and a new user but the problem is still there. The only way I have found to eliminate the problem is to run my os in save mode. DO you have a good link for doing a non-destructive reinstallation? I think is the only option up to now.

Step by step for a reinstall:


https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-3621

Scroll down to number 8 in the list!...as long as you don't erase or format your drive you should be okay, but It still might not resolve the problem. Fingers crossed.

 

[alfredo1985]

That's quite wired. I installed the os again, and that bloody problem is still there. Any other suggestion? although i am aware, now it looks pretty hopeless!

 

[alfredo1985]

I just remembered that once I modified the info.plist file of finder in an attempt at hiding the menubar. Is it possible that my problem is in anyway related to this issue? In that case, do you have any idea about how to restore the default info.plist file?

 

[alfredo1985]

Here a short video which shows the problem I am talking about

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_JGEis-vvsc

Any suggestion?