Resolved Steam icon turns generic today

[Irishman]

What does it usually mean when an application icon turns generic and fails to launch when clicked on??

How can I fix it short of reinstalling Steam? I've restarted my Mac to check to see if that fixed it, but no.

 

[Irishman]

What does it usually mean when an application icon turns generic and fails to launch when clicked on??

How can I fix it short of reinstalling Steam? I've restarted my Mac to check to see if that fixed it, but no.

So, I found that others had reported the same issue on the Gearbox forums back in late October, and it seems the problem stems from the latest Steam update.

Here's a fix for me that might work for you:


Go to Finder, and find the Steam app in your Mac's applications folder.

From there, select it, duplicate it, and delete the original. After you duplicate the generic app icon, it may display a circle with a diagonal line through it. That seems to be normal, and didn't prevent me from doing what I wanted to do.

When you delete the old app, you'll see a pop up warning you that you're about to delete your Steam apps and what do you want to do with them?

Click for it to open that folder. It will, then close the window. In the applications folder, your once generic Steam app should now have that blue round look we all know. Launch it and enjoy.

Hope this helps.

 

[Huntn]

What does it usually mean when an application icon turns generic and fails to launch when clicked on??

How can I fix it short of reinstalling Steam? I've restarted my Mac to check to see if that fixed it, but no.

Are you by chance launching Steam from the dock or an alias? Will it launch from the application itself? If launching from the alias, it means that the Alias (link) that points/links to the original application has lost its connection which could mean that the original application was erased, but hopefully not. Go find Steam probably in your Application folder. If it's there, assuming you launch it from the dock, simply drag the Steam application to the dock to create a new Alias. Note, the Steam app will remain In its orig location.

Note that aliases can be created for any icon in the MacOS by clicking on an icon while holding the option and command buttons and dragging it to a new location. You know you have it right when you see the little arrow curved to the right appear on the icon being dragged. And as before, the original application remains where it was. For dragging to the dock, holding option and command is not required.