System Library file named "WebKit" broken - how to repair?

[rabatjoie]

Hi,

I already posted this in another thread (here ), but the problem has kind of changed since... Here's what happened:

The Battery of my Ti PB 667 Mhz is not working properly anymore, and while fumbling around with the power adapter my computer turned off suddenly. No data was lost, but apparently a system library file that is used by a couple of apps got busted. It's called WebKit, as I learned from the readout of the UNIX executable file in the system package. Here's an example (Mail):

Last login: Thu May 5 15:49:49 on ttyp1
/Applications/Mail.app/Contents/MacOS/Mail; exit
Welcome to Darwin!
Vigor13:~ volkerzimmermann$ /Applications/Mail.app/Contents/MacOS/Mail; exit
dyld: /Applications/Mail.app/Contents/MacOS/Mail truncated or malformed library: /System/Library/Frameworks/WebKit.framework/Versions/A/WebKit (file is empty)
Trace/BPT trap
logout
[Process completed]


also affected are Safari, QuickTime 7 and Skype.

How can I replace the file? Is there any danger that i.e. my mails are lost when I start changing this file?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

- Volker

 

[wrldwzrd89]

Hi,

I already posted this in another thread (here ), but the problem has kind of changed since... Here's what happened:

The Battery of my Ti PB 667 Mhz is not working properly anymore, and while fumbling around with the power adapter my computer turned off suddenly. No data was lost, but apparently a system library file that is used by a couple of apps got busted. It's called WebKit, as I learned from the readout of the UNIX executable file in the system package. Here's an example (Mail):

Last login: Thu May 5 15:49:49 on ttyp1
/Applications/Mail.app/Contents/MacOS/Mail; exit
Welcome to Darwin!
Vigor13:~ volkerzimmermann$ /Applications/Mail.app/Contents/MacOS/Mail; exit
dyld: /Applications/Mail.app/Contents/MacOS/Mail truncated or malformed library: /System/Library/Frameworks/WebKit.framework/Versions/A/WebKit (file is empty)
Trace/BPT trap
logout
[Process completed]


also affected are Safari, QuickTime 7 and Skype.

How can I replace the file? Is there any danger that i.e. my mails are lost when I start changing this file?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks in advance!

- Volker

The easiest way to fix this issue is to reinstall Safari. Unfortunately, the best way to do that is to archive and install Mac OS X. I recommend, in your particular situation, checking the box "Preserve users and network settings" (or similar - its name may have changed in Tiger vs. Panther); this way, you won't lose any of your personal settings, and you'll get your Safari/Mail/QuickTime/Skype/any other apps that use WebKit back.

EDIT: This process will not delete any of your mail messages/preferences/etc. Even if you accidentally uncheck that box I mentioned earlier, all that will happen is the contents of your old user folder get moved to the Previous System folder along with the other stuff that gets archived - you can easily retrieve your files from there.

 

[rabatjoie]

hi wrldwzrd,

by "archive" do you mean that I should save all my data before reinstalling OS X? Also, is there anything going to be lost when I reinstall the OS from the Panther DVD? (Sorry for asking dumb questions, but since this OS is so f**king stable I never had to do that before! )

- V.

 

[wrldwzrd89]

hi wrldwzrd,

by "archive" do you mean that I should save all my data before reinstalling OS X? Also, is there anything going to be lost when I reinstall the OS from the Panther DVD? (Sorry for asking dumb questions, but since this OS is so f**king stable I never had to do that before! )

- V.

I'm referring to the "Archive and Install" option that you'll see in the install options when you reinstall Panther. Choose that.

Unfortunately, this process will break applications that install stuff outside the Applications folder. Fixing this is a simple matter of reinstalling the affected application(s). Other than that, you won't lose any data. Anything that got archived that you end up needing can be retrieved from the "Previous System" folder the archive process creates. Basically, the name says it all - Archive and Install never deletes files; it just archives them.

 

[wrldwzrd89]

Just thought of a better idea

I just realized that since you're running Panther and QuickTime 7, you're almost certainly running 10.3.9...which includes a significant update to Safari. Therefore, reinstalling the 10.3.9 Combo Updater will fix your issue without all the hassle of an archive and install.

 

[rabatjoie]

using the combo updater did it! thanks very much!