Aperature 3.1.1 crashes on launch, EXC_BAD_ACCESS (SIGSEGV)

Question

I purchased and installed Aperture from the Mac App Store to replace iPhoto 9.1.1 and I can't get Aperture to start. I have tried:
-shift-starting Aperture to prevent previews
-option-command-starting Aperture to do all three library repair options
-(it crashes before it can complete any of them)
-starting Aperture in 32- and 64-bit modes
-checking RAM (11 GB all passed)
-checking DRAM (512MB passed)
-checking software requirements (all met)
-verifying drives (all fine except system drive, see below)
-repairing system drive using fsck from single user console at root level
-(4 missing thread IDs found & repaired)
-re-checking system drive (is okay now)
-completely uninstalling Aperture, incl. all related filed
-reinstalling same from Mac App Store
-starting up in safe mode, incl. shift-restart to login (no fonts, extensions)
-installing OS 10.6.6 via the combo download
None of that worked or changed anything. I tested Aperture by installing it fresh on another Intel Mac running 10.6.6 and it worked fine. So, it's something wrong with my system. But I can't think of anything else to try.
The latest crash report header:
Process: Aperture [969]
Path: /Applications/Aperture.app/Contents/MacOS/Aperture
Identifier: com.apple.Aperture
Version: 3.1.1 (3.1.1)
Build Info: Aperture-1311300~1
App Item ID: 408981426
App External ID: 3233001
Code Type: X86-64 (Native)
Parent Process: launchd [700]
Date/Time: 2011-01-23 16:33:51.543 -0800
OS Version: Mac OS X 10.6.6 (10J567)
Report Version: 6
Exception Type: EXCBADACCESS (SIGSEGV)
Exception Codes: KERNINVALIDADDRESS at 0x0000000000000000
Crashed Thread: 0 Dispatch queue: com.apple.main-thread
I see quite a few similar problems in the forums, but not exactly this. Anyone else experiencing this problem with Aperture, or have more suggestions, please?

Answer 1

Frank,
Okay, I stripped it down as far as I could:
Swapped video card for original card.
Removed all but the original 512MB DIMMs, one on each card.
New user account, launched without extensions & fonts.
Force-quit all except:
+Airport Base Station Agent+
AppleSpell.service
Dock
Finder
fontd
launchd
loginwindow
+Logitech Control Center daemon+
+md worker+
pboard
+SIMBL agent+
SystemUIServer
TabletDriver
UserEventAgent
I can't quit the Logitech daemon even though I swapped my trackball for the original Apple USB mouse.
Secondary display disconnected.
Printers disconnected.
Reset PRAM, NVRAM, and SMC.
Tested system drive using fsck, one directory error fixed, retested fine.
Tested work drives using TechTool Pro 5, all passed the first time.
Fresh Aperture install in the new account from Mac App Store.
And... still the same crash.
I put the RAM back in and tested it all with memtest. All passed.
Retested VRAM using TechTool Pro 5 (again). All passed.
Aperture is the only thing that crashes on my system, and I use things like Photoshop and Maya that are memory, drive, and CPU intensive...
I agree, it's got to be something unique to my system, but I'm totally stumped.
Oddly, when I had only one pair of matching DIMMs—no matter which ones—the system only recognized the module in the top card, riser A. That according to System Info. Swapping the risers had no effect, nor did removing the bottom one (as expected), and of course removing the top one caused the system to stall early during reboot. Not RAM, not memory card, but maybe the logic board? But why would it only torpedo Aperture?
I'm posting this to my duplicate thread on the Mac Pro forum category, too...