Apple internet apps crashing..please help

Question

Hello all... it seems that every Apple application I have that is internet related is crashing. It began with Safari. Yesterday it just quit on me, out of the blue. Since then, on relaunch as soon as I attempt to access any site... it quits. iChat now no longer works and Mail is iffy at best; I can't add a new account, for example. When I try, it quits.
Well, I've run Onyx.. permissions, maintainence, cleared cache etc etc....
I've trashed various .plist files and restarted and I've run fsck.
Today I did an archive and install, which took me back down to 10.4 ... no change. Using Software Update, I attempted to update everything back to 10.4.7.... I click all the 'agree' buttons and as it's about to start downloading, you guessed it, it quits.
It appears that the only option I have left is to wipe my HD and begin again. But, I have SO much stuff I want to avoid that if at all possible... in particular I'm worried that I won't be able to get iWeb back to where it was with my site and, in particular, my Podcasts.
But... if I log in to a test account... none of the above happens!
Any help you may be able to give, would be great.
Fingers crossed...
Lee

Answer 1

Seems like you are doing all the right things like Repair Permissions until... when you said you attempt to do Software Update after your Archive and Install, just checking, do you have any external devices attached while doing the install and update? You should detach all of them, not just by turning off, except your keyboard, mouse and internet connection.
If there is still problem, do a Backup, do you have an external FW drive, you can use SuperDuper to clone/copy all your current files to an external drive, it is an exact copy/clone of your internal drive, but be very caution as this is probably your corrupted system or file somewhere, so treat the clone disk with caution. Your main aim here is to backup your files like your iWeb data.
Go ahead and safetly wipe your drive, reformat and reinstall, after all the updates (remember practice the above), then copy your data back like your iTunes Library, etc.
When your Mac is finally stable, use SuperDuper again this time to clone again to your external drive, and do it periodically, every 2 weeks or monthly, now you have a regular back up.
SuperDuper clones bootable drive, meaning in the event your internal drive is down or having another bad unstable system, you can boot from your FW drive, and everything will be exactly the same.
And if you need to replace the internal drive, after that all you need to do is boot from the OS System Disc, use the Restore tab and restore the entire disk from the external FW to your internal drive - a clone back, so you don't have to go through all the hassle of reinstalling and configuring everything
Cheers