Applications have generic icon; some missing

Most of my applications suddenly have generic application icons. When I double click on one of these, it bounces twice and then stops. Nothing opens. Also, a fair number of applications have just vanished completely. I can't find them in Terminal, either. DiskWarrior found a few problems and fixed them; Disk Utility found lots of permission errors, which it fixed, but no disk errors. Unfortunately, these fixes didn't solve my problem.
This all started right after installing Sims 2 (which runs fine). But it's just a drag-and-drop app, so I don't see how that could have messed things up.
iMac G5, 10.4.7. Suggestions?

Hi, Stewart.
1. You wrote: "Most of my applications suddenly have generic application icons. When I double click on one of these, it bounces twice and then stops."See my:
• "Resetting Launch Services" FAQ.
• "Multiple applications quit unexpectedly or fail to launch" FAQ.
2. You wrote: "Also, a fair number of applications have just vanished completely…DiskWarrior found a few problems and fixed them"When files suddenly "go missing" this usually indicates directory corruption. Depending on the errors DW found and corrected, the OS or the Applications folder may still be damaged, i.e. the directory was fixed but files on the hard drive were still damaged. Disk directory repair utilities can fix the directory, but nothing can repair a corrupted file: it must either be restored from backup or, in the case of an application, reinstalled.
If your directory was corrupted prior to installing Sims 2, that installation may have overwritten parts of current applications that now either appear missing or fail to launch.
I suspect the only way you are going to resolve this is by performing an Archive and Install to assure there is no OS damaged. For important tips on this, see my "General advice on performing an Archive and Install" FAQ. Perform the steps therein in the specified order.
Third-party applications that are still misbehaving after the Archive & Install may need to be uninstalled, then reinstalled.
Good luck!
Dr. Smoke
Author: Troubleshooting Mac® OS X
Note: The information provided in the link(s) above is freely available. However, because I own The X Lab™, a commercial Web site to which some of these links point, the Apple Discussions Terms of Use require I include the following disclosure statement with this post:
I may receive some form of compensation, financial or otherwise, from my recommendation or link.

Similar Messages

  • JPEGs have generic icons in finder.

    I have several folders with many JPEGs, all between 8 & 12 MB each. Although I have selected "show icon preview" for all of them in Get Info, about 8% of them show only the generic JPEG icon, and not the preview of the pic.
    Some are orig. scans of photos, some have been worked on in Photoshop, but there is no consistency between the ones showing only generic icons.
    How can I fix this please?

    Thanks, no there are not.
    The icons are generic in all views.
    But when I 'get info' the preview of the pic is ok.
    I can rectify the problem by opening each pic in turn with either preview or photoshop and immediately re-saving it over the top of the original, but this is a massive job as there are so many.
    Any other suggestions?

  • Tif files have generic icon in bridge

    Hi,
    I can see the proper icon in the finder os 10.9.2 but only the generic tif icon in bridge. PSD work fine.
    these tifs were created in Lightroom 5
    I tried logging in as a different user, no change.
    thanks for the help.

    Don't use Lightroom, but have heard that you can create several different versions of files, some not readable outside of LR.  So check that out.

  • Copied applications get generic icons?

    Lately, since about 10.4, I've been having more and more problems with applications losing their characteristic icons when they are copied from one volume to another. Right now, I'm in the process of trying to migrate from a PowerMac G4 to a Mac Mini so it's especially annoying.
    For example, I have an application named Shutterfly SmartUpload on my external firewire backup drive, which is currently mounted on my Mac Mini. It shows its characteristic icon. But when I copy it to my Mac Mini's hard drive, the copy shows up with the generic application icon (with the letter "A" made out of a pencil, brush and ruler). The copied application launches and functions perfectly.
    1) WHY does this happen? 2) Under Mac OS 9 this would occasionally happen and the cure was to rebuild the desktop; what's the cure under Mac OS X?

    548/2994
    Hi Daniel,
    I would try first, a simple restart and a Permissions Repair, then if the problem persists,
    a Disk Repair with Disk Utility, booting from the Tiger Install DVD.
    If Disk Utility doesn't fix it, try then DiskWarrior.
    HTH
    Axl

  • I have a high resolution display (3200x1800) and a 13" laptop, but my CC-applications have microscopic icons at the point of being useless.

    The text based menus are ok, and is the only option that can be configured to a larger size.
    But the icons in the CC applications are so tiny that they are practically useless.
    Even extended on a separate 24" LCD display the interface icons are too small.
    So, having searched a lot on the topic of high resolution displays, the OS will scale an application appropriately if it is designed correctly.
    I am running Windows 8.1, and i.e. the applications in the Office pack scale perfectly. Not so strange, perhaps, being MS.
    When will CC get this upgrade?
    Kind regards,
    Thomas

    Please take a look at: Photoshop CC / Windows 8.1 HiDPI / Retina scaling support at the moment Adobe works with Microsoft to work on scaling for HiDPI devices. See reaply from Chris Cox
    "Again, we're continuing to work with Microsoft on the scaling problems in Windows.
    We, and they, recognize that the existing attempts to offer scalable UI have serious issues.
    And no, we can't commit to a timeframe for a long list of reasons."
    So you need some patience as HiDPI is getting more and more popular i assume it will be anytime soon.

  • Some mp3's have QT icon, some iTunes...why?

    Why is it that some of my mp3 files have the QT icon, and some have the iTunes icon?
    Actually, I think know "why" at the high level...I'm sure it's because the container file either has, or does not have certain things.
    So my question is really down the technical details. What makes the files different?

    Hi--
    It's probably because some of them were downloaded after having been played in a browser window by the QuickTime plugin. When that happens, the type and creator codes for the files get set in such a way that iTunes sees them as movies.
    This page has more details, including an AppleScript you can use to change the type and creator codes.
    Post back if any of that doesn't make sense,
    charlie

  • Anyone else have app icons go missing on iOS7?

    My settings icon has completely disappeared. I can search 'settings' on my phone and it will come up, but the icon is nowhere to be found in my menu.

    I can't think of a scenario where a phone will suddenly decide to up and wipe itself, and certainly not without wiping all content (like if you had activated find My iPhone and told it from another device to wipe itself the next time it was connected to the Internet).  One way to lose content is to plug it into a computer which has a different iTunes library.  The phone will then ask if you want to erase content.  Another is to use the multi-step series of commands to delete all music on a phone.  Again, something very deliberate.  There may be others.  It sounds like your music isn't really showing on your phone as actually being there but the iCloud listing of available downloads is not showing as being active, correct?

  • Generic Icon vs. Thumbnail Icon

    What would cause a photo (jpeg file) to show up in Finder with an icon that is a thumbnail of the actual photo vs. a generic icon? The two cases seem to lead to different behavior in a plug-in that I use (Mail Attachments Iconizer) in Mail. When attached to an email, the files with thumbnail icons open up in the body of the email whereas the files with generic icons do not (which is the desired behavior)?
    Thanks.

    That doesn't appear to be the case. Show Icon Preview is unchecked. Furthermore, other jpeg files in the same folder have generic icons.
    I should add that the files with thumbnail view as icons were edited in Photoshop in OS 10.4 (my second drive boots into 10.4 to allow me to use an older version of Photoshop). This folder is on a partition of my 10.5 drive. I am viewing the folder in 10.5 That could be why these files show up differently, but I don't understand why it should be so.

  • [GNOME] Titlebar icons are missing

    Hey,
    I am coming from KDE and decided to give GNOME another try.
    So my problem is, that in the titlebar there are no icons. GTK2 applications have those icons.
    This is what I tried:
    - delete all gnome related config files in $HOME
    - reinstalled gnome
    - installed xfce and looked if the icons are there (just wanted to make sure that this isn't a GNOME only issue)
    - installed various themes and icon themes and changed them but without luck
    - switched to dark mode but the issue is still present
    - launched a gtk3 app in kde - still no titlebar icons
    This is what it looks right now:
    I am running out of ideas.. does anyone know what else I can try?
    Thanks in advance!

    Malkymder wrote:try this http://planet.jboss.org/post/regenerati … icon_cache
    Thanks for replying! Sadly that didn't work..

  • When i try to drag the new icon into my application folder it says i don't have privilege for some items

    I am able to download the new version but cannot drag the icon inot my applications folder. it keeps saying that i don't have privileges for some items. I have tried to do this repeatedly. and now my gmail account is saying that i have to have this new firefox version

    If there are problems with updating or with the permissions then easiest is to download the full version and trash the currently installed version to do a clean install of the new version.
    Download a new copy of the Firefox program and save the DMG file to the desktop
    * Firefox 6.0.x: http://www.mozilla.com/en-US/firefox/all.html
    * Trash the current Firefox application to do a clean (re-)install
    * Install the new version that you have downloaded
    Your profile data is stored elsewhere in the Firefox Profile Folder, so you won't lose your bookmarks and other personal data.
    * http://kb.mozillazine.org/Profile_folder_-_Firefox

  • I down loaded sygic on my iPhone 3s but the icon is missing even in the search but when I want to download it again ,it say this application is present, how can I make the icon to show up

    I down loaded sygic on my iPhone 3s but the icon is missing even in the search but when I want to download it again ,it say this application is present, how can I make the icon to show up

    - Have you tried a reset. Nothing is lost
    Reset iPod touch: Hold down the On/Off button and the Home button at the same time for at
    least ten seconds, until the Apple logo appears.
    - Try syncing  the iPod to your computer. Then delete from iTunes and sync. that should delete it from the iPod. Then redownload it.

  • App-v 5.0 sp3 Publish application icons/ shourtcut missed on 2nd time logon on terminal server 2012 r2 with roaming profile with folder redirection

    1. I updated app-v 5.0 sp3 environment on 2012 R2. Roaming profile users with folder redirection logon fine at first time applications icons available but at 2nd logon applicaitons icons are missed while packages are available. we are using existing
    roaming profiles with folder redirection which are running in current environment through APP-V 4.6 2008 R2. Please suggest work around to resolve this issue.
    2. TS Nodes of 2008 R2 with App-v 4.6 running fine on Microsoft 2012 private cloud but we are facing performance issue (stuck, slow logon, slow performance etc) when we are moving in new 2012 R2 private cloud. SAP, SCSM and other sevices are running
    fine, please provide solution.
    Thanks

    1.) What are you doing with the App-V Icon path? e.g. %LOCALAPPDATA%\Microsoft\AppV\Client\Integration\<GUID>\Root\AppVClientUX.exe.0.ico ?
    I guess you could workaround it with deploying the icons to a central location and then pointing to the icon out on a central share. Or put the icons in a machine location...I haven't had this issue but that's just off the top of my head.
    2.) I have not used App-V 4.6 in an environment like yours BUT would pre-caching the applications be possible? Any chance you'll be moving those apps into App-V 5.0 soon?
    PLEASE MARK ANY ANSWERS TO HELP OTHERS Blog:
    rorymon.com Twitter: @Rorymon

  • I am not able do download any apps from my app, be it paid or free. I don't see an icon for eg FREE to download an app. I just upgraded to i07 0.2, pls guide if there is some miss in setting..

    I am not able do download any apps from my app, be it paid or free. I don't see an icon for eg FREE to download an app. I just upgraded to i07 0.2, pls guide if there is some miss in setting..

    Jinut21 wrote:
    I am not able do download any apps
    What happens when you try...? Make sure you are in the iTunes Store for your Country...
    If you are... and have a Valid Payment Method associated with your account...
    Try This...
    Close All Open Apps... Sign Out of Your Account... Perform a Reset... Try again...
    Reset  ( No Data will be Lost )
    Press and hold the Sleep/Wake button and the Home button at the same time for at least ten seconds, until the Apple logo appears. Release the Buttons.
    http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1430

  • Some of my purchased apps icons are missing. how do i get them back on my ipad?

    On my ipad, some of my purchased apps icons are missing. The app store indicates that the apps were purchased so i cannot install them again.  How do I get the icons back?

    - Are the apps missing or are the icons white?
    - If missing have yu tried using the Spotlight search and trying to find them?
    - Have you tried downloading them on your iPad and then syncing?
    - Have you tried deleting them on the computer and then syncing?  That might also delete them from the iPad so you can redownal them
    - Have you tried reetting the iPad?
    Reset iPad:  Press and hold the On/Off Sleep/Wake button and the Home
    button at the same time for at least ten seconds, until the Apple logo appears.

  • Some of my App icons are missing (Mail, iCal, Firefox)

    Applications work, but they are missing their icons. It seem to be more and more icons with every restart. The icons are missing in Launchpad, dock and the Applications folder. Anyone having same problems

    Try Rebuilding  LaunchServices Database in OS X Lion to repair problems with incorrect icons
    Open the Terminal application in your Utilities folder. At the prompt copy & paste in the following command in its entirety:
    /System/Library/Frameworks/CoreServices.framework/Versions/A/Frameworks/LaunchServices.framework/Versions/A/Support/lsregister -kill -r -domain local -domain system -domain user
    You do not have to hit return
    Just let the process run it's course,  it will eventially put you back out at the prompt when complete (60-90 seconds.)
    restart your mac.

Maybe you are looking for