CAN NO LONGER OPEN ADDRESS BOOK

Question

Hi.  I am using an iMac OS X version 10.5.8 with Intel Core 2 Duo that checks for updates weekly.  As of a week and a half ago, I am no longer able to open my address book in the finder view (it is grayed out with a circle & slash through it).  The pop up window says, "You can't open the application "Address Book" because it is not supported on this architecture."  I have no clue as to what update went through to cause this, I just tried accessing the address book one day and couldn't.  Any body else have this?  Any suggestions to fix would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks!

Answer 1

That's the problem.  You probably picked the Application installer for another Mac.  Only the installer discs that came with a Mac and newer retail installers up to the limit of the hardware can be used with the Mac.  Macs that shipped new after July 20, 2011 did not come with installer CDs, and have a special restore partition.   Upon receiving such a Mac, cloning is the best way to ensure that if the hard drive dies, you can still restore such a system.  See my FAQ*:
http://www.macmaps.com/backup.html
Retail installers which could be used on Intel Macs based on age looked like:
for 10.5
for 10.6
and a special Flash drive is available for 10.7.
For more on upgrading to each one, see my series of user tips starting with this one.
If you can't find the original installer discs that came with the Mac, call AppleCare or the person who sold you the Mac.
http://www.charlessoft.com/ software called Pacifist can install the correct Addressbook from the correct installer disc for your currently installed operating system without having to reinstall everything.   Applying the combo update from the correct link here*
http://www.macmaps.com/jaguarleopard.html
to where you currently are will ensure that software is the most current for that operating system.  So apply the 10.5.8 combo once extracting the correct 10.5 Addressbook to keep current for 10.5.8.