Finder Won't Launch After Traumatic Re-Install

Hello All,
I've had one **** of a ride. I run 10.3.9. After a bad Mac update corrupted my boot disc, I was forced to reinstall...but since I bought my G4 used, I didn't have the original discs. I needed a computer up and running immediately, so installed the only operating system I could find...10.2.8. Luckily, all my files and apps are intact.
Today, I finally managed to find an install disc for 10.3.4. When I installed 10.3.4, everything was great....except that Finder won't launch. I can still launch the programs in my dock, but I can't get to apps that aren't in the dock...namely Final Cut Pro. I thought I might be able to beat it by installing the combined 10.3.9 update from Mac, but my Finder is still dead.
Any help anyone could provide would be more appreciated than you'll ever know. Thanks!

Welcome To  Discussions Mulcahey!
"...so installed the only operating system I could find...10.2.8."
"...find an install disc for 10.3.4."
What type of discs are these?
Are they a Jaguar Full Retail CDs, and a Full Retail Version, of the Panther Install CDs?
The discs should look exactly like the images in the above links, and not say Upgrade, CPU Drop-in DVD, or "This software is part of a hardware bundle purchase - not to be sold seperately." on them.
If not, that may be the problem.
Additional info in these links.
Using OS X Install CDs/DVDs On Multiple Macs
What's A Computer Specific Mac OS X Release
Software Update, Upgrade: What's The Difference?
ali b

Similar Messages

Finder won't launch after re-install 7.1

I reinstalled QT 7.1 after having problems with 7.2. I was getting only audio and no video. After the reinstall I rebooted and now the finder won't launch so I can't see my hard drive or any icons on my desktop. And oddly enough the only app that will open is safari and quicktime now works!
What have I done and any clue on what just happened?

There is no "re-install" of older software versions allowed in OS X.
The only safe way to revert to previous versions is by Archive and Install using the Tiger DVD.

Finder won't launch after re-install quicktime 7.1

I reinstalled quicktime 7.1 after having problems with 7.2. I was getting only audio and no video. After the reinstall I rebooted and now the finder won't launch so I can't see my hard drive or any icons on my desktop. And oddly enough the only app that will open is safari and quicktime now works!
What have I done and any clue on what just happened?

There is no "re-install" of older software versions allowed in OS X.
The only safe way to revert to previous versions is by Archive and Install using the Tiger DVD.

ITunes won't launch after system re-install?

I had to reinstall Snow Leopard after my finder disappeared (I'm assuming some corruption to finder but who knows). Anyhow, I've spent all day re-installing Snow Leopard and bringing it back up to 10.6.6. Many of my third party apps needed to be re-installed as did major apps like FM Pro 11. But the Apple app. that won't launch is iTunes 10.4.1. Anybody with any thoughts on why this is happening and how I can resolve it? Thank you.

I re-verified permissions, shut down and removed all power (inc battery)- restarted and itunes started when launched from doc. I don't know what the difference was, but it seems to be working.

FCP won't launch after Archive and Install

After the fiasco of the 1.1 update for the Alu-iMac's I had to do an archive and install on my system to return it to 1.0.
Everything is now working fine but FCP6 won't launch. It bounces in the dock once and then nothing. LiveType and DVD Studio 4 will open but Color, Motion and FCP won't.
I have trashed preferences and repaired permissions with no luck.
Any ideas?
Thanks in advance.

There are files that are not brought along with Archive and Install.
Some are invisible and not accessible without enabling "root" access and even then you have to know exactly which files have to be moved from the 'previous System' folder.
Archive and Install never works with Apple's Pro apps.
If Niel's suggestion doesn't work you'll have to erase your hard drive and reinstall everything making sure you first backup important data to another hard drive.
(don't forget to save your mail and addresses)

IWork apps won't launch after new HD installed

My hard drive was failing so all files were backed up to an external hard drive (don't know what method - the Mac store did it for me) then moved to the new hard drive. Now the iWork apps won't launch. Doesn't matter which account I use and makes no difference if I boot in Safe Mode. I've updated iWork and still no difference. The icon flashes a couple of times on the dock, then disappears. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

When you say you updated iWorks are you talking about the update a few days ago? How about just reinstalling the applications?

Finder won't launch after Firmware Update

I ran the firmware update for my MBP (MBP31.0070.B07). Now, my finder will not automatically launch upon restart/login. I can click on the Finder icon in the dock and launch the finder, but it won't do so on its own.

Weird...
Go into /Applications/Utilities/Console.app. Click on "Console Messages" on the left side. Is there anything specifically mentioning the Finder in the text that appears on the right side from around the time you logged in? Then check LOG FILES->~/Library/Logs/CrashReporter. Are there any crash logs listed with Finder in the name? If so, copy/paste the bottom one into a reply and post it up. With that info we might be able to figure out what is going on with your machine... Good luck...

Itunes won't launch after trying to install podutil s/w

I purchased the ipod version of podutil. When installing the distribution s/w, it said "Podutil needs to run an application in order to determine if compatible with itunes". I agreed but it never returned any response as complete or unable to complete. Itunes showed in dock as running but never launched. When I tried to force quit, it would not quit. Even when I force quit in finder it would not quit. Now when ever I try to launch itunes it doesn't launch but it shows in dock as trying to run. It still doesn't respond when I try to force quit. If I attach the ipod, itunes still does not launch. Ipod shows up on desk top, I can launch podutil. I tried to run an upgrade for itunes found by software update (as an attempt to repair) but it locks up during update process.
Has anyone seen this lock-up using the software? My OS version my be off a bit, I'm sending this from PC at work so I can't check, but its last version of Jaguar.
powerbook G3 F/W bronze -pismo Mac OS X (10.3.3)

I re-verified permissions, shut down and removed all power (inc battery)- restarted and itunes started when launched from doc. I don't know what the difference was, but it seems to be working.

Finder won't launch - tried everything - HELP!!!

Okay...
So following all of the sudden, the finder won't launch. Clicking on it on the dock doesn't work, and I can't use force quit to relaunch it (obvious, since it wasn't launched in the first place). Rebooted several times, to no avail. Further noticing, that only a few apps will open (Safari, Mail, TextEdit), but others won't, and even then, you can't interact with anything on the desktop (i.e., opening a text file with Safari). Things like iTunes or AppleWorks won't open at all, both are which essential to me.
I've tried booting up in Safe Mode. Nothing. I tried repairing the permissions. Nothing. I tried running from the Install Disc, and repairing via Disk Utility (several times). Nothing. In fact, it did note several errors, but was unable to repair the drive. Also tried archive and restore off the 10.3 Disc 1, but wouldn't let me, as it said 10.4.9 was newer and couldn't repair through the older disc.
So does anybody have any solutions on this? I upgraded to Tiger via a downloaded update, so I don't have the Tiger disc to repair through. And I certainly don't want to go through the whole debacle with a complete reinstall with a slave drive. Anything would be greatly, greatly appreciated.

Well that sounds like it could work...and I really should get a backup...
BUT!
Saving that as the final straw, would there be any cheap (e.g. free) solutions left? I'd rather wait to buy another external drive, since I'm trying to save money now, so any immediate and cheap solutions would work best.
Hmm... I upgraded to Tiger via download, so I don't have the boot CD for it. But since I already have Tiger, would it be at all possible to get a free 10.4 boot CD to help with this problem? If I explain my plight to Support, do you think they could spare one, since it's very probable 10.4 Disk Utility would work, since the only reason 10.3 couldn't was because it was too low?
If that doesn't work, I suppose the only thing left to do would be to carry through and clone to an external. But first, do you think I could get a 10.4 disc for my problem, or would that be "forbidden" for some reason?

ICal won't launch after 10.5.2 upgrade

my iCal won't launch after 10.5.2 upgrade. it won't even give an "unexpectedly quit" message, it pops up then quits, then nothing. This happened immediately after the upgrade today. I got the leopard disc out and did an archive and install then it worked perfect, no issues, then I did a software update (since I was back to 10.5.0), and installed the 10.5.2 security upgrade, now iCal will not launch, am I the only one with this problem?

I had the exact same problem -- doubled events and could not edit anything. I flushed the cache as describe in some more detail here: http://www.tipstrs.com/tip/2506/iCal-problem-with-Leopard-Upgrade and everything started working just fine.

Finder won't launch and application icons just bounce

I successfully logged in. But then it went to just a blue screen with the dock on it. No hard drive showed up in the corner. Applications just bounce, then get an unexpectedly quit message. Finder won't launch at all. Tried disk repair, permissions repair; these were all fine. Have no idea what to do next and could really use some help! Thanks.

I would startup from your install disc. Enable root user which is found under utilities on the menubar, and restart the computer. Then see what happens when you login as root.

MacBook Pro won't boot after trying to install 10.7.3 update. Start up stalls at Apple logo and spinning gear.

MacBook Pro won't boot after trying to install 10.7.3 update. Start up stalls at Apple logo and spinning gear. Computer won't even start in safe mode.

My daughter's MacBook Pro was doing exactly the same thing. I don't know if it had anything to do with the latest update. She called me about a week ago saying that her MacBook began running slower by the day . She then called me Friday and told me that it wouldn't get past the gray screen and the gear just kept on spinning. I did everything I could over the phone including Safe mode which it wouldn't go into and thought maybe it was the hard drive. She took it to the Apple store. Originally, they also thought it was the hard drive. It ended up being a corrupted operating system (Lion). Apple genius simply re-installed Lion and she's back up and running. Good thing she backed up right before it crapped out. She'll be restoring everything tonight. Don't know if re-installing Lion will help your situation, but it did the trick for my daughter.

Safari won't launch after 3.1.1. download mistake

safari won't launch after download of 3.1.1 by mistake I only have OS 10.3.9.
mail won't relaunch either, i downloaded camino it won't launch either, my fire fox works but i can't get to my mail. How do I clean up this mess.

Mail relies on WebKit for rendering, so it may have problems even after you got rid of the old Safari. I would try download the Mac OS X 10.3.9 Combo Update, and that should update WebKit and everything else for you. It's a 117 MB download, including all the extra languages.
As for upgrading to 10.4.11, that's a completely new version of Mac OS X compared to your current version. It's faster, has more features, and you can actually run Safari 3.1.1 on it. It's not sold by Apple anymore, but various retailers have unsold copies still available. You might want to check around locally for a "Retail" (boxed) copy, or even on eBay for the same thing. Don't even think about buying a cheap copy for a laptop, since those are specific to those machines; you always want the full boxed copy.
Mulder

Lightroom 2 won't launch after install

After installing onto an XP 32-bit machine that already had Lightroom 2 Beta running, Lightroom 2 now refuses to launch. It is an upgrade version loaded from disc but has killed off all the other versions, too.
I have un-installed and re-installed repeatedly - rebooting every time - to no avail. Even a new install of Lightroom 1 won't launch - which makes me wonder if there is a rogue file from the Beta version that needs a serious talking to.
The computer shows the application as correctly installed but it simply won't launch.
What to do?

Thanks Lee
Version 2 and Beta preference files no longer exist after uninstalling and V1.0 still refuses to launch even after removing its preferences.
Could there be something in the registry that needs a kick?

Address Book Won't Launch after re-installing system.

Hope someone has a suggestion here. I just installed a new HD and made a nice clean install of system, starting with original that came with my 1st edition G5 Tower and then upgraded to 10.3, then to 10.4.11 (which is where I stop), performing the Apple Software updates along the way. Everything seems to be fine. Boots extremely fast, just like when it was a baby.
Everything except Address Book. I had been importing e-mails, etc. from my 2nd HD so that I could erase it and went to import from my old Address Book and it won't launch. Does the little animation in the Dock, but immediately quits. If I try to open it through Mail, it immediately kills the Mail application.
I really don't want to have to go through the lengthy installation process again. Does anone have any thoughts as to what might be causing this? Even the version of Address Book on my 2nd HD is doing the same thing.
Any help would be appreciated.
Jim C.

Ok. For those who are interested, I did a search and was able to find some things to look for. Bottom line is that it is now fixed. For some reason, the required info was not contained within the new system's Application Support directory. In comparing the same directory on both the new system and the one on my 2nd HD, I discovered that there was only one thing in the new directory, while the directory of the other system had many things (including Address Book and DVD Player).
I hadn't yet launched DVD Player since installing, when I did, I got an error indicating that there was an error starting DVD Player. I copied the directory from the 2nd system into the Application Support on the new system and it then launched instantly.
I'm not sure why these things didn't get placed in Application Support under normal installation, but that is what the problem was.
Jim C.

Finder Won't Launch After Traumatic Re-Install

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for