Mac Help - No response

My Mac Help is no longer responsive. Non of the links will work and when I tap in a subject to search - It just searches and searches without a result.
Any fixes anyone?
Geoff

Hi Geoff,
This is a common problem with Mac Help. When it happens, try first (quit Help) deleting this folder:
Home/Library/Caches/com.apple.helpui
If Help still doesn't work, try then deleting those files:
Home/Library/Preferences/com.apple.helpviewer.plist
Home/Library/Preferences/com.apple.help.plist
More info about Mac Help troubleshooting:
- (The X Lab) Troubleshooting Help Viewer.
Be patient when you start a Mac Help search, try not to interrupt. You may also have to delete caches again if the problem reoccurs.
Good luck!
Axl

Similar Messages

I have a mac OSX desktop version 10.6.8 and all of a sudden I can't get a full screen view in Safari when I ask for help the response is use the arrows on the top right of the screen ... I don't have them ... can anyone help?

I have a mac OSX desktop version 10.6.8 and all of a sudden I can't get a full screen view in Safari when I ask for help the response is use the arrows on the top right of the screen ... I don't have them ... can anyone help?

Hi Mary,
I don't remember those arrows in 10.6, only 10.7 & up!?
I have 10.6.8, as you do. To make your Safari full screen, make sure you have the left hand side of your safari page moved all the way to the left. Then move your cursor to the BOTTOM RIGHT CORNER of the safari page, and simply drag your page towards the lower right hand corner of the screen. NOTE: you will see a series of lines on the bottom right corner of the page, indicating where to place you cursor arrow.
By wuzradioman here...
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4218928?start=0&tstart=0

Mac Help and Freezing

Hello, I had some trouble with Mac Help yesterday - as in it's gone! - and I've tried the troubleshooting tips, but still no Mac Help. I don't know if probable cause is constant freezing over the last two days? Today is better (hence I can type), but I guess it is only a matter of time. The computer only freezes when plugged in and hooked up to internet, no problems when on battery (don't have Airport at home). Need Mac Help for help - but it isn't there and system keeps freezing in safari and discussions. Please, please some info?!?!?

The fact it is only freezing when you are plugged in
and hooked up to the internet says something about
how you are hooked up to the internet may be at
issue. What method of internet connection do you
have? Is it a standard telephone line, an ethernet
or USB modem?
Also have you backed up your data? Some
troubleshooting steps may require risky operations to
the hard disk, so we want to make sure you are backed
up first before we proceed.
Hi, and thanks for the reply. I haven't been able to respond, because - of course - every time I do the Mac freezes halfway through my message.
I have a modem and broadband at home, although I have recently purchased an Airport Card, which I haven't used yet. The problem is that I am going abroad for three months on Saturday (which is why I bought the card to access the school's WiFi where I'm going), and I doubt I'll be able to do much before then.
I only really have iTunes on it that I might not be able to get back. Although I have iPod rip which I have used. My guarantee from where I bought my iBook doesn't run out until October - so in theory I can go to them when I return.
The freezing only occurs when I'm attached to the modem (though not neccesarily online), and seems to be better when it only runs off the battery. It is very confusing. It also seems to freeze more often when I type - it's not so bad when I'm just browsing.
I'm writing this on a friend's computer to get all the info out there. I will check the responses but don't know if/when I will be able to type again as it's such a lottery...But I really would appreciate any help you can offer - and any advice about backing up my information.
Many thanks,
Zachary
iBook G4 Mac OS X (10.3.9)

"Mac Help" no longer works. It just spins and spins and spins.

Today my Mac Help stopped working. I open Mac Help, type in a query, and it just spins and spins an dspins an never returns a result or fails. For the life of me I can't figure out what is wrong. Any ideas?

Phillip,
Troubleshooting Help Viewer by Dr. Smoke may be "Helpful."
;~)

Mac Help no longer searches

Mac Help, in all apps that I've tried is no longer searchable. When I open Mac Help in say iTunes and search for the term Cover Flow the Help app doesn't find anything and the search icon just spins. When I click to stop the search the icon continues spinning.
I've tried to reset Help with Onyx to no avail.

Solved, specifically I did this:
Quit Help Viewer if it is open. Leopard users should click the red Close button in the upper-left corner of the Help Viewer window. Users of Tiger and earlier can press the Command-Q (Quit) keyboard shortcut.
Trash the following three files in your Home > Library > Preferences folder, if extant:
com.apple.help.plist
com.apple.helpui.plist
com.apple.helpviewer.plist
Trash the following two folders in your Home > Library > Caches folder, if extant:
com.apple.helpui folder
com.apple.helpdata
Empty the Trash.
Test that Help Viewer is now operating normally.
Many thanks Ferd II!

My "Mac Help" on my Mac Mini does not work!

I have a Mac Mini, OS X 10.3.9. When I go into Mac Help, nothing happens when I try to ask questions, and I experience other problems when I try to go through Mac Help's library. And sometimes it works as if nothing was wrong. It's just plain sick. Is there any way to reinstall it? Not being able to use the Help at times is problematic to say the least.
-carpetcomber

359/2805
Hi carpetcomber,
Welcome to the Discussions!
When it happens, just try deleting its Caches folder, this should clean it:
(quit Help) and delete this folder:
Home/Library/Caches/com.apple.helpui
If Help still doesn't work, try then deleting those three files:
Home/Library/Preferences/com.apple.help.plist
Home/Library/Preferences/com.apple.helpui.plist
Home/Library/Preferences/com.apple.helpviewer.plist
and the Caches again.
More info about Mac Help troubleshooting:
- (The X Lab) Troubleshooting Help Viewer.
HTH
Axl

Mac help not available in tiger

I have a new imac with tiger. I can open mac help window, can click on 'search all help' and do a search. The search results are displayed but then if I click on a topic in 'mac help' nothing comes up.
Help is available in the helper windo for all other applications, so I don't think it's a problem with the help window, just suspect mac help is not installed.
PLEASE HELP!

Hello Daav1000 and welcome to discussions,
Here...
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=245027&tstart=0
May be a fix for you. Hope so.
Regards
Ian
( Thanks to Kappy )

Mac Help does not work

When I am in the finder, and select Mac Help from the Help menu, the help window appears for a few seconds, does not allow me to use it, and then closes again
Hence I do not have access the the Mac Help database
what to do?

Help Viewer crashes or shows blank....
http://discussions.info.apple.com/webx?[email protected]@.6897a2ae http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/helpviewer.html
This is a common bug in Panther. The solution to this problem is simple though:
• (~ means your home directory)
If the search field is not in the top of the window.... click on the oblong button at the top right hand corner...that should open the Toolbar and display the search field.
Go to ~/Library/Preferences and delete the following files......
com.apple.help.plist
com.apple.helpui.plist (you may or may not have this one).
com.apple.helpviewer.plist
Next go to ~/Library/Caches and delete the folder......
com.apple.helpui
Log out and log in. If the problem is gone, empty the trash. If not, put everything back.
you can open MacHelp directly from .....
/Library/Documentation/Help and it works fine.
george

Why Mac Help doesn't work after installing Leopard?

After installing Leopard Mac Help shows a untitled window and after few seconds it disappear.

Actually no. I'm working on the same environment before installing Leopard. No firewall...but I'm working from China where a massive Great Firewall is controlled by the government. That case I shouldn't be the only one.
Fernando

Mac Help not Helping

Hi
Im running OS X Tiger 10.4.2
Tiger came as an update DVD in the box along with my Mac Mini and I have since performed an "erase and install" version of tiger. When I load mac help nothing works. When I type spotlight or dashboard for example, the little cog will spin and do nothing. The links don't work either.
Anybody have a clue what's wrong!?
Thanks in advance for any help
-Pos

Try the following:
In most cases doing the following will restore the Help Viewer:
1. Trash the following three files, if extant:
/Home/Library/Preferences/com.apple.help.plist
/Home/Library/Preferences/com.apple.helpui.plist
/Home/Library/Preferences/com.apple.helpviewer.plist
2. Trash the /Home/Library/Caches/com.apple.helpui folder.
3. Empty the Trash and Restart.
Also, be sure you have an active internet connection when using Help because many help files have to be downloaded, they are not available locally.

Mac Help failed again

The Mac Help system on my computer fails often. Before, I have been told to drag help cache files to trash and shut down and restart. The help cache files appear to be gone. If I ask for help I get a blank screen. Do others have this problem? why is this so vulnerable. Help should be one of the most reliable parts of an Operating System .

Hi, brooktrout.
See my "Troubleshooting Help Viewer" FAQ for comprehensive advice on fixing issues with Help Viewer, including the issue you mention.
As FYI, you should update to a more recent version of Mac OS X than 10.4.5 — the version shown in your profile. The version of Help Viewer in later releases seems to have solved some long-standing problems.
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.

Mac Help hangs again

This happens not infrequently. When it does I routinely apply Dr.Smoke's remedy of trashing 3 library files and rebooting and Mac Help works again.
However this time it displayed the alpha index but declined to open the page corresponding to the letter I chose.
I wonder if there is a further treatment that could wake up this help file, or a test to pinpoint the cause of the dysfunction?

1. You wrote: "tep 3 of Solution 3 of "Help Viewer links do not work" refers to Incompatible Startup or Login Items, for which the recommanded solution is to update to Mac OS X 10.4.6 or later and then reset Help Viewer"No: that's incorrect. Step 2 refers to the update. Step 3 refers to "Rule out incompatible Startup or Login Items" and refers you to my "Troubleshooting Startup and Login Items" FAQ.
Seems you've not performed Step 2, either, which will probably solve the problem permanently.
2. You wrote: "Quote:To display the toolbar for Help Viewer, click the elliptical button at the far right in the title bar of the Help Viewer window.Unquote
There is no elliptical button at the far right of the title bar. only the Ask a Question field (typing a word in it sets the spinning wheel turning endlessly)
I cannot control click the HelpViewer toolbar to customize it."Once again, you are misreading the FAQ. The item you quote from above is from the section entitled "Help Viewer does not display a search field under Mac OS X 10.3 or earlier" in the FAQ. That's a new section and follows the section on "Help Viewer links do not work". You should be able to tell it's a new section as the title is larger, i.e. its a new heading. There are links to the individual sections at the start of the FAQ, but the sections run linearly throughout the FAQ.
That new section obviously does not apply to Tiger (Mac OS X 10.4) since it states "Mac OS X 10.3 and Earlier." Under Tiger, Help Viewer's toolbar cannot be customized. That feature was only available in Panther (10.3) and earlier. Likewise, it does not apply to your current problem, but a different problem.
My FAQ covers Help Viewer for Mac OS X 10.2 (Jaguar), Mac OS X 10.3 (Panther), and Mac OS X 10.4 (Tiger). The titles of sections or the details within a section can be version-specific and are noted accordingly.
3. You wrote: "Should I rebuild the OSX desktop? (I have a utility by that name). or go ahead an update to OS 10.4.7?
http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/macosxupdate1047comboppc.html says it is 145Mb!!! "Neither.
You should update to Mac OS X 10.7 using Software Update, which will download just the changes you need for the update. You do not need to download the Combo Update to perform an update.
Some people recommend always downloading and installing the Combo Update. I do not: I think that approach is a waste of time.
4. You wrote: "I am a little reluctant to update because it often creates more problems than it cures."That has not been my experience. While there are often many posts here on the Discussions about "problems caused by an update" they are usually the result of self-inflicted wounds:
• People install updates on already-corrupted systems, making a bad problem worse.
• They are running third-party software, often hacks and interface modifications relying on undocumented features of the OS, that are rendered incompatible with the update.
Granted, some updates have had bugs, but I've personally found that most post-update problems are the the result of user errors or a lack of maintenance, rather than problems with the update.
If your system is properly maintained and not "hacked-up" then you should not have any problems with Software Updates.
Before installing software updates, you may wish to consider the advice in my "Installing Software Updates" FAQ. Taking the steps therein before installing an update often helps avert problems and gives you a fallback position in case trouble arises.
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.

The disk you inserted was not readable by this computer. (when putting ipod into mac) help,. now have no music on my ipod

the disk you inserted was not readable by this computer. (when putting ipod into mac) help,. now have no music on my ipod. how do i sort this out?

- Verify the file and disk formats on your camcorder and on your friend computer whether they support what you want to do. Also, if you are using a specific application to do the task, you may need to verify an application whether it supports the file format (e.g. MPEG4, Apple Intermediate Codec).
- Verify the device cable type whether Mac OS X 10.4.x supports.
- Verify the device compatibility with Mac OS X 10.4.x.
- Check an available firmware or driver for the camcorder that has developed after Mac OS X 10.4.4.
- Try diagnosing and repairing local hard disk and camcorder's drive directory.
- Verify disks permissions issue.
- Verify whether the disk is TOO warm or cold to read.
- If every troubleshooting does not solve the issue, consider to reformat the camcorder drive.
You may try suggestions by Dale Weisshaar: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=1206250

How can I get Mac Help to work?

Every time I open a folder, a big question mark appears at the top - how can I correct this?
It seems that Mac Help isn't working. After opening it, the same question mark shows in the dock's Help Viewer and when the help viewer opens, it is blank.
Thank you for any help!

Try the following:
In most cases doing the following will restore the Help Viewer:
1. Trash the following three files, if extant:
/Home/Library/Preferences/com.apple.help.plist
/Home/Library/Preferences/com.apple.helpui.plist
/Home/Library/Preferences/com.apple.helpviewer.plist
2. Trash the /Home/Library/Caches/com.apple.helpui folder.
3. Empty the Trash and Restart.

Finder's Mac Help gone; how do I get it back?

When I open Mac Help in the finder, the Help Viwer window opens but no contents appear. If I click on Home in that window, I get contents, but the links do not work. If I choose topics from the Help Viewer's Library menu, most work but Apple Script, Mail and Safari Help windows open with no contents (same as Mac Help above). I have repaired permissions. My questions:
1. Where does help live? I can't find it in Applications or in Library.
2. I wasn't doing anything unusual when it got messed up.
3. How do I get back just the parts of Mac Help I have lost?
Thanks for your help.

Try this:
In most cases doing the following will restore the Help Viewer:
1. Trash the following three files, if extant:
/Home/Library/Preferences/com.apple.help.plist
/Home/Library/Preferences/com.apple.helpui.plist
/Home/Library/Preferences/com.apple.helpviewer.plist
2. Trash the /Home/Library/Caches/com.apple.helpui folder.
3. Empty the Trash and Restart.

Mac Help - No response

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for