Menu Bar Corruption

Hello,
A strange problem developed on my system recently. Whenever I try to get into the preferences of a program like safari or mail, my system will just freeze for a few seconds and nothing will pop up. It is especially frustrating when i try to upload a file or save a file, because the browser window will open but it will be blank, only showing the "choose" and "cancel" buttons. The only changes i've made to the system over the past few weeks has been to add a widget and to update my system. Any experiences with this?
Thanks

Hi gunsbutter75, and a warm welcome to the forums!
How much free space do you have on what Size Hard Drive?
At this point I think you should get Applejack...
http://www.versiontracker.com/dyn/moreinfo/macosx/19596
After installing, reboot holding down CMD+s, (+s), then when the DOS like prompt shows, type in...
applejack AUTO
Then let it do all 5 of it's things.
At least it'll eliminate some questions if it doesn't fix it.
The 5 things it does are...
Correct any Disk problems.
Repair Permissions.
Clear out Cache Files.
Repair/check several plist files.
Dump the VM files for a fresh start.

Similar Messages

No Menu Bar / Corrupt Dock / Magnifique Related

Hello all,
(Firstly I'll apologise for any incorrect terms etc I only picked this laptop up a week ago and it's my first experience with anything Apple)
I have a MBP 15'' Core Duo 1.83Ghz 2GB Ram running Snow Leopard 10.6.1
About an hour ago I installed an app called Magnifique. Here is a link to their website and someone else having a similar problem:
http://www.magnifiqueapp.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=165&sid=32b84750037afbe5a 2a1fa3e5465cad6
I downloaded a theme, played around with it for a bit, changed a few things, nothing major. At one point it said some of the changes would take effect upon restarting... so I did.
Now that I have restarted:
The Menu Bar has disappeared
Finder won't open
None of the apps on the Dock will open
If I "right click" the Dock it disappears and then reappears
^This causes my background image to cycle through to the next background image
I can't empty/access my trash, again the Dock disappears and then reappears
Restarting in safe mode doesn't change any of this
Any advice? Tips? Things to try before a full reinstallation?
(Full installation: How would I go about that? I only have a Disc for 10.4)

This is very sad. Theme'ing on the Mac is a huge perk to owning a mac.
I was very active at ResExcellence forum before that shut down.
ShapeShifter is no longer compatible with the latest Mac OS ..
And i have Magnifique installed on one of my HD's on my G5 that i'm about to update to Snow Leopard .. ACK ! ..
RE: the problems
Magnifique has an option to make the menu bar "hide" like the dock does.
This is somehow malfunctioning under Snow Leopard.
It would have to be that or the "opacity" options.
Some items ( clock calander bluetooth icon ) in the menu bar can also be fixed under 10.5 with an installation of the free software "iStat" which has bluetooth, clock and calander menubar options .
( not sure about snow leopard .. i dont' have it to test )
anyways .. i'm very sad about the state of "Theme'ing" on a mac ..
I VERY MUCH hope that Apple will either buy Shapeshifter and include it with every mac ..
Or
Provide more support for Theme application developers ..
SAVE THEME'ing on the Mac .. PLEASE !! ..

CS 4 Spry Menu Bars corrupted?

CS 4 Spry Menu Bars
Horizontal menu displays exactly the same as vertical.
Do I have to do a full reinstall to repair this?
Can I download/update extentions?

Horizontal menu displays exactly the same as vertical.
SpryMenuBar.js is the same for both horizontal and vertical menubars. The CSS files are different, one neing SpryMenuBarHorizontal.css, the other SpryMenuBarVertical.css.
Do I have to do a full reinstall to repair this?
The easiest way to repair the problem is to delete both the CSS files from the SpryAssets directory/folder from the DW site that is giving you the problem. Then create a blank document called junk.html or similar and create new menubars within the new document. When you save the document, answer the affirmative when DW asks if you want to save the CSS files.
Can I download/update extentions?
You can download the complete framework here or for individual files here
Gramps

PS CS5 messes up menu bar; dialog boxes distort during drag; etc

I'm having weird problems with Photoshop CS5. I'd love help, or even tips for how to frame the question when searching for help.
Here are the symptoms:
- After starting PS, if I open any dialog box and then close it, after closing the PS menu bar is corrupted -- it looks like a single row of pixels is missing through the File, Edit, Image, etc words, and at the right end of the menu bar, the three control icons are overlain with Windows control icons. Both these problems can be seen in the screen capture image below.
- When a dialog box is open, if I drag it around, it gets clipped as repainting tries to keep up with the mouse. It's always rectangular, but edges flicker off to varying depths as it repaints to move. When the mouse stops, the repaint works and it looks fine. While moving, the faster the movement, the worse the effect.
- When using tools such as Lasso select, the movement feedback (the selection gray line) lags a few millimeters or more, depending on speed.
To me it looks like an application + video driver problem, but all s/w is up to date. Messing with OpenGL setting (Edit->Preferences) doesn't affect things; it acts the same with OpenGL on or off, basic, normal, or advanced. My video card is displayed correctly in the Edit->Preference: Performance box.
The first problem (menu bar corruption) is obviously least interfering and I believe has been with me longest. The latter two problems make PS somewhat difficult to use, and I believe showed up in the last few months (since the last time I used PS intensively, about 8 months ago). I can't recall for sure, but I think I installed updates to both PS and ATI drivers in the last 8 months (ie., so both could be suspects).
Any ideas what is wrong, or what to search for? What would be a good search query for this sort of problem set?
Does this seem to be an Adobe problem, or ATI, or who?
Here's my set-up:
- Dell Inspiron 580 with 6 GB RAM
- ATI Radeon HD 5450
- Windows 7 64-bit
- PS CS5 standard edition
Thanks for help and/or ideas!

I don't know about pre-packaged themes, but what I do is along these lines:
Minimize Chrome on the Desktop
If you have a sharp monitor, good eyes, and don't like that Microsoft has made all the useless chrome and border space around everything larger in the later versions of Windows, you'll likely want to minimize it to make more room to do real work...
·    Right-click on Desktop - Personalize, ensure the Windows 7 Aero theme is selected
·    Choose Window Color – Advanced appearance settings...
·    Active Title Bar item to size 17.
·    Menu item to Size 15, font Segoe UI size 8.
·    Border Padding item to size 0.
·    Scroll Bar item to size 16.
·    Caption Buttons item to size 16.
·    Icon Spacing (Horizontal) item to size 27.
·    Icon Spacing (Vertical) item to size 41.
You can experiment with these settings to find a balance you like.
Hope this helps!
-Noel

My apps won't launch & menu bar missing all top left icons!!!

A strange concurrence of multiple problems:
I am a pretty advanced user and have an iBook G4/1.33 GHz running Tiger 10.4.8, but I am having trouble with my PowerMac G4/500 MHz running 10.3.9 right now. I keep my PowerMac in Panther since it is almost 7 years old and I only have Tiger on my iBook disc.
Suddenly a few things started to happen at once yesterday:
1) NONE of the top right menu bar icons (OS 9 status, modem status, iChat, monitors, AirPort, Volume, clock, etc. show up upon log-in or restart.
2) Virtually NONE of my apps will launch from the Dock or the Finder. They bounce a few times then give up, with no error message.
I peformed successful repairs booting from both the OS X Panther disc and TechTool Deluxe. Although recommended, I can't create a TEST User because System Prefs won't launch, can't repair permissions from the problematic drive because Disk Utility won't launch, and I can't clear out caches because Cocktail won't launch.
I made sure the Application Support Folder in my Home Library had read/write permissions for me and applied to all enclosing folders as suggested. I tried trashing the com.apple.ActivityMonitor.plist preference in my Home Library also as suggested. However, it wouldn't allow me to remove the Launch Services file in the Caches folder of the main Library Folder as I also read here in the discussions.
Aside from successfully running disc repairs from the startup disc and TechTool, I tried repairing permissions from the startup CD as well (since couldn't launch any apps like Disk Utility from regular startup drive). Every time I try to repair in this manner though, after a minute it tells me "Disk Utility lost connection with Disk Managment" and I must quit and relaunch Disk Utility. However, same thing happens when I do, for both my drives running copies of OS X 10.3.9.
Only thing I can think of is to do an Archive/Reinstall of one of the two OS X systems on two different drives. But does anyone else have a clue what is causing this or what I need to try??? I read similar stories on here but nothing will all these symptoms at once.
I would REALLY appreciate some input, thanks!!!
PowerMac G4/500 MHz (1 GB); iBook G4/1.33 GHz (1.5 GB) Mac OS X (10.4.3) (still using 10.3.9 Panther on PowerMac)

Menu Bar Problems ..........
Check the following link for OS X troubleshooting steps. When doing so, following all steps in the order provided:
http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/repairprocess.html
1 If resetting permissions doesn't help, you may have a corrupt preference file... Delete....
Delete ~/Library/Caches (folder)
~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.systemuiserver.plist
~/Library/Preferences/ByHost/com.apple.systemuiserver.xxx.plist
where 'xxx' is a 12 digit (hexadecimal) numeric string
• Then log out and back in again. You may need to go to System Preferences to put back the menu items you need to display.
• Removing systemuiserver.plist will cause the right half of the menubar back
its original pristine default state.
2. Check Preferences Thoroughly;
- Navigate to ~/Library and drag the "Preferences" folder to the desktop.
- Restart and test your applications.
• If this does not work, move the "Preferece" folder back to ~/Library
• If this works, delete the old preferences folder. (You'll have to go through some of your System Preferences and apps to set the preferences back to how you like them).
3. Navigate to ~/Library and drag the "Fonts" folder to the desktop.
- Restart and test your applications.
- If they work start adding the fonts back few at a time.
( A likely suspect is Time RO, also if you do not use Classic you can trash the classic fonts.)
4. Check Permissions Inside Home Folder
- Navigate to ~/Library.
- Get Info (Command + i) on the "Applications Support" folder.
- Open the "Ownership & permissions" flippy triangle.
- Make sure you are the owner, with "read and write" access.
- Click on "apply to all"
- If this is correct, open the "Applications Support" folder and do the same procedure (Command+I) for the folders with the names of the applications you are having trouble with.
Note...The reason to check this is because repairing permissions with Disk Utility doesn't touch permissions inside your home folder.
• Create a new User.... go to System Preferences/ Accounts and click on "+" at bottom left of window..... and test the apps in this new account if they work the problem is isolated to your User
(~ means your home directory)
george w

Crash led to my iBook no longer having the translucent menu bar setting

Basic situation is this. I was running 10.5.3 perfectly well on my iBook G4 1.33ghz/1gb RAM. One day it didn't want to wake from sleep so I had to hold the power button down to power it off then back on. It started up as normal except that the menu bar had become translucent again (in 10.5.3 I had chosen to turn that stupid 'feature' off). But now the tick box is missing from the Desktop & Screen Saver pref pane, and even re-installing Leopard and updating to 10.5.3 then 10.5.4 from scratch has not bought the box back. Any idea what on earth has happened and how I can fix this? It passes the Hardware Test CD perfectly. It's as though it now thinks my Mac isn't capable of supporting that setting (when I add a Dashboard widget the ripple still happens for example).
Thanks!

David Lightman wrote:
Basic situation is this. I was running 10.5.3 perfectly well on my iBook G4 1.33ghz/1gb RAM. One day it didn't want to wake from sleep so I had to hold the power button down to power it off then back on.
This is a big NONO. You essentially crashed your OS by forcing it off while it was running. Yes, sleeping is running.
Your OS is damaged.
It started up as normal except that the menu bar had become translucent again (in 10.5.3 I had chosen to turn that stupid 'feature' off). But now the tick box is missing from the Desktop & Screen Saver pref pane, and even re-installing Leopard and updating to 10.5.3 then 10.5.4 from scratch has not bought the box back. Any idea what on earth has happened and how I can fix this? It passes the Hardware Test CD perfectly. It's as though it now thinks my Mac isn't capable of supporting that setting (when I add a Dashboard widget the ripple still happens for example).
Thanks!
Run the DU and repair your HD and permissions.
If that does not help, boot into the safe mode (hold down shift key on boot) and when you get to the login screen click on restart.
It could simply be a corrupt .plist file.
In the worse case, you can reinstall your OS previous to your forced crash using your TM backup.
Message was edited by: nerowolfe

Cache Cleaner ruined my menu bar, no longer able to screen shot

not sure if anyone is familiar with this application "Yosemite Cache Cleaner". i just started using it. tried out the light scan and auto restored my computer then messed my top menu bar... well its off screen i can not see the time or the wifi icon it almost looks like the other half of the menu bar is on another screen by HDMI but in this case its not. i have nothing connected to this computer but my midi controller and a pre amp (always) anyways . i have dropbox and g-drive installed i can see those but any notification that pops up i can only see half of it. so of course i contacted this company immediately. i get a response back they are asking me to "screen shot my problem" so i try to screen shot and nothing happens, my screen flashes once and then the more i tried, the more screen flashed with an error sound. can anyone please help me solve this problem?

First, delete the fake "utility," which is a scam. Caches don't need to be "cleaned."
Please read this whole message before doing anything.
This procedure is a diagnostic test. It’s unlikely to solve your problem. Don’t be disappointed when you find that nothing has changed after you complete it.
The purpose of the test is to determine whether the problem is caused by third-party software that loads automatically at startup or login, by a peripheral device, by a font conflict, or by corruption of the file system or of certain system caches.
Disconnect all wired peripherals except those needed for the test, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards, if applicable. Start up in safe mode and log in to the account with the problem. You must hold down the shift key twice: once when you turn on the computer, and again when you log in.
Note: If FileVault is enabled in OS X 10.9 or earlier, or if a firmware password is set, or if the startup volume is a software RAID, you can’t do this. Ask for further instructions.
Safe mode is much slower to start up and run than normal, with limited graphics performance, and some things won’t work at all, including sound output and Wi-Fi on certain models. The next normal startup may also be somewhat slow.
The login screen appears even if you usually login automatically. You must know your login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin.
Test while in safe mode. Same problem?
After testing, restart as usual (not in safe mode) and verify that you still have the problem. Post the results of the test.

The menu bar next to "Firefox" is gone; how do I get it back?

When I launch Firefox, the menu bar at the very top of my screen is showing only the Apple icon and "Firefox." None of the other menu items are there. How do I get the menu bar to display?

Try to remove the Firefox plist file (org.mozilla.firefox.plist).
* http://www.macfixit.com/article.php?story=20060606082246983 How .plist files become corrupt and troubleshooting the results
Go to "Library > Preferences" and remove the plist file for Firefox (org.mozilla.firefox.plist).
Try to repair the disk permissions:
* http://thexlab.com/faqs/repairprocess.html

Blinking menu bar, icons on desktop and Finder windows.

This happened after I restarted the computer for installing software updates. The only thing that didn't blink was the dock. When I open an application, it blinks as well, but a little slower, so that gives me time to click around. Even shutting down/restarting is a problem, since the menu bar blinks so quickly that I couldn't click on it. I had to hold down the power button to shut down.
I tried creating a new account and logged in. Everything remains normal in the new account.
I went into Library>Preferences, deleted the file called "com.apple.finder.plist" and restarted. It didn't work.
Is there anything else I can do? I really don't want to reformat my mac and lose all the applications installed.

Have you installed any third-party utilities and/or menubar utilities, contextual menu items, preference panes, etc. These most typically are the cause of such a problem. Also corrupted cache files may cause problems. Use a utility such as TinkerTool System to clear all system, user, and font caches then immediately reboot. You should not need to erase your drive to fix the problem, but the problem is definitely caused by something you either installed that is incompatible or something corrupted in your Home folder such as a preference file.

Menu bar icons keep moving/scrolling/flashing

Not sure exactly how to describe the problem concisely. The menu bar icons appear, then disappear, and then only two icons reappear (OpenDNS and VirusBarrier), then they disappear and the sequence starts again.
Computer is a Mac Mini with Snow Leopard and is up to date. Thinking that it might be simply that I had too many icons for the real estate on my smallish monitor, I tried removing menu icons to make room by unticking their boxes in some of their system preferences and also be dragging them off the menu bar with command-drag, but problem will not go away. Rebooting did not solve the problem either. I have also repaired permissions. Any suggestions are welcome.

Corrupted .plist file.
Get yourself OnyX for OS X, it will come in handy for that and other things that go bump in the night.
http://www.titanium.free.fr/

All I get in the menu bar when I open Firefox IS "Firefox"--no bookmarks, no nothing. How canI get bookmarks back and Firefox functioning.

I have used Firefox forever. (I also use Thunderbird.) When I opened Firefox all I get now in the menu bar is the word "Firefox" with the "About Firefox," "Preferences," etc. list. Nothing else. I cannot open Firefox and I cannot quit it, either. I can do nothing with it at all. How can I get it back. I need my hundreds of bookmarks.
I use a MAC with Lion 10.7.5
Please help. Thank you.
Michael A. Smith

Try to repair the disk permissions:
*http://thexlab.com/faqs/repairprocess.html
Try to remove the Firefox plist file (org.mozilla.firefox.plist).
*http://www.macfixit.com/article.php?story=20060606082246983 How .plist files become corrupt and troubleshooting the results
Go to "~/Library/Preferences" and remove the plist file for Firefox (org.mozilla.firefox.plist)

The time machine Icon does not does not show up in my menu bar

The time machine icon does not appear in my menu bar. The desk top icon for the external hard drive is green. I've checked preferances and the time machine is turned on and the box is checked that has the icon appear in my menu. I've turned off the time machine and rebooted and then turned it on and rebooted again. Nothing seems to work. I'm running Mavericks and I have an Intel I5 processor.

the box is checked that has the icon appear in my menu
Uncheck it and check it again. Any change? If not, see below.
Please read this whole message before doing anything.
This procedure is a test, not a solution. Don’t be disappointed when you find that nothing has changed after you complete it.
Step 1
The purpose of this step is to determine whether the problem is localized to your user account.
Enable guest logins* and log in as Guest. Don't use the Safari-only “Guest User” login created by “Find My Mac.”
While logged in as Guest, you won’t have access to any of your personal files or settings. Applications will behave as if you were running them for the first time. Don’t be alarmed by this; it’s normal. If you need any passwords or other personal data in order to complete the test, memorize, print, or write them down before you begin.
Test while logged in as Guest. Same problem?
After testing, log out of the guest account and, in your own account, disable it if you wish. Any files you created in the guest account will be deleted automatically when you log out of it.
*Note: If you’ve activated “Find My Mac” or FileVault, then you can’t enable the Guest account. The “Guest User” login created by “Find My Mac” is not the same. Create a new account in which to test, and delete it, including its home folder, after testing.
Step 2
The purpose of this step is to determine whether the problem is caused by third-party system modifications that load automatically at startup or login, by a peripheral device, by a font conflict, or by corruption of the file system or of certain system caches.
Disconnect all wired peripherals except those needed for the test, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards, if applicable. Start up in safe mode and log in to the account with the problem. You must hold down the shift key twice: once when you turn on the computer, and again when you log in.
Note: If FileVault is enabled, or if a firmware password is set, or if the startup volume is a Fusion Drive or a software RAID, you can’t do this. Ask for further instructions.
Safe mode is much slower to start up and run than normal, with limited graphics performance, and some things won’t work at all, including sound output and Wi-Fi on certain models. The next normal startup may also be somewhat slow.
The login screen appears even if you usually log in automatically. You must know your login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin.
Test while in safe mode. Same problem?
After testing, restart as usual (not in safe mode) and verify that you still have the problem. Post the results of Steps 1 and 2.

Menu bar display

When I tick the box in Date and Time in Finder to display time in menu bar, nothing happens in menu bar. And when I try the same in sound to show volume control, it won't let me tick the display box. What is happening?

Omanto, Sandy
You probably have a corrupt preference file, specifically 'systemuiserver.plist'. But there are potentially two of them, so ...
In "/Users/<yourname>/Library/Preferences", delete com.apple.systemuiserver.plist
In "/Users/<yourname>/Library/Preferences/ByHost", delete com.apple.systemuiserver.xxx.plist where 'xxx' is a 12 digit (hexadecimal) numeric string.
Then log out and back in again. You may need to go to System Preferences to put back the menu items you need to display.
If this alone doesn't work, you may need to delete your caches, so repeat the above and then:
In "/Users/<yourname>/Library/Caches", delete everything

Menu Bar Icons Missing

Pre-Yosemite I was running Obsidian Bar and Bartender but since I've update my menu is missing several icons including the time, batter image/percentage, and user. When I go to System Preferences and select Date & Time and go to clock, whenever I check the box that says "Show date and time in menu bar" but every time i check the box it will instantly uncheck itself. I don't use time machine so thats not an option. Looking for a way to reset my menu bar to factory settings without changing my entire laptop

Please read this whole message before doing anything.
This procedure is a test, not a solution. Don’t be disappointed when you find that nothing has changed after you complete it.
Step 1
The purpose of this step is to determine whether the problem is localized to your user account.
Enable guest logins* and log in as Guest. Don't use the Safari-only “Guest User” login created by “Find My Mac.”
While logged in as Guest, you won’t have access to any of your documents or settings. Applications will behave as if you were running them for the first time. Don’t be alarmed by this behavior; it’s normal. If you need any passwords or other personal data in order to complete the test, memorize, print, or write them down before you begin.
Test while logged in as Guest. Same problem?
After testing, log out of the guest account and, in your own account, disable it if you wish. Any files you created in the guest account will be deleted automatically when you log out of it.
*Note: If you’ve activated “Find My Mac” or FileVault, then you can’t enable the Guest account. The “Guest User” login created by “Find My Mac” is not the same. Create a new account in which to test, and delete it, including its home folder, after testing.
Step 2
The purpose of this step is to determine whether the problem is caused by third-party system modifications that load automatically at startup or login, by a peripheral device, by a font conflict, or by corruption of the file system or of certain system caches.
Please take this step regardless of the results of Step 1.
Disconnect all wired peripherals except those needed for the test, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards, if applicable. Start up in safe mode and log in to the account with the problem. You must hold down the shift key twice: once when you turn on the computer, and again when you log in.
Note: If FileVault is enabled in OS X 10.9 or earlier, or if a firmware password is set, or if the startup volume is a software RAID, you can’t do this. Ask for further instructions.
Safe mode is much slower to start up and run than normal, with limited graphics performance, and some things won’t work at all, including sound output and Wi-Fi on certain models. The next normal startup may also be somewhat slow.
The login screen appears even if you usually log in automatically. You must know your login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin.
Test while in safe mode. Same problem?
After testing, restart as usual (not in safe mode) and verify that you still have the problem. Post the results of Steps 1 and 2.

Date and time missing in menu bar

From time to time the date and time disappear from the menu bar. Other times most of the items disappear from the menu bar. What causes this? Yes, a reboot puts them back but a reboot should not be necessary. Any thoughts?

Might be corrupted preferences ...
Type or copy and paste the following:
~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.systemuiserver.plist
Click Go then move the com.apple.systemuiserver.plist file to the Trash.
Restart your Mac.
Then monitor the time and date in the menu bar.

Menu Bar Corruption

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