Mountain Lion Upgrade - Finder crashes, Menu Bar disappears ****

Question

Hi,
I have a mid 2009 MBP running Lion perfectly well, and I mean perfect. No crashes, nada. Upgraded from Snow Leopard.
I have tried twice before to upgrade to ML but both times had to revert to Lion.
Key problem:
"Finder quit unexpectedly" then menu bar disappers and I can't use keyboard anymore (so no terminal killall etc) so have to hard reboot
And Yes, I also tried all the regular suggestions to these issues (seem to be common) such as delete preferences, delete DS_Store, permissions resets etc with no result
So I was perfectly happy developing for iOS on Lion
Then comes iOS7 and XCode 5 will only run on ML so now I'm forced to try upgrading Lion to ML again.
1. 1st time I did it without changing anything. Errors Key problem: "Finder quit unexpectedly" then menu bar disappers and I can't use keyboard anymore (so no terminal killall etc) so have to hard reboot
-> revert to Lion
2. Uninstalled all menu bar extensions, and deleted all login items. Result -> errors
Key problem: "Finder quit unexpectedly" then menu bar disappers and I can't use keyboard anymore (so no terminal killall etc) so have to hard reboot
So I've tried the testing Linc Davis posted here https://discussions.apple.com/message/17642350#17642350 with following results;
Tried Alternate Account:
I set up new account and for a while it worked. I was able to deploy to iPad to running iOS7. Yay. I thought it was ok.
Then I installed java in order to run SmartGit and also Carbon Copy Cloner and bang...same errors start appearing.
Uninstalled them, but no joy, started acting up.
Tried SAFE Mode:
It works! Perfectly. But I can't run in safe mode all the time, as I need some of the features it disables (audio, network as I develop cross platform with Win7)
So I tried Linc's 3rd  test with is for kernel extensions etc, with results posted below.
I would really appreciate any guidance as to how I can get this working. It is extremely frustrating and time wasting, and I have no faith in OSX ML as a stable platform for development. I don't want to buy another machine, not just the expense, but also from trawling the threads people with current and new machines are also reporting similar problems to me with no resolution that I can see. Whatver ever happened to "Graceful Degradation" not "System crashes with no help whatsover"!!
Anyways, frustrated rant over, here's my results. I'm going to try again, but any help on optimising my Lion install before I do would be VERY welcome!
ty in advan
(Note: These results are from my newly reverted Lion clone, and I have not removed any menu bar apps or login items as yet.These have been run on my prefectly working Lion install)
Step 1
Copy or drag -- do not type -- the line below into the Terminal window, then press return:
kextstat -kl | awk '!/com\.apple/{printf "%s %s\n", $6, $7}'
com.Cycling74.driver.Soundflower (1.6.6)
tc.tctechnologies.driver.TCNear (4.1.3
Post the lines of output (if any) that appear below what you just entered (the text, please, not a screenshot.)
Step 2
Repeat with this line:
sudo launchctl list | sed 1d | awk '!/0x|com\.(apple|openssh|vix)|edu\.mit|org\.(x|postfix|ntp|cups)/{print $3}'
This time, you'll be prompted for your login password, which won't be displayed when you type it. You may get a one-time warning not to screw up. You don't need to post the warning.
tc.tctechnologies.daemon.TCNear
com.leapmotion.leapd
com.google.keystone.daemon
com.cocoatech.pathfinder.SMFHelper7
com.bombich.ccc.scheduledtask.A0433445-0A27-4623-AFF0-DC15FB8AF694
com.bombich.ccc.scheduledtask.1F3921EC-97B2-4312-941C-0966704A918F
com.bombich.ccc
com.bjango.istatmenusdaemon
com.adobe.fpsaud
Step 3
launchctl list | sed 1d | awk '!/0x|com\.apple|edu\.mit|org\.(x|openbsd)/{print $3}'
com.evernote.EvernoteHelper
com.leapmotion.Leap-Motion
com.google.keystone.system.agent
com.bjango.istatmenusagent
com.bombich.ccc-user-agent
com.adobe.ARM.202f4087f2bbde52e3ac2df389f53a4f123223c9cc56a8fd83a6f7ae
Step 4
ls -1A /e*/mach* {,/}L*/{Ad,Compon,Ex,Fram,In,Keyb,La,Mail/Bu,P*P,Priv,Qu,Scripti,Servi,Spo,Sta}* L*/Fonts 2> /dev/null
Important: If you synchronize with a MobileMe account, your me.com email address may appear in the output of the above command. If so, anonymize it before posting.
/Library/Components:
/Library/Extensions:
/Library/Frameworks:
AEProfiling.framework
AERegistration.framework
AudioMixEngine.framework
NyxAudioAnalysis.framework
PluginManager.framework
iTunesLibrary.framework
/Library/Input Methods:
/Library/Internet Plug-Ins:
AdobePDFViewer.plugin
AdobePDFViewerNPAPI.plugin
Flash Player.plugin
JavaAppletPlugin.plugin
Quartz Composer.webplugin
QuickTime Plugin.plugin
Unity Web Player.plugin
Unused
flashplayer.xpt
googletalkbrowserplugin.plugin
npgtpo3dautoplugin.plugin
nsIQTScriptablePlugin.xpt
o1dbrowserplugin.plugin
/Library/Keyboard Layouts:
/Library/LaunchAgents:
com.bjango.istatmenusagent.plist
com.google.keystone.agent.plist
com.leapmotion.Leap-Motion.plist
/Library/LaunchDaemons:
com.adobe.fpsaud.plist
com.apple.remotepairtool.plist
com.bjango.istatmenusdaemon.plist
com.bombich.ccc.plist
com.bombich.ccc.scheduledtask.1F3921EC-97B2-4312-941C-0966704A918F.plist
com.bombich.ccc.scheduledtask.A0433445-0A27-4623-AFF0-DC15FB8AF694.plist
com.cocoatech.pathfinder.SMFHelper7.plist
com.google.keystone.daemon.plist
com.leapmotion.leapd.plist
tc.tctechnologies.TCNear.plist
/Library/PreferencePanes:
Flash Player.prefPane
TCNear.prefPane
/Library/PrivilegedHelperTools:
com.bombich.ccc
com.cocoatech.pathfinder.SMFHelper7
/Library/QuickLook:
iWork.qlgenerator
/Library/QuickTime:
AppleIntermediateCodec.component
AppleMPEG2Codec.component
CanonMJPEGAVI.component
CanonMJPEGAVIDec.component
CanonText.component
/Library/ScriptingAdditions:
/Library/Spotlight:
Microsoft Office.mdimporter
iWork.mdimporter
/Library/StartupItems:
ChmodBPF
/etc/mach_init.d:
/etc/mach_init_per_login_session.d:
/etc/mach_init_per_user.d:
Library/Address Book Plug-Ins:
SkypeABDialer.bundle
SkypeABSMS.bundle
Library/Fonts:
Library/Frameworks:
EWSMac.framework
Library/Input Methods:
.localized
Library/Internet Plug-Ins:
Library/Keyboard Layouts:
Library/LaunchAgents:
com.adobe.ARM.202f4087f2bbde52e3ac2df389f53a4f123223c9cc56a8fd83a6f7ae.plist
[email protected]st
com.bombich.ccc-user-agent.plist
Library/PreferencePanes:
Library/Services:
.DS_Store
RemoveDSStoreFiles.workflow
Step 5
osascript -e 'tell application "System Events" to get name of every login item'
Sonicviz-MBP:~ paul$ osascript -e 'tell application "System Events" to get name of every login item'
Flux, iTunesHelper, Caffeine, ForkLift, VMware Fusion Helper, Android File Transfer Agent, ZOOM Edit&Share startup

Answer 1

Here's the results of Etrecheck fwiw
Hardware Information:
MacBook Pro (15-inch, Mid 2009)
MacBook Pro - model: MacBookPro5,3
1 2.66 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo CPU: 2 cores
4 GB RAM
Video Information:
NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT - VRAM: 256 MB
NVIDIA GeForce 9400M - VRAM: 256 MB
Startup Items:
ChmodBPF - Path: /Library/StartupItems/ChmodBPF
System Software:
Mac OS X 10.7.5 (11G63) - Uptime: 0 days 17:29:31
Disk Information:
SAMSUNG SSD 830 Series disk0 : (128.04 GB)
disk0s1 (disk0s1) <not mounted>: 209.7 MB
OSX SSD (disk0s2) /: 127.04 GB (19.26 GB free)
Recovery HD (disk0s3) <not mounted>: 650 MB
FUJITSU MJA2320BH FFS G1 disk1 : (320.07 GB)
disk1s1 (disk1s1) <not mounted>: 209.7 MB
Mac HD (disk1s2) /Volumes/Mac HD: 319.21 GB (140.61 GB free)
Recovery HD (disk1s3) <not mounted>: 650 MB
USB Information:
Apple Inc. Built-in iSight
Logitech USB Receiver
Apple Internal Memory Card Reader
Apple Inc. Apple Internal Keyboard / Trackpad
Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver
Apple Inc. BRCM2046 Hub
Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller
FireWire Information:
Thunderbolt Information:
Kernel Extensions:
com.Cycling74.driver.Soundflower (1.6.6)
tc.tctechnologies.driver.TCNear (4.1.3
Problem System Launch Daemons:
[not loaded] ftp-proxy.plist
Problem System Launch Agents:
Launch Daemons:
[loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist
[loaded] com.bjango.istatmenusdaemon.plist
[loaded] com.bombich.ccc.plist
[loaded] com.bombich.ccc.scheduledtask.1F3921EC-97B2-4312-941C-0966704A918F.plist
[loaded] com.bombich.ccc.scheduledtask.A0433445-0A27-4623-AFF0-DC15FB8AF694.plist
[loaded] com.cocoatech.pathfinder.SMFHelper7.plist
[loaded] com.google.keystone.daemon.plist
[loaded] com.leapmotion.leapd.plist
[not loaded] tc.tctechnologies.TCNear.plist
Launch Agents:
[loaded] com.bjango.istatmenusagent.plist
[loaded] com.google.keystone.agent.plist
[loaded] com.leapmotion.Leap-Motion.plist
User Launch Agents:
[loaded] com.adobe.ARM.202f4087f2bbde52e3ac2df389f53a4f123223c9cc56a8fd83a6f7ae.plist
[failed] com.apple.CSConfigDotMacCert-[redacted]@me.com-SharedServices.Agent.plist
[loaded] com.bombich.ccc-user-agent.plist
User Login Items:
Flux
iTunesHelper
Caffeine
ForkLift
VMware Fusion Helper
Android File Transfer Agent
ZOOM Edit&Share startup
3rd Party Preference Panes:
Flash Player
Internet Plug-ins:
AdobePDFViewer.plugin
AdobePDFViewerNPAPI.plugin
Flash Player.plugin
FlashPlayer-10.6.plugin
googletalkbrowserplugin.plugin
JavaAppletPlugin.plugin
npgtpo3dautoplugin.plugin
o1dbrowserplugin.plugin
QuickTime Plugin.plugin
Unity Web Player.plugin
User Internet Plug-ins:
Bad Fonts:
None
Top Processes by CPU:
    2% WindowServer
    2% fontd
    1% EtreCheck
    1% ZOOM Edit&Share startup
    0% SystemUIServer
    0% ForkLift
    0% Leap Motion
    0% ps
    0% Flux
    0% Finder
Top Processes by Memory:
164 MB  mds
143 MB  Evernote
127 MB  WebProcess
90 MB   Safari
82 MB   SystemUIServer
66 MB   com.apple.dock.extra
61 MB   WindowServer
57 MB   Dock
57 MB   ForkLift
41 MB   loginwindow
Virtual Memory Statistics
1.51 GB Free RAM
1.23 GB Active RAM
460 MB  Inactive RAM
574 MB  Wired RAM
593 MB  Page-ins
0 B     Page-outs