Programs sometimes won't launch on MacBook, 10.4.7.

Question

Lately, while using my new MacBook (white), 512 Megs RAM and OS 10.4.7, programs will suddenly simply refuse to launch.
They will either just bounce up and down in the dock but not launch,....OR...they will simply refuse to bounce at all - no bounce and no launch. This symptom affects both programs like Safari and Mail and all third party apps like FireFox and Adobe Reader.
I have noticed that sometimes, just before the problem appears, Safari will suddenly stop responding. It usually happens after I've been using the MacBook normally with one or two programs open OK for about 45 minutes. Quitting the open programs before trying to launch a third makes no difference. Same failure to open the third program.
The fix is to reboot the computer. A real pain. It will then work fine for maybe an hour and then the symptom will reappear after the first one or two programs have been run OK.
Any suggestions on how to trouble-shoot ?

Answer 1

Hello Michael.
As a first step, check Resolving Disk, Permission, and Cache Corruption for system troubleshooting procedures and when doing so, follow all steps/instructions in the order provided.
In addition, check Multiple applications quit unexpectedly or fail to launch.