Safari won't work (bookmarks select but won't unselect)

Question

My problem is that when I click on any bookmark in Safari, such as those in my Bookmarks Bar, the page stays blank/white, and the bookmark stays with a permanent grey oval around it, as thought it was selected, but won't unselect when you let go of the click. I can go through the menus and select any command, and can bring up the Downloads window for instance. So it is not completely unresponsive, but it won't actually browse the web. I can try to open a file, but when I get to the open dialog, it won't let me select anything. This happens in all users accounts, and was not corrected by resetting Safari, or by trashing the Safari cache, or trashing prefs, or repairing permissions, or even running single use mode to repair the directory. Firefox works fine, so it is not as network problem. Any ideas?

Answer 1

Since this happens to all user accounts, there are two paths you can try.
Path one - reapply the 10.4.8 combo update. "Repair permissions" using Disk Utility in your Utilities folder after the install/restart. I suggest not using the computer during the Install phase.
Sometimes the reinstall corrects system files which may be corrupted and affecting Safari.
If no go, then
Path two - Reinstall Safari. Have a look at this Apple article for installing other software, including Safari, from the Tiger DVD - see the section titled More custom reinstallation options with Mac OS X 10.4.
You'll need to move Safari.app in your applications folder to the trash. Also, in your HD>Library>Receipts folder, move the Safari.pkg file to the trash.
As a precaution, prior to reinstalling Safari, move your Safari Folder, found in your User Library to the Desktop. It has your bookmarks, history etc. Once the reinstall is completed, move the folder back to its original location writing over the newly created folder.
Remember too, the version of Safari you install will be specific to the Version on your installer DVD. Therefore, either run Software Update and see if Safari is updated. If not, you can reapply once again the 10.4.8 combined update. Repair permissions when you are finished.
Post back.