Third-Party Menu Bar Malfunction

My third party apps work fine, as do their menu bar items, except for one thing...
After upgrading to SL from Leopard, I had several of the misc problems listed in this forum (ie. sound muted on reboot, system menu bar items not working, etc.) and all have been resolved except one. Once I have selected a system menu bar item, I can move to any other system item and the respective menu displays as it should. When I do this with a third-patry app, however, the menu does not follow my mouse. Essentially the button works as I can click it and use the items listed under each menu, I just can't move from one menu to the next without clicking on each item.
I have spoken with Apple CS and they are looking into it but in the meantime there is nothing I can do. I have reinstalled each app, confirmed that they are fully functional, and tried deselecting and reselecting the "Show in menu bar" option for each app to no avail. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. I should also mention I have tried setting up a new user also to no avail.

I searched the web and found the following Terminal command, which seems to have removed it:
/usr/local/McAfee/uninstallMSC

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Why can't I organize third party menu bar icons?

Is there a way I can organize third party menu bar icons? I know I can organize preinstalled Apple icons such as the battery indicator and time/date, but how do I order third party menu bar icons so that when I restart, they will stay in that order?

Great question.
And a related one: is there a utility to organize these? I have a ton and it would be cool to have a show/hide toggle or something.

Third-party menu extras?!?

OK, so I upgraded to Snow Leopard. Since it was a clean install, I had to reinstall al my old software. Here's a few of them that don't work anymore, thanx to Apple's new policy (whatever that may be) towards third party menu extras : Menu Meters, Toast&Mount (Toast Titanium), Move Items X. Funyy, I get the message sayong something like "Bla Bla....read the documentation" . What documentation... and how do I make them work anyway ?

Apple is not responsible for the failure or slowness of third-party developers to update their software for compatibility with new OS versions. They have access to the new OS software long before the public does, and if they can't or don't adapt their software to it, it's no one's fault but their own.
Visit the websites of your software's developers, make sure you have the latest version of each software item, and if it doesn't work in Snow Leopard, complain to the developer.

I have multiple third party tool bars that I don't want.

I was just wanting to get coupons I had no idea that this was going to take up my screen I have been unsuccessful with taking them off!! Can someone walk me through this please. This problem has been going on for months now. I want to clear my screen of these extra bars!
''(personal information removed by moderator. please see [[Forum rules and guidelines]] -m)''

H Dorymozz,
As this is a public forum, please do not post personal information such as phone numbers. I've removed it for your protection.
You can delete your toolbars from the Firefox menu > Add-ons > Extensions.

How to reposition some of the third party icons on the RHS of the menu bar

I want to move some third party menu bar items closer to the center of the menu bar display.
Help says to do a command drag but this does not work on third party icons (and doesn't do much for apple icons either).
Help!

Hi, welcome to Apple discussions.
Menu items can only be flush against the right side of the menu bar -- you can't move them to the center. And as you've discovered, command drag is for re-arranging your set of items, not for re-positioning. Re-arranging only works on Apple menu items and third-party menu items that have reverse engineered Apple's method of writing menu bar items.
Other third-party menu items are added to the left side of the Apple ones in the order they are ready for service (often their launch order, but not always). The only way to re-arrange these accurately is to write an AppleScript that launches your items in a specific order with a delay between each to insure they are active for service in the same order. Then, remove those menu items from your Login items and replace them with the script.

Missing Menu bar items - last effort

I've searched and read here and found no solutions, so I'm posting this as a final attempt.
I'm working with a system new to me. It had OS 9 on it when I got it. I checked for firmware updates that might be needed and it seemed current, so I installed 10.4 from my retail disc (versus disk from my G5). No problems. I did a custom install with none of the foreign (to USofA) languages and only a couple of the printer manufacturers drivers. Once installation complete, I finished the setup. Repaired disk permissions, then ran the stand alone 10.4.6 combo update. Repair disk permissions again - then used software update as a shoping list for needed updates and downloaded most of them and installed in the order released. Those I didn't download, I used software update to install. From the MacFixit site, I found that reinstalling the combo update fixed this issue for some - it did not for me. I also tried, System Preferences, and turning them on, but typically they would not show and in one instance (I think it was Sound, volume control) the box would check, from my clicking on it, then the beach ball, then would unchecked - all on it's own.
This is the second rebuild of the system and still the issue persists. The first rebuild was with a 200 GB HD in the system, but it's too large to make full use of with the stock controller, so I purchased new 120 GB HD.
I have no third party menu bar items and almost no third party software on the system. The primary piece is the current version of Cocktail, which I have been using to repair permissions, etc. though I have also used Apple's Disk Utility for the same and seen no difference. I have also tried deleting various Apple pref files, per other threads in this forum - to no avail.
One last tidbit - in case it means something to someone - restarts on this system take forever and sometimes I have to do a manual shut down holding the power button in. This is not anything I've seen before - on the dozens of systems I've worked with/on.
At this point, I see nothing more to try than move to an earlier version of Mac OS X, perhaps 10.3 even, though I really wanted 10.4 for my wife's system. I've worked with 10.4.6 on many systems and not seen this, including my dual 800 G4 and my dual 2.7 G5.

No FW or USB devices, other than Apple USB keyboard plugged into the cpu and Apple single button mouse plugged into the keyboard.
BUT - I may have figured out what was going on. This is the slowest system I've put 10.4 on and it's been awhile since 10.4 has been out. I started thinking about what kinds of issues people had when it was first released and I recalled a lot of people getting hung up by the initial Spotlight indexing. Since I had a hunch this was somehow a factor, I decided to try turning sleep off and letting the system sit for awhile. When I started it and worked with the first five or ten minutes, the icons were not there. But when I came back an hour or so later, they were. I restarted the system and it did so in the manner I would expect, not hanging as it had all the other times. Once restarted the icons showed up. I have since installed the stand alone 10.4.2 combo and restarted and the icons are still there. Will go for 10.4.6 and see what happens.
My initial theory at this point is this. This is the slowest system I've put 10.4 on and I hadn't seen much of an impact on my other systems from the initial Spotlight indexing, but for whatever reason, it seem to really impact this system. I didn't see this on my dual 800 G4, nor the dual 2.7 G5, but I think that is what was going on with this system. That's my current theory until I hear something that seems more plausible.

Third Party Tree Menu's

Is it just me, but do others share the view that the tree menus available by default within APEX (2.0 - haven't seen 2.2.1 or 3.0) are pretty basic.
Has anyone implemented anything more elegant or even third party menu's such as:-
http://www.sothink.com/product/treemenu/index.htm
Welcome any comments/feedback on any implementations issues problems or alternative suggestions.
Thanks,
Scott

Scott
I've used version 2 and have taken a standard tree and made it look pretty good to be honest. I'm surprised by the performance and as a result have not looked at third party products.
There are more features in some 3rd party products but for me the basic version is great. (BTW, APEX 3 supports caching of the tree which further improves performance but if you have aspects that are dynamic such as the current node you have to switch this off to my knowledge)
Phil

Menu Bar and Hard Drive Icon M.I.A.

Hi
When I woke my MacBook from "sleep" a while ago I have no menu bar or any of the icons that go on the right side of the screen. My dock is barely visible. I've tried system preferences to check on the screen size in "display". It's set to 1280 X 800. I've restarted about 4 times. I shut down and started. It keeps coming back this way. I went to user>library>preferences>apple.com systemuiserver.plist and deleted it. Then restarted. No joy. Please help?
Thank you!

This sounds like either damaged OS files that the Combo update did not replace or an incompatible add-on of some kind, especially a "haxie" that adds a third party (not from Apple) Menu Extra toward the right of the menu bar. There are actually two kinds of menu bar add-ons, menu extras & status items. Menu extras can be rearranged with an ⌘ key drag; status items cannot. Avoid third party menu extras if possible. Although popular & useful, Apple does not support their use. They can cause problems, including ones that interfere with the proper installation of OS updates that can require reinstalling the OS to fix.
Assuming you only have Apple menu extras installed, I suggest you try starting up in Safe Mode. If behavior reverts to normal, but only until the next normal startup, then you probably have an incompatible add-on. If not, you may have to reinstall Snow Leopard 'over itself' - IOW, just run the installer again after starting up from the DVD.
If a safe boot is only temporarily effective, while in that mode create a temporary new user account. Restart & log into that account instead of your normal one. If the problem disappears, then the incompatible item is somewhere in your home folder.

Managing Menu Bar Items

I've tried to limit the number of apps that have a menu bar presence, and when I work on my home machine with a 20" monitor, I don't have too many problems, but working with my 13" MB at work, most of my menu bar items disappear under the menus of most programs. Even the Finder's menu is beginning to cover up some menu bar icons.
My question is: is there an aggregation app that lets me "stuff" menu bar icons in it, much like (say) Overflow does for the dock? I'd like a single menu bar icon that, when clicked, allows me to access other icons that used to reside on the menu bar, but now don't have to, leaving me with a clearer menu bar and all my menu bar icons accessible.
If something like this isn't available, are there any tricks for dealing with this problem of having too many menu bar icons to access in all programs?
Thanks!

The first trick is to get rid of the 'enhancer' that allows applications to add their own menu bar items to Apple's, if you have any such applications. (See my last post in Seemingly random freezes and general sluggishness for more about the difference between menu & status items & why you should try to avoid non-Apple menu bar items.) This would include any aggregation app -- Apple does not provide this capability for much the same reasons it doesn't provide support for third party menu items.
Aside from that, all you can do without potentially affecting the stability & security of the OS is to turn off the menu icon display for selected Apple-provided menu bar items, & perhaps to use the smallest format for the date & time icon you can live with.

HELP Menu Bar Problem

PLEASE HELP! I had to add more items to my menu bar and now
for some reason it jumps when the items are clicked on. Here is the
link, please help. I can't figure out why. I only added 3 more
items.
http://test.quickflash.com
Thank you!

Hi, loons.
The icons on the right side of the Apple menu bar are called menu extras. They are managed by the SystemUIServer process.
1. The problem you are experiencing may be due to another, third-party menu extra you have installed. Are you using any third-party menu extras?
Third-party menu extras are often launched as Startup Items or Login Items. If a third-party menu extra is causing the problem, my "Troubleshooting Startup and Login Items" FAQ can help you pin that down.
2. If that doesn't sort it out, when these menu extras disappear, immediately check the ends of these Console logs for clues. In particular, look for messages related to SystemUIServer or the specific menu extras you cited.
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.

Menu bar mayhem after upgrade to 10.6

I have just gone from 10.5.8 to 10.6.4 via the upgrade path.
General OS and Application behaviors are A-OK.
All software updates installed OK but a problem persists.
The menu bar at the top of the screen is all wacked out.
Spotlight icon appears and disappears, spotlight not working.
AirPort icon will not appear.
Smart Reporter icon remains visible and is working.
DropBox icon remains visible and is working.
iStat Menus are invisible but working !! ??
System Preferences crashes when I attempt to turn on or off any Menu Bar items.
Thank you in advance for any and all help.

Barney-15E wrote:
Apple does not provide a method to add status menu items, so all the ones you have there are a hack in some way. They will often break when an update happens because there is no "correct" way to write them.
Actually, adding third party *status items* to the menubar is supported. It is third party *menu extras* that are not. They look the same but the difference is that all status items always appear to the left of all menu extras & unlike menu extras cannot be rearranged or removed from the menu bar by command clicking & dragging them.
Third party menu extras always require some sort of hack (modification) of the OS & can compromise its security or stability (because they run in system space), while status items run in user space so at worst they can affect a user but not the entire system.
However, either one can cause problems if they are not up-to-date and compatible with Snow Leopard.

Menu bar items when reducing resolution

Hi,
I'm using my MacBook Air at school together with a Smartboard Projector. I use the external display in clone mode. This reduces the resolution of my computer display to 800 x 600 hiding some useful icons on the Menu Bar. Is there a way to show them or move between them when the resolution gets reduced ?
Thanks

Hi, Alan.
1. If you performed a hacked install of Front Row on your Mac, that has been know to cause this problem, particularly after recent Mac OS X updates. If that is the case, see my "Uninstalling the Front Row hack" FAQ.
2. SystemUIServer crashes often indicate an incompatible third-party menu extras. Menu extras are the icons on the right side of the menu bar and managed by SystemUIServer. Many third-party menu extras are launched as either Startup or Login Items, usually Login Items. See my "Troubleshooting Startup and Login Items" FAQ for steps that might help you with this problem.
3. As a general check, run the procedure specified in my "Resolving Disk, Permission, and Cache Corruption" FAQ. Perform the steps therein in the order specified.
4. With respect to the System Preferences crashes, immediately after one occurs, check Console for clues.
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.

Menu bar items disappeared

all the menu bar items in the upper right corner disappeared...spotlight, date/time, network status, bluetooth, everything. When I open system preferences, and for example look at date and time, the option to display it is not checked, so I enable it, however that change doesn't seem to apply. When I reopen the system preferences, it's back to its original state.
This is on a powerbook g4 1.5ghz, OSX 10.4.5 with the latest updates.
also, I don't know if this is related or not, but if I click on the security icon in system preferences, system preferences crashes immediately.
any suggestions appreciated. Thanks.

Hi, Alan.
1. If you performed a hacked install of Front Row on your Mac, that has been know to cause this problem, particularly after recent Mac OS X updates. If that is the case, see my "Uninstalling the Front Row hack" FAQ.
2. SystemUIServer crashes often indicate an incompatible third-party menu extras. Menu extras are the icons on the right side of the menu bar and managed by SystemUIServer. Many third-party menu extras are launched as either Startup or Login Items, usually Login Items. See my "Troubleshooting Startup and Login Items" FAQ for steps that might help you with this problem.
3. As a general check, run the procedure specified in my "Resolving Disk, Permission, and Cache Corruption" FAQ. Perform the steps therein in the order specified.
4. With respect to the System Preferences crashes, immediately after one occurs, check Console for clues.
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.

FileVolt removes Menu Bar Items

I am having a problm were after i enabled FileVault, the items in the menu bar disappear (bluetooth, iChat, Keychain access, and ClamXav) It seemed to occure when I restart the system, and it ask if I want to save space, due to FileVault using too much space, it goes thrugh whatever it does to save space, then shuts down. But then when I start back up, the menu bar items are gone and have to be restored. Any ideas?

Hi, Alan.
1. If you performed a hacked install of Front Row on your Mac, that has been know to cause this problem, particularly after recent Mac OS X updates. If that is the case, see my "Uninstalling the Front Row hack" FAQ.
2. SystemUIServer crashes often indicate an incompatible third-party menu extras. Menu extras are the icons on the right side of the menu bar and managed by SystemUIServer. Many third-party menu extras are launched as either Startup or Login Items, usually Login Items. See my "Troubleshooting Startup and Login Items" FAQ for steps that might help you with this problem.
3. As a general check, run the procedure specified in my "Resolving Disk, Permission, and Cache Corruption" FAQ. Perform the steps therein in the order specified.
4. With respect to the System Preferences crashes, immediately after one occurs, check Console for clues.
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.

Menu bar wont show up

Hello,
As you may have read my menu bar disappeared. I have tried everything from going into system preferences, goign to clock, and trying to put my clock back on the menu bar, but no luck! The thing is, everytime I install a new application that involves a menu bar it shows it! Is there any command key I could have pressed or option that hid them?
Thanks ahead of time,
Justin
Mac Mini 1.42 Mac OS X (10.4.6) 512 RAM, SuperDrive

Hi, j.
1. By "menu bar" it sounds like you are referring to the right side of the menu bar where menu extras — the icons on the right side of the menu bar other than the Spotlight icon — appear. Correct?
2. If so, you may have installed a third-party menu extra that is problematic. What menu extras are you expecting to see?
3. If Front Row did not come installed on your Mac Mini and you installed a hacked copy of Front Row, this can cause the problem you are seeing. See my "Uninstalling the Front Row hack" FAQ.
4. An errant Startup or Login Item maybe the cause. Many third-party menu extras are launched as such items. My "Troubleshooting Startup and Login Items" FAQ can help you pin that down if such an item is causing the problem.
5. Try the following:5.1. Drag the following two files to your desktop:
• com.apple.systemuiserver.plist in your Home > Library > Preferences folder.
• com.apple.systemuiserver.xxx.plist in your Home > Library > Preferences > ByHost folder, where xxx is an alphanumeric string.
These are the preferences for SystemUIServer, which controls menu extras.
5.2. Restart your Mac.
5.3. Reconfigure your menu extras, enabling only Apple-provided menu extras.6. Immediately after the problem occurs, check the ends of these Console logs for clues, especially messages related to SystemUIServer crashing.
7. As a general checkup, I suggest you run the procedure outlined in my "Resolving Disk, Permission, and Cache Corruption" FAQ. Perform the steps therein in the order specified.
Note that I recommend performing Step 4 above before Step 5 since if an errant, third-party menu extra is causing the problem, if it is launched as a Startup or Login item it may reinsert itself in SystemUIServer preferences each time you startup your Mac or log in to your account. You could reverse the order of Steps 4 and 5, but if you perform Step 5 before Step 4, you may again need to perform Step 5 after performing Step 4.
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.

Third-Party Menu Bar Malfunction

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