Advice that worked: Archive and Install, trash haxies, kill .plists

We get a lot of email at MacFixIt. Collectively, it's the engine that turns our troubleshooting wheels. Based on the analysis of these incoming reports, we're able to formulate reports that relate consistent problems and, in many cases, yield promising fixes. Some of these messages come in the form of strict problem reports, others contain direct solutions to issues, and still others are merely pleas for help. Unfortunately, we don't have the manpower to respond to each and every request for assistance. We do, however, respond to some support requests, generally drawing upon the fixes and knowledge contained in our site.

Below is a small sampling of the more universally applicable pieces of advice sent to our readers and notes from readers reporting success with published solutions. It's meant to serve as reminder of some persistently successful, common fixes:

Archive and Install It's amazing how much controversy was generated by our recommendation that users perform an Archive and Install when upgrading from Mac OS X 10.4.x to Mac OS X 10.5.x, with pundits claiming that the process represents a wholly unnecessary waste of time. This despite the fact that hundreds if not thousands of who used the default "Upgrade" path experienced problems that could have been obviated by the generally painless and relatively quick Archive and Install process, which we initially recommended and Apple later proposed itself in a Knowledge Base article.

The bottom line is this: the straight "upgrade" route offered by a Mac OS X works for most users and may be the method "most tested" by Apple, but it's also, hands-down, the process most fraught with potential for problems (probably part of the reason, in addition to its wide usage, that Apple allegedly tests it so rigorously). There's nothing mysterious about it: third-party software components that remain intact during a normal upgrade are quarantined by the Archive and Install process, in many cases blunting the pernicious effects of incompatibility. Other problems exist but haven't yet manifested in actual symptoms can also be sidestepped via Archive and Install.

In any event, we'll pass along this note from a MacFixIt reader who followed our advice with success:

"Thank you MacFixIt you helped me survive my BSOD (blue screen of death) after Leopard install (due to shapeshifter). Redid the install with an archive and install (keep users) and worked fine."

Usually preserving users during an Archive and Install is kosher, and results in the fastest back-to-normal status. However, more serious often require deletion of problematic files stored inside the user directory, meaning an Archive and Install that doesn't preserve users is necessary. An example from MacFixIt reader Alan

"Since updating to Leopard from Tiger (10.4.10) via an Archive and Install on my MacBook Pro, I have only been able to use the delete, return/enter, and tab keys in combination with the control and option keys. Thus, for example, pressing the delete key no longer effects a backspace delete, and pressing return no longer closes a line (it does give a nice beep though)."

We suggested he install again and not preserve users, and he responded:

"As you suggested I did an Archive and Install of Leopard, but this time without transferring personal data. The keyboard now behaves as it should and a couple of other nice things have appeared too?Quick Look, for instance."

In addition to representing a preventive measure, Archive and Install can also be a life-saving troubleshooting tool, and a great method for getting a new update that's causing problems off your system. See our tutorial "Reinstalling the System" for instructions and more.

Get rid of haxies and plug-ins Another great source of controversy has been our wary attitude toward Input Managers, some of which are referred to as "haxies" (examples here, here and here). What more can we say? These little code injectors are, in general, bad news. In fact, Input Managers were the primary cause of the aforementioned Leopard upgrade issues.

Here's an email from a user to whom we sent a reminder to remove InputManagers:

"I (was) experiencing a strange bug in Mail (3.1 in 10.5.1) whereby autocomplete fails after the first entry in a recipient field (To, Cc, or Bcc). Instead of functioning normally, after auto-completing one address, additional keypresses will produce a strange string of characters. Say I type an "a" and then a "b", I'll get 'aab'. If I then type "c", the string will become 'aababc'"

The fix was to remove RapidoWrite, a (surprise!) Input Manager.

We'll recite our prior advice: Locate your InputManagers folders (in your user Library (/~Library) directory and in the top-level /Library directory), empty them, and restart the computer. Yes, you'll lose some cute customization, but you'll gain a computer that operates with more of the stability and predictability that you expect from Mac OS X.

Speaking of application modifiers, just because they work within an Apple-sanctioned framework doesn't mean they can't cause problems. Checking for problem-causing plugins and contextual menu items is a great first troubleshooting step. Check the following folders:

• ~/Library/Contextual Menu Items/
• ~/Library/Internet Plug-Ins/

Delete .plist files The varying scenarios in which this fix has proven effective are too numerous to mention. It's one of the first things you should try when experiencing problems with a specific app (for more information on exactly what a .plist file is, see this series of articles)

Most of the preferences files that are stored in a folder named Preferences, and located in the Library folder of your home directory, e.g.:

• ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.Safari.plist

Go to the ~/Library/Preferences folder, and search for any .plist files that may be associated with the application you are having trouble with. Drag the .plist file(s) [many applications have more than one associated .plist file, so be careful to scour for all of them] to the Desktop, then re-attempt launching the application.

Here's a recent case from one reader:

"After the QuickTime 7.3.1 update, my IMAP connections in Apple mail got screwy. Seems that Apple mail runs very slow. (Quad G5, 8gb Ram) Don't know why. I cleared all cashes and repaired permissions. No luck so far.

We told him to delete the Mail.app .plist file: ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.mail.plist.

His reponse:

"Don't know why this Quicktime update messed up my mail, but your idea worked! Thank you!"

Feedback? Late-breakers@macfixit.com.

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