Mac OS X 10.3.7: Safari: Slow, non-functioning Java; more

Several readers report broken Java functionality in Safari under Mac OS X 10.3.7. This has caused an inability to access a variety of Web sites, including Yahoo's chat rooms and others.

Some users, experiencing this problem in Safari, have been able to resolve it by using the "Reset Safari" option located in the Safari application menu.

Others reported that re-installing the Java 1.4.2 Update 2 does the trick.

Michael Alford, for instance, writes:

"Just thought I'd confirm what I've been reading from other Mac users regarding the slowness of Safari after the 10.3.7 update. I downloaded and installed the 10.3.7 Combo Update on my 1.8ghz dual processor G5 tower. I noticed that both Safari and Firefox were slow to connect to some sites. Safari would refuse to connect to some sites, and crash upon connecting to other sites, even after I cleaned the caches. After reading the experiences of other users posted to MacFixIt, I, too, reinstalled the Java 1.4.2 Update2, and both browsers are performing much better than they were before the reinstall."

Another reader, Bob, adds: "After updating to 10.3.7 using SW update, I started having printing problems with Safari. I then ran the 10.3.7 combo updater and the printing problems were fixed. But, some of my local Java applications stopped working after the 10.3.7 combo updater. Reinstalling the Java 1.4.2 Update #2 fixed this. Everything seems fine now."

By far the most successful workaround, however, is clearing Java caches.

In order to perform this procedure, go to the /Applications/Utilities/Java folder. You will notice Java 1.4.2 Plugin Settings and Java 1.3.1 Plugin Settings. Launch both of these applications, select the cache tab in each, and click "clear". Attempt to access problematic sites again.

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