QuickTime 7.2 Special Report: Broken Rosetta CFM apps -- fixes

CNET staff

Sept. 2, 2009 1:44 a.m. PT

5 min read

Representing one of the most serious issues ever associated with an incremental QuickTime update, QuickTime 7.2 appears to cause functionality problems -- particularly an inability to launch and crashes -- with Carbon CFM (Code Fragment Manager) applications on some Intel-based Macs. These include Microsoft Office, older versions of Photoshop (including CS2), and many, many others.

Some sample reports:

"I have installed the combined iTunes 7.3.1 and Quicktime 7.2 update on a Macbook Pro 2.33 and can now no longer open any PowerPC-based apps, specifically all MS Office apps, Flash MX 2004 Pro, Photoshop CS2. From your forums it appears that I am not alone."
"I downloaded and installed both the iTunes 7.3.1 and QuickTime 7.2 updates (did not use Software Update from System Preferences) and now MS Entourage, Excel, Word and PowerPoint will not start. I get one bounce from the dock icon and then nothing."
"Several old programs (Eudora, Meeting Maker, AppleWorks, MailSmith are some) no longer launch on my Intel Core 2 Duo MacBook Pro -- they bounce in the dock a couple of times and stop. I accepted today's System Updates for QT and iTunes and this may have started after that. Disk Utility and DiskWarrior show a clean disk and the failure persists after a 'Safe Boot.' The failures also persist if I log in via another account on the machine."

The problem was apparently caused by an error that occured during the "optimizing system performance" phase of QuickTime 7.2 installation, when the system's prebinding is being updated. [This is why we sternly warn that users not perform any processes and quit any open applications while a system update is taking place]. In many cases, the problem can be solved by simply updating prebinding again, which happens automatically when you re-apply the Mac OS X 10.4.10 combo updater.

In some cases, however, more drastic workarounds are necessary. Remove Java SE 6.0 when users have installed the Java SE 6.0 Release 1 Developer Preview 6 -- available from Apple's Developer Connection Web site -- its presence can cause the update prebinding process to crash. The solution is to remove Java SE 6.0 Release 1 Developer Preview 6, though it's not a simple process since Java SE 6.0 package installs more than 700 files in various locations on the startup drive and there is no uninstallation option.

The method for removal, identified by poster bigman13 on Apple's Discussion boards, adapted as follows:

Login as an administrator
Launch the Terminal (located in /Applications/Utilities)
Type cd /Library/Receipts/JavaSE6Release1.pkg/Contents and press return
Type lsbom -s -f Archive.bom > /tmp/files and press return (this will create a file in the /tmp directory named files that lists all of the contents of JavaSE6Release1.pkg)
Using your favorite text editor, open the file /tmp/files. Typing open /tmp/files then pressing return will open the file with TextEdit, by default. If you were using BBEdit, you could type BBedit open /tmp/files.
Replace all blank spaces, " " (a blank space), with "\ " (a backslash with a space after it) and all entries of "./" with "rm /". If you opened the file in TextEdit, choose "Find" from the "Edit" menu, and make these replacements. Essentially you are generating a command list that will delete all the files installed by JavaSE6Release1.pkg.
Back in the Terminal, type sudo bash /tmp/files and press return
Next type rm -r /Library/receipts/JavaSE6Release1.pkg and press return.
Finally, update prebinding by typing sudo update_prebinding. When prompted for a password, enter your admin password, and press Return again. The process may take a few minutes, and you may see various messages flash by. The process is complete when the Terminal returns to a normal prompt. Do not perform any other operations while the update prebinding process is taking place.

Force installation of QuickTime 7.1.6 Another workaround that has proved effective for some users (especially those who never had the pre-release Java system installed) is to force installation of QuickTime 7.1.6 using the tool Pacifist, then re-install the Mac OS X 10.4.10 combo updater via these steps.

Download QuickTime 7.1.6 but do not attempt to install
Download and launch Pacifist
In Pacifist, click the "Open Package" button, then locate and open the QuickTime 7.1.6 .pkg file.
Click the lock and enter your administrator password, then click the "Install" button.]
Download and install the Mac OS X 10.4.10 combo updater.

Re-install the system Failing that, the more involved but fully reliable fix for this issue is to downgrade to QuickTime 7.1.6, via this process:

First, make a backup of your current Mac OS X installation with QuickTime 7.2 applied, problematic as it may be. If there is an issue along the way, your valuable data will be safely intact in its current form.

Next, you'll need to perform an Archive and Install process to remove all of the Security Update's (and potentially problem-causing) components, and replace them with the components of a fresh copy provided by the Mac OS X disc that shipped with your system, or a retail Mac OS X disc. Unfortunately, this means you will lose some system settings and some or all third-party system add-ons.

To begin the process, insert your Mac OS X CD or DVD, as indicated above. Restart your machine and hold down the "C" key to boot from the newly inserted disc. Follow the on-screen instructions, and after accepting the license agreement, click "Options." Select "Archive and Install," and check the "Preserve User and Network Settings" option if you'd like to do so.

After the installation process is complete, you will be left with an earlier Mac OS X system that (hopefully) does not suffer from the problems generated by QuickTime 7.2.

Download and install the Mac OS X 10.4.10 combo updater:

Mac OS X 10.4.10 Combo Update (Intel) [293MB]

Mac OS X Server 10.4.10 Combo Update (Universal) [391MB]

Then reinstall QuickTime 7.1.6.

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