Security Update 2005-001 (#4): Applications will not launch, potential solutions; Safari issues; more
Security Update 2005-001 (#4): Applications will not launch, potential solutions; Safari issues; more
Applications will not launch, potential solutions A number of different applications are displaying difficulty launching after Security Update 2005-001 is applied. Apple applications seem especially susceptible. MacFixIt reader Tore Eliasson writs:
"iPhoto 5 won't launch after the sec update, It crashes while loading the library. I've tried all the tricks described in the article but problem remains."
While the causes for this issue are varied, and in most cases not directly caused by the security update, a number of potential solutions exist.
Deleting application and re-installing MacFixIt reader Don Drews had problems launching Photoshop after applying the most recent security update, and found that deleting all traces of the application, and its associated preference files from the ~/Library/Preferences folder (try searching for "Photoshop" in the Finder and deleting all pertinent items) resolved the issue:
"An online friend directed me to your site after I related problems regarding my inability to get Photoshop 7.0.1 to launch. I'd click the dock icon and the program graphic would display and then just hang; right-clicking the dock icon to select Force Quit wouldn't stop the program anymore than a option-command-escape would. I did a Repair Permissions and still no launch. However, after erasing the program and preference files, reinstalling, adding the 7.0.1 patch, and re-repairing permissions for good luck, I was able to get it launch again."
Deleting "ByHost" folder MacFixIt reader Steve Cooper reports that a previously discovered workaround, deleting the "ByHost" folder from ~/Library/Preferences, may be applicable for application launching problems stemming from Security Update 2005-001
"I have several times seen a problem where Mail, Safari, and Address Book simply won't launch. On each occasion the solution has been to trash the ByHost folder found in ~/Library/Preferences [As a reminder, the tilde (~) represents the current active user]. This has no noticeable effect on anything else."
Deleting specific .plist files MacFixIt reader Leonardo Russell had serious issues after applying Security Update 2005-001, including an inability to launch some applications, which he describes in a MacFixIt forums posting.
Leonardo was able to resolve these issues by deleting two .plist files from the ~/Library/Preferences directory.
"I previously had very serious problems after I had installed the latest security update. Now the culprit has been found. After trashing:
- com.apple.ATS.plist
- com.apple.BezelServices.plist
"from the preference folder, everything, at least all the programs, seem to be working again. What a relief."
Mail.app launching slowly We continue to receive several reports of the Mail application being very slow to launch since installing Security Update 2005-001. Some users have noted that this problem started occurring after the Mac OS X 10.3.7 update, though there does seem to be marked increase of cases associated with the security update.
Some users have found that a fix we originally reported for this problem under Mac OS X 10.3.7 -- entering valid DNS numbers (if they are currently absent) in the Network pane of System Preferences -- works to resolve this problem after the security update as well.
In a show of how sharply varied system reactions are to major system updates, a few readers are reporting that Security Update 2005-001 actually decreased Mail.app startup time.
Darren Smith writes "Strangely, my experiences with Mail are the opposite of some of your other readers. Before the latest security update Mail would take so long to launch that I had time to fix a snack while I waited. Since applying the update, Mail has gone back to launching in a few seconds."
David Story adds:
"The slow Mail and slow iChat problem appeared when the 10.3.7 update got installed. Of all my clients, it only appeared for cable clients (not DSL) who owned routers (in my case, Netgear, WatchGuard and Linksys) which served up DHCP addresses behind the router to network computers. It affected clients of mine on Comcast in Chicago and Shaw in Ontario Canada.
"When the latest security patch was issued and applied two days ago, the problem immediately went away, both on my own computers and my clients. I have two high speed connections in my Mac lab, one DSL and one cable, just for this reason."
Safari: Issues accessing certain sites, potential solution We previously reported that for many users, Safari no longer works with certain sites that had no problems before the update. We continue to receive such reports.
MacFixIt reader Dik Gregory writes:
"Since I ran Security Update 2005.001 a financial site will no longer display stock charts."
Two workarounds have presented themselves, both familiar procedures that have worked to alleviate similar issues with preceding Mac OS X updates.
Re-applying the most recent Mac OS X combo updater One MacFixIt reader reports that re-applying the most recent Mac OS X combo updater (in this case, Mac OS X 10.3.7) resolved slow site access apparent after the security update. He writes:
"Like many, I noticed immediate, unacceptably long delays in Safari accessing URLs after security update 2005-001. I tried all the cache cleaning suggestions, which worked for a few minutes, only to return to the same problem. Most annoying since I have just upgraded my broadband from 512K to 2MB. Then, remembering that I had used Software Update to move to OS X 10.3.7, I downloaded the combo updater and ran it. Safari seems fine now."
Re-installing Java components Another reader reports that re-installing the Apple Java package (Java 1.4.2 Update 2) restores proper accessibility to for some Java-enabled sites:
"After updating, I was no longer able to run the popular open-source eBay monitoring/bidding program Jbidwatcher -- which is Java-based. I even deleted the preferences/config, but it still would not start up. The error log revealed this: 'XMLParseException: XML Parse Exception during parsing of the XML definition at line 1: Unexpected end of data reached'
"Reinstalling Java from the Apple site 'fixed' the problem"
Permissions notice normal, can be safely ignored Several readers are reporting receiving the following message when repairing permissions after applying the 2005-001 Security update:
"Determining correct file permissions. We are using special permissions for the file or directory ./System/Library/Filesystems/cd9660.fs/cd9660.util. New permissions are 33261. The privileges have been verified or repaired on the selected volume."
Note that, as previously stated here and documented in Apple Knowledge Base article #107298, this is simply a status message and can safely be ignored.
Menu-bar applications must be re-launched MacFixIt reader Dan Morris reports that he had to manually re-launch menu-bar applications that previously launched as part of the login process after applying Security Update 2005-001. He writes:
"I have a new Mac Mini still with the stock 10.3.7 software to which I have only added my two favorite Menu Bar utilities, HimmelBar and X-Assist. They both worked as usual. Last nigh I installed, using Software Update, the iMovie and Security 2005 updates. From then on both of the utilities became unresponsive. They are normally are part of my Startup Items. When I removed them from the list and manually launched them, they then seemed to work OK once again.
"My G4 Quicksilver also behaves in the same way but has lots of other software installed. Using the Mac Mini as a 'clean' reference proved to me that the problem lies in the Security 2005 update."
Problems with iTunes MacFixIt reader Jefferis Peterson reports an issue with accessing the iTunes music store that is likely coincidental, but for which we are seeking possible corroboration.
Jefferis writes:
"I cannot access or authorize my new computer with my iTunes account. The Music Store request is producing an unknown error 502. Attempts to log on and sign in produce a 'network' error."
If you are experiencing a similar issue, please let us know.
Problem-free update experiences With all of the problem reports appearing on here on MacFixIt, it's sometimes easy to lose sight of the fact that most users experience no problems with major system updates from Apple.
Dennis Dal Pra writes "I've experienced no problems with the latest security update on a 1GHz G4 17" iMac and a 1.33GHz G4 14? iBook, both running Mac OS X 10.3.7. I repaired disk permissions, ran DiskWarrior 3.02, repaired disk permissions, installed the security update through the Software Update feature, repaired disk permissions again and re-booted the computers. The computers and all applications are running normally."
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