The QuickTime 7.2 disaster: Breaks all CFM apps on Intel-based Macs (Office, Photoshop CS2) for some; Problems playing Flash
Perhaps the worst QuickTime update ever
[Published Thursday, July 12th]
Issues covered:
- Appears to break all CFM apps on some Intel-based Macs (Office, Eudora, older Photoshop versions)
- Flash broken, fixes
- Cannot playback embedded Web QuickTime content (QuickTime logo with question mark)
Appears to break all CFM apps on some Intel-based Macs (Office, Eudora, older Photoshop versions) 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. [Note that while this does problem is not Universal, it does effect a large enough portion of our user-base to represent a significant issue]
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."
If you are experiencing this issue, first try re-applying the Mac OS X 10.4.10 combo updater for Intel-based Macs:
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:
Then reinstall QuickTime 7.1.6.
Flash broken, fixes For many users, embedded Flash media on the Web does not play after updating to QuickTime 7.2.
One reader writes:
"I have an iMac Intel 10.4.10, after updating to 7.2 I cannot see my weather maps, and other flash items. Just see a QT icon instead of the weather map
Another adds:
"The beta interactive weather map on Weather.com is now broken. This sucks."
This problem can usually be resolved by following the guidance in our tutorial "Flash content will not play in Web browsers, resolving."
The first thing to try is re-installation of Flash. Visit the Adobe Flash Player version test page to check what version of Flash is currently being used by your browser. This page also shows the latest version of the Flash player available for your system, which can be downloaded from the Flash download center.
Other fixes:
Cannot playback embedded Web QuickTime content (QuickTime logo with question mark) Several readers have reported a problem where they are unable to view embedded QuickTime content in Safari and other browsers after updating to QuickTime 7.2, receiving a QuickTime logo with a question mark instead of the expected content (see image at right).Make sure QuickTime is not attempting to play Flash Apple's QuickTime has the ability to play Flash content embedded in QuickTime movies and in Web pages via the QuickTime plug-in. However, because the version of Flash available from Adobe is newer that than built-in to QuickTime, the ability for QuickTime to playback Flash content is turned off by default.
See the section below labeled "Use QuickTime to play Flash content" and reverse the listed steps (make sure the appropriate options in the QuickTime pane of System Preferences are turned off) if you want to use Adobe Flash and not QuickTime for Flash playback -- the default behavior. If you have problems using Adobe Flash, you can use the steps listed in the section below to make QuickTime the default player for Flash content.
Uninstall then re-install The most commonly successful fix for restoring Flash playback capabilities is an uninstallation then re-installation of the Adobe Flash software.
First quit your Web browser, then use this uninstaller. Next, re-install one of the following, depending on your Mac's processor architecture:
You may want to repair permissions using Apple's Disk Utility (located in /Applications/Utilities) after re-installing Flash.
Restart your browser and check for proper Flash playback.
If you are experiencing this issue, quit Safari (or your current browser) and look in the /Library/Internet Plug-Ins directory (this is the Library folder at the root level of your hard drive, not the one inside your home user directory). Try removing the following files from that directory:
- VLC Plugin.plugin
- QuickTime plugin.plugin
Restart your browser and check for persistence of the issue.
If the problem is not resolved, a different plug-in may be causing the issue. Keep removing files from this directory (start with any third-party plug-ins present) until the issue disappears.
Feedback? Late-breakers@macfixit.com.
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