When Disk Utility, running on OS X 10.4.8, won't open, what's going on? I double click on the app., and it acts like it's going to open, but nothing happens.

This is the utility that installs with the OS, so it's resident on the hard drive of the computer.

Jeff



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/28/2007 04:48PM by kj4btkljv.

Have you tried restarting?

Oh yeah, restarted a couple of times. Even installed some RAM, meaning there was an obvious shut down involved there too. The problem was happening before the RAM, and now, even after the successful installation. So, I'm ruling that out as a possibility.

Would a restart on the OSX Tiger Install CD help? I could run Disk Utility from the install CD, and see if that would help the hard drive, right?

I even ran Disk Warrior, but it didn't help.

Jeff

Have you checked Activity Monitor (or whatever it's called)? Console?

Delete cache?

Run Applejack?

Start up the machine in safe mode. Hold the shift key when you start and hold it until you get the spinning thingee. It might take a while to start but once it does you should be able to restart and try disk utility again.

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Formerly known as Dennis R

I just went through this with my sisters mini, you most likely have a corrupted preference file. Try creating a new user, boot into the new users login and see if the problem persists. If the problem goes away then your problem lies in a corrupted preference file.

To fix it go and download a copy of "Preferential Treatment" it a free utility that checks pref files and will let you find the bad file without too much trouble.

If that doesn't fix it then you may have to do an "archive and install".

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Aloha, Ken


“I have developed significant attachments to several members even though I wouldn't recognize them if I sat next to one on a park bench. I'm often tempted when in an airport to walk around, hollering "The Løpe", to see if anyone other than the Homeland Security people will acknowledge me. ” - The Løpe

"If there is any fixed star in our constitutional constellation, it is that no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or other matters of opinion, or force citizens to confess by word or act their faith therein. If there are any circumstances which permit an exception, they do not now occur to us." Justice Robert Jackson

Are you running the latest version of iTunes? There was a known issue with an older versions of iTunes where Disk Utility wouldn't work until you moved iTunes to the desktop and then you could repair permissions. But I am going to assume if you are running 10.4.8, this doesn't apply.

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I sit on a man’s back, choking him and making
him carry me, and yet assure myself and others
that I am very sorry for him and wish to ease his
lot by all possible means — except by getting off
his back. - Leo Tolstoy, novelist and Philosopher
(1828-1910)





Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/28/2007 07:57PM by MacArtist.

Run Cocktail

My only experienc with this was a font conflict.

Open Font Book and look for "duplicate fonts" indicated by a solid black bullet to the right of the font name.

Under the Edit menu selecet "Resolve Duplicates". That should make the black bullets go away as one of the conflicting fonts is turned "off."

Then try relaunching Disk Utility.

FWIW it seems the problem is not the conflict per se, but rather the systems inability to access a font that is REQUIRED in order to run certain Apple applications.

Removing those required fonts entirely would also cause the same type of application "hangs."

This may not be *your* problem, but it is worth a quick look, just in case.

Quote
Harbourmaster
I just went through this with my sisters mini, you most likely have a corrupted preference file. Try creating a new user, boot into the new users login and see if the problem persists. If the problem goes away then your problem lies in a corrupted preference file.

Ken, actually in my case (above post) this test seemed to show exactly what you suggest above... a "test" user account had no problems. But this is because fonts are managed in part on a "per user" basis. The fresh "test" account did not have extra (conflicting) fonts added, thus there was no conflict, and no "hang." In my case at least it was not a preferences problem.

And it WAS extremely infuriating to diagnose :}