Q: Trouble opening applications on OS X Mavericks
I updated my MacBook Air (13 inch, Mid 2012) to 10.9.4. last week. After a few days applications wont open. This is happening to Contacts, Calendar, Maps, Messages, Photo Booth, and iBooks. The applications will bounce once and not open. I tried restarting the computer which doesn't solve anything. Any help will be appreciated.
Posted on Aug 4, 2014 10:25 AM
You ran a defective third-party "utility" such as "CleanMyMac" or "MacCleanse" that purports to "clean up" "junk" files. What it really does is to corrupt the operating system and many applications.
The first thing you need to do is remove that software according to the developer's instructions. Never install it, or anything like it, again. Then see below.
If you don't already have a current backup, back up all data. There are ways to back up a computer that isn't fully functional. Ask if you need guidance. You can skip this step if you don't care about the data that hasn't been backed up.
Reinstall the OS.* Your data should be unaffected unless something goes wrong. If the system was upgraded from an older version of OS X, you may need the Apple ID and password you used.
If you use FileVault 2, then before running the Installer you must launch Disk Utility and select the icon of the FileVault startup volume ("Macintosh HD," unless you gave it a different name.) It will be nested below another icon with the same name. Click the Unlock button in the toolbar and enter your login password when prompted. Then quit Disk Utility to be returned to the main Recovery screen.
If you installed the Java runtime distributed by Apple and still need it, you'll have to reinstall it. The same goes for Xcode. All other data will be preserved.
*The linked support article refers to OS X 10.9 ("Mavericks"), but the procedure is the same for OS X 10.7 ("Lion") and later.
Posted on Aug 4, 2014 12:22 PM