jeffsqartan

Q: Dock and Other Settings Randomly Breaking

Normally when I click on, say, the Downloads folder, it would pop the files out in grid view, and I could move them to where I wanted without completely opening the folder. About two months ago that function stopped working properly. I can also not click and drag Dock icons around on the dock. If I try to click and drag a folder or app from one side of the dock to the other, nothing moves.

I have also recently noticed that my Right Click Services are not proper, either. For instance, I made an add to iTunes service years ago that was working up until a couple weeks ago (probably started with the Dock issue, but I haven't added anything to iTunes in a long time). When I right click any kind of media file, I don't have the "Add to iTunes" service anymore. Same goes for the built in Service of setting a desktop background. The setting is entirely gone. I can change the background from the settings app, but that's kind of aggravating.

One last thing, this is where it all gets super weird. If I log out of my user account (I'm also the only user on this Mac) and log back in, everything works for about 10 minutes. I haven't actually timed it yet. But after things stop working, they won't work again until I log out or shut down and restart. This leads me to believe that something is loading (possibly a hijacker of some sort?) and causing the Dock and other built in Services and settings to break. I ran ClamXAV and it didn't find anything other than phishing emails in my junk folder (that I promptly removed). I tried running an Avira scan, but that program was junk. I removed it and am running a Sophos scan now.

I'm a computer repair guy (that's my actual job) but I'm literally lost on this. If anyone has any suggestions as to what is going on, that would be great.

Thanks!

 

BT

MacBook Pro (15-inch Late 2011), OS X Mavericks (10.9.5), 12gb RAM

Posted on Feb 4, 2015 12:13 PM

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Q: Dock and Other Settings Randomly Breaking

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  • by Carolyn Samit,

    Carolyn Samit Carolyn Samit Feb 4, 2015 2:08 PM in response to jeffsqartan
    Level 10 (122,002 points)
    Apple Music
    Feb 4, 2015 2:08 PM in response to jeffsqartan

    Remove ClamXav and Sophos both then restart your Mac to test. Both are unecessary on a Mac. Apple does not pre install a/v software for a reason.


    Just make sure Gatekeeper is enabled >  OS X: About Gatekeeper

     


    Uninstall instructions > ClamXav - Downloads

     

    Uninstall Sophos > How to remove Sophos Anti-Virus for Mac

     


    Then restart your Mac then see if the Downloads folder behaves.

  • by jeffsqartan,

    jeffsqartan jeffsqartan Feb 4, 2015 4:00 PM in response to Carolyn Samit
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 4, 2015 4:00 PM in response to Carolyn Samit

    Removed both. No luck.

    Also, I know there isn't a reason to have them on there. I don't keep active scanners. I had ClamXAV on here from a long time ago and only used it to see if maybe something had found its way onto my laptop.

    But either way. It worked just fine until I closed the lid on my laptop. It was working right up to that point. Which leads me to believe that something isn't properly loading when the machine wakes back up.

    Anymore suggestions?

  • by MadMacs0,

    MadMacs0 MadMacs0 Feb 4, 2015 6:27 PM in response to jeffsqartan
    Level 5 (4,791 points)
    Feb 4, 2015 6:27 PM in response to jeffsqartan

    Reinstall Mavericks from your Recovery HD. It will give you a fresh system without touching any of your user files or third party apps.

  • by jeffsqartan,

    jeffsqartan jeffsqartan Feb 5, 2015 8:54 AM in response to MadMacs0
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 5, 2015 8:54 AM in response to MadMacs0

    Honestly, I forgot that I had a recovery partition. Something in my mind told me I didn't (I've done several OS installs on this machine).

    But, since I do, I might give that a try tonight.

    I have a solid state drive coming in tonight that I'm putting in (replacing the CD/DVD drive with a caddy and my 750gb HDD).

    I'll give the OS reinstall a try after I get the SSD set up.

    Either way, I still want to know what is causing this issue. If it ever comes back or happens on a customer's computer, I'd like a faster solution rather than re-downloading the entire OS and reinstalling (why can't I just use the flash drive I created to reinstall? I mean, that would be so stinkin' simple).

    Before I reinstall the OS, are there any other suggestions for me to try out?

  • by Eric Root,

    Eric Root Eric Root Feb 5, 2015 8:59 AM in response to jeffsqartan
    Level 9 (71,210 points)
    iTunes
    Feb 5, 2015 8:59 AM in response to jeffsqartan

    This program provides a lot of useful information when trying to troubleshoot problems. The program was created by Etresoft, a frequent contributor.  Please use copy and paste as screen shots can be hard to read.

     

    Etrecheck – System Information

  • by jeffsqartan,

    jeffsqartan jeffsqartan Feb 5, 2015 9:29 AM in response to Eric Root
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 5, 2015 9:29 AM in response to Eric Root

    That's a pretty cool app. I read through some of the stuff it gleaned from my system.

    As you can see, the system was only up for ~18 minutes when it scanned. I wasn't having any problems at that moment. I copied the scan to a note and put my computer to sleep for about 10 minutes. Opened the lid and everything is still working just fine. I guess this is going to be a waiting game. I'll upload the scan now and the next time the computer starts acting up I'll upload another scan, just to see if it spots any differences.

    Problem description:

    Services and OSX features are not working properly. After sleeping my Mac, I cannot right click an image and change my desktop background (other services are also missing) and I can no longer click and drag programs, folders, or files around on my Dock. I can also not click on a folder in the dock and click and drag a file or folder from the view list. I have to open the entire folder and then move the file or folder where I want it to go. I can still add things to the dock.

     

    EtreCheck version: 2.1.8 (121)

    Report generated February 5, 2015 at 12:06:12 PM EST

    Download EtreCheck from http://etresoft.com/etrecheck

     

    Click the [Click for support] links for help with non-Apple products.

    Click the [Click for details] links for more information about that line.

     

    Hardware Information: ℹ️

        MacBook Pro (15-inch, Late 2011) (Technical Specifications)

        MacBook Pro - model: MacBookPro8,2

        1 2.4 GHz Intel Core i7 CPU: 4-core

        12 GB RAM Upgradeable

            BANK 0/DIMM0

                8 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok

            BANK 1/DIMM0

                4 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok

        Bluetooth: Old - Handoff/Airdrop2 not supported

        Wireless:  en1: 802.11 a/b/g/n

        Battery Health: Normal - Cycle count 580

     

    Video Information: ℹ️

        Intel HD Graphics 3000 - VRAM: 512 MB

            Color LCD 1440 x 900

        AMD Radeon HD 6770M - VRAM: 1024 MB

     

    System Software: ℹ️

        OS X 10.9.5 (13F34) - Time since boot: 0:18:48

     

    Disk Information: ℹ️

        TOSHIBA MK7559GSXF disk0 : (750.16 GB)

            EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB

            Mac (disk0s2) / : 749.30 GB (206.65 GB free)

            Recovery HD (disk0s3) <not mounted>  [Recovery]: 650 MB

     

        HL-DT-ST DVDRW  GS31N 

     

    USB Information: ℹ️

        Apple Inc. FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)

        Apple Inc. Apple Internal Keyboard / Trackpad

        Apple Inc. BRCM2070 Hub

            Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

        Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver

     

    Thunderbolt Information: ℹ️

        Apple Inc. thunderbolt_bus

     

    Configuration files: ℹ️

        /etc/hosts - Count: 15

     

    Gatekeeper: ℹ️

        Anywhere

     

    Kernel Extensions: ℹ️

            /Applications/InsomniaX.app

        [not loaded]    net.semaja2.kext.insomnia (2.1.7 - SDK 10.9) [Click for support]

     

            /Applications/Parallels Desktop.app

        [not loaded]    com.parallels.kext.hidhook (9.0 24172.951362) [Click for support]

        [not loaded]    com.parallels.kext.hypervisor (9.0 24172.951362) [Click for support]

        [not loaded]    com.parallels.kext.netbridge (9.0 24172.951362) [Click for support]

        [not loaded]    com.parallels.kext.usbconnect (9.0 24172.951362) [Click for support]

        [not loaded]    com.parallels.kext.vnic (9.0 24172.951362) [Click for support]

     

            /Library/Application Support/VirtualBox

        [loaded]    org.virtualbox.kext.VBoxDrv (4.3.16) [Click for support]

        [loaded]    org.virtualbox.kext.VBoxNetAdp (4.3.16) [Click for support]

        [loaded]    org.virtualbox.kext.VBoxNetFlt (4.3.16) [Click for support]

        [loaded]    org.virtualbox.kext.VBoxUSB (4.3.16) [Click for support]

     

            /System/Library/Extensions

        [not loaded]    com.avira.kext.FileAccessControl (1.0.0d1 - SDK 10.9) [Click for support]

        [loaded]    net.telestream.driver.TelestreamAudio (1.1.0 - SDK 10.8) [Click for support]

     

    Startup Items: ℹ️

        ChmodBPF: Path: /Library/StartupItems/ChmodBPF

        Startup items are obsolete in OS X Yosemite

     

    Launch Agents: ℹ️

        [not loaded]    com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist [Click for support]

        [not loaded]    com.amazon.sendtokindle.launcher.plist [Click for support]

        [loaded]    com.oracle.java.Java-Updater.plist [Click for support]

        [running]    net.culater.SIMBL.Agent.plist [Click for support]

        [loaded]    org.macosforge.xquartz.startx.plist [Click for support]

     

    Launch Daemons: ℹ️

        [loaded]    com.adobe.fpsaud.plist [Click for support]

        [not loaded]    com.adobe.SwitchBoard.plist [Click for support]

        [not loaded]    com.mac.adg.SquidMan.plist [Click for support]

        [loaded]    com.microsoft.office.licensing.helper.plist [Click for support]

        [loaded]    com.oracle.java.Helper-Tool.plist [Click for support]

        [loaded]    com.oracle.java.JavaUpdateHelper.plist [Click for support]

        [loaded]    com.smithmicro.vzwwirelessd.plist [Click for support]

        [not loaded]    org.ijbswa.privoxy.plist [Click for support]

        [loaded]    org.macosforge.xquartz.privileged_startx.plist [Click for support]

        [not loaded]    org.virtualbox.startup.plist [Click for support]

     

    User Launch Agents: ℹ️

        [loaded]    com.google.keystone.agent.plist [Click for support]

        [not loaded]    com.nero.HSMMonitor.plist [Click for support]

        [not loaded]    com.spotify.webhelper.plist [Click for support]

        [not loaded]    com.valvesoftware.steamclean.plist [Click for support]

        [loaded]    net.infinite-labs.SIMBLEnablerForSandboxedApps.plist [Click for support]

        [not loaded]    org.virtualbox.vboxwebsrv.plist [Click for support]

     

    User Login Items: ℹ️

        smcFanControl    Application Hidden (/Applications/Utilities/smcFanControl.app)

        gfxCardStatus    Application Hidden (/Applications/Utilities/gfxCardStatus.app)

        BetterTouchTool    Application Hidden (/Applications/Utilities/BetterTouchTool.app)

        Dropbox    Application Hidden (/Applications/Dropbox.app)

        InsomniaX    Application Hidden (/Applications/InsomniaX.app)

     

    Internet Plug-ins: ℹ️

        LogMeInSafari64: Version: 1.0.660 [Click for support]

        Default Browser: Version: 537 - SDK 10.9

        net.juniper.DSSafariExtensions: Version: Unknown [Click for support]

        AdobePDFViewerNPAPI: Version: 10.1.7 [Click for support]

        FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 11.8.800.94 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]

        LogMeIn: Version: 1.0.660 [Click for support]

        Silverlight: Version: 5.1.30514.0 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]

        Flash Player: Version: 11.8.800.94 - SDK 10.6 Outdated! Update

        LogMeInSafari32: Version: 1.0.660 [Click for support]

        QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.7.3

        iPhotoPhotocast: Version: 7.0

        AdobePDFViewer: Version: 10.1.7 [Click for support]

        SharePointBrowserPlugin: Version: 14.1.0 [Click for support]

        JavaAppletPlugin: Version: Java 7 Update 71 Check version

     

    Safari Extensions: ℹ️

        Open in Internet Explorer

     

    3rd Party Preference Panes: ℹ️

        Flash Player  [Click for support]

        FUSE for OS X (OSXFUSE)  [Click for support]

        GeekTool  [Click for support]

        Java  [Click for support]

        MacFUSE  [Click for support]

        NTFS-3G  [Click for support]

        Perian  [Click for support]

        Secrets  [Click for support]

     

    Time Machine: ℹ️

        Time Machine not configured!

     

    Top Processes by CPU: ℹ️

             5%    WindowServer

             2%    coreaudiod

             1%    iTunes

             1%    Google Chrome

             0%    fontd

     

    Top Processes by Memory: ℹ️

        193 MB    com.apple.IconServicesAgent

        180 MB    Google Chrome

        142 MB    iTunes

        129 MB    ocspd

        116 MB    Finder

     

    Virtual Memory Information: ℹ️

        7.46 GB    Free RAM

        2.71 GB    Active RAM

        1.27 GB    Inactive RAM

        1.44 GB    Wired RAM

        795 MB    Page-ins

        0 B    Page-outs

     

    Diagnostics Information: ℹ️

        Feb 5, 2015, 11:45:42 AM    Self test - passed

        Feb 3, 2015, 05:20:44 PM    /Users/[redacted]/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/SIMBL Agent_2015-02-03-172044_[redacted].crash

        Feb 3, 2015, 05:20:26 PM    /Users/[redacted]/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/SIMBL Agent_2015-02-03-172026_[redacted].crash

  • by MadMacs0,

    MadMacs0 MadMacs0 Feb 5, 2015 10:48 PM in response to jeffsqartan
    Level 5 (4,791 points)
    Feb 5, 2015 10:48 PM in response to jeffsqartan

    Hopefully Eric will be back shortly, since he suggested this.

     

    I don't see any major issues, but do have some comments:

    Configuration files: ℹ️

        /etc/hosts - Count: 15

    The hosts file has been modified for some reason. It often indicates an attempt to use unlicensed software, but perhaps you modified it for some other reason. If you don't understand why this was done there are instructions for fixing it at Fixing a hacked /etc/hosts file.

    Gatekeeper: ℹ️

        Anywhere

    There is no reason to have GateKeeper disabled. If you find the need to open an app that isn't from the AppStore and isn't signed, then simply right-click / control click on the app and select Open from the popup menu.

     

    To fix this go to System Preferences->Security & Privacy->General tab, unlock the padlock if necessary and under "Allow apps downloaded from:" select at least "Mac App Store and identified developers."

     

    Looks like you have both Parallels and VirtualBox installed, but only the latter is active. It would probably be best to settle on one and remove the other in accordance with the developers instructions to make sure there are no conflicts or extra processes running.

            /System/Library/Extensions

        [not loaded]    com.avira.kext.FileAccessControl (1.0.0d1 - SDK 10.9) [Click for support]

    Looks like you might have had avira installed, but no longer use it? Probably not needed, in any case.

    Launch Agents: ℹ️

     

     

        [running]    net.culater.SIMBL.Agent.plist [Click for support]

    SIMBL is known to cause issues, but is needed for certain third party software. Not sure what you are using it for but it crashed twice on Tuesday. You can probably figure out what uses it by looking in /Users/<YourUserName>/Library/Application Support/SIMBL/Plugins/ (hold the <Option>-key down and select "Library" from the Finder's Go menu to access that normally hidden folder. If you find that you still need it try using EasySIMBL instead.

     

    FlashPlayer is very out-of-date and dangerous and has been disabled by Apple XProtect and since you obviously aren't using it you might as well uninstall it: Uninstall Flash Player | Mac OS.

    3rd Party Preference Panes: ℹ️

        FUSE for OS X (OSXFUSE)  [Click for support]

        MacFUSE  [Click for support]

        NTFS-3G  [Click for support]

        Perian  [Click for support]

    Aren't OSXFUSE, MacFUSE and NTFS-3G different things for the same purpose (reading Windows NTFS drives)? I'm sure they must conflict and I'm pretty sure at least one is no longer supported. Figure out which one you need and uninstall the others in accordance with developers instructions.

     

    Perian has not been supported since Snow Leopard and has been reported to cause problems with Mavericks (although I never seemed to have any problems).

    Time Machine: ℹ️

        Time Machine not configured!

    Hopefully you have some other backup strategy in place since all hard drives fail and usually very fast, average around the three year point, so you are overdue.

     

    I don't recognize all the 3rd party software so not sure what it all is. Make sure you know and that it's all up-to-date.

  • by Eric Root,

    Eric Root Eric Root Feb 6, 2015 9:31 AM in response to jeffsqartan
    Level 9 (71,210 points)
    iTunes
    Feb 6, 2015 9:31 AM in response to jeffsqartan

    SIMBL is a sytem hack. Try removing it.

     

    SIMBL Uninstall

     

    SIMBL Uninstall (2)     See solution posted by Linc Davis .

  • by jeffsqartan,

    jeffsqartan jeffsqartan Feb 6, 2015 11:55 AM in response to MadMacs0
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 6, 2015 11:55 AM in response to MadMacs0

    Well, I had a giant reply typed out, then I logged out and back in to uninstall SIMBL and it lost the reply *facepalm*

     

    Hosts file was edited (more than likely) from when I used activation blockers back in and right out of highschool. My new SSD is installed and I migrated applications from my old drive.

     

    This unfortunately brought over a good chunk of things mentioned above. I am going to follow the removal instructions to right all of the listed wrongs and hopefully I'll never have another issue.

     

    Hosts file is fixed.

     

    I may re-activate GateKeeper at a later time. I pay attention to the apps I install and I don't install anything I download off of the internet. If I have issues in the future, I'll consider changing this setting.

     

    I do a lot of Windows OS work and it doesn't surprise me at all that Avira did not properly uninstall itself. I checked the /System/Library/Extensions folder and did not see that com file, so I'm assuming it did not make it to the new drive.

     

    I removed SIMBL following the link that Eric provided. If I have issues with any of my apps, I'll use the Easy SIMBL you mentioned.

     

    Fuse, MacFuse, and NTFS-3g have all given me issues for awhile now. I don't know why, but I never bothered to uninstall them. Now I'm trying to uninstall them from the new SSD and none of them will go by their own accord. Any suggestions?

     

    When I bought this laptop June 2012 the HDD crapped out in December, a week before finals. I had a Hackintosh I built my senior year of high-school and I used it to recover all of my files. Everything else was replaced under warranty. Hopefully, since it is no longer my main drive, I will not have any more issues. I keep all of my school related files on DropBox. I have a couple external drives laying around that I need to use to make current backups of my photos etc. Thank you for the concern and reminder.

     

    Before I installed the SSD yesterday, I had used the old HDD for about 5 or 6 hours and nothing had gone wrong. I don't know if maybe the issue magically fixed itself or what. It wasn't being caused from sleeping the unit, so I'm really stumped. I'm attempting to use Parallels or VirtualBox to load the entire raw drive as a virtual machine so I don't have to keep flipping from the SSD to the HDD. Either way, I'll eventually mess with a little more early next week. I'll get it to act up for me again and I'll perform the above steps on the HDD like I did with the SSD.

     

    Thanks to you both, Eric and Macs. I appreciate help from guys like you. OSX has been my OS of choice since 08 but I know that there is still a lot for me to learn.

  • by MadMacs0,

    MadMacs0 MadMacs0 Feb 7, 2015 1:57 AM in response to jeffsqartan
    Level 5 (4,791 points)
    Feb 7, 2015 1:57 AM in response to jeffsqartan

    jeffsqartan wrote:

     

    I may re-activate GateKeeper at a later time. I pay attention to the apps I install and I don't install anything I download off of the internet. If I have issues in the future, I'll consider changing this setting.

    Just curious to know why you find it to be a burden?  Trying to understand your thinking.

    Fuse, MacFuse, and NTFS-3g have all given me issues for awhile now. I don't know why, but I never bothered to uninstall them. Now I'm trying to uninstall them from the new SSD and none of them will go by their own accord. Any suggestions?

    MacFuse FAQ:

    Q 2.3. How can I uninstall MacFUSE?

    A: Launch the Mac OS X System Preferences application and go to the MacFUSE preference pane. Click on the "Remove MacFUSE" button. This will uninstall all MacFUSE components except the preference pane itself.

     

    You can keep the MacFUSE preference pane around should you decide to install MacFUSE again in the future. If you do wish to remove it, you do it just like how you would remove any other non-Apple preference pane: In System Preferences, control-click (right-click) on the MacFUSE icon and you will see "Remove ..." as an action.

     

    Only if you had the "Show Beta Versions" button checked in the MacFUSE prefpane, you'll have a property list (plist) file remaining at this point: /Library/Preferences/com.google.macfuse.plist. To remove it, you should uncheck the button before you remove the prefpane as described above.

     

    Note that an official (correct) MacFUSE installation will have a preference pane if you have MacFUSE 2.0 or later installed. If you have an older version of MacFUSE, you can uninstall as follows.

    Uninstall NTFS-3G without Preference Panel


    2.3. How can I uninstall "FUSE for OS X"?

  • by jeffsqartan,

    jeffsqartan jeffsqartan Feb 9, 2015 10:13 AM in response to MadMacs0
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 9, 2015 10:13 AM in response to MadMacs0

    I used to run a lot of 3rd party apps that were legitimate but not properly signed, according to Apple. This made me always have to do that silly right click deal, which was just frustrating. Since I pay attention to what I install, I never really saw the need to have it turned on.

     

    Also, those FAQ's helped me out. I had apparently removed the tools properly, leaving only the preference panes. I got those removed. Thanks a lot, guys. I really appreciate all the help.

  • by MadMacs0,

    MadMacs0 MadMacs0 Feb 9, 2015 11:38 PM in response to jeffsqartan
    Level 5 (4,791 points)
    Feb 9, 2015 11:38 PM in response to jeffsqartan

    jeffsqartan wrote:

     

    I used to run a lot of 3rd party apps that were legitimate but not properly signed, according to Apple. This made me always have to do that silly right click deal, which was just frustrating. Since I pay attention to what I install, I never really saw the need to have it turned on.

    Just a note that, in addition to making sure you know whether the developer has bothered to spend $99 to get a Developer ID, GateKeeper also serves a secondary purpose in protecting you from a few apps that turned out to be malware by checking for a revoked signature and check the continuity of selected apps to make sure it wasn't corrupted during download or installation.

  • by jeffsqartan,

    jeffsqartan jeffsqartan Feb 10, 2015 7:24 AM in response to MadMacs0
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Feb 10, 2015 7:24 AM in response to MadMacs0

    How does it do that? I guess, more specifically, if I have downloaded an app that turns out to be malware and try to run it, does it explicitly tell me that it is malware? And same question for corrupted apps, will it explicitly tell me? Because in that case, I'd probably be much more obliged to turn it on. In the past it always seemed like a hassle feature. Even if I'm not concerned about the malware part, being notified of corrupted programs would be swell.

  • by MadMacs0,

    MadMacs0 MadMacs0 Feb 10, 2015 11:38 AM in response to jeffsqartan
    Level 5 (4,791 points)
    Feb 10, 2015 11:38 AM in response to jeffsqartan

    jeffsqartan wrote:

     

    if I have downloaded an app that turns out to be malware and try to run it, does it explicitly tell me that it is malware? And same question for corrupted apps, will it explicitly tell me?

    Not exactly. In both cases it will only display the following dialog

    demaged_app_dialog.png

    As I said, malware detection is only a secondary feature of GateKeeper as the XProtect has the primary responsibility there. It only kicks in when an App Store app is found to be malware and the signature has been revoked.

     

    Apple has this document to better explain About GateKeeper.

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