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Applications won't quit, error 600, applications won't relaunch

I have installed (and reinstalled) Leopard, apparently smoothly. A normal upgrade install, over 10.4 Tiger.

But now many applications that I launch will not quit properly. Their windows close but they continue to appear active in the Dock. The Dock icons remain unresponsive. Yet when I try to relaunch the application, using "Recent Items," or by double-clicking an icon in the Applications folder, I get error 600 in this message: "The application xxxxx cannot be launched. -600"

Force Quit will not quit the applications. Nor will the machine not restart normally -- it must be forced to shut down. The it will restart, but the problems begin all over again. So -- quitting any of these applications requires a full forced restart in order to use them again. The problem is with native apps, like Mail, Software Update, Quicktime, iTunes, Safari, and so forth.

Any clues?

2.16 GHz Intel Core Duo Macbook Pro, Mac OS X (10.5)

Posted on Oct 26, 2007 2:11 PM

41 replies

Oct 26, 2007 4:13 PM in response to IceWolf08

i put safari back in the dock and just tried to open/close.

it's stuck again.

any clue as to how to reinstate myself as admin?

Oct 26, 2007 4:55 PM in response to dominique.joseph

Ok, maybe I was just having a conflict with the Intego Software, because I can't think of what else I changed, but everything seems to be working now. If I find anything I will let you all know.

Oct 26, 2007 4:58 PM in response to IceWolf08

i have a back-up on an external lacie disk.

how can i reboot from that disk and reinstall that version and get rid of leopard?

bacpac

Level 1

5 points

Oct 26, 2007 5:08 PM in response to Jeff Childers

I am also joining "the club". Applications will not close - just as Jeff stated. Performed an 'Archive and Install' with no luck.

I would love to hear from Apple on this thread!

Oct 26, 2007 5:36 PM in response to dominique.joseph

I have no Administrator account any longer -- just Standard accounts.

I wonder if the Remote Management has something to do with this?

Oct 26, 2007 5:42 PM in response to Jeff Childers

i looked at different solutions offered here, but cannot seem to get my admin rights back.

now i am even starting to doubt what my admin user name was.

=(

Oct 26, 2007 5:53 PM in response to Jeff Childers

Exactly the same problem over in the UK with newly-installed Leopard ; programmes won't relaunch after you have quit them once, dock appears to think they are still running, -600 error message comes up. Unless there is some simple solution, bug fix urgently needed from Apple. Happens with Safari, QuickTime Player, Pages and anything else I've tried. Clearly a widespread and infuriating problem. Leopard is starting to seem like an expensive mistake.

Oct 26, 2007 9:12 PM in response to Jeff Childers

Along with others in this thread, I have found that sometimes non-native apps also show the same problem: they will not quit and cannot be force quit nor relaunched. I do not know what the pattern is -- i.e. what sorts of apps.

But it would be nice if Apple techs would look into this and begin offering some hope here. The machines affected by this problem are more or less defunct, until we get it fixed.

Oct 26, 2007 9:14 PM in response to Jeff Childers

Has anyone else with this problem also observed massively long indexing time for Spotlight?

My machine is taking a loooong time to index. I don't know whether this is a causal factor or a result of the other problems (or somehow related).

Oct 27, 2007 2:50 AM in response to Jeff Childers

I think I've solved it, for myself at least. I updated the Intego 'Content Barrier' software and also the Mac Remote desktop software, both at the same time, and then restarted, and now it appears that I can quit programs (as you spell them...) and that the dock is now behaving itself. Great sense of relief ; I can now quit and relaunch without viciously force-quitting and force-restarting.
Because I updated both at once, I don't actually know which one did the trick ; who cares, as long as it works and the Mac is now behaving itself again ?

rebzfan

Level 1

4 points

Oct 27, 2007 4:33 AM in response to Jeff Childers

I performed a NetUpdate on ContentBarrier and that seemed to take care of the problem; as had been indicated on a prior post. For those that are not using ContentBarrier, I don't know.

rqueen

Level 1

80 points

Oct 27, 2007 5:13 AM in response to rebzfan

Well I dunno, but I have had to force quit my machine by pulling the plug numerous times since installation. Apps seem to hang - native and non-native - and force quitting them does not work. Eventually the Finder hangs, both logging-out and re-starting do not work and then you're left w/no choice but to PULL THE PLUG.

Also, like another user mentioned in a different topic, my menubar is NOT translucent and at every restart I get an error message indicating that my system clock is set before 2004 but when I check date/time under system preferences it displays the current date and time. What gives?

Also, in the finder, folders and some menu options in the finder window have strange names like TL15 or U56. These names appear in menu option settings as well as in the get info window.

I'm writing this from a second computer because I can no longer use my main computer - for more than 10 mins usually. My plan, if I can get enough room cleared on my machine in order to do so, is to do an Archive and Install but I'm having no luck in copying files over to a back-up disk as the machine keeps freezing.

VERY ANNOYING ALL THIS. I've gone through and cut out 3rd party apps that started up at log-in plus any 3rd party pref files that I thought would be problematic (A.P.E. for example) and tried to do a permissions repair but the repair process seems to always hang.

Grrrrrrr. Any idea what is going on, anyone? Apple?

Oct 27, 2007 7:12 AM in response to rebzfan

But how do you install an update (or uninstall Intego software) if you have lost your Admin account? The machine wants a login and password and I haven't the faintest idea what to tell it. It continues to reject mine, as it is doing for others in this thread and across the forum. I'd love to try your fix, and I'm glad it worked for you, but...

rqueen

Level 1

80 points

Oct 27, 2007 8:18 AM in response to rqueen

My machine is totally a goner. Cannot get Leopard install disk to even install on different partitions or or another internal drive - the install disk just keeps freezing or giving me error messages. EVERYTHING was working fine before this piece of dung Leopard totally whacked my machine. Cannot go back to Tiger, cannot install, re-install or A&I on any drive or partition. What the **** am I supposed to do now?????? If the fricking installation disk cannot operate w/o freezing then something is very very very wrong with this update.

Oct 27, 2007 8:55 AM in response to Jeff Childers

I have begun to experience some relief on this problem, by following the steps below. They all seem to relate to something that my Intego software was doing to the machine (see helpful clue-posts above!), compounded by the loss of my Admin account.

A) Reclaim my Administrator privileges and reset my account to Admin.

1. Shut down the computer (force it to shut down if necessary, by depressing the power button several seconds).
2. Press the power button to restart, holding down Command (Apple), and the "s" key. This starts the computer in single-user mode. When text starts scrolling onto the screen, release the keys.
3. At the prompt, type: mount -uw /
Press Return
4. Type: passwd
Press Return
5. At the "New password:" prompt, type the password (this will be the new password for the root account)
Press Return
6. At the "Retype new password" prompt, type the same password
Press Return
7. Type reboot
8. After computer restarts, log in to your user account.
9. Enter Account settings, click the lock to make changes. When prompted for administrator account and password, use the user name <root> and the password you just setup.
10. Check box to allow your user administrate the computer.
11. Log out and log back in. Hopefully, you are Admin again! Now you have privileges to get some things done.

B. Install Intego software updates.
For me, using ContentBarrier, this meant launching Intego's NetUpdate and downloading the updates. Now that I have Admin privileges back, I can authenticate the software installation.

After restart, things seem to be working well. I mean:

* Spotlight seems to be finished indexing (it had never got beyond 23% finished before, even after many hours).
* I can quit programs normally, and force quit. I can relaunch them normally.
* Processes seem to be faster and more "normal."

Only time will tell, but things look good now.

Applications won't quit, error 600, applications won't relaunch