Corrupted Preference Files

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Level 2

393 points

Corrupted Preference Files

I searched for corrupted preference files using an application called Cocktail which stated that I have 3 corrupted plist files: SystemLoginItems.plist (at the root level), .a23t.obdev.LSD.plist (at a user level), and iphotomosaic.plist (at a user level)

The only options are to delete these files or reveal them in the finder. Is it safe to delete these files. If I do, are they rebuilt or do I have to re-install some of the applications.

MacBook Pro 15" / iPhone 3G, Mac OS X (10.6), 2nd Generation MacBook Pro

Posted on Oct 13, 2009 3:01 AM

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Answer 1

Oct 13, 2009 4:57 AM in response to Reborn a Mac

You can safely delete the offending files. A new one (with default settings) will be made the next time you open the application.

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Answer 2

Reborn a Mac Author

Level 2

393 points

Dec 31, 2009 3:52 AM in response to QuickTimeKirk

I've attempted to delete the corrupted preference file, "/Library/Preferences/com.apple.SystemLoginItems.plist" however receive an error message that this file cannot be moved to trash.

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Answer 3

baltwo

Level 9

62,362 points

Dec 31, 2009 1:18 PM in response to Reborn a Mac

That's because it's owned by the system and you need administrator authority to move it. Log into an admin account and try there. If that doesn't do it, this in the Terminal app:

*sudo rm /Library/Preferences/com.apple.loginitems.plist*

followed by your admin password at the Password: prompt, should do the trick. Restart and it will be rebuilt.

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Answer 4

Pondini

Level 8

38,863 points

Dec 31, 2009 3:38 PM in response to Reborn a Mac

Don't necessarily believe those files are actually corrupted, at least the non-Apple ones.

There is no requirement for a 3rd-party app to use a standard format for it's preference files, although most do. If an app is working properly, and changed preferences survive the app being quit and restarted, and/or your system being restarted, don't worry about it.

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Answer 5

Jan 30, 2010 1:20 PM in response to baltwo

baltwo wrote:
That's because it's owned by the system and you need administrator authority to move it. Log into an admin account and try there. If that doesn't do it, this in the Terminal app:

*sudo rm /Library/Preferences/com.apple.loginitems.plist*

followed by your admin password at the Password: prompt, should do the trick. Restart and it will be rebuilt.

I have the same problem with this file as the original poster. Preferential Treatment gives an error message saying, "CPF2: (5b) /Library/Preference/com.apple.SystemLoginitems.plist: Cannot parse a NULL or zero-length data."

I'm logged into an administrator account but can't delete the file. I tried the suggested Terminal command and restarted, but it didn't delete the file either.

Any other suggestions?

Thank you,

David

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