Recovering after disastrous cache deletion attempt

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Level 1

24 points

Recovering after disastrous cache deletion attempt

I need help recovering my keychain passwords, safari bookmarks, album artwork access in music etc. after a misguided attempt at freeing cache space on my Mac mini.

It is a late 2014 model running on Catalina. i7, 3ghz with 16gb RAM

I was lately having issues with memory pressure maxing out, with almost 10g of cached files so

I did the “~/Library/Cache delete all “ thing.. When I realized what blunder I’d just committed, I dragged all the folders out of the trash and back into the library cache. It was too late however, I had lost access to the app data and settings - keychain passwords, safari bookmarks, album artwork access etc.

I still have access to my Keychain passwords on my phone and safari settings.

I have time machine back ups.

I don’t know how to restore all the settings from there.

I just attempted migrating apps and settings with migration assistant-

I just don’t know what I’m doing, please someone help me before I create even more havoc!

Thanks in advance

Mac mini, macOS 10.15

Posted on Sep 4, 2020 6:34 AM

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Answer 1

Best reply

Eric Root

Level 10

684,213 points

Sep 4, 2020 8:22 AM in response to billfrench

I suggest you restore the entire computer from your latest Time Machine backup that was made before you deleted the files. That will ensure all the proper settings are restored.

Restore your Mac from a backup - Apple Support

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Answer 2

Eric Root

Level 10

684,213 points

Sep 4, 2020 6:45 PM in response to billfrench

You are welcome. Since this is marked as solved, I suggest you start a new post In the Catalina community.

https://discussions.apple.com/community/mac_os/catalina

Have you tried disconnecting the external hard drive, then restarting, to see if that makes a difference?

Are you running any anti - virus programs? Using a VPN?

Try setting up another admin user account in System Preferences/Users & Groups to see if the same problem continues. Also try the Safe Mode.

Isolating an issue by using another user account

Safe Mode - About.

If it works in the Safe Mode, try running this program when booted normally and then copy and paste the output in a reply. The program was created by Etresoft, a frequent contributor. Please use copy and paste as screen shots can be hard to read. Click “Share Report” button in the toolbar, select “Copy to Clipboard” and then paste into a reply. This will show what is running on your computer. No personal information is shown. If the log won’t post, try posting it in Pastebin and provide a link in a reply. After pasting the report in a PasteBin page, go to the top of the page, and copy the address in the URL bar. Paste that in a new reply. Pastebin.

Etrecheck – System Information.

Web site version if required. https://etrecheck.com

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Answer 3

billfrench Author

Level 1

24 points

Sep 4, 2020 6:29 PM in response to Eric Root

Phew, it WORKED! You saved the day.

Now that I'm back, I still have the original concern that prompted me to free up cache space. I hope that I am not abusing of your patience with another query.

I noticed over the last few months that the Mac mini ventilator was frequently firing up, in short repeated bursts. I looked in Activity Monitor and observed that it was doing so even when all apps were closed. Then I noticed that the RAM was almost maxed out (I have 16gb), App and Wired Memory taking up close to 10gb and cached files taking 6gb.

I do have a music library with 14k+ albums and dozens of playlists, taking up circa 3tb on an external drive could this be an issue - navigating the Music app is often very slow and sluggish. Is there something that I should be aware of ? Should I post this as a new question?

Thanks again, you've been a great help!

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