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"The application "[name of app]" can't be opened"

Dear Apple community,


I'm hoping for the input of some of you advanced users regarding a set of issues I am facing. I suspect they all have a common denominator but I couldn't troubleshoot nor figure this out yet.


A) Series of events

  1. Screen of macbook turned black. Probably a GUI crash as sound feedback from keys was still audible
  2. A force restart was initiated
  3. Reboot was unsuccessful. Error: Black screen with flashing question mark. Reset of NVRAM was initiated which solved the issue (https://support.apple.com/en-is/HT204323)
  4. Second reboot sequence was successful. Restoring prior state did not fully succeed i.e. some apps re-opened, some didn't. Clicking on an app like the TextEdit.app did however restored unsaved documents
  5. A set of issues described hereafter keep persisting



B) Issues

  • A good amount of the installed apps cannot be launched - e.g. all browsers except one, VLC, WhatsApp, OnlyOffice to cite known apps
  • Either the app opens and closes immediately or macOS displays the following error "The application "[name of the app]" can't be opened." and followed by a number like 1 or 10

  • A looked in the Console.app shows also a constant crashing (in a loop) of 3 process. The CrashReporter process is as a consequence using around 20% of CPU resources. I had to disabled the CrashReporter daemon. Processes crashing:
itunescloudd
/System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/iTunesCloud.framework/Support/itunescloudd
homed
/System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/HomeKitDaemon.framework/Support/homed
studentd
/usr/libexec/studentd
  • Updating to Big Sur v.11.5.2 also keeps failing. I was hoping for an update to amend these issues:

  • Updating via Safe Mode also fails, same via the terminal
Error Domain=SUMacControllerError Code=7740 "[SUMacControllerErrorPrepareFailed=7740] Failed to perform Prepare operation [MobileSoftwareUpdateErrorDomain(MSU):MSU_ERR_FILESYSTEM_DOESNT_VERIFY(3)_1_MobileSoftwareUpdateBOMErrorDomain:1|FullReplacementRequired|]" UserInfo={SUMacControllerErrorIndicationsSummary=|FullReplacementRequired|, SUMacControllerErrorIndicationsMask=2, SUMacControllerErrorIndicationsDescription=-> Full replacement is required [as opposed to incremental patch]., NSUnderlyingError=0x7fe0ce211b80 {Error Domain=MobileSoftwareUpdateErrorDomain Code=3 "'./System/Library/dyld/dyld_shared_cache_x86_64h' did not verify and is not on the exception list." UserInfo={target_update=20G95, NSLocalizedDescription='./System/Library/dyld/dyld_shared_cache_x86_64h' did not verify and is not on the exception list., NSUnderlyingError=0x7fe0ce210f00 {Error Domain=MobileSoftwareUpdateBOMErrorDomain Code=1 "contents of '/System/Volumes/Update/mnt1/System/Library/dyld/dyld_shared_cache_x86_64h' don't match bom (4f3f2545 vs cb7cba0f)" UserInfo={NSLocalizedDescription=contents of '/System/Volumes/Update/mnt1/System/Library/dyld/dyld_shared_cache_x86_64h' don't match bom (4f3f2545 vs cb7cba0f)}}, MSUFullReplacementRecommened=true}}, NSDebugDescription=[SUMacControllerErrorPrepareFailed=7740] Failed to perform Prepare operation: [MobileSoftwareUpdateErrorDomain(MSU):MSU_ERR_FILESYSTEM_DOESNT_VERIFY(3)_1_MobileSoftwareUpdateBOMErrorDomain:1|FullReplacementRequired|], NSLocalizedDescription=Failed to prepare the software update. Please try again
  • Other "symptoms":
  • video preview does not work nor web videos (e.g. youtube)



C) Attempts to resolve the issues:

  • First Aid (Disk Utility), tried in 'standard' mode, Safe Mode and in Recovery mode. There does not seem to be any permissions issues
  • Software Update - Terminal "softwareupdate -d -a" and "softwareupdate -i -a --force"
  • "chmod +x" applied to the applications not launching
  • multiple restarts
  • removal of AV and firewall
  • uninstalling / deleting apps and reinstalling them
  • different DNS addresses (for software update)
  • delete folders in /Library/Updates/



D) OS, computer and misc informations

  • macbook pro 11.4 (mid 2015). Big Sur v.11.4
  • Disk usage at 60% capacity. 16GB of ram
  • The computer is only used for work. Very few processes launched at start-up (AV, firewall)



I would prefer avoiding doing a fresh install and recover from a Time Machine snapshot. I'm not sure about the implications of using the last Time Machine snapshot which was done with the described issued persisting. I would need to use the second or third last backup which would not be advisable.


Is there a way to obtain a link for a manual download of update packages 11.5 or 11.5.1 or even the current version?


Thanks for reading the entire thread and for any suggestions you may have.



MacBook Pro Retina

Posted on Aug 13, 2021 8:26 AM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Aug 14, 2021 9:28 AM

lambda-mac wrote:

Updating via Safe Mode also fails, same via the terminal
{SUMacControllerErrorIndicationsSummary=|FullReplacementRequired|, SUMacControllerErrorIndicationsMask=2, SUMacControllerErrorIndicationsDescription=-> Full replacement is required [as opposed to incremental patch].,

This seems to indicate you will need the full installer. I highlighted the relevant portion.


C) Attempts to resolve the issues:
First Aid (Disk Utility), tried in 'standard' mode, Safe Mode and in Recovery mode. There does not seem to be any permissions issues

Even if First Aid shows everything as "Ok" click "Show Details" and manually scroll back through the report to see if there are any unfixed errors listed. If there are any unfixed errors listed, then you will need to erase the whole physical drive (assuming an Intel Mac) before restoring from a backup or clone. I have personally seen First Aid lie about the status of the file system.


I would prefer avoiding doing a fresh install and recover from a Time Machine snapshot. I'm not sure about the implications of using the last Time Machine snapshot which was done with the described issued persisting. I would need to use the second or third last backup which would not be advisable.

You can try installing Big Sur over top of itself which in theory should not affect your data.


Is there a way to obtain a link for a manual download of update packages 11.5 or 11.5.1 or even the current version?

Yes, you can find links to various macOS installers within this Apple article as well as optional instructions for creating a bootable macOS USB installer:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201372


FYI, you can also boot into Recovery Mode (Command + R) or Internet Recovery Mode (Command + Option + R) to access the online Big Sur installer. Of course the Internet Recovery Mode option later this year won't access the Big Sur online installer once macOS 12 Monterey is released, but for now Internet Recovery Mode is an option for reinstalling Big Sur.

Similar questions

2 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Aug 14, 2021 9:28 AM in response to lambda-mac

lambda-mac wrote:

Updating via Safe Mode also fails, same via the terminal
{SUMacControllerErrorIndicationsSummary=|FullReplacementRequired|, SUMacControllerErrorIndicationsMask=2, SUMacControllerErrorIndicationsDescription=-> Full replacement is required [as opposed to incremental patch].,

This seems to indicate you will need the full installer. I highlighted the relevant portion.


C) Attempts to resolve the issues:
First Aid (Disk Utility), tried in 'standard' mode, Safe Mode and in Recovery mode. There does not seem to be any permissions issues

Even if First Aid shows everything as "Ok" click "Show Details" and manually scroll back through the report to see if there are any unfixed errors listed. If there are any unfixed errors listed, then you will need to erase the whole physical drive (assuming an Intel Mac) before restoring from a backup or clone. I have personally seen First Aid lie about the status of the file system.


I would prefer avoiding doing a fresh install and recover from a Time Machine snapshot. I'm not sure about the implications of using the last Time Machine snapshot which was done with the described issued persisting. I would need to use the second or third last backup which would not be advisable.

You can try installing Big Sur over top of itself which in theory should not affect your data.


Is there a way to obtain a link for a manual download of update packages 11.5 or 11.5.1 or even the current version?

Yes, you can find links to various macOS installers within this Apple article as well as optional instructions for creating a bootable macOS USB installer:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201372


FYI, you can also boot into Recovery Mode (Command + R) or Internet Recovery Mode (Command + Option + R) to access the online Big Sur installer. Of course the Internet Recovery Mode option later this year won't access the Big Sur online installer once macOS 12 Monterey is released, but for now Internet Recovery Mode is an option for reinstalling Big Sur.

Aug 14, 2021 12:48 PM in response to HWTech

Thank you for your reply HWTech. Your first remark was the key insight. The upgrade via full installer was successful and all issues have been resolved.


I was looking for a standalone version of the 11.5.2 update packages only associating (mistakenly) the use of the full installer with a fresh install... Thinking mistake. Non-destructive upgrade is of course standard.


FYI, "First Aid" never showed any mistakes (even in detailed view)



For those following this thread, the following steps were undertaken:


  • Downloading full installer via Terminal (download only without subsequent install):
 softwareupdate -d --verbose --fetch-full-installer


sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Big\ Sur.app/Contents/Resources/createinstallmedia --volume /Volumes/MyVolume

PS: replace "MyVolume" in these commands with the name of your volume


  • Proceed with install / upgrade by clicking on the Big Sur installer in your /Applications folder. For install via Terminal:
sudo /Applications/Install\ macOS\ Big\ Sur.app/Contents/Resources/startosinstall --agreetolicense --forcequitapps --nointeraction


"The application "[name of app]" can't be opened"

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