Google Earth Pro on new M1 error

Question

Level 1

4 points

Google Earth Pro on new M1 error

I recently updated from an Intel MacBook 13" (2015) to a MacBook Pro 16" with the M1 processor. When I start Google Earth Pro I get the following error message:

Google Earth Pro then starts with none of my saved places.

I have reloaded Google Earth Pro and the error still occurs.

I have checked the myplaces.kml file and it has not been updated since it ran on the old computer.

This question has been asked by others with no resolution.

Does anyone have a fix or any ideas to try?

MacBook Pro (2020 and later)

Posted on Jan 15, 2022 12:40 PM

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Answer 1

M1user1372 Author

Level 1

4 points

Jan 18, 2022 7:09 PM in response to etresoft

That didn't work directly. I copied those lines into text editor, overwrote "username" with my user name, then copied those lines into terminal. That did the trick! (I couldn't seem to do that in terminal. It has been many years since I used a terminal program.)

Thank you very much.

Fortunately, I had the old Myplaces file from the old computer saved away in a couple places. Had it gotten lost I could easily replace it, in fact I did that just before dinner.

I don't know what that did, so it might be useful to others with this problem to explain it a little for historical reasons. I always look in Google for answers in these user communities before I actually go in to ask a question. I usually find the answer I need that way.

I owe you a beer.

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Answer 2

etresoft

Level 9

50,854 points

Jan 18, 2022 10:41 AM in response to M1user1372

OK. Step back here.

Clearly Google Earth Pro is not functioning correctly. It appears to be abandon-ware. There is only an Intel version and it is built with Qt. (For those that don't know, that's a really bad sign.)

But it is Google after all. The fact that they dump this stuff on the internet and then forget about it doesn't matter. It's Google! So now it's our problem, isn't it?

First of all, let's see if Google is simply confused or if it has actually done damage to your system. In the Finder, navigate to your "Users" folder. You should see "username". Does "username 1" exist too? Hopefully it doesn't.

Assuming "username 1" doesn't exist, here is how to fix it.

1) Make sure Google Earth Pro is not running. Quit it, if it is running.

2) Launch Terminal

3) Enter the following command in Terminal:

defaults write com.google.GoogleEarthPro KMLPath "/Users/username/Library/Application Support/Google Earth"

and press enter. I STRONGLY suggest using the "copy" feature to copy the above line instead of trying to re-type it. Don't worry about the colour, the forums software adds that. Your text will be all black.

4) Now enter this line in Terminal:

defaults write com.google.GoogleEarthPro CachePath "/Users/username/Library/Library/Caches/Google Earth"

and press enter. Same advice as above.

At this point, I should admit that I don't actually know where your "myplaces.kml" file actually is. I sincerely hope it is in the location specified above. If not, then none of this will work.

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Answer 3

judysings

Community Specialist

Jan 17, 2022 10:46 AM in response to M1user1372

Hi M1user1372,

We can definitely understand your concern and are here to help as much as we can. The M1 chip is fairly new and some manufactures may still be working on software updates. We recommend checking periodically for new software releases. You can also check out this link on how to contact an application developer in order to speak to them directly and see if they plan to release an update for your device: How to contact an app developer - Apple Support

We hope that helps and kindest regards!

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Answer 4

Jeff_W.

Community Specialist

Jan 16, 2022 12:55 PM in response to M1user1372

Hey there, and welcome to Apple Support Communities M1user1372,

From our understanding, after you updated to a Mac M1 device your Google Earth Pro application is not working. We can certainly understand your concern and are here to help.

We would like to ask you a couple of questions in order to get a better understanding. First, what exact version of macOS are you currently using? We ask as the menus and options can change slightly between versions of the OS, and we want to make sure we provide the most accurate steps. You can locate this by going to Apple menu  > About This Mac. Second, have you check to see if Google Earth Pro is compatible with your current software and hardware release? Finally, does this issue happen in other User accounts?

We thank you for your answers, they will help guide us to the next troubleshooting step.

Kindest regards!

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Answer 5

M1user1372 Author

Level 1

4 points

Jan 17, 2022 10:03 AM in response to Jeff_W.

1) This is a new Mac so it is running Monterey 12.1

2) After much digging I found the system requirements: Mac OSX 10.8 or higher, and Intel 64 bit CPU

3) I have no other accounts on this machine

It appears that Google Earth Pro may be incompatible with the Apple M1 hardware. Had I known this in advance I would not have bought this computer. I had assumed Apple had tested their M1 CPU to ensure it was compatible with existing software. I an very disappointed, to say the least. I certainly hope there is a work-around or something for this. I find it hard to believe I am the first person to try to run this software on an M1 processor. Being able to run Google Earth Pro is very important to me. It is a requirement, if it cannot be met I will have to return this product.

Thank you.

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Answer 6

etresoft

Level 9

50,854 points

Jan 17, 2022 11:15 AM in response to M1user1372

Clearly this has absolutely nothing to do with the M1 chip. Your screenshot tells the whole story, or rather, part of the story. It is confused about your home directory. Is it "shortusername" or "shortusername 1"?

Also, what is the message really saying? I can't tell. It says that Google Earth could not write to the current cache or My Places file location. So what was the "current cache" and the "My Places file location" that it couldn't write to? It doesn't say.

Then, it says it will use these other two locations, one of which is obviously wrong.

Keith Barkley's suggestion is correct. This is a problem with Google Earth Pro. If deleting the plist file doesn't work, it may require some delicate surgery on plist files.

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Answer 7

steve626

Level 6

11,399 points

Jan 17, 2022 11:37 AM in response to M1user1372

Following etresoft's lead, the reference to the two usernames, one of which is has a "1" appended, may be the problem. My Mac has just one username for me and both of those files (the Application Support one, and the Cache one) are in my username Library area (inside those folders). When you set up your new Mac, did you migrate over from an older Mac upon first boot up when new, or did you create your user account first, and then migrate over later? If the latter, you might have ended up with both a "user" account and a "user 1" account. Are there two users like that on the Mac? If so, which one are you logged in as?

If there is just one user, something is wrong with the Google Earth setup. The links provided earlier by others may help you resolve it. Google Earth works fine on M1 Macs.

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Answer 8

M1user1372 Author

Level 1

4 points

Jan 18, 2022 8:53 AM in response to steve626

I am logged in as "username". I don't know where the "username 1" came from, but others with this problem are reporting the same symtom.

I migated over from my old Mac on first startup, so I did not create the username. This says I couldn't have fat-fingered it, a very common problem.

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Answer 9

M1user1372 Author

Level 1

4 points

Jan 18, 2022 9:12 AM in response to judysings

I will contact them today.

What I have done so far: I have deleted the Myplaces file, the Cache file, and the plist file, along with the application, and then reinstalled Google Earth from the web. I have done this a few times, all with the same result. The plist, Myplaces, and Cache files do not get recreated on the reinstall. This says the files I had in those locations were carried over in the migration process.

I had been using the default parameters for loading GE, including "install for all users". I decided to try again using the "install for this user only" option, only to find that screen no longer appears!

One other item that may or may not be relevant: After the migration, I had a folder on my desktop called "Relocated Items.nosync". In that folder is a file "Configuration/Private/etc/master.passwd.system_default" along with a PDF file explaining what that was. The PDF told me to compare that file with the on in the OS. When I tried to open that file with Text Edit I got an error message saying I do not have permission to open that file. I also was unable to find that file path in the OS. This is a personal machine so I am the administrator.

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Answer 10

M1user1372 Author

Level 1

4 points

Jan 18, 2022 9:33 AM in response to madzoired95

I just checked the old computer, and yes, the Library is NOT under Users!

That path (User/username/Library...) is where GE says it will try to write to after the error, not where it would normally write to.

I don't know where it is trying to write to as the default, but the files do not show up where they should. That includes the Myplaces, Cache, and .plist files.

I do not know how to "redirect the path", at least not yet.

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Answer 11

M1user1372 Author

Level 1

4 points

Jan 18, 2022 3:05 PM in response to dialabrain

Yes, this is how it looks on my new computer also. There are no saved places!

That is the problem. It does not save any new saved places that I put in, and I cannot get it to read my old saved places file (Myplaces.kml).

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Answer 12

M1user1372 Author

Level 1

4 points

Jan 18, 2022 3:23 PM in response to judysings

I followed your link and I eventually ended up at the GE help forums again (I was there when I first ran into this issue). There are several questions from users who are seeing the same thing I am, and the suggested solution is always to delete the .plist file. Some said this worked, some didn't reply back. It has not worked for me.

There is a thread there where a user asked if anyone was running GE on a new M1 CPU. The relies were about 50-50 that it works just fine and that it does not work. I suspect at least some of those "it works" replies were from users who started it up, saw the world, and declared success. It runs for me also, I just can't see my old saved places, nor save any new ones.

BTW some of those users with this problem were using Intel Macs, so that clarifies that this is not an M1 issue.

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