Safari will not allow uploads without crashing (nor will Firefox)

Well, did that and need to rebuild my desktop. It appears as it did when I got the computer. Files are okay and all. Safari is still crashing, though it doesn't when I upload from Documents folder. It crashes when I click on other folders, including Home folder. MOST especially Home folder it seems. This problem is eratic to say the least. If I click, say, on a folder on my second drive that contains photos, Safari crashes -- sometimes as soon as I click on a folder, other times--if I can even open a folder--as soon as I click on a particular file inside that folder.

As for Preferences and ByHosts, when I went to copy back the files from the desktop folder you instructed me to make, 21 files beginning with "com.apple" are what appeared in Library/Preferences and not the 112 I initially moved into the temporary file. And of 31 ByHosts, 3 now appear in Library/Preferences/ByHosts.

Is that correct? I've done it twice and both times, after highlighting 112 files in the temporary folder and clicking "copy" and then clicking "paste" in the actual Library/Preferences 21 files show up when finished. It's just strange that when I copy and paste 112 files only 21 actually paste. In the case of ByHosts, 31 files paste as 3 files.

Is this what you meant by "cleaned." I'm assuming so, but I just wasn't expecting it. Or, did something go seriously wrong? (I still have the temporary Preferences folder with the ByHosts subfolder, in the event I need it.)

As I said, I otherwise have to reconstruct the desktop appearance, rearrange things, and so on to get it back to how I had it before. I'm not sure at this point how many System Preferences I might need to reset.

Thanks again, Linc, sorry it didn't work. I haven't a clue as to what the problem is. (I had the time today, so that's not a problem.)

You mean after I removed all the files? I didn't try as a guest at that point. But as I said before, I can upload from that folder--not my Home folder, obviously, since not accessible as guest. I just tried again and it worked.

I think you're on the right track, at least as much as I can understand, which isn't a lot. The problem seems to be my Home folder somehow, or my account, I guess. But I'm really just guessing. I do know that clicking on or in image folders in my account results in both Safari and Firefox crashing, when I'm logged in as myself, not as guest.

I took that snapshot earlier today, so will try that in Time Machine.

Thanks,

Just to add. I also just uploaded a picture in Gmail that I got out of a Windows directory in Bootcamp. It was just a jpg. But interesting that that works okay too.

Yes, I think you have it straight. As I said, it's confusing and I'm sitting in front of it. I haven't tried Safe Mode again, since you last told me to.

But logged in as usual, me/administrator--when I click on the Home folder, while composing an email message or trying to upload to a website--Safari crashes and so does Firefox. That's one thing, separate and apart: clicking on the Home folder results every time in a crash.

Otherwise, I can click in SOME other folders, so it seems (because I've not tried clidking on every folder on my computer, of course), and upload an image file. I suppose I should take notes. I've gotten online and in email so many times and tried so many things, I'm losing track.

But I do know that when I click on folders containing backed up (because I do in fact back up most everything) image files, I can access them and upload them. Again, I've not tried with every folder on my second hard drive, which is where I keep back-up. Nor have I tried from yet another drive that is external.

This all could be in conjuction with Photoshop and Bridge, though I can't really see how. But there are also files in Preferences beginning with com.adobe. And I've had both crash from time to time.

But as I said before, the Home folder seems to be the culprit, and it's only there when I'm logged as usual, and not as guest.

I'm actually surprised I can access other files, such as back-up ones on another hard drive, while logged in as Guest, but I can. And then I can upload also.

I can upload, while logged in as myself or as guest, except apparently from my Home folder when logged in as myself.

So, the main problem folder I know of is on my main drive, not elsewhere on a second drive or external drive.

You have it right, nutty as it sounds.

By the way, I did do the restore, which seemed to go okay. Now there are 41 files in Preferences, more than 12, and all seem to have been restored to ByHosts. That's all fine as long as everything works otherwise. All sems to be thus far, including Safari and Firefox. (I don't know what those files consist of.)

On the one good side, my computer seems a lot speedier than before. Apps are opening more quickly and so forth. I don't think it's my imagination, and so that's nice.

Thanks, Linc. I think you're probably right. If it's possible just to erase what I'll call my "home" volume only, while not impacting the Windows installation or another FAT32 volume, I will do the reinstall. Otherwise, I cannot and will have to live with the problem, using work-arounds, uploading only from Windows if it comes to that.

I don't think I can do that but will find out tomorrow. I'm beat, up since 3:00 am or so. If any further changes, Linc, I'll let you know.

You've been great, very patient,

Chas

Yeah, I see you're right--that I can erase only the volume. I'd recalled-wrongly-that it was necessary to erase the whole disk and then repartition. But I took a look at Disk Utilities. But I would have to do that from the install disk, I understand. (As for backing up stuff, I'm aware of needing to do that. Most everything is backed up on the second drive and external drive, including most Windows stuff. I'd have to do a little more.

The main thing I'd like to know--just for reassurance, is whether or not I'll have to reinstall all programs, or are they nicely contained in Time Machine such that I won't have to do that?

I assume so, but does this usually work, or is it fairly chancy, if you see what I mean? If fairly chancy, I think I'll skip it. Fortunately, the problem here is a HUGE one, just not being able to upload from my Home folder.

Still, I'd like to have a lean, mean machine that does all it's supposed to do.

FYI, Time Machine backups are on drive 2, so that's correct? I'll have the usual access as before and then be able to bring back programs and hopefully everything else?

Sorry, I should have proof read. I meant to say the problem ISN'T and huge one, not that it is.

Sorry again for poor writing. I'm not doing well.

As I noted before, I also have that complete back-up one can make, that takes an hour or two, if you know the one I mean? Everything is in one very large file. What I don't know is how to access that to restore everything. I didn't read that far, just wanted to get it made back when I made it. Also as I said, I made it right after I got finished setting everything up the first time, including after installing all my programs. So it should be pretty clean. Should I use that instead?

Thanks for the tips, Linc. I have to check into the link you sent. I've since discovered a whole new issue, but related, I think.

I was in Disk Utilities looking around on how to restore from that file I mentioned. (Yes, you know the one I mean, as it is called an "image.")

Well, right there in Disk Utilities is a "Restore" button. I clicked to see where it led and it leads to wherever one needs to go to get the image. So that seems pretty simple, EXCEPT that Disk Utilities crashed! Unbelievable! What is going on here?

I realized that the problem I'd have with Time Machine is that--yeah, don't you know--a couple weeks ago I had to reformat my second drive and so deleted all the older Time Machine back-ups, which fact leaves me with only the one I made yesterday-containing, I presume, the problems I'm having. So that wouldn't be any good for restoration, I wouldn't think.

With Disk Utilities crashing out like that, I'm feeling more like I'm going to have to do a reinstall. I think I'd prefer to do it from the image I made for reasons just stated--a cleaner install from an "image" made long before all these problems. (That's why I made it, which I thought a good idea at the time. Now I need it and it ought work.) As long as I don't have to erase more than the troublesome volume. It didn't look I'd have to by what I could see during the brief time I could view before Disk Utilities crashed.

I'm counting now on being able to do it from the installation disk, which I hope won't also crash. I just got done making a complete back-up in Windows to another drive. That took a couple tries and then a solid hour. (I'm running out of disk space, despite three drives. But I have a ton of image files, many of them very large tifs and psds made in Photoshop and still layered. Can't lose those and they are backed up in three places.)

I sure hope this works.