Did what was recommended, but still can't sign in. Any ideas?

Thanks for your reply!

My apologies, if I was not specific in my first post.

I went through all the steps that are listed in the document.

First I disabled my anti virus program

I went through third party software and uninstalled what I thought may interfere.

BTW, here your reply is very helpful. I had Little Snitch installed, but have long since removed it.

After that did not work, I re-installed OS X 10.6 from my install disks and then updated to the latest version like you said using the 10.6.8 Update Combo.

Alas, no sign in sheet.

Are there other known apps that prevent the sign in sheet from apprearing?

Do I have to disable my virus protection anytime I want to sign into the App Store?

Thanks again for your comment.

Andreas

I am using VirusBarrier X6 current with the latest virus definitions.

Can that be an issue even when I tried to restart my system with VirusBarrier not loading on startup?

Thanks!!

Andreas

To anyone still interested, I have found a workaround to the problem.

I used a second hard drive that is installed in my Mac Pro to install a clean version of Snow Leopard from the original install disks, then upgraded it with the 10.6.8 Update Combo.

Starting up from this clean system I was able to log into the App Store without a problem and download the Lion Installer.

From what I can see, it seems that I did not remove all parts of little snitch. There was a kernel extension still on the hard drive, which may have caused the problem, but I can not say that for certain.

Thanks for reading and thanks fro trying to help!

Andreas

Dear Carolyn,

You are right, Apple can not be responsible for all third party software available to Mac users, right?

But you are missing my point. Apple is not responsible for all Mac compatible software, but it is for how Mac users are supported.

My point is, that the support Apple provides has eroded over a number of years. Paying for technical support calls, paying for premium support, Apple Care (expensive)... Yes, there are Genius Bars, if you are lucky enough to be able to have one near (not so genius sometimes as they could not solve a problem I had with my iPhone). Development support for older (legacy) products has certainly shortened.

Look, I get it, Apple wants to make money, like all other big corporations, such as Exxon, Microsoft, Intel, and ADM (Archer Daniels Midland Co.). Selling products earns money, customer support costs money.

A short sighted view however, as brand perception and customer loyalty are what keeps Apple's sales strong.

Apple is in danger being lumped in with the afore-mentioned corporations. What was a cool company making amazing products with a strong philosophy is turning into what is to be expected of the world's second biggest company (by measure of stock market valuation).

To close, would it not have been easy for Apple support to post a list of third party software suspected of causing the problem along with a step by step process to completely remove it? Maybe an update could have taken care of the problem or pointed out the culprits?

Why not suggest the workaround that I used? Would have saved me hours of trying other solutions.

If anyone is still reading this post here is an update:

I have removed all traces of Little snitch from my system that I can find.

However, when I start up from my main drive I can still not sign into the appstore, same symptoms as described above.

My workaround works though, Starting up from the drive with the clean install I can sign in without a problem.

Good luck to everyone with the same problem!