Dock indicator lights randomly stop working in Mountain Lion

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Level 2

257 points

Dock indicator lights randomly stop working in Mountain Lion

I noticed that the indicator lights in the Dock for showing that an app is open will randomly stop working. Currently, it is showing the lights for Finder and Outlook 2011, but I also have Chrome, Firefox, and iTunes open but the lights are not on for those applications. I've deleted the Dock preferences file and restarted the computer. The lights will usually start working after a restart, but will at some random point stop working again. I have been unable to duplicate this issue at will so am unsure as to when it stops working.

Anyone else experiencing something similar or have a solution?

iMac, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.1)

Posted on Aug 30, 2012 10:58 AM

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Answer 1

Aug 30, 2012 11:04 AM in response to mrbofus

Open System Preferences > Dock

Deselect: Show indicator lights for open applications

Then reselect it and restart your Mac.

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Answer 2

mrbofus Author

Level 2

257 points

Aug 30, 2012 11:09 AM in response to Carolyn Samit

I'll give that a try, but I'm not sure that will work; when I deselect it, the lights in the Dock go off. When I select it, the exact same lights (Finder and Outlook) go on, but the others (Chrome, Firefox, and iTunes) still stay off, indicating to me that it is still referencing the incorrect information about what lights to turn on or off. Since deselecting and reselecting that check box causes the same behavior to occur, I think the issue may get fixed not because of deselcting and reselecting that check box but because the restart would have fixed it anyways.

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Answer 3

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,547 points

Aug 30, 2012 11:13 AM in response to mrbofus

Applications with no windows open may quit automatically in the background. That's normal.

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Answer 4

mrbofus Author

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257 points

Aug 30, 2012 11:16 AM in response to Linc Davis

I have windows open for iTunes, Chrome and Firefox.

In fact, I am typing this in Chrome right now and the Dock is showing no light for Chrome being open. Which it obviously is, with a window, since I'm typing this message.

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Answer 5

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,547 points

Aug 30, 2012 11:41 AM in response to mrbofus

Your chances of solving the problem are pretty slim unless you can find a way to reproduce it. If and when you do, test in another user account and in safe mode.

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Answer 6

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,547 points

Aug 30, 2012 11:42 AM in response to Linc Davis

See also the "More Like This" section of this page, at right. You may find the solution there.

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Answer 7

mrbofus Author

Level 2

257 points

Aug 30, 2012 11:44 AM in response to Linc Davis

I already checked those and they all say restarting solved their problems. Which it does for me as well, but only temporarily until the problem starts up again randomly.

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Answer 8

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,547 points

Aug 30, 2012 11:55 AM in response to mrbofus

dock indicator light not working: Apple Support Communities

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Answer 9

mrbofus Author

Level 2

257 points

Aug 30, 2012 12:00 PM in response to Linc Davis

Not using rotating photos. And there's at least one other person on that thread that is using stock backgrounds experiencing the same issue.

Thanks for pointing that thread out though.

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Answer 10

baltwo

Level 9

62,362 points

Aug 30, 2012 5:35 PM in response to Linc Davis

Linc Davis wrote:

Applications with no windows open may quit automatically in the background. That's normal.

AFAIK, none of the ones the OP mentioned have autotermination or sudden termination programmed into therm. I'm with Matt Neuburg on this:

…"everything" about this behavior is wrong: the apps shouldn't vanish from the Dock and the Command-Tab switcher, they shouldn't quit so soon, and they shouldn't quit when there's no RAM pressure.

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Answer 11

Aug 30, 2012 8:50 PM in response to mrbofus

Same problem here, totally random but after using my computer for a while.. the lights stop working when I open a new problem. But continue to work for programs that were opened when first booting

btw.. this happens on my 2011 Mini and 2012 Air

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