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You can't open the application "..." because it is not supported on this type of Mac.

I migrated all files from OS 10.7 to OS 10.8 through time machine. However, I always see error packages like the following if I want to run some .pkg files.


You can't open the application "..." because it is not supported on this type of Mac.


But when I switch to a different account, then the .pkg files can be run. Therefore, I think that there might be something wrong with my account configuration files. But I don't know which one. Does anybody which one might cause the problem and how to fix it? Thanks!

MacBook Pro (15-inch, Mid 2012), OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.1)

Posted on Dec 16, 2012 3:46 PM

Reply
31 replies

May 24, 2017 7:23 AM in response to pengyu.ut

In case anyone is still searching for this solution, here is what worked for me.

I'm running the antivirus software Sophos 1.2.4 for Mac. The error message never mentioned Sophos, but it turns out Sophos quarantined the installer software. When I opened Sophos and allowed the installer to proceed, the process unfolded as expected.


I'd check for antivirus or malware-detection software that might be blocking the installation.

Dec 16, 2012 8:45 PM in response to Barney-15E

Barney-15E wrote:


Very odd. Has to be something in your account that is making it act funny.


Open your user Library by going to Finder, hold down Option (alt) key and select Library from the Go menu.

Open the preferences folder and delete com.apple.installer.plist.


Then, try again.

It doesn't work. I even tried to remove the whole Preferences directory, and it doesn't work either.

Dec 17, 2012 7:00 AM in response to softwater

softwater wrote:


Are these two accounts both on the same boot/startup volume?


If yes, do me a favour and list the contents of your Login Items for the account in which .pkg files won't open. You can find the list by going to


 > System Preferences > Users & Groups | Login items


I have the following Login items in the account where the installer can not be opened.


Citations

Dropbox

Xmarks for Safari

VNC Viewer

Dec 17, 2012 9:02 AM in response to pengyu.ut

And both are on the same startup disk, right? Because, to be honest, it's hard to figure out how you could have this problem with both accounts on the same startup disk, so I just want to check that before we get too involved.


Assuming that's the case, the first thing I'd do is remove all those except Dropbox from the list, then restart the mac and test for the problem. If that doesn't solve it, run this free analytical tool and post the results back here so we can see if anything stands out:


http://www.etresoft.com/etrecheck

Dec 17, 2012 9:43 AM in response to softwater

softwater wrote:


And both are on the same startup disk, right? Because, to be honest, it's hard to figure out how you could have this problem with both accounts on the same startup disk, so I just want to check that before we get too involved.


Assuming that's the case, the first thing I'd do is remove all those except Dropbox from the list, then restart the mac and test for the problem. If that doesn't solve it, run this free analytical tool and post the results back here so we can see if anything stands out:


http://www.etresoft.com/etrecheck



I have removed these login items. But I can not restart my mac now and I will have to restart it later.


Here is the output of etrecheck. Would you please take a look if there is anything wrong?


Hardware Information:

MacBook Pro - model: MacBookPro9,1

1 2.6 GHz Intel Core i7 CPU: 4 cores

16 GB RAM


Startup Items:

CUDA - Path: /System/Library/StartupItems/CUDA


System Software:

OS X 10.8.2 (12C3006) - Uptime: 3 days 2:52


Disk Information:

APPLE HDD HTS727575A9E362 disk0 : (750.16 GB)

disk0s1 (disk0s1) <not mounted>: 209.7 MB

Macintosh HD (disk0s2) /: 749.3 GB (311.8 GB free)

Recovery HD (disk0s3) <not mounted>: 650 MB


MATSHITADVD-R UJ-8A8


USB Information:

Apple Inc. FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)

Apple, Inc. Keyboard Hub

Logitech USB-PS/2 Optical Mouse

Apple, Inc Apple Keyboard

Apple Inc. BRCM20702 Hub

Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

Apple Inc. Apple Internal Keyboard / Trackpad

Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver


FireWire Information:


Kernel Extensions:

com.eltima.ElmediaPlayer.kext Version: 1.0

com.bresink.driver.BRESINKx86Monitoring Version: 8.0

com.nvidia.CUDA Version: 1.1.0


Problem System Launch Daemons:

[failed] com.apple.emond.aslmanager.plist

[failed] com.apple.xprotectupdater.plist


Problem System Launch Agents:

[failed] com.apple.afpstat.plist


Launch Daemons:

[loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist

[loaded] com.cisco.anyconnect.vpnagentd.plist

[loaded] com.eltima.ElmediaPlayer.daemon.plist

[loaded] com.google.keystone.daemon.plist

[loaded] com.timesoftware.timemachineeditor.backupd-auto.plist

[loaded] io.redis.server.plist

[loaded] org.macosforge.xquartz.privileged_startx.plist


Launch Agents:

[loaded] com.adobe.CS4ServiceManager.plist

[loaded] com.cisco.anyconnect.gui.plist

[loaded] com.google.keystone.agent.plist

[loaded] com.Logitech.Control Center.Daemon.plist

[loaded] com.nvidia.CUDASoftwareUpdate.plist

[loaded] org.macosforge.xquartz.startx.plist


User Launch Agents:

[loaded] com.adobe.ARM.930da3ce175de4e82bd3cdf1dd8571f74bd3b6a7236bc94bfc00f6e9.plist

[loaded] com.akamai.single-user-client.plist

[failed] com.apple.CSConfigDotMacCert-@me.com-SharedServices.Agent.plist

[loaded] org.apache.couchdb.plist


User Login Items:

Citations

Dropbox

Xmarks for Safari

VNC Viewer


3rd Party Preference Panes:

Akamai NetSession Preferences

CUDA Preferences

DivX

Flash Player

FunctionFlip

Logitech Control Center

NuFile

SwitchResX

TeXDistPrefPane

Xmarks for Safari


Internet Plug-ins:

AdobePDFViewer.plugin

DivXBrowserPlugin.plugin

Flash Player.plugin

FlashPlayer-10.6.plugin

Google Earth Web Plug-in.plugin

googletalkbrowserplugin.plugin

iPhotoPhotocast.plugin

JavaAppletPlugin.plugin

NPDjVu.plugin

PrintDialogExt.plugin

npgtpo3dautoplugin.plugin

OfficeLiveBrowserPlugin.plugin

QuickTime Plugin.plugin

RealPlayer Plugin.plugin

Silverlight.plugin

User Internet Plug-ins:

Bad Fonts:

None


Top Processes:

11.1 % WindowServer

1.4 % EtreCheck

0.3 % vncviewer

0.1 % beam.smp

0.1 % ps

0.1 % JavaApplicationStub

0.0 % Cisco

0.0 % CoreServicesUIAgent

0.0 % Dictionary

0.0 % AdobeAcrobat

Dec 17, 2012 10:08 AM in response to pengyu.ut

Click on Finder, hold down the 'option' key and at the same time hit the 'Go' menu at the top of the screen. With 'option' still held down, choose 'Library' from the 'Go' menu.


From the window that opens up, navigate to Library/Launch Agents folder


(note, you must make sure you got to this through the 'go' menu as described, not some way else).


Move the entire contents of that folder (not the folder itself) to your desktop. Restart the mac and try to install a .pkg and see if the problem is solved. If not, move those files back from the desktop to Launch Agents. If yes, move each item back one at a time, restarting and testing .pkg installation after each one, till you find the culprit.

Dec 17, 2012 1:38 PM in response to softwater

softwater wrote:


Click on Finder, hold down the 'option' key and at the same time hit the 'Go' menu at the top of the screen. With 'option' still held down, choose 'Library' from the 'Go' menu.


From the window that opens up, navigate to Library/Launch Agents folder


(note, you must make sure you got to this through the 'go' menu as described, not some way else).


Move the entire contents of that folder (not the folder itself) to your desktop. Restart the mac and try to install a .pkg and see if the problem is solved. If not, move those files back from the desktop to Launch Agents. If yes, move each item back one at a time, restarting and testing .pkg installation after each one, till you find the culprit.


I have moved all the files in ~/Library/LaunchAgents. The problem still exists.


For example, I see the following error, when I try to open the following pkg file.


~$ open MacPorts-2.1.2-10.8-MountainLion.pkg

The application cannot be opened because it has an incorrect executable format.

You can't open the application "..." because it is not supported on this type of Mac.

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