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How do I stop launchd from starting a daemon that doesn't exist?

A while back I downloaded OpenDrive. I never used it and trashed it. However, every once in a while my iMac gets sluggish or otherwise acts up. I run Console to see what's going on and it appears that launchd is trying to start OpenDrive.I then do a search for pieces of OpenDrive that got left behind, but now and then the problem reappears.


How do I stop this forever? I looked around the Communities and found someone with the same issue, but he solved it bit didn't know what he did.


I have searched, and cannot find anything anywhere on my hard drive to delete.


I tried pasting the Console message but it won't paste. It says something like "com.geeNian.ShellExt.Daemon.plist [1358] posix_spawn, .... no such file or directory





User uploaded file

iMac, Mac OS X (10.6.8), 1.83 GHz Intel Core Duo; 2 GB RAM; iSight

Posted on Jun 28, 2013 7:46 AM

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8 replies

Jun 28, 2013 11:55 AM in response to andyBall_uk

I did that. I think it was the first thing I did (or one of the first). Anyway, that file is now gone and Console still continued to report the attempt to start the thing.


I shut the iMac down for a few hours and rebooted. The Console now is clear of this mesage. So perhaps this issue is solved. But I know it has cropped up in the past and then I go on a hunt to find whatever traces of OpenDrive are left.


Do you, or anyone else, know of a way to find every last flippin' trace of a program so steps can be taken to kill it off completely?


Thanks, BTW, for your reply.

Jun 28, 2013 12:23 PM in response to andyBall_uk

What is the Terminal commands to remove via launchctl?


There was no supplied uninstaller, unfortunately.


OpenDrive is that software that refuses to go quietly into the night. I trashed it using either AppCleaner or TrashMe, both of which search for related files and comprehensively delte the software. They don't always get everything, though.


But the flippin' thing refuses to die, periodically showing up in attempts to run and buggering up the iMac. Console gets spammed, I spend hours on search-and-destroy missions looking for remnants of it. I find them, get rid of them, and all is well, for a few months. And then.... it's baaaaaaaaaaaaaccckkkkk!!!!!!!


That's why I also asked if there's a way to find anything and everything related to it on the system. I have EasyFind, iFileX and something else I can't remember. They haven't been able to find anything except for Console messages and emails.

Jun 28, 2013 1:11 PM in response to postscriptor

To unload the LaunchDaemon. This unloads, it doesn't delete.


sudo launchctl unload -w (space) path to file (Just drag the file in after the space.)


Hit return, then at the prompt enter your admin pword, which won't appear as you type it in. Hit return again. Dismiss the scary warning if this is the first time you're using sudo.

Jun 28, 2013 1:29 PM in response to WZZZ

Using either EasyFind or FAF, you will often need to try other names to search for. The name of the developer, for example. Anything under which it might be listed. If you stick just with the name of the program, in this case OpenDrive, it may miss items. Also run FAF as root by hitting Option-Find.


Any of the app cleaning programs will be a waste of time or even cause a disaster, since they may remove things they shouldn't.

How do I stop launchd from starting a daemon that doesn't exist?

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