Bookmarks imported from Chrome don't open on Safari

Please back up all data before proceeding.

Triple-click anywhere in the line below on this page to select it:

~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.Safari.plist

Right-click or control-click the line and select

Services ▹ Reveal in Finder (or just Reveal)

from the contextual menu.* A folder should open with an item selected. Quit the application if it's running. Move the selected item to the Desktop, leaving the window open. Relaunch the application and test. If there's no change, quit again and put the item you moved back where it was, overwriting the one that may have been created in its place. Otherwise, delete the item you moved. If possible, restore it from a backup that predates the problem.

*If you don't see the contextual menu item, copy the selected text to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C. In the Finder, select

Go ▹ Go to Folder...

from the menu bar and paste into the box that opens by pressing command-V. You may not see what you pasted because a line break is included. Press return.

That alert is apparently caused by a third-party web plugin, but I don't know which one.

Please open the Safari preferences window and select the Security tab. Uncheck the box marked

Allow Plug-ins

Test. If the problem is resolved, re-check the box, then see below.

From the Safari menu bar, please select

Help ▹ Installed Plug-ins

Besides the following (either of which may be absent), what plugins are listed?

Java Applet Plug-in

Shockwave Flash

Please triple-click anywhere in the line below on this page to select it, then copy it to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C:

~/Library/Safari

Quit Safari.

Select

Go ▹ Go to Folder

from the Finder menu bar. Paste into the text box that opens by pressing command-V, then press return.

A folder window should open. Restore the file named "Bookmarks.plist" in that folder from a backup that predates the unwanted changes.

If you don't have such a backup, but the bookmarks are still present on an iOS device (iPhone, iPad, or iPod Touch) that synchronizes with iCloud, then see below.

Back up your iOS devices. Turn off iCloud synchronization of Safari on all devices except one of those. Quit Safari and delete the bookmarks file on the Mac, then enable Safari sync on it. Launch Safari. The bookmarks should sync from the iOS device.

Instead of restoring the file Bookmarks.plist, please move it to the Desktop. Then relaunch Safari and test. It should start up with the default set of bookmarks.

Please read this whole message before doing anything.

This procedure is a test, not a solution. Don’t be disappointed when you find that nothing has changed after you complete it.

Step 1

The purpose of this step is to determine whether the problem is localized to your user account.

Enable guest logins* and log in as Guest. Don't use the Safari-only “Guest User” login created by “Find My Mac.”

While logged in as Guest, you won’t have access to any of your documents or settings. Applications will behave as if you were running them for the first time. Don’t be alarmed by this behavior; it’s normal. If you need any passwords or other personal data in order to complete the test, memorize, print, or write them down before you begin.

Test while logged in as Guest. Same problem?

After testing, log out of the guest account and, in your own account, disable it if you wish. Any files you created in the guest account will be deleted automatically when you log out of it.

*Note: If you’ve activated “Find My Mac” or FileVault, then you can’t enable the Guest account. The “Guest User” login created by “Find My Mac” is not the same. Create a new account in which to test, and delete it, including its home folder, after testing.

Step 2

The purpose of this step is to determine whether the problem is caused by third-party system modifications that load automatically at startup or login, by a peripheral device, by a font conflict, or by corruption of the file system or of certain system caches.

Please take this step regardless of the results of Step 1.

Disconnect all wired peripherals except those needed for the test, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards, if applicable. Start up in safe mode and log in to the account with the problem.

Note: If FileVault is enabled in OS X 10.9 or earlier, or if a firmware password is set, or if the startup volume is a software RAID, you can’t do this. Ask for further instructions.

Safe mode is much slower to start up and run than normal, with limited graphics performance, and some things won’t work at all, including sound output and Wi-Fi on certain models. The next normal startup may also be somewhat slow.

The login screen appears even if you usually log in automatically. You must know your login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin.

Test while in safe mode. Same problem?

After testing, restart as usual (not in safe mode) and verify that you still have the problem. Post the results of Steps 1 and 2.

It's not clear whether you had the same problem while logged in as Guest, or while logged in as yourself in safe mode. I already knew there would be no change after you took those steps.

So you logged in as Guest and launched Safari. It should have behaved as if you had never used it before. The default set of bookmarks, and no others, would be present. You did whatever it is you've been doing (I'm not quite sure what it is), and you saw that error message. Correct? And what exactly is the action that causes the error?

It seems that the problem is caused by Chrome. The "Bookmarks" icon is something specific to Chrome and doesn't work in Safari. I suggest you delete it.