Q: Upgrade to 10.11.3 kills apps and user data
After upgrading to 10.11.3 this morning my Applications folder is emptied down. No application will run any more. For any app it just says "You can't open the application .. because it may be damaged or incomplete". I run Chrome through the About This Mac dialogue, trying to run it from the Dock won't work. My Documents, Downloads, Dropbox and Pictures folders all appear empty in the Finder.
Is there a way to revert this particular update? I am aware I can do a restore from the backup, but my most recent backup is too old.
MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X El Capitan (10.11.3)
Posted on Jan 31, 2016 7:25 AM
This procedure will delete certain temporary and cache files. The files are automatically generated and don't contain any of your data. Occasionally they can become corrupt and cause problems such as yours.
Please back up all data.
Triple-click anywhere in the line below on this page to select it:
/var/folders
Right-click or control-click the highlighted line and select
Services ▹ Open
from the contextual menu.* A folder with the odd name "folders" should open.
Inside "folders" are several subfolders, each with a two-character name. Drag all the subfolders except the one named "zz" to the Trash. Don't delete the subfolder named "zz". You'll be prompted for your administrator login credentials.
Restart the computer and empty the Trash.
*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.
Posted on Jan 31, 2016 8:04 AM