Finder screwy except in safe mode
Yesterday my finder started acting screwy. New windows would not display folders and files properly, regardless of mode, and I could not navigate through the files or sidebars in windows. The search function yielded blank windows. The desktop became inaccessible next, followed shortly by the dock.
Regained some control last night though a command-opt restart, but the finder still do not operate normally. Today I did a cold start in safe mode (shift key), which allows basic finder functionality, too minimal. I need a real fix. The fact the finder works in safe mode, logically, suggests that this is a software conflict rather than a hardware issue. I dunno.
The disruption surfaced, by the way, when I was customizing the toolbar, moving the search bar farther to the left, so it's visible in small windows. That may or may not be causal. I just know my finder's ability to find things is fouled up.
Has anyone run into this problem before on Mavericks? I'm running 10.9.5. All wisdom welcome here.
MacBook Pro, OS X Mavericks (10.9.1), Mid-2010 MacBook Pro 15 inch
