Q: List View Malfunctions
The list and column views in my dialog boxes have started to not display properly and ends up crashing the window each time I try to use them. The other two views seem to work fine. I have OS X 10.9.5 on a MacBook Pro.
MacBook Pro, OS X Mavericks (10.9.5)
Posted on Sep 19, 2016 6:50 AM
You could have a disk drive problem. when your drive gets confused about where things are located (directory corruption), or a file is damaged, it can give results like these. I suggest you do a restart in Safe mode, (which takes an additional five minutes for a disk check, then demands your userid and password, even if you normally auto-login. Only a minimal set of extensions are loaded, and if this feature works in Safe mode but not in regular mode it could also mean you have an extension that is interfering with proper System Operation.
You could have corrupted modules in Mac OS. The solution for this is a Re-Install in-place. This process does not bulk-erase anything, but instead selectively re-writes over 350,000 files that make up Mac OS. If any were damaged, they would be replaced with known-good copies. By design, a Re-Install in-place does not remove any of your files or added Applications. However, since so many files are re-written, it would be prudent to have a Trusted Backup before you begin. You can buy a Big, slow drive for under US$100, and Time Machine is already on your Mac.
You could have a RAM memory problem. In this case, a Restart is likely to give you different symptoms afterward. MacOS slightly randomizes the load point of major modules as a hedge against address-based hacking. Moving the Finder to a slightly different address could cause it to fail differently, or something else to fail instead.
Posted on Sep 19, 2016 7:52 AM