Question marks in finder favorites

Question

Hi all. I am running a 21" 16GB RAM iMac with High Sierra 10.13.3Suddenly I started getting a doc icon with a question mark at the top of my finder favorites. I did some research and it seems these are links to items that no longer exist except I didn&#x27;t put them there originally and although I have removed them from the finder they keep appearing every time I restart the system. There were 2 such icons for the past weeks, this morning I found 4 so something is going on ... Anyone?

SeaPapp · Answer

That&#x27;s the sidebar not the dock. That’s  ok, it looks like some third party app is responsible as those aren&#x27;t loaded in safe mode. Run and post the result of Etrecheck http://etrecheck.com/ That will tell us what is running on your Mac, no personal info is included.An additional thought would be to delete the Finder plist file.

SeaPapp · Answer

Try booting into safe mode Use safe mode to isolate issues with your Mac - Apple Support then reboot normally and see if the problem persists.

SeaPapp · Answer

The report looks ok except you have installed one of the worst ever software programs for Mac in Clean My Mac 3. Around here it&#x27;s referred to as brick my mac. Unless you uninstall it there&#x27;s no telling what kind of strange pronlems you’re going to have How to uninstall CleanMyMac 3. Knowledge Base

padaleuk · Answer

Sorry for late reply. Here&#x27;s the etrecheck report. ps: there&#x27;s 4 question marks again today 😕EtreCheck version: 3.4.7 (461)Report generated 2018-02-13 18:46:45Download EtreCheck from https://etrecheck.comRuntime: 1:47Performance: ExcellentClick the [Lookup] links for more information from Apple Support Communities.Click the [Details] links for more information about that line.Problem: Other problemDescription:Weird question marks in the finder Hardware Information: ⓘ    iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, Late 2015)     [Technical Specifications] - [User Guide] - [Warranty &amp; Service]    iMac - model: iMac16,2    1 3,3 GHz Intel Core i7 (i7-5775R) CPU: 4-core    16 GB RAM Not upgradeable        BANK 0/DIMM0            8 GB DDR3 1867 MHz ok        BANK 1/DIMM0            8 GB DDR3 1867 MHz ok    Handoff/Airdrop2: supported    Wireless:  en1: 802.11 a/b/g/n/acVideo Information: ⓘ    Intel Iris Pro Graphics 6200 - VRAM: 1536 MB        iMac 4096 x 2304Disk Information: ⓘ    APPLE SSD SM0128G disk0: (121,33 GB) (Solid State - TRIM: Yes)    [Show SMART report]        EFI (disk0s1 - MS-DOS FAT32) &lt;not mounted&gt;  [EFI]: 210 MB         (disk0s2) &lt;not mounted&gt;  [CoreStorage Container]: 120.99 GB        Boot OS X (disk0s3 - Journaled HFS+) &lt;not mounted&gt; : 134 MB     Samsung SSD 850 EVO 1TB disk1: (1 TB) (Solid State - TRIM: No)    [Show SMART report]        EFI (disk1s1 - MS-DOS FAT32) &lt;not mounted&gt;  [EFI]: 210 MB         (disk1s2) &lt;not mounted&gt;  [APFS Container]: 1000.00 GBUSB Information: ⓘ     USB30Bus         Broadcom Corp. Bluetooth USB Host Controller         Apple Inc. FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in) Thunderbolt Information: ⓘ    Apple Inc. thunderbolt_busVirtual disks: ⓘ    Macintosh SSD (disk2s1 - APFS) /  [Startup]: 1000.00 GB (892.60 GB free)        Physical disk: disk1s2 1000.00 GB (892.60 GB free)    (disk2s2) &lt;not mounted&gt;  [Preboot]: 1000.00 GB        Physical disk: disk1s2 1000.00 GB     (disk2s3) &lt;not mounted&gt;  [Recovery]: 1000.00 GB        Physical disk: disk1s2 1000.00 GB     (disk2s4) /private/var/vm  [VM]: 1000.00 GB        Physical disk: disk1s2 1000.00 GB System Software: ⓘ    macOS High Sierra  10.13.3 (17D47) - Time since boot: about 9 hoursGatekeeper: ⓘ    Mac App Store and identified developersKernel Extensions: ⓘ        /Applications/zoom.us.app    [not loaded]    zoom.us.ZoomAudioDevice (1.1 - SDK 10.8) [Lookup]System Launch Agents: ⓘ    [not loaded]    8 Apple tasks    [loaded]    162 Apple tasks    [running]    120 Apple tasksSystem Launch Daemons: ⓘ    [not loaded]    37 Apple tasks    [loaded]    178 Apple tasks    [running]    115 Apple tasksLaunch Agents: ⓘ    [not loaded]    com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist (Adobe Systems, Inc. - installed 2018-02-05) [Lookup]    [loaded]    com.adobe.GC.Invoker-1.0.plist (Adobe Systems, Inc. - installed 2018-02-03) [Lookup]    [running]    com.box.desktop.helper.plist (Box, Inc. - installed 2018-02-13) [Lookup]    [loaded]    com.microsoft.update.agent.plist (Microsoft Corporation - installed 2018-01-24) [Lookup]Launch Daemons: ⓘ    [loaded]    com.adobe.acc.installer.plist (Adobe Systems, Inc. - installed 2017-11-24) [Lookup]    [running]    com.adobe.agsservice.plist (Adobe Systems, Inc. - installed 2018-02-03) [Lookup]    [loaded]    com.apple.installer.osmessagetracing.plist (Apple, Inc. - installed 2018-01-19)    [running]    com.box.desktop.autoupdater.plist (Box, Inc. - installed 2018-02-13) [Lookup]    [loaded]    com.macpaw.CleanMyMac3.Agent.plist (MacPaw Inc. - installed 2018-01-23) [Lookup]    [loaded]    com.microsoft.autoupdate.helper.plist (Microsoft Corporation - installed 2018-01-24) [Lookup]    [loaded]    com.microsoft.office.licensing.helper.plist (? 6d8cb30e afb3bef0 - installed 2010-08-25) [Lookup]    [loaded]    com.microsoft.office.licensingV2.helper.plist (Microsoft Corporation - installed 2017-11-08) [Lookup]    [running]    com.nordvpn.NordVPN.Helper.plist (TEFINKOM &amp; CO S.A - installed 2017-11-21) [Lookup]User Launch Agents: ⓘ    [loaded]    com.adobe.ARM.[...].plist (? 881a4a1c b30b9bfc - installed 2018-02-05) [Lookup]    [loaded]    com.adobe.GC.Invoker-1.0.plist (Adobe Systems, Inc. - installed 2018-02-04) [Lookup]    [running]    com.bluejeans.app.detector.plist (Shell Script 91b0e397 - installed 2017-11-23) [Lookup]    [loaded]    com.dropbox.DropboxMacUpdate.agent.plist (Dropbox, Inc. - installed 2017-11-20) [Lookup]    [loaded]    com.google.keystone.agent.plist (Google, Inc. - installed 2018-01-23) [Lookup]    [loaded]    com.macpaw.CleanMyMac3.Scheduler.plist (MacPaw Inc. - installed 2017-11-20) [Lookup]    [running]    com.spotify.webhelper.plist (Spotify - installed 2018-02-11) [Lookup]User Login Items: ⓘ    NordVPN    Application - Hidden         (/Applications/NordVPN.app)    CleanMyMac 3 Menu    Application (MacPaw Inc. - installed 2018-01-23)        (/Applications/CleanMyMac 3.app/Contents/MacOS/CleanMyMac 3 Menu.app)    Box    Application         (/Applications/Box.app)    Dropbox    Application         (/Applications/Dropbox.app)    Skype    Application - Hidden         (/Applications/Skype.app)    EvernoteHelper    SMLoginItem - Hidden (Evernote - installed 2018-01-26)        (/Applications/Evernote.app/Contents/Library/LoginItems/EvernoteHelper.app)Internet Plug-ins: ⓘ    AdobePDFViewerNPAPI: 11.0.23 (installed 2018-02-05) [Lookup]    AdobePDFViewer: 11.0.23 (installed 2018-02-05) [Lookup]    QuickTime Plugin: 7.7.3 (installed 2018-02-03)    AdobeAAMDetect: AdobeAAMDetect 1.0.0.0 (installed 2018-02-05) [Lookup]    SharePointBrowserPlugin: 14.7.7 (installed 2017-11-27) [Lookup]User internet Plug-ins: ⓘ    ZoomUsPlugIn: 4.1.18796.0103 (installed 2018-01-15) [Lookup]3rd Party Preference Panes: ⓘ    NoneTime Machine: ⓘ    Time Machine not configured!Top Processes by CPU: ⓘ         3%       WindowServer         2%       plugin-container         2%       kernel_task         1%       Skype Helper         0%       fontdTop Processes by Memory: ⓘ    1.20 GB       firefox    1.18 GB       kernel_task    578 MB        Skype Helper    482 MB        plugin-container    385 MB        MailTop Processes by Network Use: ⓘ    Input         Output        Process name    6 MB          91 MB         Box    8 MB          112 KB        mDNSResponder    925 KB        2 MB          Dropbox    1 MB          188 KB        firefox    126 KB        32 KB         SkypeTop Processes by Energy Use: ⓘ      5.42    WindowServer      4.18    plugin-container      2.72    Skype Helper      1.66    BoxVirtual Memory Information: ⓘ    7.51 GB       Available RAM    2.90 GB       Free RAM    8.49 GB       Used RAM    4.62 GB       Cached files    0 B           Swap UsedSoftware installs (last 30 days): ⓘ    Microsoft OneNote for Mac:  (installed 2018-01-19)    Microsoft Word for Mac:  (installed 2018-01-19)    Microsoft PowerPoint for Mac:  (installed 2018-01-19)    Microsoft Excel for Mac:  (installed 2018-01-19)    monday: 0.1.36 (installed 2018-01-23)    Microsoft AutoUpdate:  (installed 2018-01-24)    Microsoft Word for Mac:  (installed 2018-01-27)    Microsoft PowerPoint for Mac:  (installed 2018-01-27)    Box: 1.5.233 (installed 2018-02-03)     Adobe Acrobat XI Pro (11.0.07) :  (installed 2018-02-04)    Adobe Acrobat XI Pro (11.0.23):  (installed 2018-02-05)    Box: 1.6.171 (installed 2018-02-13)    Install information may not be complete.Diagnostics Events (last 3 days for minor events): ⓘ    2018-02-13 09:38:51    AAM Updates Notifier.app Crash [Open]

SeaPapp · Answer

As I mentioned before, since those don&#x27;t show up in safe mode it looks like a third party app, maybe CMM3, is responsible.

padaleuk · Answer

Hi Mike, thanks so much for looking at this. I did what you suggested. The Finder window when in safe mode does not show these files. When I restated in "normal" mode it showed 2 instead of 4 but they are still there.See attached screen shots of both. What should I do next?Thanks!

padaleuk · Answer

Wow. Ok thanks but what about those pesky question marks in the finder? Any idea how I get rid of those reappearing every time I restart?

padaleuk · Answer

Thanks. So you saying there isn&#x27;t a clear way of identifying which 3rdP app is responsible for that?

SeaPapp · Answer

From the etrecheck report I would suspect CMM3, but I can&#x27;t say for sure. What I can say for sure is that CMM3 will eventually cause problems if it isn&#x27;t already.

Question marks in finder favorites

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