reset safari to "factory default"

Day at the beach...just getting back.

As I posted earlier, after deleting the various files/folders, on the restart Safari automatically creates a new preference file set to default values. This includes setting Apple.com as the home page.

Hi Joshz

To bring Safari back to its original state:

In the Finder, go to your User Account>Library: drag to the trash the following folders or files (in bold):
Safari folder (holds bookmarks, history, download history, site icons)
Caches> Safari folder
Caches>Metadata> Safari folder
Cookies> Cookies.plist file
Preferences> com.apple.safari.plist file (preferences)

Empty trash and restart Safari. Safari will now reflect default values.


iMac G5 Rev C 20" 2.5gb RAM 250 gb HD/iBook G4 1.33 ghz 1.5gb RAM 40 gb HD Mac OS X (10.4.8) LaCie 160gb d2 HD Canon i960 printer, Airport Express (2 units)

All you have to delete is:

~/Library/Safari/Bookmarks.plist
~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.Safari.plist
[where ~ is the home user directory]

to delete all your stored bookmarks.

And in the Safari menu 'Reset Safari' and 'empty cache.

While you can select "reset Safari" to eliminate some of the data, the suggestion I gave you is a bit longer, but totally thorough. There won't be any trace. When you empty the trash, go to the Finder and select "Secure Empty Trash". This way the files are gone.

And yes, when you create a new preference file, default bookmarks, and an Apple home page are included in the default values.

You're welcome. Glad I could help.

Thanks for the and Aloha from Big Island.