# Corrupt user profile?



## Frida (Jul 1, 2003)

I have been having problems printing from certain applications as well as programs quitting, behaving strangely, etc. Created a new user and everything works fine. Ran Disk Utility and repaired privileges but to no avail. Do I have to reconfigure a complete new profile? How do I delete the old profile so I can create a new with the same name? Do I have to change the privileges on all files? Can I do this "in bulk"? Why do men have nipples?


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## symphonix (Jul 1, 2003)

The "profile" in Mac OS X is in fact made up of the configuration documents in the user's Library folder. You can start by looking in the ~/Library/Preferences folder and deleting any that seem to relate to the program that keeps crashing. Also, delete these from the ~/Library/Application Support folder.
Still not fixed, you can delete all the stuff in the Preferences folder. This will reset every app to its defaults.

If that doesn't work, you can re-create the user. Simply:
- Make a new user from Accounts in System Preferences. (you've already done this)
- Make sure the new user has administrator privileges.
- Log in as the new user.
- Go into System Preferences - Accounts again and delete the old user. This can be a little slow on some older machines as it automatically archives that user's home directory. (about 3 mins for my iBook 500) Remember, this will archive and remove all the user
- Now, go into the /Users folder to find the archive for the deleted user. Rename it and/or move it to somewhere safe.
- Now, recreate the old user account. Just add a new user with the same name and shortname you wanted to use.


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## Frida (Jul 1, 2003)

Thanks symphonix. I thought I had eliminated a corrupt preference as a cause but after some serious preference shuffling I isolated 'loginwindow.plist' as the culprit. It seemed to cause minor diverse problems with a number of applications. Now everything is coming up roses!


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## MLD (Oct 15, 2006)

I would appreciate knowing the next steps. I had the same problem and followed your advice as below. How do I now link the old profile with the new account? (I am a new Mac user having just moved over from the dark side).  Thanks



symphonix said:


> The "profile" in Mac OS X is in fact made up of the configuration documents in the user's Library folder. You can start by looking in the ~/Library/Preferences folder and deleting any that seem to relate to the program that keeps crashing. Also, delete these from the ~/Library/Application Support folder.
> Still not fixed, you can delete all the stuff in the Preferences folder. This will reset every app to its defaults.
> 
> If that doesn't work, you can re-create the user. Simply:
> ...


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## Natobasso (Oct 15, 2006)

Why do men have nipples. A good answer here:
http://www.salon.com/health/feature/1999/06/08/nipples/

He he


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