Can't open an Application

[sabrinattb]

At first I couldn't get the game Empire at War to open. This was odd, because I played it two months ago no problem.

I installed Sims 2. I also couldn't open that game. I then got a patch for it; it still wouldn't open. The Body Shop application worked fine; the game did not. I tried reinstalling. No luck.

I looked in MacHelp to see what to do, and I have no administration problems stopping me. That leaves the BSD subsystem package.

I don't know if it is installed or not; I don't know how to check. But when I opened the .pkg file and tried to install it, there was an error in installation and it didn't install properly. I don't know what the error was, it didn't say.

I have tried rebooting, reinstalling, and even repairing my file permissions using the disk utility. I have no idea why Sims 2 won't open. Any ideas?

 

[Frida]

Have you tried dragging the .plist files for the offending apps out from the Preferences folder?

 

[dadidoe]

or maybe even delete the preference files of the apps that dont work if they cause too much trouble

 

[Frida]

or maybe even delete the preference files of the apps that dont work if they cause too much trouble

Sure. I was just leaving the back door open to drag the prefs files back again if the problem persists. That way you don't have to change all your settings again.

 

[dadidoe]

Yes I guess you are right.

But do delete the pref file if the app works without it fine.

 

[ElDiabloConCaca]

Dragging the preference file to the desktop and deleting the preference file accomplish the exact same thing as far as the application in question is concerned.

Either way will work. It's now just a matter of whether you want that lingering preference file on your desktop or not.

No application will work "fine" without a preference file. The only thing you accomplish by moving/deleting the preference file is cause the application to create a new, default preference file. The reason this works sometimes is that preference files get corrupted, or an invalid value is set somewhere in the preference file. Moving/deleting the preference file causes the application to revert to certain defaults, creating a new preference file.

Moving is equal to deleting. Either way will work. As Frida said, moving it to the desktop is the "safest" method, since if the application doesn't work fine without the preference file in place (some preference files store registration/activation info), you can always move it back and move on to other troubleshooting measures. If you delete it and empty the trash, there is no going back (for the most part).