[X4U] Program that opens but quickly closes

[Randy B. Singer]

On Jan 5, 2009, at 4:23 AM, James Hurley wrote:

> I just got a copy of acrobat professional with a SnapScan scanner.  
> It installed fine and it opens, but almost as quickly closes. Same  
> on two different computers.


Whenever an application starts quitting unexpectedly in OS X, the  
problem is most often caused by a corrupted user preferences file.

OS X 10.4 and above ordinarly handles this automatically if you  
immediately try to restart the application. If it hasn't handled it,  
or if you are running an earlier version of OS X...

I would first try:

Preferential Treatment (free)
http://www.jonn8.com/html/pt.html

If that doesn't help, I would create a new user with admistrative  
rights, log in as that new user, and see if the problem continues. If  
it does, your problem is not user preferences related. If things are  
better, chances are that your problem is user preferences related.

If the problem is likely not preferences related, I would try  
launching the offending program during a Safe Boot.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107393
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107392


If the problem is likely user preferences related, I would try  
manually uninstalling the ".plist" files for the offending  
application, found in:

~/Library/Preferences/
(Note that this is in your Users folder, in the folder with your user  
name.)


___________________________________________
Randy B. Singer
Co-author of The Macintosh Bible (4th, 5th, and 6th editions)

Macintosh OS X Routine Maintenance
http://www.macattorney.com/ts.html
___________________________________________