Photoshop has disappeared...

September 22, 2005 1:08 PM

[OSX] After installing Tiger on my iBook (and using Software Update to upgrade to the latest version), I am no long able to open Photoshop. The applications icon has been replaced with another application's document icon!

Specifically, Photoshop's application icon has been replaced by a MacHacha document icon, and "Get Info" claims that it is a MacHacha file. The version line still identifies it as Version 7.0.1, it is a 53 MB file, and I *know* it is Adobe Photoshop. It is a legal copy, and I am the owner. It just seems like Tiger has replaced the icon. And of course, it's not recognized as an application, so I can't run Photoshop, and I desperately need to!

I've read the instructions in this thread and have tried deleting the icons files as prescribed. No change. I've tried to do what it says in this thread: but can't find any files with those names. I've searched Apple's support forums, but can't find anything helpful there either. I have logged out and logged back in again, and have restarted. The only obvious thing I haven't done is try to reinstall Photoshop, which I guess I'll try to do when I get home, unless somebody else can point me towards a slightly less painful solution.

Many thanks. Rock on.

posted by NewGear to technology (10 comments total)

Photoshop 7 is a Carbon application. It relies on a metadata resource fork to operate as an application. Have you tried to rebuild your Desktop, as well as repair permissions?
posted by Rothko at 1:18 PM on September 22, 2005

Oo! Thanks for the suggestions, Rothko! I thought for sure that the Classic Desktop Rebuild might work. Even though I run PShop in OSX, I thought maybe it's Carbon-ness might require an OS9 fix, but alas, that didn't seem to do the job. I had already repaired permissions once, but I tried it again after the Rebuild, and still no dice.

Next step?
posted by NewGear at 1:32 PM on September 22, 2005

I'm stumped. Did you see any disk errors listed in the course of repairing permissions, like "cross-allocated" files?
posted by Rothko at 1:48 PM on September 22, 2005

No disk errors per se, but Disk Utility did report that it was using "special permissions" for ./Library/Widgets and ./usr/lip/php/build/acinclude.m4. The "new permissions" given were 16877 and 33060, respectively.

Those were the only messages reported by Disk Utility.
posted by NewGear at 1:55 PM on September 22, 2005

I don't have any thoughts, other than to reinstall the application. Your links and mine are typical solutions.
posted by Rothko at 2:04 PM on September 22, 2005

Rebuilding your Desktop only helps with Classic applications. For Mac OS X what you want is to delete the Finder metadata caches. Tiger Cache Cleaner is a simple-to-use utility for doing this. It'll clean basically every single cache on the machine. If it doesn't fix the problem, yeah, re-install the application.

Be sure to run a Repair pass (not Repair Permisisons, the other one) with Disk Utility to make sure the disk's file system is OK too.
posted by kindall at 2:16 PM on September 22, 2005

First, I'd boot on another drive and run Disk repair (or off your OSX CD), or run fsck

Second, I'd run Onyx

Particularly - cron, disk permissions and optimization.
posted by filmgeek at 3:39 PM on September 22, 2005

Okay, I've done the Tiger Cache Cleaner and Repair Pass, but no dice.

I've booted from the OSX CD and run Disk Repair, and ran Onyx, and no dice.

I've brought my Photoshop discs to work today, and will try reinstalling the program. Very weird.
posted by NewGear at 7:19 AM on September 23, 2005

Ooo...this isn't good. Deleted the Adobe Photoshop 7 folder with the screwed up application from the hard drive, and emptied the trash. Dug out my original Photoshop installation cd and installed the program again. The new Adobe Photoshop 7 folder opened up....and the icons were MacHacha document icons again.

Damn.

Any suggestions? This is weird. It's *only* happening with Photoshop; all other applications are glorious.
posted by NewGear at 11:22 AM on September 23, 2005

Does this hint do the trick for you?
posted by kimota at 2:58 PM on September 23, 2005