[dru]

Ok, something isn't right. I suspect a corrupted file but haven't been able to track down what. Here's the situation...

10.4.2 on an internal HD (the FP iMac G4 listed in the sig) is suddenly showing weird signs. Weird but consistent. All of these problems happen as a package:

Safari: Typing is inserting extra space characters and punctuation. ( "this sucks." ends up "this sucks..") Will sometimes lock up.

Mail: Cannot reply to any email either via the menu item or toolbar button. Composing has the same problem as Safari but will also lock up.

Calculator: even simple addition returns "E" as the result or it will stop updating the result.

The problem is not APE or any extra stuff. Tried removing those things. No help. Have replaced several preference files to no avail and reinstalling only the affected apps.

The last time this happened (several days ago) I did an "archive and install" because I couldn't find a simple fix. That repaired everything. Now I'm back where I was.

I've repaired permissions, checked the disk with Disk Utility and DiskWarrior.

Can anyone give me a pointer? Seems like it's a Cocoa issue but I'm not sure. Any idea how this happened and how to pervent it in the future? Anyone else seen this kind of issue?

I have 10.4.2 on an external LaCie firewire drive too so I'm more irritated than SOL.

[steve626]

Originally Posted by dru

Ok, something isn't right. I suspect a corrupted file but haven't been able to track down what. Here's the situation...

10.4.2 on an internal HD (the FP iMac G4 listed in the sig) is suddenly showing weird signs. Weird but consistent. All of these problems happen as a package:

Safari: Typing is inserting extra space characters and punctuation. ( "this sucks." ends up "this sucks..") Will sometimes lock up.

Mail: Cannot reply to any email either via the menu item or toolbar button. Composing has the same problem as Safari but will also lock up.

Calculator: even simple addition returns "E" as the result or it will stop updating the result.

The problem is not APE or any extra stuff. Tried removing those things. No help. Have replaced several preference files to no avail and reinstalling only the affected apps.

The last time this happened (several days ago) I did an "archive and install" because I couldn't find a simple fix. That repaired everything. Now I'm back where I was.

I've repaired permissions, checked the disk with Disk Utility and DiskWarrior.

Can anyone give me a pointer? Seems like it's a Cocoa issue but I'm not sure. Any idea how this happened and how to pervent it in the future? Anyone else seen this kind of issue?

I have 10.4.2 on an external LaCie firewire drive too so I'm more irritated than SOL.

Does this problem also happen with other user accounts? If you don't have another account, try creating one and logging in as that user. If the problem goes away, it is most likely due to some user-specific issue (maybe with preferences), but if it stays, then you might have installed something that has affected the system-wide behavior. Or there might be something with the hardware. If you have peripherals like USB hubs, try disconnecting them. You mentioned "extra stuff" in your post -- does that mean you have installed special software to customize your system? If so, are you sure it is compatible with 10.4?

You mentioned that you have your operating system installed on an external firewire drive. Does that show the problem too? Can you try a fresh format and install on that disk to see if the problem persists (in which case I would suspect something in your hardware)?

[dru]

Originally Posted by steve626

Does this problem also happen with other user accounts? If you don't have another account, try creating one and logging in as that user. If the problem goes away, it is most likely due to some user-specific issue (maybe with preferences), but if it stays, then you might have installed something that has affected the system-wide behavior.

Still investigating to see if it makes a difference.

] Or there might be something with the hardware. If you have peripherals like USB hubs, try disconnecting them. You mentioned "extra stuff" in your post -- does that mean you have installed special software to customize your system? If so, are you sure it is compatible with 10.4?

I use a Logitech mouse which uses its own driver.. I'm using the Tiger version of that software. I have no hubs connected. I've pulled VPC and every other extension, menu extra or what-have-you from the problem account.

You mentioned that you have your operating system installed on an external firewire drive. Does that show the problem too? Can you try a fresh format and install on that disk to see if the problem persists (in which case I would suspect something in your hardware)?

Hasn''t happened on the external (yet?). This didn''t show up until I logged out and back in today. I have no idea what caused the problem.. I hate to think it''s a hardware problem. If it is a hardware problem, shouldn't it happen in every application and account and wouldn't be fixed by an "archive and install" of Tiger ? Firefox, for example, doesn't have the double-character problems when I type.

SMART reports the HD is working fine, fwiw. Will keep investigating but I'm running out of ideas.

[chris v]

Have you tried another keyboard?

[steve626]

Sorry this is still a mystery.

I think the real key is figuring out if this is hardware or software. Then you can narrow down your search. Trying a new user (who has no custom settings or software) might be informative. You said you are looking into that. Try to think of things that aim to isolate a hardware issue from a software issue. The simplest way to do this is to work on a disk or partition where you can install a very plain jane OS and then try running the programs like safari, mail etc. that gave you trouble. If you can work for a few hours or days like that, logging in and out and so forth, with no issues, then it could very well be hardware. I worry about that mouse -- it could be broken or intermittent in some way. Even a bad cable could cause some of your symptoms.

Keep in mind that some hardware problems can be tricky ... maybe showing up only after temperatures rise internally which may take a while or when certain programs are running. The suggestion about a different keyboard was a good one and while you are at it I would check all usb connections to make sure they are tight. if it were me, I'd eliminate that special mouse for now just to eliminate possibilities.

Different programs respond different to typing. I noticed my daughter playing some internet word games in which you win by typing answers fast, and she sometimes types so fast the letters don't even appear on the screen at first in the box into which she types but they do get through because they show up correctly on a message board ... this behavior is different for safari vs. firefox.

[dru]

I don't have another keyboard to try. However, another account (appears so far)) and seperate install of tiger on the external drive do not have the problem. I'm thinking it's not hardware. Will try swapping mice.

Here are a few fixes that are working so far:

• Deleted Calculator's .plist in ~/Library/Preferences and set permission to "Read only"
• Safari... if I TURN OFF "Check spelling as you type" I don't get the extra punctuation problem.
• Mail... I'm still trying to figure that out.

I have no idea how these problems happened or why they appear interconnected since they all happen at the same time. And, of course, I don't see anything in the Calculator .plist which should be causing calculation problems.

What's involved in the AppleSpell service?

[dru]

Here's what Console puts up with Mail. The first is when try to hit "reply"

2005-08-25 04:17:27.331 Mail[263] *** -[NSCFArray addObject:]: attempt to insert ni

This is what I see when I tab to the 'subject' line in a new email:
l
2005-08-25 04:17:44.065 Mail[263] Exception raised during posting of notification. Ignored. exception: *** -[NSCFArray addObject:]: attempt to insert nil

And finally, what happens when I click the "Send" button:

2005-08-25 04:17:49.328 Mail[263] *** -[NSCFArray addObject:]: attempt to insert nil

---

When I have "Check spelling as I type" turned ON in Safari (triggering the double spaces between words and double punctuation) I get this in console:


2005-08-25 04:22:36.109 Safari[271] *** NSRunLoop ignoring exception '*** -[NSCFArray addObject:]: attempt to insert nil' that raised during posting of delayed perform with target 55e9ed0 and selector '_preflightSpellChecker:'
2005-08-25 04:22:36.944 Safari[271] *** -[NSCFArray addObject:]: attempt to insert nil

-----

Can anyone tell what part of Tiger is messed up from these messages?

It's not just me

[JLL]

Originally Posted by dru

I don't have another keyboard to try. However, another account (appears so far)) and seperate install of tiger on the external drive do not have the problem. I'm thinking it's not hardware. Will try swapping mice.

Here are a few fixes that are working so far:

• Deleted Calculator's .plist in ~/Library/Preferences and set permission to "Read only"
• Safari... if I TURN OFF "Check spelling as you type" I don't get the extra punctuation problem.
• Mail... I'm still trying to figure that out.

I have no idea how these problems happened or why they appear interconnected since they all happen at the same time. And, of course, I don't see anything in the Calculator .plist which should be causing calculation problems.

What's involved in the AppleSpell service?

Do you have cocoAspell installed? The symptoms are the same as when you have an old version of cocoAspell installed.

[dru]

Originally Posted by JLL

Do you have cocoAspell installed? The symptoms are the same as when you have an old version of cocoAspell installed.

Hmm. I don't think I installed that program but I did install somethinh like that at one point. I'll investigate!
---
EDIT:

AH HA!! I had an old version of "Word Service" burried in a "services" folder, taking that out seems to have clearned things up.

Mail now replies and sends. Safari is working fine. And so is Calculator.

"2.6 ©2000-2005 Christian Grunenberg, DEVONtechnologies" was the service.

Thank you, JLL!!