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Strange Mac Problem
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MacPC
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May 16, 2009, 03:33 PM
 
Hi,

I have a G4 iMac running 10.4.11. The lamp shape one. Recently something strange happen to it, that's really driving me nuts!!

When I right click, the menu comes up with strange names like N156, N156.1...
I can't figure out what is wrong and how to fix it, can any of you gurus help me?

Thanks in advance.
     
Cold Warrior
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May 16, 2009, 03:45 PM
 
have you done anything to your Mac -- installed, reinstalled, updated, etc? Any other weird behavior like increased hanging or increased beachballs?

Those N designators are part of OS X's method for default text names.

My recommendation is to boot from your OS X 10.4 restore/install DVD and repair your system and hard drive, if necessary. If that doesn't help, download and reinstall the OS X 10.4.11 combo updater.
     
MacPC  (op)
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May 17, 2009, 05:11 AM
 
Hi Cold Warrior,

thanks for the reply. The Mac otherwise works just fine. No hanging or beachball. I have tried to repair the the volume with the install DVD, I have tried OnyX, I have tried repair permissions, and I reinstalled 10.4.11 combo, none of them help. I really want to avoid a full reinstallation because the DVD is 10.4.5, it will be a long process to update to 10.4.11, and, I have tons of applications.... I took a look at the link provide, even tho it doesn't help in this case it does shade a light, it looks to me the XML file (Localizable.strings) somehow has a missing link to something, I wonder if there is an easy way to fix it? I wonder how this could happen in the first place?
( Last edited by MacPC; May 17, 2009 at 05:21 AM. )
     
hatehereyes
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May 17, 2009, 05:12 AM
 
Do you have a time machine backup?
Early 2008 Mac Pro 4gb RAM
iPod Classic 160gb/iPod Video 30gb
Triple Monitor Setup
www.MacLister.com
     
MacPC  (op)
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May 17, 2009, 05:22 AM
 
Hi, hatehereyes

unfortunately Tiger 10.4.x doesn't have time machine.
     
hatehereyes
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May 17, 2009, 05:35 AM
 
Oh I see, I didn't know that.

Maybe make a list of all your apps so it's easier to reinstall them?
Early 2008 Mac Pro 4gb RAM
iPod Classic 160gb/iPod Video 30gb
Triple Monitor Setup
www.MacLister.com
     
Cold Warrior
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May 17, 2009, 07:14 AM
 
10.4 does have 'archive and install', which is a good way to reinstall your OS while preserving users, network settings, and most applications.

Mac OS X: About the Archive and Install feature
     
MacPC  (op)
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May 17, 2009, 05:07 PM
 
Yippy!! Fixed!!

I dug into this directory: /System/Library/CoreServices/Finder.app/Contents/Resources/English.lpoj, the file Localizable.strings is all wicked. Luckily I have another G4 mini running the same 10.4.11, I copied it to the iLamp, Everything is back to normal.

I am a happy man again!! Too bad for some reasons I can't upload file on Macnn, I wish you guys can see how wicked it is!!

Thanks all for your inputs.
( Last edited by MacPC; May 17, 2009 at 05:27 PM. )
     
Simon
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May 18, 2009, 04:32 AM
 
Umm, and what managed to screw that file up in such a wicked way?

A regular user should never have to touch anything in /System. And AFAIK any app that tries to screw around in there needs admin authorization too. So, what happened?
     
MacPC  (op)
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May 18, 2009, 11:27 PM
 
I really have no clue how this happened. This is a mystery to me too. The Localizable.string file is a totally different file, don't know how it gets there, I have no idea where it came from. I am the only user of this Mac and I had not temper with it. Prior to that, I ran OnyX, it said that the disk needed to be repair so I did just that. Weird!!
     
   
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