[voicebox]

Hi there,
Whilst checking through "/username/Library/Preferences/" for the "com.apple.iCal.plist" file in order to remove it (a fix) because of a small problem with the "Today" button being greyed out in 'iCal', I came across a bunch of folders with strange and random name tags - the sort I have never seen before! Here are just a few of the folder 'names' :
''ë†eìXøˇ–
Z†œ£Xøˇœ 迃døˇœêD@B
&°A†¯òøˇ«–迃døˇ»@D@B
&œ±†5XøˇŒ@迃døˇŒ∞D@B
=À!†¯òøˇ–
%À
†5#Xøˇœ 迃døˇœêD@B
Ò°†¯òøˇ«–迃døˇ»@D@B
There are about 26 of them - all of the folders are empty ..
Could anyone out there throw some 'light' on this and let me know what they are, if they are important and what purpose they serve? And also could I safely trash them if they are not needed. As usual, any advice is received with grateful thanks!
voicebox

[TETENAL]

You can trash anything in the Preferences folder you want. The worst thing that happens is that application settings are set back to their defaults or you might have to reenter a registration code.

Those folders were probably created by an erratically behaving application. I would just trash them.

[voicebox]

Originally Posted by TETENAL 

You can trash anything in the Preferences folder you want. The worst thing that happens is that application settings are set back to their defaults or you might have to reenter a registration code.

Those folders were probably created by an erratically behaving application. I would just trash them.

Thanks for your reply Tetenal.
I have moved all the folders into a separate folder ready for trashing.
How would I find out which application is behaving erratically by the way?
best
voicebox

[Moonray]

Originally Posted by voicebox 

Thanks for your reply Tetenal.
I have moved all the folders into a separate folder ready for trashing.
How would I find out which application is behaving erratically by the way?
best
voicebox

Check the creation and/or modification date on the folders. Unless you opened them and the FInder created some invisible .DS_Store file in them it will tell you when you ran the application that created them.

-

[voicebox]

Originally Posted by Moonray 

Check the creation and/or modification date on the folders. Unless you opened them and the FInder created some invisible .DS_Store file in them it will tell you when you ran the application that created them.

-

Thanks Moonray - but they have gone .. straight to the trash ...
If they reappear, I will follow your advice ....
best
voicebos

[Chuckit]

You might also check your hard drive in Disk Utility. Sometimes weirdly named folders are symptoms of a messed-up file system.

[voicebox]

Originally Posted by Chuckit 

You might also check your hard drive in Disk Utility. Sometimes weirdly named folders are symptoms of a messed-up file system.

Hi Chuckit,
Thanks for your reply.
I had the same thoughts exactly about possible messed-up files so I did indeed verify the disk and repair disk permissions. At the moment the offending files have not reappeared ......
best
voicebox

[voicebox]

Originally Posted by TETENAL 

You can trash anything in the Preferences folder you want. The worst thing that happens is that application settings are set back to their defaults or you might have to reenter a registration code.

Those folders were probably created by an erratically behaving application. I would just trash them.

Hi Tetenal,
An update ...
You were right! I have found the 'erratically behaving application' that is creating these odd files - Photoshop CS ..
The app creates an odd file every time I open it because it's a PPC application, and is not Universal.
On the other hand, P/shop CS does function OK when it is open, although when I close it down it does tend to crash!
Hey-ho, it looks as though I will be using Aperture from now on!
best
voicebox