07-16-2008, 12:46 PM

Sorry, but this gal needs Help!!

Suddenly yesterday, my everywhere everything tool stopped working.

I tried a search for all pref files (1), and trashed it (haven't deleted it), and it's rebuilt when I re-open the app.

But the app gives this alert on launch;
"Moosepad: Can't open database
/Users/me/Documents/MoosePads/Default.moosepad"
"OK" (the standard button...)

It keeps trying to open the default, and keeps giving the error. If I let it sit and ignore the error, the app crashes (times out?)

The data bases can reside anywhere & haven't been moved.
I tried restarting from another volume, and two of databases (called "moosepads") opened.... once.
Then upon trying to reopen them, I got the same error message.

Anybody know this app?

Any ideas?
Does anyone know if the moosepad database is able to be opened by something else?
The database extension is ".moosepad", So I don't know what other app might open it.
The developer had a stroke in 2006, (which I just found out this AM , and so their website is just free downloads.

A new download of the app gets the same results.

That app DOES eventually crash, but only after the error window

All my passwords websites etc are on the databases, I've relied on this app since migrating to OSX...
So, Obviously I need to extract the info and move on, but meantime...
I'M TOTALLY STUCK!!
I really need to open these databases...

HEEELP!!.. pretty please?
ANY Ideas? Thanks sooo much in advance.
Kathie

PS: I attached the crash report. the only thread that seems to crash is 0 (?)

07-16-2008, 03:14 PM

I think you are out of luck if that database is encrypted.

But first run Disk Utility and let in run fix permissions , restart and see if the error is just a permissions error

have you got any recent back-ups?

07-16-2008, 04:00 PM

Copy the .moosepad file to /Moosepad

Create a new user with admin status and login as that user.

Copy the .moosepad file to the new users documents folder.

Open Moospad as the new user and point to the newly copied data.

What happens?

Do you have a backup of the .moosepad file?

07-18-2008, 05:26 PM

Wow!!, it opens the copied moospad database with no errors, or alerts!!!!

So what does that mean?

What do I have to delete, or do to get my main user account to work right again?

Must be something that happened (maybe?) in the migration of files from the old Hard drive to the new hard drive????. I used Synch pro.

but I used TT pro & disk warrior on the partition which has the new "test user" & my main user, now both with admin priviledges.
I also deleted the only plist file I could find.
Still won't open in my "main" user account....

The partition, it's & files come up clean.. even did an fsck while I was at it.
Nothing seems wrong, but something is wrong.....

Thanks so much!...., but now I'm really confused as to what's wrong?

07-19-2008, 09:41 AM

It's obviously a user problem, most likely a preference file. I have never heard os moosepad so I don't know if it puts other files in the User folder like a license file or multiple preferences.

If moosepad launches at startup you may have trouble deleting the preference because the program has been opened once already so the preference is in RAM. Deleting it will on create a new preference from the copy in RAM.

Determine the name of the preference file and login as the new user. Open terminal and type,..

sudo rm /Users/username/Library/Preferences/com.moosepad.plist

username = the name of your home folder
com.moosepad.plist would be the actual name of the preference file to delete.

You will be asked for a password after that command, it should be the password of the user you are logged in as. If that user has no password just hit enter.

This will delete the moosepad preference that is most likely corrupt. Apply this method to any other moospad related files that may be corrupt.

This is a permanent command. Use with caution. I will not be responding to "I deleted all my email now what!". ;o)

07-19-2008, 06:54 PM

Originally Posted by MacsWork

It's obviously a user problem, most likely a preference file. I have never heard os moosepad so I don't know if it puts other files in the User folder like a license file or multiple preferences.

If moosepad launches at startup you may have trouble deleting the preference because the program has been opened once already so the preference is in RAM. Deleting it will on create a new preference from the copy in RAM.

ok, thank (efx;sounds of typing....)
um...nope...
I typed:

sudo rm /Users/username/Library/Preferences/com.wundermoosen.moosepadX.plist
then hit enter. It said "password:" I typed the password then hit enter. there was no apparent "result"... as in...
"OK!".... but I don't know if the terminal just does stuff and doesn't report results.
Now, just to be sure, there is an actual space between "sudo" and "rm", then another space before"/Users" and then no other spaces or "carriage returns", yes?
So I tried the exact same command string again at the prompt

I'm pasting the entire command string and reply:

Big-*****-Name-Computer:~ testuser$ sudo rm /Users/username/Library/Preferences/com.wundermoosen.moosepadX.plist
rm: /Users/username/Library/Preferences/com.wundermoosen.moosepadX.plist: No such file or directory
Big-*****-Name-Computer:~ testuser$

....so it must have removed it the first time. But I know that moosepad does NOT launch at all on login. In fact when you launch the app it says something like "wait, a database operation is being performed" then the 1400 notes critical to my suvival on this planet are supposed to open.

In the above, the computer & user names were altered to protect the identity of the completely guilty!...(lol)

So... now what, kind sir knight????
You're definitely on to something. We're just missing somthing else that's still getting in the way.
Oh... I've had other kernal panics (crashes?) with the "new current user", which is brand new..... I'm migrating files from another drive.

It seems like when I migrated some of the user library, I might have done something wrong, but darn if I can figure it out! A search for "moose" anything reveals ONLY the single plist which as I said, seems to conain all the settings for the app plus the registration info.
When you install Moospad You just drag it to anywhere, so it not like "Microdeath Orrrfiss", with stuff splayed all over your pooder.

I DO agree, You must be right about he user account, because moosepad opens happily in the "test user".

I opened the plist in BBedit, and it contains what looks like all the information needed, including frame size font selection.... everything you'd expect in a single complete plist..plus registration data.
BTW, moosepad is free now anyway. The developer had a stroke and so there isn't any one there that I can email for support... which is why I came here.

Sorry for repeating myself, but if moospad IS running and I delete the plist it auto regenerates. But if it's not running, I can delete the plist, and it doesn't regenerate untill the app launches.
Hmmmm

I'm wondering if the other kernal panics are symptoms of the same problem... but every time I test the partition with every tester I've got , everything comes up squeaky clean.


What's a girl to do???

07-19-2008, 11:29 PM

Does deleting com.wundermoosen.moosepadX.plist while logged in as you then launching Moosepad have any effect?

07-20-2008, 12:50 AM

Nope, that was the very first step I tried before I posted.
The "seemingly obvious" thing.. back from the days of system 7...
Trouble?
delete the "prefs" file.
No this one's rooted in the co-mingling of libraries from the old hard drive to the new one, or at least I think it must be (scratching head)

I used to use Conflict Catcher, with system 7-8-9. It would take a while, but eventually just letting it do it's thing would end up with a never obvious conflict... two perfectly good files in the system folder that just didn't play well together.
This "file corruption" thing is I think, highly over-rated.... even in OSX

I had a Blue & White (POS) G3 that used to multilink files... just for something to do....a couple of times a week.
that little puppy had some serious design issues.

...one word...

"paperweight"
If I haven't said, this is mighty nice of you to follow me through this.
I wanted to say thank you.

07-20-2008, 07:35 AM

What about if you move the database, or rename it. THat way moosepad won't know it's there when trying to open the app. Then browse for the moved/renamed database?

07-22-2008, 12:13 PM

Originally Posted by MacsWork

What about if you move the database, or rename it. THat way moosepad won't know it's there when trying to open the app. Then browse for the moved/renamed database?

I tried what you suggested. No dice (nomoose), but something else worked... for a bit. Reading the instructions, it said that when you first open the app (the very first time) an empty "default database is created in a folder. So I moved & renamed the current folder "Moospads" to "Morsepids", and dragged it to the desktop. Then launched the app.
It said "wait" while it created a "default database", which then opened!
hmmmm.
Here's where my steps are a bit foggy. I was SOOOO excited, I think I closed the app, deleted the "new" empty default moospad, and moved my original 1400-note default.moosepad pad into the newly created folder (in the documents folder), replacing the newly created emty "default.moosepad". Thern launched the app, and after the normal "wait a database operation is in progress",
there were my notes!

I may, or may not have, closed the app and opened it again to see if it still read the database. Anyway, I then used the "optimize database" feature, which it says to use once in a while anyway (thinking maybe my ole pad might be hard to open and needed optimizing).
It gave me the message it always does.
"Please wait, this operation can a few minutes" (it never does... 1000 notes optimizes usualy in about 5 seconds).. but his time I didn't notice that that the pad never re-openend!!!
When I tried to reopen it.... back back to square one!!! (argh! grrrrrrrrr!)

Here's the "new symptom". As part of trying to sort out issues including this one, I told the app "Onyx" to clean all the caches.
This it did.
Now, numerous apps fail to launch. I double click them, but they don't open.
In one case the media app VLC, I took a movie file and did a get info on it. It showed that the proper newest rev (vlc-0.8.6h) was the default app, and had worked prior to the cache cleaning.
So I asked it to give me more choices and chose an earlier version on a corrupted partition (on a different physical disk) as the default (vlc-0.8.6f).
Then I dopubled clicked the the movie and it opened fine. I had to repeat this with all my movies, i.e. vlc-0.8.6h on my startup disk no longer launches, but the one ona nother disk does.

I discovered that this is true for about 50% of my apps, mostly non-apple appas, excepting, MS Office, Adobe Acrobat and a few others.

I rebooted did fsck on the startup disk, but the condition remains.

NO idea if this related to the mooseproblem, but i think it somehow does.
The phrase "systems services" seems to be flaoting around my mind.

I'm getting the feeling that eventhough TT pro & disk Warrior are reporting only minor errors, this "user account" as you seemed to suggest, is getting somehow corrupted. I'm going to restart from another disk and run the disgnostics repair aps again, but this HAS GOT TO MEN SOMETHING!!

Apps that just won't launch???? at all??????
Maybe this nerw symptom can lead us to the cause of the original "one app" issue....I'm not sure (of anything ever anymore!)

What do you think, mean time I'm turning off journalling (alwys seems to screwup & slowdown the system, and after I run my utilities, I'm going to "re-prebind" the whole system from Onyx.
...just cause....
"damsel, in increasing distress"