Finder not working

hey there,

got a new iMac ive been using here at work. i plugged in my USB key in the back and now my finder isnt working. i unplugged the key after i shut it down. ive restarted several times and it just wont work. all my other Apps work fine, just my finder wont. nothing comes up on my desktop and theres no bar at the top. ive tried booting from the disk, but nothing happens when i hold down "C". i cant start up from by back-up disk because i cant "find" it. not sure what else to do. thanks in advance.

p.s. this crap always happens when im on deadline.

mcjacksonnelson said:

hey there,

got a new iMac ive been using here at work. i plugged in my USB key in the back and now my finder isnt working. i unplugged the key after i shut it down. ive restarted several times and it just wont work. all my other Apps work fine, just my finder wont. nothing comes up on my desktop and theres no bar at the top. ive tried booting from the disk, but nothing happens when i hold down "C". i cant start up from by back-up disk because i cant "find" it. not sure what else to do. thanks in advance.

p.s. this crap always happens when im on deadline.

Click to expand...

What is a "USB key"...is this some sort of security measure at your place of employment? Or is this simply a USB flash drive that contains your files?

Have you done this many times before with no issues?

Do you have an "IT" department where you work (not sure if you're at a big or smaller employer)?

If you cannot startup from the CD/DVD disk that came with the computer...this sounds sort of serious...maybe it's time to have Apple take a look at it...since this computer is "new"...it should still be under warranty. I know this probably isn't what you want to hear...and probably isn't very convenient...but when you have a warranty...it's best to use it....especially if you're having a serious hardware issue.

HTH,

- Nick

Are you using any theming software or other Finder hacks? If so, remove them.

If you push Shift-Command-G, does a Finder window open up (this is assuming that you can at least get Finder to be the active application)? Does the Dock load?

thanks guys.

i have been having some problems with my usb drive. sometimes the finder will lock up when i plug it in, but i just restart and its fine. i think its just time for a new one. but this time no luck after restart. im not using any finder hacks or anything. straight stock computer. shift-cmnd-g does nothing because the finder wont even open. when i click on the finder icon in the dock it says "The application Finder.app cant be opened -10810". like i said before all my other apps work fine. i just cant get to my system prefs or disk util because i cant get to my hard drive.

weird, well i just restarted again and its all working now. when i would restart before it wouldnt go thru the usual restarting stuff, would just come back on like it was waking from sleep. i just let it sit for a while and now the finder is working. weird.... thanks guys.

mcjacksonnelson said:

i have been having some problems with my usb drive. sometimes the finder will lock up when i plug it in, but i just restart and its fine.

Click to expand...

I don't know if this is still as "hard core" a rule as it used to be...but whenever you unplug/remove a USB drive...you should drag the USB drive image on the desktop to the trash before removing it.

If you're not doing this...I'm pretty sure this can cause 'Finder" issues...especially if you do it a lot. If restarting the computer seems to fix things...my guess is you need to drag that USB drive image to the trash first before removing it.

HTH,

- Nick

hey nick,

yeah, i usually do this. but the problems would happen when i would just plug the usb drive in. im just gonna get a new one, their super cheap these days. thanks.

mcjacksonnelson said:

hey nick,

yeah, i usually do this. but the problems would happen when i would just plug the usb drive in. im just gonna get a new one, their super cheap these days. thanks.

Click to expand...

I see...maybe it is a defective drive.

Good luck,

- Nick