HELP! Lost all my applications are gone

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Hey,

My macbook will not open any of its applications and it is as if they do not exist. They are not inside my trash can. What happens is whenever I click on an application such as Safari a "?" will appear where the icon for Safari is. I tried to reinstall Safari and a couple of other apps via USB, but it says the computer does not have the right program to open this file.

Any help would be greatly appreciated

Thanks a bunch,

yesh
 
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Does this happen when you launch the applications from the dock or directly from within the applications folder ?

Cheers ... McBie
 

dtravis7


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Agreed with McBie. Open the Applications folder. Are the Apps still there? Do they launch from there?
 

vansmith

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I tried to reinstall Safari and a couple of other apps via USB, but it says the computer does not have the right program to open this file.
If this is the case, one of two things could have happened: either pkg files are no longer associated with Installer or Installer is gone. If other applications are gone, it sure looks like something has had a field day removing apps. If this is the case though, something had elevated privileges since Installer is in a directory that requires it (/System/Library/CoreServices). Enough of the technical talk though.

What have you done recently on your computer? What did you do right before all of this happened?
 
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Yes it does not open the application either way. Even if I go to the applications folder they still will not open. I am the one that deleted them permanently but, not on purpose. They do not exist on the computer so I am asking whats the next step into re installing them because when I tried to re-install them via USB it said the computer does not have the program to open this.
 
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Lets go back to basics and tell us what computer you have, what OS you are running and why you are using a USB to install apps.
I don't quite get it..... but that's probably me. -_-

Cheers ... McBie
 

vansmith

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What did you do that deleted these applications? Which ones did you delete?

If you can't open a pkg file (the icon looks like a brown box with yellow boxes inside), right click it > Open With > change the dropdown to Installer > "Change All..."
 
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I deleted them through the folder they were in. Then went forth to delete them from the trsh bin.
 
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Then why are you using a USB stick to install and not restoring the apps from Time Machine ?
Also, what model of Mac do you have, you only told us the model of CPU -_-

Cheers ... McBie
 
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Have you tried Vansmith's suggestions in post 7 above.
What model of Mac do you have ?

Cheers ... McBie
 

vansmith

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I deleted them through the folder they were in. Then went forth to delete them from the trsh bin.
Which applications did you delete? Did you delete everything? Which folder did you delete these applications from?
 

pigoo3

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i deleted every app except for itunes i think.

The BIG question is...why did you delete everything?? And if everything truly was deleted (and you can't seem to access your Time Machine backup)...then you're going to have to reinstall everything from original install disks!:(

- Nick
 
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What would be the cheapest install disc i could buy at this time? I currently have no idea where the disc is that came with my macbook pro
 

RavingMac

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vansmith

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The BIG question is...why did you delete everything??
That's a very good question. I'm curious now more that anything.

This doesn't explain why installer isn't working. Have you tried my solution?
 

pigoo3

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What would be the cheapest install disc i could buy at this time? I currently have no idea where the disc is that came with my macbook pro

Your thread title says, "HELP! Lost all of my applications are gone". So the answer to your question..."What would be the cheapest install disc I could buy at this time?"...it depends on what application were deleted.

If the applications were all related to what is automatically installed when the Mac OS is installed (stuff from Apple)...then all you need is the $29 OS install disk "Razormac" linked above.

But if the applications that were deleted were from other developers (Microsoft, Adobe, games, or other Apple products such as iLife or iWork, etc.)...then you may be talking BIG BIG bucks!

But then again...if all these deleted applications were legal installs (including the OS)...reinstalling everything would cost you absolutely nothing...since you should have all the original install disks!:)

- Nick
 
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chas_m

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Once the op gets Snow Leopard back on his machine, he should be able to restore everything from Time Machine. The only reason he can't do this right now is because he deleted the Time Machine app (DOH!) and doesn't have the boot disk.
 

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