DS files, core.xxx files, temp files, and virtual memory files.Then for reassurance I enabled invisible items and manually deleted all prefs and caches in my user and system libraries, and then to top it off, reset my PRAM on each restart. Repaired permissions, completely redid optimization, ran all cron scripts, and deleted all logs, user cache, system cache. I reinstall Panther again with OnyX ready and proceed to do the following immediatly after each reboot/OS update: This is a new one for me, and any attempts to restart or open the dock were futile. Upon restart, the Finder worked but the Dock didn't load. Soooo just last night, before I decide to reinstall Panther again, I emptied out my logs/caches again just to try and get the internet working for any brief amount of time. Sooo I go about my business trying to forget all that happened, but still knowing in the back of my mind that it could just as eassily happen again. It works, so I figure the cache files was a good thing to delete, but was weary that my intrernet had "mysteriously" worked without much effort and the Finder still hung. Luckily I had to leave at this point, so I keep my system running, getting ready to reinstall again for the 4th time when I return.Ĩ hours later I get back with the system still on, and I proceed to try out the internet. The Finder hangs the next start up, but I figure that's just a warmup for the files I just deleted. Since some are still in use, I have to reboot to empty the trash. So I reboot and let the system hang until it finally boots up and I enable invisible items and proceed to trash all my caches. "How could I have a corrupt cache or pref on a fresh install?", I think. They have suggestions such as to reset pram, delete user and system caches and delete certain user/system preferences. I search Apple's boards and google the problem to find that it's happened to more than a few people. Then the problem happens AGAIN after another 24 hours or so of no restart after installing LS.
I happily chug along thinking 10.3.8 was a god send, and go forth and install LittleSnitch and MenuMeters directly from the developer sites.
Ok, so I continue to update my system and get it to 10.3.8. I repair my permissions regularly and have never seen either of those before. private/etc/nf, should be -rwxr-xr-x, they are -rw-r-r. , should be drwxrwxr-t, they are drwxrwxr-x Oh, and at this time I had been recieving weird permission problems such as: Then after reboot, I repair permissions again and proceed to get more updates. Oh, by the way, did you know it takes around 13 hours to 8-way random write to a 30gb hard drive? Anyway, this time I get it started after and immediately run permission repair and then update my OS. So the next time, I try zeroing AND "8-way random write" to my drive just to make sure everything is nice and clear before I start again. Upon the very first restart, the Finder hung. Instead of zeroing the drive again, I just erase and reinstall. So I go about reinstalling again, this time from a friends Panther disk, just to make sure. Just long enough after I had everything to my liking. Then after another 48 hours the system craps out. Then I go about re-customizing my OS to my liking, adding this time only LittleSnitch, MenuMeters and TransperantDock.
I reinstall only the BSD Subsystem as an option so I only have to use 1 disk. So I boot from my Panther disk, zero my boot drive and reformat to Journaling. I'll just reinstall and everything will be OK. Then after another unknown amount of hours it happens again. This time, I only have my modem unplugged and upon restart it worked fine. So then I boot up from my Panther disk to run repairs from there. So I went along my merry way and it happened again. Soooo I tried a combo power-cycling modem/router-while-booted-from-cd-and-running-repairs thing and it worked. So I did what I had done before but this time nothing worked.
However, after another 12 hours of the computer being on, the internet mysteriously cut out again, so I knew the Finder would hang if I rebooted. The first time I did this, everything went back to normal.
So I went through my basic troubleshooting scheme, rebooting from a CD and running the likes of DiskWarrior, TechTool4 and DiskUtility. However, if the Finder hangs at startup, the internet will not work at all. Soooo, I let it sit there for a while and after about 5 min of not touching anything it will startup. Nothing I could do could restart the internet: power cycling the modem/router, creating new connection settings, whatever. Then, one day a couple of weeks ago, my internet magically "shuts down" while my computer is on.