The macosxhints Forums - Google Earth won't start

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- - Google Earth won't start (http://hintsforums.macworld.com/showthread.php?t=89801)

Manfred Lotz

05-19-2008 03:44 PM

Google Earth won't start

Mac OS X 10.3
Google Earth 4.0.2736.0

Yesterday Google Earth could be started and worked fine. Today it won't start. Even after reboot it won't start. No error messages.

Question: How can I find out what is wrong? Is there a debug mode when starting applications to see what's happening?

--
Thanks,
Manfred

hayne

05-19-2008 04:21 PM

Launch the "Console" application (under /Applications/Utilities) and look for relevant error messages. Note that messages are labeled with the date & time so you can use that to locate the part of the log to look at. Copy & paste the relevant messages back here so we can see them.
Be sure to look at system.log as well as console.log (Use the "Logs" button (top-left) to see the various logs available - note that you will probably need to be an "admin" user to see the system.log)

If the log refers to a crash log, press the "Logs" button (top-left) and go into the ~/Library/Logs/CrashReporter section to find that particular crash log. Copy & paste back here the last portion of that crash log - the part that gives details about the last crash (or preferably attach it as a plain text file, using the "Manage Attachments" button at the bottom when you reply).

alextm

05-19-2008 11:01 PM

the other option, a real time error view without other stuff is the right click on Google Earth and Show package contents. Choose Contents/MacOS/Google Earth and double click it. then that will also probably show the same info as console.log has.

edit:
this is what a successful launch of a recent or current version on my MBP shows after letting it load then quitting.

Code:

Last login: Mon May 19 19:33:04 on ttys000

/Applications/Google\ Earth.app/Contents/MacOS/Google\ Earth ; exit;

ALEX:~ alextm$ /Applications/Google\ Earth.app/Contents/MacOS/Google\ Earth ; exit;



Intrinsic Alchemy  v3.1 Beta-0329 (Dynamic/Release) 

Built by google on Sat Mar 29 11:01:41 PDT 2008



INFO: Using igOglVisualContext.

logout



[Process completed]

Manfred Lotz

05-20-2008 11:43 AM

Thanks both of you for pointing how to check an application.

It is interesting that there is no error message at all. It just doesn't start.

However, if I logon to a different user Google Earth does load fine.

I have no clue what is different between those two users.

--
Manfred

trevor

05-20-2008 02:44 PM

The difference between those two users is the things in each of those users ~/Library folders. For example, the preferences files.

Perhaps the problematic user has a corrupted prefs file for Google Earth?

Trevor

Ed2385

05-21-2008 02:48 PM

Desperately looking for help, I discovered this great forum and decided to ask for your help.

My Google Earth application wouldn't launch either! Not any more.
It worked just fine until a few days ago when, all of a sudden, it simply stopped launching –without any apparent reason– a couple of hours after I used it for the last time. I tried trashing the preference file to no avail. I also downloaded a fresh copy of the application but it didn't help. It just refuses to launch. Well, it started only once from the disc image right after downloading a new copy –and it worked just as usual–, but never again.
Whenever I try to launch the app, it does simply nothing appart from the usual icon magnifying effect after double clicking on it. No error message, no finder's rotating "beach ball", nothing.
I looked into the console logs and I found this in the Google Earth.crash.log. This shows the last record in it –from the day the problem started– but no subsequent records. So trying to launch Google Earth now doesn't even leave any trace in the crash log!:

**********

Host Name: 174-112-22-190.adsl.tie.cl
Date/Time: 2008-05-16 21:46:02 -0400
OS Version: 10.3.9 (Build 7W98)
Report Version: 2

Command: Google Earth
Path: /Applications/Google Earth.app/Contents/MacOS/Google Earth
Version: ??? (???)
PID: 363
Thread: Unknown

Link (dyld) error:

dyld: /Applications/Google Earth.app/Contents/MacOS/Google Earth can't open library: /usr/lib/libcurl.3.dylib (No such file or directory, errno = 2)

The version of the Google Earth application is 4.0.2736.0 (it doesn't show on the crash log)
I hope you can help me. This is driving me mad!

Thank you.

trevor

05-21-2008 03:59 PM

The latest version (as I write this, 4.3.7204.8.36) of Google Earth requires at least 10.4.x and you're running 10.3.x. But since you have an old version of Google Earth, I don't know if your old version can run on 10.3.x or not.

Quote:

Google Earth can't open library: /usr/lib/libcurl.3.dylib (No such file or directory, errno = 2)

If you launch your Terminal, what do you get from copy/pasting the following command?:
ls -l /usr/lib/libcurl*

Trevor

Ed2385

05-21-2008 04:37 PM

Thanks for your quick answer, Trevor.

Version 4.0.2736.0 is the last one supported by Mac OS 10.3.9. It worked perfectly fine until this problem aroused so it is not a version problem, I think.

I did what you suggested and the terminal gave me this:

lrwxr-xr-x 1 root wheel 15 2 Feb 2005 /usr/lib/libcurl.2.0.2.dylib -> libcurl.2.dylib
-rwxr-xr-x 1 root wheel 140748 24 Nov 19:08 /usr/lib/libcurl.2.dylib
-rw-r--r-- 1 root wheel 250520 12 Sep 2003 /usr/lib/libcurl.a
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root wheel 15 2 Feb 2005 /usr/lib/libcurl.dylib -> libcurl.2.dylib

I'm not versed in Unix so I don't know how to interpret this.

Thanks again.

Manfred Lotz

05-22-2008 12:47 PM

Same for me. It doesn't start and any removal of preferences filed didn't help.

I'm pretty much clueless.

--
Manfred

trevor

05-22-2008 01:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ed2385 (Post 471141)

Hmmmmm... No promises, but the following command *might* help. Unfortunately, I don't have an install of OS X 10.3.x around to see what is correct. But the command below, while it may or may not fix the problem, shouldn't hurt anything. It just provides a new symbolic link to libcurl.2.dylib with the name libcurl.3.dylib.

If that doesn't fix the problem, then you'll need to find another install of OS X 10.3.x and see what they have in that directory.

sudo ln -s /usr/lib/libcurl.2.dylib /usr/lib/libcurl.3.dylib

You'll be asked for your admin password, enter it. While entering it, nothing will be echoed back to the screen--this is normal. And if you've never used the 'sudo' command before, you may get a warning about it's potential for danger.

Trevor

trevor

05-22-2008 03:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Manfred Lotz (Post 471368)

Same for me. It doesn't start and any removal of preferences filed didn't help.

I'm pretty much clueless.

Here is hayne's prescription for problems that are specific to one user:

Quote:

Originally Posted by hayne

Here's my generic prescription for user-specific problems:
----------------------------------
You have determined that the problem is only with the one user account.
The problem thus is almost certainly due to something under your home folder.
And it likely is something under ~/Library
( ~ = your home folder)
The most likely thing is a bad preference file under ~/Library/Preferences
You could start by removing the preference files for the apps you are having trouble with. (The names of preference files usually include the name of the app they are for.)
If the problem persists, you need to narrow the problem down - you could start by moving (via drag & drop) the whole "Preferences" folder that is under ~/Library to the Desktop, then log out and log in again. A default copy of the Preferences folder will have been recreated. Does that improve things? If so, you could use a divide & conquer approach to figure out which of the preference files is causing the problem - move half of the preference files back into the Preferences folder, log out & in again, etc.

If the problem persists, try the same thing with the other sub-folders of ~/Library. E.g. with ~/Library/Caches, ~/Library/InputManagers, ~/Library/Fonts, ~/Library/PreferencePanes, ~/Library/Application Support, ~/Library/Application Enhancers, contents of ~/Desktop, etc.
Also remove any files owned by your user in /Library/Caches (the Library folder at the top-level of the drive) or the sub-folders of /Library/Caches (e.g. the font caches under /Library/Caches/com.apple.ATS)

Trevor

ChrisX

05-22-2008 06:02 PM

I have investigated this since here on my PB G4 10.3.9, GE (4.0.2736) also crashes on launch. It used to work perfectly until yesterday. Now, if I delete com.Google.GoogleEarthPlus.plist, it will launch again, but only once, then crash on next launch.

What causes the crash on my system is the following. Since yesterday GE writes to com.Google.GoogleEarthPlus.plist on exit:

<string>Required: This version of Google Earth is no longer supported. Please download the latest version from the link below.</string>

Usually, the Plist reads at this line:

<string>Suggested: This version of Google Earth is no longer supported. Please download the latest version from the link below.</string>

This difference causes the crash. Once the Plist has the "Required" string in it, GE will no longer launch. Changing it back to "Suggested" (eg in TextEdit) lets GE launch normally. Looks like an expiration thing (intentionally or unintentionally) to me. This is bad especially since the "required" newer doesn't work on 10.3.

I don't have the time or means to test this on 10.4 or 10.5, other sytems like Intel Macs, or play around with the system clock since this PB is a production machine.

Ed2385

05-22-2008 08:46 PM

Thanks, Trevor, for your commitment to help us.

I have some news now:

I could reproduce Manfred's experiment by creating another test user and the program ran from it with no problem.
Then I went back to my main user and trashed the two preference files (com.Google.GECommonSettings.plist and com.Google.GoogleEarthPlus.plist) plus the contents of Library/Application support/Google Earth (myplaces.backup.kml, myplaces.kml and myplaces.kml.tmp) and somehow managed to launch the program. With this, I lost all my own place markers, but it's OK.
Now I can launch Google Earth, but only after trashing the preferece files every time! :mad:.
I hope this approach helps Manfred as well.
There is still something wrong, of course.

I tried to locate all the other files created by Google Earth but its a pain in the neck to do it among the thousand others in the Library folder. Is there any way of knowing the creator of a file as we did until system 9?. The info window does not show it. That way, I could search by creator using [command+F].

Additionally, I read somewhere in another forum that the file libcurl.3.dylib doesn't exist in Mac OS 10.3.9 and remembered that one of the first fixes I tried was to reinstall the program but downloaded the wrong version (4.2) which runs only under system 10.4+. Without realising that, I tried to launch it once and it behaved exactly like the correct version did all the time afterwards. Maybe that action left something behind that caused the "libcurl.3.dylib" issue. I don' know.

I will try the approach suggested by you, Trevor, (Hayne's method) and exercise my patience. Let's see what happens.

zatoh

05-28-2008 11:10 PM

I happened to have a backup copy of com.Google.GECommonSettings.plist, copied it over and locked it in " get info". The 1st time I copied w/o locking I was only able to run GE once, then the same thing happened. After re-copying the file I made sure I locked it and now GE launches everytime.

John Shreffler

05-29-2008 06:30 AM

Same problem, I am running GE 4.0.2736 with OS 10.3.9. Solution: In Finder, search for "com.google", and you will find "com.Google.GoogleEarthPlus.plist" Send it to the trash and flush. Don't worry, it will come back. Now you can open Google Earth. But only once. You have to keep flushing the above mentioned file every time. I think it is meant to get you to upgrade, but Google doesn't seem to understand that not everyone wants to upgrade their OS.

John Shreffler

05-29-2008 09:47 AM

Confirming the post by Zatoh. First check your com.Google.GoogleEarthPlus.plist to make sure that the word "Required" is changed to "Suggested". Then lock the file with Get Info. GE won't be able to put its curse on it. Of course, if you want to save your own settings, places, etc, during a session, you will have to unlock the file. But be sure to re-lock it before you quit.

kdatmacosx

06-04-2008 09:57 PM

Ah, thank you! Magically Google Earth stopped working for me this week. After lots of searching and googling around I found these hints.

I can now run Google Earth by trashing the .plist prefs referenced above each time.
I can also edit the Google.GoogleEarthPlus.plist as in the post immediately above by John Shreffler....but when I go to save it --trouble begins. (Mac can't find pathway to save, then creates two..and on & on.)

Tomorrow, I will document the problem I'm having in hopes that one of you can make a suggestion so that I can have a full time pref file. But meanwhile Thanks for getting me this far!!

John Shreffler

06-06-2008 07:34 AM

Google Earth Won't Start

I did not say to SAVE the file, I said to LOCK it (after making sure the word "required" was changed to "suggested").

kdatmacosx

06-06-2008 01:18 PM

Google Earth Won't Start

Thank you for the clarification...but does not work.

1) I have trashed the relevent prefs files:

com.Google.GECommonSettings.plist
com.Google.GoogleEarthPlus.plist

2) Once these are trashed I can open GE

3) Once launched I search for com.google

4) a) double click the googleEarthPlus.plist one
b) change "Required" to "Suggested"
c) use get info in finder window, to open lock this file
d) this time I don't attempt to save

5) quit Google Earth

6) Attempt to launch Google Earth
does not launch.

6) addenda
Interestingly I now have TWO of the files with title including
GECommonSettings.plist

Any hints? Ideas?

Thanks!
Kathy

John Shreffler

06-08-2008 03:17 PM

Sounds like you did everything that I did. Your step 4 c says "open lock". I am a little confused here, could be just semantics. After making sure the Required is replaced by Suggested, open Get Info and check the Locked box. Thereafter, a little padlock icon will appear by that file. If this is what you did, I am at a loss as to why things don't work.

I too have two com.Google.GECommonSettings.plist files. One is very short, created the last time I downloaded GE, and the other is very long, created the last time I closed GE.

kdatmacosx

06-08-2008 09:30 PM

4 c) should properly read "to open get info dialog box, checked "lock" box..." etc.

Not sure why it won't work. Till I get another suggestion I guess I'll just keep trashing the file when I quit G.E.

But, this is a lot further than I got before, so Thanks!
kd

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