OS X: Make it Quit

I just got back from a rather harrowing experience trying to get a users brand new Titanium PowerBook to stop loading a program. Sometimes getting something to quit is not as easy as it looks.
 

The scene was a college freshman's room where a goofy buddy from next door mindlessly shoved a CD game into the Ti. Of course, the mindless OS X automatically launched DVD Player and found something to open -- which, of course turned out to be the auto-installer for the game: "BlackHawk Down". The CD would not stop installing, so he restarted the Ti. When it came back up, the install simply continued. Next he restarted holding the Mouse down. Well, that kicked out the CD, and that's when we discovered the problem: "Windows XP Only" said the label. The kid and OS/X were both too stupid to know you can't run a Windows game on a Mac. But X was trying as hard as it could -- the install continued.
      At this point we start trying all the "back door" tricks, only to find they don't work under X. Try as we may, we could not find any indication of what "operation" was in progress, nor how to stop it. As a last resort, I unplugged the Ti from the power source, and removed the battery.
      When the Ti rebooted, there was a 48 megabyte file on the desktop called "BlackHawk Down.dbd" -- and, OS/X was busy installing. I took it to the trash can. Sorry, X said, you can't throw that away because an operation is in progress. Okay, change the name and delete. Same error, and the original name pops back in. Okay, Option/Delete. Same error. None of the old Mac guru's tricks worked. There was no installer running -- only the Finder. We quit the Finder. Installing continued.
      Double-clicking the file initiated an error saying "That file is already open." (Even though there was no sign of a running application.) Selecting and using command/O initiated an error saying "Failure to open, File unknown." (So this time, OS/X asserted the file wasn't open.) Attempting a drag and drop on the dock revealed that the only program that would open the file is Explorer. Dropping on Explorer, resulted in the same error, "Sorry can't open that because another operation is already in progress."
      Remembering the tried and true trick of dragging from Sherlock to the Trash can, I quickly copy the file's name from the desktop, hit command/F and paste the name into Sherlock and hit search -- Sherlock says "None Found." (Go figure, I'm sitting here looking at the file on the desktop but Sherlock says it's not there, OS/X says it's already running, but then says it cannot be opened.)
      By now I'm getting pretty heated -- really wishing I had my own tools, BBEdit, CanOpener and DiskTop -- or, at least an install disk, which I don't.
      The next move was to see if OS/9 would be of help, so we re-boot under OS/9. Arriving there, the file is nowhere to be found, Sherlock cannot find it, and no applications are running. No help. (But OS/9 runs perfectly and allows the usual use of the Mac.)
      After re-booting back into OS/X, I try a desperate trick and it works -- open from within TextEdit. Presto, the window opens presenting a screen full of code. The first line of code reads: "Execute only under Windows ME or XP". I select all, and hit delete. The file is now empty. I hit command/Q, and confirm YES to save the file. Back in the finder the file now has a TextEdit icon, and drags easily into the trash. Empty trash, file's gone. Install has ceased. All operations back to normal.
      I'm sure there's some very simple command line that would have remedied the whole thing, but frankly, this old mouse hasn't learned those command line tricks yet.

Moral of the story:

1) Don't let anyone put anything into your computer.
2) Don't expect to rely on old "tricks" in an emergency, and
3) Turn off instant DVD playback. The last thing you want is some operation launching that you're not happy with -- and possibly can't stop it.
 

Even though the DVD Player allows you the option to turn off the AutoPlay feature, the program still seems to launch when you insert a disc. This is what happened in this case. And, for some reason, OS/X thought that launching a dot-exe file was the correct thing to do -- which it wasn't.
 

To turn off AutoPlay open TextEdit and navigate to your user folder, to Library > Preferences, and then open the file named com.apple.finder.plist.
 

Look down several lines until you find the line.

Insert two lines:

Quit and save the changes. Now you launch the DVD player by double-clicking the program's icon.
 

Any time an something unexpected happens with your Mac, chances are there is an effective solution. When troubleshooting a new system, or a new software program, take your time and stay calm. Most importantly, study the documentation, or purchase a recommended book that will help you out of trouble spots. When all else fails, don't be afraid to get help.
 

Until next time, happy mousing.
 

 

If you have tips, tricks or questions you'd like to add to "This Old Mouse" just let me know.   Macintosh User Groups are invited to use this column in their newsletters, but Please read the "Read Me" first, okay!

About the Author:
      Fred Showker is Editor in Chief of "MUG" the AACUG Mac User Guide, and the User Group Network News service, and a founding Apple User Group Advisory Board (UGAB) member. He was an original founder of the User Group Forum on AppleLink Personal Edition, and America Online where he was AFA for eight years. Many MUG (Mac User Group) members know him for his work with the Mug News Service (MNS), National Home & School Mac (NHSM), or his many speaking appearances at NAUG, NAUGSAW and Macworld Expo and others. Today, he's a familiar name in many user group newsletters around the world for his 60-Second Window, now in its 13th year of syndication... read more

---

Get Involved contact: The Association of Apple Computer Users & Groups, at www.AACUG.org/contact.html
To become part of this Association for Apple Computer Users & Groups simply go to: www.AACUG.org/join.html ... This service provided in part by the generous support of the User Group Network, the Graphic Design Network, the Designers' Bookshelf, and the ... 1999 through 2001, 2002, 2003. All Rights Reserved.