Hello all, this is first mac. I'm having problems with the mac help feature (doesn't work). I've talked with tech support @ local mac store and his only suggestion was to do a complete reinstall of osx (v.10.4.2). Did that and solved the prob temporarily. I can open "mac help" from the tool-bar and get a blank box; click on the "home" symbol and it brings up the normal "Mac OS Help" screen. The problem is that none of the links work except the mac url. Any ideas on how to fix this? I really need this feature as I continue to learn about this sytem and I really don't want to do a complete reinstall everytime i want to use "help". Any input is greatly appreciated!!!
problem w/ mac help
- Thread starter rfowler
- Start date
'The problem is that none of the links work except the mac url.', what do you mean by 'except the mac url'? - when the 'Mac OS Help' page appears there are only the following links:
www.apple.com
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'... do a complete reinstall of osx (v.10.4.2). Did that', did you really do an 'Erase and Install'?
'... solved the prob temporarily', for how long?
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With respect to getting the 'Help Viewer' to work properly (and with 'Help Viewer' not launched) try moving the '~/Library/Preferences/' files
com.apple.helpviewer.plist
com.apple.help.plist
... to the trash can. Now, open and try 'Help Viewer'.
www.apple.com
Check out great new features.
Work smart, play hard.
Connecting to the internet
Remembering passwords
Switching from Windows
About your computer
More topics...
Look up topics easily.
'... do a complete reinstall of osx (v.10.4.2). Did that', did you really do an 'Erase and Install'?
'... solved the prob temporarily', for how long?
-----
With respect to getting the 'Help Viewer' to work properly (and with 'Help Viewer' not launched) try moving the '~/Library/Preferences/' files
com.apple.helpviewer.plist
com.apple.help.plist
... to the trash can. Now, open and try 'Help Viewer'.
Sorry... the "www.apple.com" url is the only thing that worked. I did a complete reformat and install from thr osx disk; help worked for about 2 weeks. I trashed the library/preferences/files that you suggested and that corrected the problem!! THANK YOU!! Now i wish I knew what caused the problem so I can avoid it in the future. Thank you again for your quick reply and help!
This problem can also be caused by corrupt Help cache files in ~/Library/Caches. The problem is so persistent that someone wrote a "HelpViewer Clear Cache Utility" in Applescript to deal with it. It's also covered here in Apple's KB:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=25667
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=25667
boblegault
Registered
I can vouch for the Apple fix: http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=25667
I'm using OSX 10.4.3 on a G4 Mini. This fix worked for me when others failed.
I'm using OSX 10.4.3 on a G4 Mini. This fix worked for me when others failed.
Randy Singer
Registered
That person should know better. There are several Apple technotes on this problem, and it isn't at all uncommon.rfowler said:
Lots of folks have had problems with Help Viewer over multiple versions of OS X. Fortunately, usually it isn't hard to fix.
Usually the problem can be fixed by trashing the following files at:
Home/Library/Preferences
com.apple.help.plist
com.apple.helpui.plist
com.apple.helpviewer.plist
You can also try using this program to clear the Help Viewer cache, which may be corrupt:
Help Viewer Help (free)
http://www.shopperturnpike.com/usefulsoftware/
If that doesn't help, have a look at:
<http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=25667>.
<http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107013>.
This Web site goes into quite a bit of detail about all of the things that might be wrong with Help Viewer:
<http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/helpviewer.html>