Some troubleshooting tips if your application crashes whenever you try to launch it

This information was provided by Claris Corporation on 16 March 1998, and incorporated into Apple Computer's Tech Info Library.

Issue: Claris application crashes or freezes with a system error when launched or opened.

Solution: The issue may have one of several causes. The following are steps to correct this issue:

- Turn off Extensions (hold down the Shift key while restarting the computer). Launch the program to see if the issue is resolved. To determine which extension is causing the system error, you can use the Extensions Manager Control Panel to turn specific extensions on/off. When you determine which extension is the issue, you can replace or update it.

- If the issue persists, open the Preferences folder, inside the System Folder. Locate the file XTND Translator List. Delete it. Restart the Claris application. The file will be recreated.

- If the issue persists, the Claris Fonts file for the Claris application may be corrupted. First, delete the Claris Fonts file. This file is located in the Claris folder, which is inside the System Folder:
- for FileMaker Pro 4.0 or 3.0 - this file is called FM Pro Fonts
- for ClarisWorks 4.0 or higher - this file is called ClarisWorks Fonts
- for all other Claris Applications - this file is called Claris Fonts

Your Claris folder may contain one or more of these files. Delete the file that corresponds with the Claris application that won't launch. Restart the Claris application. The file will be recreated.

- If the issue persists, a font may be corrupted. To test this, create a new folder on the Desktop. Then, open the Fonts folder, which is inside the System Folder. Drag all the font suitcase files into the folder on the desktop. Restart the Claris application. If the application still will not launch, put all the font files back into the System folder and proceed to the next step. If the application launches successfully, one or more font files are damaged. To determine which font is corrupt, try putting half the font files back into the Fonts folder and relaunching the Claris application. Continue narrowing down the possible bad fonts in this manner. Throw out and/or reinstall any fonts that are corrupt. See also the article "System Freezing at the Splash Screen Spells Font Trouble."

- If the issue persists, rebuild the desktop (hold down the command and option keys while restarting the computer), then run Disk First Aid or Norton Disk Doctor. Disk First Aid is included on your System disks. Instructions are included in your computer's owners manual.

- If the issue persists, reinstall the Claris application. Turn off Extensions before reinstalling.

- If the issue persists, reinstall the system software.

- If the issue persists, update the hard disk driver. This is an invisible file on your hard drive. Updating the system software does not update the driver file. If your hard drive is an Apple drive that came with the computer, use the Drive Setup or HDSC Setup application. Be sure to use the latest version that comes with the latest system software. For non-Apple brand drives, contact your dealer or hard drive vendor for the latest version of their formatting software. You do NOT need to reformat the hard disk. Instead, run the formatting software and select the option Update, Install Driver, or Update SCSI driver. (The exact wording will vary depending on the software).