Mac OS X 10.0: Generic Folders Appear in the Dock and Applications Folder

Symptom

After installing Mac OS X 10.0, applications in the top-level Applications folder and in the Dock have icons that look like plain folders instead of their regular application icons.

This symptom may appear with or without this alert message:

"Your Home folder is not available. The server where it's stored may be temporarily unavailable. . . Contact your network admin."

Solution

There are two possible solutions:

I. Disk Utility or fsck

First, try using Disk Utility or fsck to verify and repair the disk. If the issue persists, try the second solution.

For information on using Disk Utility or fsck, please see:

Article 106214: "Mac OS X 10.0: Why, When, and How to Run fsck for File System Maintenance"

II. Removing Preference files

You can resolve this issue when started up from Mac OS 9.x or Mac OS X. You must navigate to the filepath /Users/<user name>/Library/Preferences and delete three files. Follow these steps:

1. Open the Mac OS X disk in the Finder.
2. Open the Users folder.
3. Open the folder named after the affected user.
4. Open the Library folder in that user's folder.
5. Open the Preferences folder in that Library folder.
6. Drag these files to the Trash:
LSApplications
LSClaimedTypes
LSSchemes
7. If you are using Mac OS X, choose Log Out from the Apple menu.
8. Log back in as the affected user.
9. If you are working in Mac OS 9.x, restart the computer from Mac OS X and log in as the affected user.

The correct icons should now appear.