Jul 30, '07 07:30:02AM • Contributed by: tom larkin
While troubleshooting this issue, I decided to enable fast user switching (FUS) so I could log back into my admin account to make system changes in a timely manner. I noticed once I enabled fast user switching and switched from my working account to the account in question, all was suddenly well again. I have duplicated this method on several other machines at work, too. These range from intel iMacs, G4 to G5 desktops, G4 iBooks, G4 powerbooks, Macbooks, and Macbook Pros.
So if anyone runs into this issue where all the standard troubleshooting methods do not work, log into a different user account, enable FUS, and then switch from a good known user, then switch to the user in question and then it works. I have no idea why this works, but it works and saved me from having to target mode and back up data and reimage because the user forgot to back up their data on the network drive.
[robg adds: I can't test this one, but it seems there must still be a user-related issue at work if the Finder is crashing on login. As a temporary fix, FUS may get the job done, but the bigger issue will still need to be resolved.]
