M2 Mac Mini, TS3

TotalSpaces
1

I’ve been a user of TS and TS2 even before Apple ditched their version. I can’t imagine being organized without it. So when I upgraded, this is one of the first places I came.

However, while I got Total Spaces 3 working just fine, with 24 hours it crashed on me. No matter what I tried, I couldn’t get it to open again. The next morning I tried again, and suddenly it was back! But only for about 8 hours. Now I can’t get it working at all.

Any thoughts, help, suggestions? I’ve tried reinstalling, and at least Ventura recognizes that it is an app, but then nothing happens. Maybe I could uninstall, but I’m not certain where every item connected to it is located. I’d appreciate any help.

2

I’ve heard a few people say this - it’s one of the reasons I’m still on big sur using ts2.

3

How many screens/desktops did you create?
Some time ago I used to use 16 perfectly fine with TS2 and initially tried this with TS3 … it worked at first, then TS3 crashed and would no longer startup.

In the end I had to uninstall, reinstall and keep the spaces down to 12 only.
It still crashes from time to time but at least it restarts.

4

I only need 6, so I only use 6.
Can I ask, when you uninstalled, what files did you uninstall? What ended up in the trash?

5

I think I just dropped the app into the Bin/Trash folder.
There were some configuration files in ~/Library/ApplicationSupport/TotalSpaces3 that I think I also deleted from the terminal CLI.

638376.padl
638376.spadl
com.binaryage.TotalSpaces3.ipak
6

Thanks. I missed the folder in application support. Deleted them both (support & app) and I still get nothing. Very disappointed.

7

You could try starting from the terminal and see if there’s any output.

8

In addition to trying from the terminal, try opening up the Console application, then look at the Crash Reports section to find anything from TotalSpaces3. I routinely get the following:

-------------------------------------
Translated Report (Full Report Below)
-------------------------------------

Process:               TotalSpaces3 [720]
Path:                  /Applications/TotalSpaces3.app/Contents/MacOS/TotalSpaces3
Identifier:            com.binaryage.TotalSpaces3
Version:               0.9 (125)
Code Type:             X86-64 (Native)
Parent Process:        launchd [1]
User ID:               501

Date/Time:             2023-06-29 16:41:22.3964 +0100
OS Version:            macOS 12.6.7 (21G651)
Report Version:        12
Bridge OS Version:     7.5 (20P5060)
Anonymous UUID:        7862242C-B75C-F326-38CC-90C5657789F2


Time Awake Since Boot: 31000 seconds

System Integrity Protection: disabled

Crashed Thread:        0  Dispatch queue: com.apple.main-thread

Exception Type:        EXC_BAD_INSTRUCTION (SIGILL)
Exception Codes:       0x0000000000000001, 0x0000000000000000
Exception Note:        EXC_CORPSE_NOTIFY

Termination Reason:    Namespace SIGNAL, Code 4 Illegal instruction: 4
Terminating Process:   exc handler [720]

but I am able to restart TS3 afterwards.
You might find an error message or stack/function call that you can Google to see if it’s a known issue but that can be a bit hit and miss.

9

Thanks for the suggestions guys. Particularly working in Terminal and Console is deeper than I’d gone. Unfortunately I’m still TS3-less. Console tells me it’s definitely crashing each time I open it, and the line suggests:

Application Specific Information: abort() called

This means little to me, but does it mean anything to anyone else?

10

It’s been a few months, but coming back to the forum found me a solution! You ready for this?
Rows.
Whenever I add rows to the grid, the icon in the menu bar locks up and doesn’t work. Plus, if the app quits, and I’ve still got more than 1 row, it won’t start up again. BUT, if I have 6 desktops, lined up shoulder to shoulder, everything works fine.
So all of this doesn’t completely kill the use of TS3. But it does really limit it. I CAN still use rows, but as soon as I add them, the menu bar icon locks. This seems to mean that I can use shortcut keys to open up the grid, etc, but I can’t make any more changed to preferences afterwards. So if you’re like me and desperately want to use rows, set up everything first, and then expect you can’t make any changes again until you get rid of those extras.
I hope this helps.