Finder Cover Flow Icon Preview not working

Question

I'm not sure what happened but I noticed recently that the Cover Flow icon previews were missing from my files in Finder. I'm using OSX 10.6.7. See the screenshot below - I'm expecting a preview of the file to be shown rather than the black document icon.

How can I get the preview back? The View Options have "Show Icon Preview" ticked.

Quicklook still works on individual files, just not in Finder.

Edit

Error message reported in Console:

/System/Library/Frameworks/QuickLook.framework/Resources/quicklookd.app/Contents/MacOS/quicklookd: /System/Library/Frameworks/QuickLook.framework/Resources/quicklookd.app/Contents/MacOS/quicklookd: cannot execute binary file

(com.apple.quicklook[5107]): Exited with exit code: 126

Edit 2 Output of command suggested by @jm666

lipo -detailed_info /System/Library/Frameworks/QuickLook.framework/Resources/quicklookd.app/Contents/MacOS/quicklookd

lipo: can't figure out the architecture type of: /System/Library/Frameworks/QuickLook.framework/Resources/quicklookd.app/Contents/MacOS/quicklookd

After seeing the error message, I restored the previous version of quicklookd from my Time Machine backup and the problem was resolved. I'm going to do a clean install of Snow Leopard just to make sure there are no other issues with my system.

Answer 1

hm. Removing my answer, because not helped.

So - you got a message into Console.log. So, come step-by-step. :)

What return this command?

lipo -detailed_info /System/Library/Frameworks/QuickLook.framework/Resources/quicklookd.app/Contents/MacOS/quicklookd

Should this:

Fat header in: /System/Library/Frameworks/QuickLook.framework/Resources/quicklookd.app/Contents/MacOS/quicklookd
fat_magic 0xcafebabe
nfat_arch 2
architecture x86_64
    cputype CPU_TYPE_X86_64
    cpusubtype CPU_SUBTYPE_X86_64_ALL
    offset 4096
    size 504912
    align 2^12 (4096)
architecture i386
    cputype CPU_TYPE_I386
    cpusubtype CPU_SUBTYPE_I386_ALL
    offset 512000
    size 399280
    align 2^12 (4096)

Answer 2

Your mac is failing at a pretty low level for Finder to not be able to generate previews so it would be a great time to make sure your backups are safe and current.

When you log in, quicklookd should start and run in the background until Finder asks it to draw those previews for you.

With the information you presented - it's not clear if quicklookd is no longer starting, now has a problem (say with a new plug in or an old one that is now broken with the latest update)

If you are interested in digging into this - do post more details:

1. Is quicklookd running? (you can see it in activity monitor)
2. Are there any messages about quicklookd in the console.app? (system.log and All Messages would be good places to start)
3. Are you running any custom utility software or added any plug-ins to modify quicklook or Finder?
4. Anything else major changed of late?

You should be able to determine if quicklookd is failing to start or has a problem with a specific plug-in. It's too uncertain to know what went wrong and the steps to fix depend on what has broken.

Edit If quicklookd won't run in a new user and gets the same errors, then reinstalling the OS should write a new quicklook. The plugins you list are probably harmless and you can either try removing them first or reinstalling. I would go the reinstall first, but can't predict which it will be.

Answer 3

Have you tried running "Repair Disk Permissions" from Disk Utility?

In the past I've found that fixed an issue with icons not displaying correctly.

Alternatively look at a tool like Onyx can run a more comprehensive system maintenance, so that might be worth a shot.

Answer 4

I'd first start with something that doesn't modify any data, to remain least intrusive. Try Command+Option+Esc for the Force Quit Applications window, and relaunch Finder. If that doesn't fix it, I'd probably reboot and test.

The next step for me would be to boot in safe mode, by holding down Shift when you turn on the computer. If it's running 10.5.x or earlier, you'll see a spinning gear and the boot will take some time. 10.6 will show a progress bar. You can get more information on the function of a Safe boot here: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1564.

If the issue persists passed that point, then I'd likely start manually removing more caches (~/Library/Caches/), or proceed as @BendiLow suggests with permissions, etc. OnyX can help in system modifications, but to date, I haven't seen anything in the app that specifically would affect the Cover Flow index.