Extra copies of 1P found...

camner

My copy of 1P (6.1/AgileStore version) just prompted me to update to version 6.2, but gave me a message saying that it found extra copies of 1P. It then "helpfully" told me that the extra version was the one (and only one) in my Applications folder. Doing a Spotlight search shows two other copies of 1P, but they are Windows versions associated with a Windows 7 VMWare Fusion virtual machine. I'm wondering if the "search for extra copies" feature isn't a bit too sensitive and picked up the Windows version that sits inside the VM package?

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1Password Version: 6.1
Extension Version: 4.5.5.90
OS Version: OS X 10.10.5
Sync Type: Dropbox

ag_kevin

Hi @camner ,

The list only shows other Mac copies but it excludes the copy you are running now. So it didn't find the Windows versions (it's not even possible), but it sounds like you are running a copy that is not in the Applications folder. Do you have a copy in your Downloads folder by any chance?

One way to tell is to right-click (or two finger click if using trackpad) the 1Password icon in the Dock, then choose Options > Show In Finder in the popup that appears. It will located the extra copy.

Once you have found the copy, quit 1Password by holding down the control key while selecting Quit 1Password and 1Password mini from the 1Password menu. Then replace the copy in Applications with the one you've found, relaunch and run the update.

If you have any trouble with the above, please let us know and we'll do our best to help you out.

Cheers,
Kevin

camner

@Kevin,

Thanks for the quick reply, but that isn't it. When I open 1Password from the menu bar and then go to Options > Show in Finder, it takes me to the one (and only!) 1Password app that is in my Applications folder. If I then check for updates from within the 1Password instance that is open, it once again tells me that there is an extra one at /Volumes/Macintosh HD/Applications/1Password 6.app, which is, of course, the one that's open!

I used Find Any File to search all my local disks (I don't have Spotlight index some backup disks, for example). I did find some old versions of 1Password (for example, version 4) on a backup disk, but given what you've written, it seems that 1Password should only be identifying non-running versions as "extra," whereas for me it seems to be the running instance that is identified as "extra."

What else can I look at?

Megan

Hi @camner,

That's a bit odd. If the copy of 1Password 4 is on a de-indexed drive, then the operating system should not be detecting it.

Here's the reason behind this error message: starting in OS X 10.10 (Yosemite), the operating system has gotten a bit overzealous when searching for 1Password mini. All that we can do when launching 1Password is request that the OS find and launch 1Password mini. But instead of finding the mini that is bundled neatly into the appropriate 1Password Application Support folder, it would find a mini on a backup drive, or in the Downloads folder. Then we'd see a connection problem between 1Password and this 1Password mini.

To alleviate the problem, we try to ensure that users only have one copy of 1Password installed on their system.

I'm wondering, if you remove the copy of 1Password 4 on the backup drive, does that eliminate the message? Don't worry, if you ever needed 1Password 4 for whatever reason, its available on our downloads page.

camner

Thanks for chiming in. I deleted the copies of 1Password on the backup drive. According to Find Any File, the only copies of an app name that begins with "1Password" are the 1 copy in my Applications folder and "copies" on my Time Machine backup. I put "copies" in quotes because I know that TM is just full of symbolic links and so I don't really have any idea how many distinct "copies" really exist, and I'm not going to try to mess with the TM backup by deleting any of those.

1P still reports that there is an "extra" copy of 1Password 6 and points me to the copy in my Applications folder.

I decided to update anyway (to 6.2), and of course now 1P doesn't say that it found an extra copy because it is update.

rcarr

I just upgraded to OS X 10.11.4 (from 10.11.3) and 1Password 6.2 (Mac App Store) and just started seeing this problem. The error message indicated that it had identified a second copy on my HD Clone (Carbon Copy Clone). I dismounted my HD Clone and was able to restart 1Password. -- Like HELL I'll stop backing up my HD so that I can use 1Password. (That's what I'd have to do as 1Password is one of my most used programs.) And if I delete it from my clone then my clone isn't a clone and not a proper backup for a hardware failure. This is a new problem that started with the latest updates and wasn't happening before. You need to fix it.

PS: an idea: If you detect multiple copies ask the user to identify the copy they are using. I can see where this isn't a universal cure-all, but it will help in those cases where 1Password is trying to use a backup copy.

A second issue - Who is the Bozo that decided that you had to log in to this forum in order to request help in getting into 1Password? If you can't get into 1Password how can you log into the forum? The needed password is stored in the program you need help in getting into. Duh

Stephen_C

@rcarr:

First I'm not employed by AgileBits and am merely a volunteer here so please don't shoot the messenger.

This is a new problem that started with the latest updates and wasn't happening before. You need to fix it.

1. It's not a new problem. It's been with us since the launch of OS X Yosemite. It's perfectly possible you've not come across it before—and certainly the latest versions of 1Password have inbuilt warnings to try to help people when then do come across the potential problem.
2. It's not up to AgileBits to "fix it". It happens to be a problem with Apple's launchd service. See, for example, this AgileBits' post (there are many others which will turn up if you search the forum for launchd).

Like HELL I'll stop backing up my HD so that I can use 1Password.

Nobody is asking you to do that. I suspect you have a backup drive permanently connected to your Mac. This knowledge base article covers the situation:

How to remove multiple, conflicting copies of 1Password from your system

Note the last section about backup drives. The solution (if you wish to have the backup drive permanently connected) is to:

• delete any copy of the 1Password app file (only) from the backup drive; and
• exclude the 1Password app file from any further backups (because, of course, you can always re-download it if you need to).

Provided you don't use any app cleaner tool when deleting the app file none of this will interfere with your 1Password data.

Stephen

camner

Well, 1Password is in a bit of a pickle here, right? Megan has explained what's going on, which is when 1P goes to launch 1P mini, the system (at least since Yosemite) doesn't always find the right version of 1P to launch 1P mini from; it sometimes finds more than one copy. We've probably all run into the issue that OS X has had for eons which is that sometimes the launchd database seems to store multiple copies of exactly the same instance of a program, resulting in duplicate (or more!) copies of a single instance of an app when using Open With..., the only cure for which is to rebuild the launchd database with some utility app. Maybe this is something similar?

It seems to me that the "fix" is for Agile to change the wording of the warning a bit so it doesn't come across so strongly. When I got the message, I figured there was a problem that I'd better resolve before upgrading from 6.1-->6.2. I wasn't even sure that 1P WOULD update without the resolution first (which it will).

How 'bout something like this:

Possible extra copies of 1Password found

We think we've found more than one copy of 1Password on your Mac. We have identified below what appears to be the extra copy. Please investigate and if extra copies are found, remove them them before updating. Sometimes OS X will report more than 1 copy of exactly the same instance of an app, and if that is the case, you do not need to do anything; you may go ahead and click "Continue Update."

Or something like that...

ag_kevin

Hi @camner,

I've been looking over the code, and we do an explicit check on the path before presenting the app in that dialogue box. If the Updater is inside the app bundle, the code assumes that is the running copy and won't put it in the list. So even if LaunchServices found the same copy twice, we'd ignore both instances. But this is another scenario that may explain it:

When you launch Check For Updates, OS X launches the Updater on your Time Machine disk instead of the one inside the running copy of 1Password. As Megan has mentioned, OS X only allows us to specify the id of the app, not the location. So if OS X is launching the updater on the Time Machine disk, the Updater believes that copy of 1Password (the one on the Time Machine disk) is running and not the one in the Applications folder.

Try the following. If you've already updated, you can try it on the next update.

1. Choose Check For Updates from the 1Password menu.
2. When the "multiple copies" warning is present, right-click on the 1Password Updater icon in your Dock, and choose Options > Show in Finder. Then see where it takes you. I suspect it'll take you to the copy on your Time Machine disk.

You could also confirm that by cancelling Check for Updates, disconnecting the Time Machine disk, and trying to Check For Updates again. If the warning does not come up, then we know that's what happened.

Regardless, we'd really appreciate if you could try my test above and let us know how that works out. We certainly want to make this better, and are trying to get as much information as we can to make it better for everyone.

Thanks so much for taking the time to write in.

Cheers,
Kevin

ag_kevin

Hi @rcarr ,

I'm sorry you are also experiencing this issue, and we certainly do not expect you to stop backing up your HD. Currently, we're at the mercy of OS X here. Even asking the user to identify the copy will not solve the issue. OS X only lets us ask it to launch an app with an id. It does not let us tell it to "launch this app in this folder". If it did, we'd have no problem fixing this.

Also, I certainly understand the catch-22 with regard to the forums. We do offer two ways of contacting us at the bottom of our support page for instances like you mentioned and for problems of a less public nature. https://support.1password.com - we do prefer the forums because more people get to see your question and we have a great user community here that can often help each other before we even get to answer. (for example, in other time zones, etc.)

Cheers,
Kevin

camner

Kevin,

You had suggested earlier (see above) that I try "Show in Finder" to see what instance of 1P was launched. I did that, and oddly enough, the version "shown in Finder" was the one in my boot disk's application folder, exactly the version that 1P was identifying as the "copy"! That's what is so confusing! While I DO have other copies (on my TM volume), it doesn't seem that the version of the updater there is what is being launched by OS X.

As for "disconnecting" the TM volume, I have a Mac Pro so the TM volume is internal. But, what I DID try was to go into Disk Utility and dismount every volume that I was allowed to dismount (including the TM volume) before running the updater again, and I STILL got a message saying that 1P found an extra copy...the very same one that appears to be running, again, sigh.

ag_kevin

Hi @camner,

I think you misread my instructions, or I misread your response. If so, I'm sorry about that. The second time, I wasn't asking you to show 1Password in the finder, I was asking you to show "1Password Updater" in the Finder. The 1Password Updater is a separate app from 1Password itself. My hypotheses is that 1Password (the one in your Applications folder) launched the wrong Updater (the one on your TM disk).

If that still doesn't work, I'd like to ask you to create a Diagnostics Report from your Mac:

Sending Diagnostics Reports (Mac)

Attach the Diagnostics Report(s) to an email message addressed to support+forum@agilebits.com.

Please do not post your Diagnostics Report(s) in the forums, but please do include a link to this thread in your email, along with your forum handle so that we can "connect the dots" when we see your Diagnostics Report(s) in our inbox.

You should receive an automated reply from our BitBot assistant with a Support ID number. Please post that number here so we can track down the report(s) and ensure that this issue is dealt with quickly. :)

I'm sorry this is taken so long. Your situation is a particularly unique aspect of this issue, and we'd really like to get to the bottom of it. Thank you so much for your assistance in this matter!

Regards,
Kevin

camner

@Kevin,

Sorry, but I misread your email...I did not see that you were suggesting that I see from where OS X was picking up the 1Password UPDATER. I'll try that.

camner

Well, I have no good explanation for this, but this is what I did...

I trashed my version of 1P 6.2 from Applications, and downloaded 6.1 and moved it to Applications. I then checked for updates, and this time I was not given the "extra copy" notification. For some reason, updating to 6.2, trashing 6.2, and reinstalling 6.1 seemed to solve the problem. Go figure!

littlebobbytables

It's certainly an unusual state of affairs @camner. It could very well be one of those weird situations where trying to get it to reproduce never succeeds and we're left scratching our heads as to what caused it for you. It's hard to say, we may never learn why it gave you misleading information while normally it is more accurate.

Ward

I discovered this discussion after 1Password 6.2 would not update itself to 6.2.1 until I deleted the copy of 1Password from the clone of my boot drive that SuperDuper! updates every morning at 5:00 am.

I thought I might be able to avoid this speed bump by disabling Spotlight indexing of my boot drive clone. But that didn't help.

So I located and deleted 1Password from the clone. After emptying the Trash, 1Password was finally happy to update itself.

Although SuperDuper! will restore 1Password to my clone drive tomorrow morning at 5:00 am, I can avoid this delay by setting up ChronoSync to copy my newly updated 1Password to the clone drive. Done!

ag_kevin

Hi all,

I'm glad things worked out in the end. This issue is particularly tricky to account for all the ways the wrong app could be launched, or LaunchServices (OS X) not providing the correct path. Thank you for taking the time to write in. We continue to look for solutions to this issue, and your feedback helps.

Cheers,
Kevin