Yeah, I should have mentioned that it looks exactly like it would if it were hidden.
That’s where I’m confused. The application is not hidden. The icon is sometimes like that even when I’m playing around in iTunes.
Also try repairing permissions, and dumping out the cache files for the dock, and perhaps even trashing the prefs file for the dock?...just reaching here b/c I’m not by a mac at the moment.
p.s. Also flash the PRAM (restart while holding down Command + Option + P + R, and keep holding those keys down until you gear the startup chime a second time).
killall Dock to restart the Dock process from the Terminal. JP’s suggestion is most likely the solution. How on earth the setting was changed, I have no idea. Perhaps try using defaults read before you do anything to find out what it’s currently set to.
Just tried all of JP’s Terminal suggestions, as well as richardhenry’s, and then some of my own. More restarts. No success.
Perhaps this is just one more wheel falling off of my PowerBook. It really is time for a replacement. I haven’t been able to run on battery power for over a year….
Try creating a new user (or logging in as a different user if you already have multiple accounts) and see if the problem persists there. This is always a good place to start. If it exists in both accounts, you have a low-level system issue. If it’s only in one account, the issue is a setting or preference or corruption in your user account.