MATLAB: Does MATLAB 7.8 (R2008b) or higher crash with the error “application quit unexpectedly” when launched from the dock alias on Mac OS X

MATLAB

When trying to launch MATLAB from the Dock, the following "application quit unexpectedly" error report is generated and MATLAB is not launched:
 Process:         MATLAB [1277]
 Path:            /Applications/MATLAB_R2009aSV.app/bin/maci/MATLAB.app/Contents/MacOS/MATLAB
 Identifier:      com.mathworks.matlab
 Version:         ??? (???)
 Code Type:       X86 (Native)
 Parent Process:  launchd [156]
 Date/Time:       2009-03-30 20:08:07.112 +0100
 OS Version:      Mac OS X 10.5.6 (9G66)
 Report Version:  6
 Exception Type:  EXC_BREAKPOINT (SIGTRAP)
 Exception Codes: 0x0000000000000002, 0x0000000000000000
 Crashed Thread:  0
 Dyld Error Message:
   Library not loaded: libtbb.dylib
   Referenced from: /Applications/MATLAB_R2009aSV.app/bin/maci/MATLAB.app/Contents/MacOS/libmwservices.dylib
   Reason: image not found
Launching MATLAB from a Terminal works without error.

Best Answer

This issue is caused by placing the wrong alias on the dock. This can happen when right-clicking the icon of a running MATLAB instance and selecting "Keep in Dock". To resolve this issue, remove the the faulty alias from the Dock. Once removed, drag the MATLAB.app file from the Applications folder into the Dock. For example, if you are using MATLAB R2009a, drag MATLAB_R2009a.app from the Applications folder to the Dock. Launching MATLAB from this alias should allow MATLAB to start properly.
If MATLAB continues to get the same error, try the following:
1) Open Finder and go to the Applications folder
2) CTRL+Click or right click on the MATLAB .app file and select "Show Package Contents"
3) Look for a folder called "appdata" and drag that folder to the trash.
Once complete, restart MATLAB.
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