Xcode 4.2 missing iOS5 SDK for simulator

Question

I created an empty Single View application using Xcode 4.2 on OSX Lion 10.7.2, oriented to iPhone 5. The project was created with pleasure, but when I started the simulator I received the following error message:

iOS Simulator could not find the SDK. You may need to reinstall the SDK.

Then I tried to set up the iPad with the same results. I uninstalled Xcode using the terminal and downloaded a new copy from the AppStore. A clean install generates the same error.

It seems that the SDK is not being deployed during installation. Any tips or tricks on how I can properly install the iOS 5 SDK for the simulator?

Update

I downloaded the iOS 4.3 sim, which was not installed. The simulator works fine if I select the 4.3 SDK, but for some reason does not recognize the folder containing the 5.0 SDK.

Update

I reformatted the MacBook, rebooted a clean OSX Lion without restoring any backups, and installed Xcode. Starting the simulator immediately after installation worked, but after rebooting and restarting Xcode, the error returned. The SDK itself seems to have been corrupted. Let's try installing Xcode again.

Answer 1

After some testing, it turns out that the problem is caused by third-party software. Recently, TotalFinder developer uninstalled part of Asepsis and created a separate application for processing DS_Store files.

Unfortunately, this destroys iOS Simulator after installing it, and even after uninstalling Asepsis, I had to rebuild the entire machine to get rid of this error.

Update

BinaryAge is aware of the issue regarding Xcode 4.2, and now it appears on the information problems page and a warning banner is displayed on the download link.

Final update

BinaryAge seems to have changed the way Asepsis works, and this is no longer a problem with the latest versions.

Answer 2

Have you tried "File → Reset Content and Settings ..." in the simulator? I also encountered a similar problem, but worked after I reset the simulator! In fact, I also found that this worked after I deleted all existing projects and created new ones, but this happened again after restarting xcode. Fortunately, "Reset" always works for me, and I hope this can be useful for your case.