dintexas

Q: Aperture will not open. Just an endless spinning beach ball. Will not force quick., Aperture will not open. Just an endless spinning beach ball. Will not force quit

Every attempt to open Aperture results in a spinning beach ball. When attempting to force quit, every program freezes. I am running a MacBook Pro, OS X 10.9.3, 8 GB Ram. Have deleted and reinstalled the program from the App store with the same results. Purchased Aperture a few months ago and began without difficulties. However, recently, the program simply stopped working. Suggestions?

MacBook Pro, OS X Mavericks (10.9.2)

Posted on Jun 4, 2014 6:50 PM

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Q: Aperture will not open. Just an endless spinning beach ball. Will not force quick., Aperture will not open. Just an endless spinni ... more

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  • by Random Incarnate,

    Random Incarnate Random Incarnate Jun 5, 2014 12:12 AM in response to dintexas
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 5, 2014 12:12 AM in response to dintexas

    Try a few of these:

     

    -Hold option while opening. This will ask you to create a new library/choose a different one. Create the new library, see if it opens

    ->If it opens, it's a library issue. Swap the library back to the original one.

    ->Try running Library First Aid (cmd + opt while opening)

    ->Make a backup first, run each of these until it opens.

     

    -If it does not open, test in Safe Mode (shift while booting)

    ->If it works there, it's user login items or startup items that can be removed from /Library/LaunchAgents, /Library/LaunchDaemons, /Library/StartupItems and ~/Library/LaunchAgents.

    ->Show no mercy in these folders, but don't trash everything just yet. Move it to a safe location on the desktop where you can easily put these files back. Reboot, test.

    ->Put some files back from harmless/well-known developers. Reboot, test.

    ->Rinse and repeat until Aperture doesn't open.

     

    -Test in a new user account

    ->If it opens here, it's part of your user preferences

    ->Log back in to your main user

    ->Open ~/Library/Preferences, pull com.Aperture.xxxxxx.plist

    ->Logout, log back in, test.

     

    If it keeps up, contact Apple or try verifying/repairing the disk through Disk Utility.

  • by léonie,

    léonie léonie Jun 5, 2014 1:08 AM in response to dintexas
    Level 10 (105,523 points)
    iLife
    Jun 5, 2014 1:08 AM in response to dintexas

    Before you try to work through the long list Random Incarnate posted, tell us more:

     

    • What happened, right before the problem started? Did you import new images? Install new software? Move your Aperture library? Ran any new program to clean your mac?
    • Where is your Apertrue library located? On an internal or external drive?
    • Is your library referenced or managed?

     

    Start with tests, to narrow down the problem: The list of tests, in Random Incarnate's post is useful, but I'd start with an different, quick  one:

    1. Hold down the SHift key while you launch Aperture. This will defer the generation of previews. Can Aperture launch this way? Then you have imported corrupted media and need to remove them from your Aperture library. Post back  for help how to find them.
    2. If Aperture does not work with the Shift key held down,  test with a new Aperture library. This will tell you, if the Aperture library needs trouble shooting. If a new library is working well, run the First Aid Tools as described above, but back up your library, before you try to rebuild it.
    3. If both tests fail, test in a new user account and post back with the result and a few answers to the questions above.

    Good luck.

  • by léonie,

    léonie léonie Jun 5, 2014 3:00 AM in response to dintexas
    Level 10 (105,523 points)
    iLife
    Jun 5, 2014 3:00 AM in response to dintexas

    Forgot to ask - how much free disk space do you have on your system drive? And did you install any plug-ins?

  • by dintexas,

    dintexas dintexas Jun 5, 2014 4:37 PM in response to léonie
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 5, 2014 4:37 PM in response to léonie

    Appreciate the replies to my query. I have a 750 GB Hard Drive, with well over 400 GB free. No plugins.

     

    A little more to the backstory. I purchased Aperture due to frustrations with iPhoto. Worked okay initially but began to refuse to open. I have thousands of pictures, including many from several trips to Europe (including Germany!). Last night, I thought about the library issues and found out how to change libraries in Aperture. I initiated a new library and the program opened. So, I began the laboriuos process of moving photos to Aperture from the old iPhoto library. Although time consuming, this gave me an opportunity to rid myself of many uneeded and redundant pictures. All was going well until this afternoon. When attempting to import more pictures, the program froze again. Aperture was "Not responding". Would not force quit. So, I am back to square one. Should I assume I had a corrupted photo and inadvenrtently attempted to import it? How does one figure out which photo is corrupted? I looked at each picture in the finder before importing. Been a Mac user for over twenty years and have never encountered difficulties like this. Thanks again. I am going to try some of ther suggestions offered above.

  • by léonie,

    léonie léonie Jun 5, 2014 11:14 PM in response to dintexas
    Level 10 (105,523 points)
    iLife
    Jun 5, 2014 11:14 PM in response to dintexas

    When attempting to import more pictures, the program froze again. Aperture was "Not responding". Would not force quit. So, I am back to square one. Should I assume I had a corrupted photo and inadvenrtently attempted to import it?

    That looks like you have indeed imported incompatible media.

     

    Try again the test with the Shift-key held down when launching Aperture. This way, Aperture will not try to process the images and create previews. If Aperture only is launching properly with the shift-key held down, it is a strong indication that one of your imported files cannot be processed.

     

    How does one figure out which photo is corrupted?

    It is probably one of your last recently imported images or videos.

    Have a look at my user tip:                  How to Screen an Aperture Library for Corrupted Image Files or Videos