HT203353: If Safari is slow, stops responding, quits unexpectedly, or has other issues

Learn about If Safari is slow, stops responding, quits unexpectedly, or has other issues
liquidnonsense
Level 1 (18 points)
iLife

Q: Safari tabs go white and all pages unresponsive

Hello,

 

Safari is almost unusable now.  After 5 or 10 minutes of browsing, there always comes a point where I switch to another tab and suddenly that tab becomes all white/blank, then I go back to the tab I was on and now that's completely white as well, as are every single one of my tabs.  Reloading does nothing... the refresh button does turn into the X, but the blue loading bar doesn't even appear at all and nothing ever loads.  Even opening a new tab is useless, because nothing will load in that tab either.  I'm confused because I'm not getting the spinning beach ball, so it doesn't seem like it's hanging (and I can switch from tab to tab with no problem, they're just all white now.)  The only solution is to quit and re-open Safari, which is aggravating because it never remembers my open tabs like it's supposed to when I quit it with the white-screen problem.  What's going on?  Should I just switch to Chrome?

 

Thanks,

Henry

MacBook Pro, OS X Yosemite (10.10.3), (Mid 2012)

Posted on Sep 24, 2015 10:31 AM

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liquidnonsense

Q: Safari tabs go white and all pages unresponsive

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  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Sep 24, 2015 11:16 AM in response to liquidnonsense
    Level 10 (207,925 points)
    Applications
    Sep 24, 2015 11:16 AM in response to liquidnonsense

    I suggest you start by taking the steps recommended in this support article.

  • by liquidnonsense,

    liquidnonsense liquidnonsense Sep 24, 2015 9:04 PM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (18 points)
    iLife
    Sep 24, 2015 9:04 PM in response to Linc Davis

    I have taken all of these steps, but the problem persists.  I have no extensions at all by the way.  I'm having another separate issue with Safari as well involving pages zooming incorrectly, but maybe that should be a separate post.

  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Sep 25, 2015 5:22 AM in response to liquidnonsense
    Level 10 (207,925 points)
    Applications
    Sep 25, 2015 5:22 AM in response to liquidnonsense

    Please read this whole message before doing anything.

    This procedure is a test, not a solution. Don’t be disappointed when you find that nothing has changed after you complete it.

    Step 1

    The purpose of this step is to determine whether the problem is localized to your user account.

    Enable guest logins* and log in as Guest. Don't use the Safari-only “Guest User” login created by “Find My Mac.”

    While logged in as Guest, you won’t have access to any of your documents or settings. Applications will behave as if you were running them for the first time. Don’t be alarmed by this behavior; it’s normal. If you need any passwords or other personal data in order to complete the test, memorize, print, or write them down before you begin.

    Test while logged in as Guest. Same problem?

    After testing, log out of the guest account and, in your own account, disable it if you wish. Any files you created in the guest account will be deleted automatically when you log out of it.

    *Note: If you’ve activated “Find My Mac” or FileVault, then you can’t enable the Guest account. The “Guest User” login created by “Find My Mac” is not the same. Create a new account in which to test, and delete it, including its home folder, after testing.

    Step 2

    The purpose of this step is to determine whether the problem is caused by third-party system modifications that load automatically at startup or login, by a peripheral device, by a font conflict, or by corruption of the file system or of certain system caches.

    Please take this step regardless of the results of Step 1.

    Disconnect all wired peripherals except those needed for the test, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards, if applicable. Start up in safe mode and log in to the account with the problem.

    Note: If FileVault is enabled in OS X 10.9 or earlier, or if a firmware password is set, or if the startup volume is a software RAID, you can’t do this. Ask for further instructions.

    Safe mode is much slower to start up and run than normal, with limited graphics performance, and some things won’t work at all, including sound output and Wi-Fi on certain models. The next normal startup may also be somewhat slow.

    The login screen appears even if you usually log in automatically. You must know your login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin.

    Test while in safe mode. Same problem?

    After testing, restart as usual (not in safe mode) and verify that you still have the problem. Post the results of Steps 1 and 2.