Finder problem in new Mojave installation

Question

Finder problem in new Mojave installation

I just performed a clean install of Mohave on a six month old iMac. The problem is that I can drag and drop files a few times and then an image of the file gets 'stuck' to the cursor. I can force the finder to restart and the immediate issue disappears but the next drag and drop it is back. I've tried everything I can think of including reinstalling the OS but this issue remains. Is there something in Mohave that is brand new and I'm missing something obvious?

I was very careful in building up this new system from scratch, reinstalling all my apps from new downloads and eliminating all the old garbage that had accumulated over many years of upgrading the OS over the old ones. I'm stumped.

iMac 27" 5K, macOS 10.14

Posted on May 27, 2019 4:06 PM

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Answer 1

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Welles Goodrich Author

Level 4

1,390 points

May 28, 2019 9:24 PM in response to Welles Goodrich

OK I solved the issue but didn't isolate the exact conflict. I always use multiple monitors. Right now that is only 2 the iMac and another. In order to get my Intellimouse to be fully functional I've always used USB Overdrive or SteerMouse. When I was first building up this new system I tried SteerMouse that was my choice for the last two OS updgrades. It seemed to have some problems with Mohave so I deleted the Pref Pane but failed to look for the folder I later found in ~/Library/Application Support/Steermouse. I then installed USB Overdrive and that's when the problems started. Removing all elements of those two programs eliminated my problem but I was stuck with a 'regular' mouse speed and acceleration and limited to the two buttons supported by Apple's Mouse pref pane. Once I eliminated all the old vestiges of both those I've reinstalled SteerMouse and it seems to be working without problem at present (about a day). I think I'll declare this problem fixed.

Welles

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Answer 2

May 27, 2019 6:39 PM in response to Welles Goodrich

Welles Goodrich wrote:

Drat! It seemed to be Alfred but the issue came back... I'm going to keep at it until I find the solution!

To get a good look at your System config. for conflicts or issues, you can run this utility http://etrecheck.com

If you need help interpreting the report you can post it here in its entirety in the "Additional Text" box in the edit menu below.

To trouble shoot further you can:

Try a SafeBoot https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201262

Takes noticeable longer to get to the login screen, does a 5-15 minute disk repair before it fully boots up, and certain system caches get cleared and rebuilt, including dynamic loader cache, etc.

This test will tell you if third party interference; extensions etc are not loaded in safe boot mode.

Test issue in another user (or guest user) account https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204443

This will tell you if it a universal issue or isolated to your user/admin account.

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Answer 3

May 27, 2019 6:21 PM in response to dialabrain

Hi, dialabrain,

No, a MS Intellimouse (wired) still my favorite fifteen years later. However I did find the problem moments ago. I was talking with Apple Support when it occurred to me that this was very much like an 'extension' conflict that we used to trouble shoot with Conflict Catcher back in the System 8 and OS9 days. That was suggested by booting into Safe mode (holding down the Shift key upon reboot) where the problem disappeared. Back in my system I supposed that some piece of software I had added was the culprit. I hit it on the second try. Turns out the problem app was Alfred 3.8.1. Yay!

Problem solved.

Welles

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Answer 4

May 27, 2019 7:04 PM in response to leroydouglas

I've booted into save mode as I said above and made a test administrator account. In both of those the problem seemed to have disappeared. I'm experimenting with quitting apps that might be in conflict with the system and will keep going until I find the problem. Thanks for the EtreCheck suggestion. I'd never heard of it.

Welles

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