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Finder icon in the dock not responding

The finder icon in the dock is sometimes totally non-responsive to clicks. It neither opens a finder window when clicked, nor switches to a finder window if one is already open. I have tried restarting my Mac and also tried restarting in Safe Mode. In both cases the problem goes away temporarily. I have resorted to clicking on the desktop, which causes the mac to switch to Finder. Then I can open a new finder window or bring an existing finder window to the front. The icon in the dock remains unresponsive. But sometimes, after a while, the finder icon starts to work again.

iMac 27″, macOS 11.3

Posted on May 10, 2021 10:04 AM

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12 replies

May 10, 2021 10:31 AM in response to walrus549

Boot into Safe Mode according to Start up your Mac in safe mode - Apple Support and see if the problem persists. Reboot normally and check again.


NOTE: Safe Mode boot can take up to 10 minutes as it's doing the following; 

• Verifies your startup disk and attempts to repair directory issues, if needed

• Loads only required kernel extensions (prevents 3rd party kernel/extensions from loading)

• Prevents Startup Items and Login Items from opening automatically

• Disables user-installed fonts 

• Deletes font caches, kernel cache, and other system cache files


May 11, 2021 6:43 AM in response to walrus549

You have a fair amount of third party software extensions/modifications. Usually in these situations incompatible third party software is the culprit. Isolating the troublemaker can be tedious. Some possibilities might include:


Trusteer

Logitech

Dropbox

AppCleaner

Backup and Sync

Garmin

OneDrive


May 11, 2021 7:00 AM in response to walrus549

walrus549 wrote:

The finder icon in the dock is sometimes totally non-responsive to clicks. It neither opens a finder window when clicked, nor switches to a finder window if one is already open. I have tried restarting my Mac and also tried restarting in Safe Mode. In both cases the problem goes away temporarily. I have resorted to clicking on the desktop, which causes the mac to switch to Finder. Then I can open a new finder window or bring an existing finder window to the front. The icon in the dock remains unresponsive. But sometimes, after a while, the finder icon starts to work again.



Command Tab presents the heads up display for all running apps, you can navigate this HUD.


Four finger swipe down presents the exposė of all windows open for a particular app (TrackPad>Preferences>More Gestures.)


The Desktop is the active Finder by default


Command N opens your default Finder window when on the Desktop ( the default is a Finder>Preference>General)



You can relaunch the Finder on the fly, by holding the Control Option keys and click open the Finder icon>Relaunch

and see if this sorts your 'issue.'



ref:


new to Mac

https://support.apple.com/explore/new-to-mac


Get to know the Finder on your Mac

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201732


See and organize your files in the Finder on Mac - Apple ...

https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/finder-mchlp2605/mac


https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/dock-mh35859/mac

Use the Dock on Mac - Apple Support


https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/desktop-mh40612/mac

Get to know the Mac desktop - Apple Support




If you still have an issue, to sort anomalies re-install the macOS on top of your existing macOS (non-destructive)

How to reinstall macOS from macOS Recovery - https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204904


May 11, 2021 11:23 AM in response to walrus549

First, First, there is no reason to ever install or run any 3rd party "cleaning", "optimizing", "speed-up", anti-virus, VPN or security apps on your Mac.  This user tip describes what you need to know and do in order to protect your Mac: Effective defenses against malware and other threats - Apple Community.  


There are no known viruses, i.e. self propagating, for Macs.  There are, however, adware and malware which require the user to install although unwittingly most of the time thru sneaky links, etc.   


Anti Virus developers try to group all types as viruses into their ad campaigns of fear.  They do a poor job of the detecting and isolating the adware and malware.  Since there are no viruses these apps use up a lot of system resources searching for what is non-existent and adversely affect system and app performance.


There is one app, Malwarebytes, which was developed by a long time contributor to these forums and a highly respected member of the computer security community, that is desshoigned solely to seek out adware and known malware and remove it.  The free version is more than adequate for most users.  


Also, unless you're using a true VPN tunnel, such as between you and your employer's or bank's servers, they are useless from a privacy standpoint: Public VPN's are anything but private.  


That being said uninstall Trusteer according to the developer's instructions. Then boot into Safe Mode according to Start up your Mac in safe mode - Apple Support and reboot normally.


NOTE: Safe Mode boot can take up to 10 minutes as it's doing the following; 

• Verifies your startup disk and attempts to repair directory issues, if needed

• Loads only required kernel extensions (prevents 3rd party kernel/extensions from loading)

• Prevents Startup Items and Login Items from opening automatically

• Disables user-installed fonts 

• Deletes font caches, kernel cache, and other system cache files



Jun 9, 2021 1:48 PM in response to CT

Alert notifications is causing the finder icon in the dock to be non-responsive.


I was wrong about what causes the finder icon in the dock to become non-responsive. For a while I thought it was due to Google Backup and Sync or Microsoft One Drive, but it turns out that these were not the problem. When I turned these off and restarted (even in safe mode) the problem reappeared.


I am sure that it is due to Notifications. I finally noticed that when I got an alert notification, the finder icon became non-responsive. After addressing all alerts, I noticed that the icon became active again. I changed all notifications to banners only, an have not had the problem since.

Finder icon in the dock not responding

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