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Finder very slow

I have had a problem with Finder for a couple of years now. Whenever I try to open, copy or move files around it gets stuck entirely or takes ages to perform the action. It only happens on icloud-backed folders when icloud syncing is enabled. I switched to a new, M1 macbook but that didn’t help. As soon as I enabled icloud, Finder stopped working. I don’t want to disable icloud syncing, any ideas?

MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 12.0

Posted on Dec 3, 2021 4:20 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Dec 4, 2021 8:33 AM

Hi waylana,


Are you using Apple's provided iCloud > iCloud Drive > Desktop & Documents Folder, wherein it is copied to your iCloud Drive from your Mac? If so, that is the likely cause. The reason is the entire contents of the Desktop and Documents Folder must be synched up and then down to your Mac, when also attempting to do the action you want.


What I would suggest is unless you really need this function enabled, be more selective about what content you sync between your devices via iCloud.


If it might, don't sync the entirety of either; but setup new folders in iCloud that you then create content in that you want dedicated synching for via iCloud and disable the Desktop & Documents Folder sync via iCloud.


What I mean is something like this:


  1. Disable the Desktop & Documents Folder sync is iCloud Drive
  2. Create a new folder in iCloud, name it as you want to
  3. If you know how, create an Alias for that folder in iCloud, and then move it into your Documents Folder


I hope this helps.


Cheers,


Anthony

Similar questions

3 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Dec 4, 2021 8:33 AM in response to waylana

Hi waylana,


Are you using Apple's provided iCloud > iCloud Drive > Desktop & Documents Folder, wherein it is copied to your iCloud Drive from your Mac? If so, that is the likely cause. The reason is the entire contents of the Desktop and Documents Folder must be synched up and then down to your Mac, when also attempting to do the action you want.


What I would suggest is unless you really need this function enabled, be more selective about what content you sync between your devices via iCloud.


If it might, don't sync the entirety of either; but setup new folders in iCloud that you then create content in that you want dedicated synching for via iCloud and disable the Desktop & Documents Folder sync via iCloud.


What I mean is something like this:


  1. Disable the Desktop & Documents Folder sync is iCloud Drive
  2. Create a new folder in iCloud, name it as you want to
  3. If you know how, create an Alias for that folder in iCloud, and then move it into your Documents Folder


I hope this helps.


Cheers,


Anthony

Dec 4, 2021 8:38 AM in response to waylana

Contact apple support senior advisors Contact Apple for support and service - Apple Support

Take suggestions of deleting finder .plist ( click on finder , take cursor on top menu bar > Go > keep on holding option key click on library .

From the preferences folder > drag and drop com.apple.finder.plist to the desktop , close the window , restart the Mac from apple logo .

Note : uninstall vpn services / third party softwares / apps / cleaners , anti virus if used in Mac Install and uninstall apps from the internet or a disc on Mac - Apple Support

Dec 4, 2021 7:34 AM in response to waylana

Hello waylana,


Thanks for using Apple Support Communities! It looks like you're having an issue with using Finder when iCloud is busy syncing information. We'd like to do what we can to help.


If an app has stopped responding, you may need to force it to quit:

How to force an app to quit on your Mac


This page has some information about Mac performance, which may help:

If your Mac runs slowly


Activity Monitor is a great way to investigate:

View CPU activity in Activity Monitor on Mac


Keep in mind also, that iCloud syncing uses a network connection, so you'll want to verify if that is an issue.


Take care!


Finder very slow

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