Mac Address Book - Frequently Hangs (2015 iMac with MacOS 12.6.5)

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39 points

Mac Address Book - Frequently Hangs (2015 iMac with MacOS 12.6.5)

In the last few months, when using Address Book on my 2015-era iMac, the application frequently hangs for 10 to 15 seconds before becoming responsive again. This makes editing addresses almost impossible. I have no issues using the same application on my new Macbook Air (current MacOS), iPhone, iPad. Logic suggests this has to do with the outdated OS on my iMac, which unfortunately, can no longer be updated.

My address book is connected to my iCloud account only.

Anything that can be done, save buying a new desktop Mac?

Thank you.

- David

iMac 27″, macOS 12.6

Posted on May 8, 2023 7:23 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

BDAqua

Level 10

245,495 points

May 11, 2023 3:08 PM in response to David Kohl

Can only surmise at this time, move these 2 files tp the desktop for now, make sure AddressBook is not running...

~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.AddressBook.plist

~/Library/Containers/com.apple.AddressBook/Data/Library/Saved Application State/com.apple.AddressBook.savedState

~ tilde indicates your user library folder

Apple hid the Users' Library folders...

Method 1:

From the Finder, select the Go menu at top of the screen, and choose Go to Folder.
In the window that opens, enter ~/Library, and click Go.

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Answer 2

BDAqua

Level 10

245,495 points

May 8, 2023 11:56 AM in response to David Kohl

Safe Boot from the HD, (holding Shift key down at startup), does the problem occur in Safe Mode?

Safe mode attempts to repair Disks & clears lots of caches, so if Safe Mode works try again in regular boot.

We need to see what all is running, a report from this will not display any personal info...

EtreCheck is a FREE simple little diagnostic tool to display the important details of your system configuration and allow you to copy that information to the Clipboard. It is meant to be used with Apple Support Communities to help people help you with your Mac. It will not display any personal info.

https://www.etrecheck.com/

Pastebin is a good place to paste the whole report if you capture the URL while there…

Workable but harder for me to work with...the Note tool on the bottom of this editor's toolbar, as shown in the image, to copy and paste the output from EtreCheck. In a Reply before you click post, look for this to add longer texts...

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Answer 3

David Kohl Author

Level 1

39 points

May 9, 2023 5:41 AM in response to BDAqua

Thanks for the suggestions.

It was very hard for me to tell how Address Book functioned in Safe Mode because my Mac ran extremely slowly in general once in Safe Mode. Upon reboot, Address Book continued to drag with the same regular 10 to 15 second lags on most operations.

I ran the EtreCheck report. See HERE in my personal Dropbox.

Many thanks for your continued assistance.

- David

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Answer 4

BDAqua

Level 10

245,495 points

May 9, 2023 5:56 AM in response to David Kohl

Delete these files & restart...

~/Library/LaunchAgents/jp.co.canon.Inkjet_Extended_Survey_Agent.plist

/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.econtechnologies.ChronoAgentRemote.plist

/Library/LaunchAgents/com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist

/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.iDrive.RPCHelper.plist

~ tilde indicates your user library folder

Apple hid the Users' Library folders...

Method 1:

1 From the Finder, select the Go menu at top of the screen, and choose Go to Folder.

2 In the window that opens, enter ~/Library, and click Go.

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Answer 5

David Kohl Author

Level 1

39 points

May 11, 2023 4:00 AM in response to BDAqua

Thanks for these. I deleted each file and restarted, but after some testing, determined that the Address Book continues to hang. It's possible that the hang time has improved, but it also may just be coincidence or related to what other applications I might have had open at other times I tried to make address book edits.

Still open to and eager to try new things.

- David

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Answer 6

BDAqua

Level 10

245,495 points

May 11, 2023 9:15 AM in response to David Kohl

You can use Drive DX to possibly get a better view of Drive health…

https://binaryfruit.com/drivedx

Thanks to Jack-19…

It may be wise to run SMART Utility to check the drives' health.

To find out if it's system wide or user specific, try this...

Open System Preferences>Users & Groups, unlock the lock, click on the little plus icon, make a new admin account, log out & into the new account.

Does it work in the new account?

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Answer 7

David Kohl Author

Level 1

39 points

May 11, 2023 2:55 PM in response to BDAqua

OK ... I think we're getting somewhere. I created a Test Account and, after setting up the user with my iCloud credentials, launched Address Book. Worked perfectly.

Coming back to my real user account, I experienced the same 10 to 15 second delays between most operations.

Hoping this information helps us pinpoint the issue and fix it. Grateful for your help.

- David

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Answer 8

David Kohl Author

Level 1

39 points

May 11, 2023 3:15 PM in response to BDAqua

YOU ARE AMAZING!

This was the offending file ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.AddressBook.plist

There was no saved state file ... in fact, no "data" subfolder in the path you suggested. So I simply removed the first file as you recommended, relaunched Address Book, and BAM!

Seriously ... thank you for helping me out on this one. Very meaningful as I frequently add/change/delete records in my address book and it was becoming impossible for me to work with.

THANK YOU.

- David

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