Screenshots fail after upgrade from Sonoma to Sequoia 15.1 plus other related issues on MBP M1

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113 points

Screenshots fail after upgrade from Sonoma to Sequoia 15.1 plus other related issues on MBP M1

I just upgraded my OS from Sonoma to Sequoia a couple days ago, now I'm getting screenshot failures. I normally take my screenshots via the Shift+Command+4 key combination to select a certain area of the screen. I use this function a lot. I noticed after the upgrade that when I do it, I still hear the double beep sound that I normally get but there's no screenshot. I have them set to appear on my desktop, been doing it this way for years.

If I reboot, it will work but only for a short while, like for two to four times then it fails again. I've gone into Safe mode, took a few screenshots that worked, then booted back to normal mode and the screenshots worked but only for a few times before failing.

I am now reading that many have had issues with screenshots after the move to Sequoia but most seemed to be before 15.1, which at this writing is the latest.

Other issues I notice once the screenshot fails is I cannot open the Trash, it just ignores the mouse click, I cannot open About via the drop down menu from the Apple logo and when opening Force Quit, I see Finder labeled as unresponsive. When force closing Finder, it never restarts without a complete reboot.

Any suggestions on what I can do while waiting on Apple to fix this?

MacBook Pro (2021)

Posted on Nov 17, 2024 6:52 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Bgnmarty Author

Level 1

113 points

Nov 20, 2024 2:40 PM in response to Owl-53

Status as of Nov 20, 2024. 3 Days after initial post for help

The three of you (jeffreythefrog, dialabrain and PRP_53) all suggested I run an Etretech report, so I did. From the report I posted, here is what I have done as of this writing.. ..

App extensions:

- Deleted: NetworkProtectionSystemExtension - version 1.68.0 (Duck Duck Go, Inc. - installed 2023-12-12)

- Deleted: Application: /Applications/DuckDuckGo.app/Contents/Library/LoginItems/DuckDuckGo VPN.app - version 1.68.0 (Duck Duck Go, Inc. - installed 2023-12-12)

Safari extension:

- Deleted: [Loaded] Privacy Dashboard - /Applications/DuckDuckGo Privacy for Safari.app

Clean up:

- Deleted: ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist /Library/Application

After removing these items, I deleted the trash and did a Shut Down. Then…

* Through observation I am thinking that the issue is with Finder and its triggered by taking a screenshot after waking it from a sleep of unknown sleep time

- Powered up, did my work, made several screenshots, played around with Finder, everything worked as it should.

- Once done working, I put it to sleep. I normally use keyboard commands for this.. . .Option-Command-Eject key combo (I use an extended kybd)

- Pressed space bar to wake it a few hours later: Everything worked as it should. Was it asleep long enough to have caused the issue or not???

- Once done working, I put it to sleep for the remainder of the day.

Next Day - let’s call this Day 1 (after the deletions)

- Pressed space bar to wake it, Everything worked as it should. This was an overnight sleep which was long enough to historically have the issue show up, but it didn’t. I’m now a bit optimistic but keeping in mind that the issue started after the upgrade from Sonoma to Sequoia which was only six days ago so there isn’t a lot of experience with this yet.

- Once done working, I put it to sleep.

- Pressed space bar to wake it a few hours later: Everything worked as it should.

- Once done working, I put it to sleep.

- Pressed space bar to wake it a few hours later: Everything worked as it should.

- Once done working, I put it to sleep for the night

Day 2

- Pressed space bar to wake it, Everything worked as it should.

- Basically day 2 was a repeat of day 1. Some number of sleeps, wakes, working, etc and all worked as it should

Day 3 - Today

- Today proved to be a repeat of Day 2. Certainly by now, the issue would have happened several times with subsequent reboots between each one. I am happy to report that as of this writing, after several sleep/wake periods, all is well.

Unfortunately, I did all the deletes before retesting so it's hard to know if any one of them was the root. I will now let this go for about a week or so before coming back with another update so stay tuned.. ..

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Answer 2

Nov 17, 2024 7:01 AM in response to Bgnmarty

on sequoia 15.1 I cannot reproduce your issue. I am having no issues with screen shots or recordings. they are working as they always have.

so I need to ask, do you have any antivirus apps installed? and / or any apps that claim to "clean up" or "speed up" or otherwise "optomize" your Mac? if yes, you would do well to uninstall them using the developer's instructions.

if you don't have any of those types of apps installed, i'm thinking you should download and run the free version of EtreCheck so we can see if you have some software installed that is causing your issue. make sure you give "full disk access" to etrecheck. Learn how to use it by reading Using EtreCheck. if you need help interpreting the report, you can see how to post the report here by reading How to use the Add Text Feature When Posting Large Amounts of Text, i.e. an Etrecheck Report. and it automatically obscures sensitive things (like serial numbers) so you don't have to worry about sharing the report here.

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Answer 3

Owl-53

Level 10

104,353 points

Nov 18, 2024 4:29 AM in response to Bgnmarty

1 - Size: 994.66 GB

Free: 183.22 GB

Available: 222.62 GB

A1 - On a 1 TB Internal drive, the machine is verging on Lack of Empty Space

A1 - It is generally a good computer practice to alway keep at least 20% to 25% of the Total Drive Capacity’s as Empty Space. Allowing the computer to drop below these guidelines may eventually, cause unintended consequences.

2 - System Extensions:

[Not Loaded] NetworkProtectionSystemExtension - version 1.68.0 (Duck Duck Go, Inc. - installed 2023-12-12)

Application: /Applications/DuckDuckGo.app/Contents/Library/LoginItems/DuckDuckGo VPN.app - version 1.68.0 (Duck Duck Go, Inc. - installed 2023-12-12)

Description: Network Protection

A2 - Outdated and is interfering with Network Connection.

3 - [Running] net.openvpn.client.plist (OPENVPN TECHNOLOGIES, INC. - installed 2020-09-29)

A3 - Outdated and is interfering with Network Connection.

They may not be what one believes they are doing for the computer and what they actually are doing behind the scenes

https://gist.github.com/joepie91/5a9909939e6ce7d09e29

4 - 2024-11-16 13:52:07 Kernel Panic

Unexpected uncategorized reset occurred after iBoot panic save memory init

A4 - iBoot issue. Not a good overall sign for this computer and could be an indicator of a LogicBoard issue

A4 - To be on the Safe Side >>

Have the computer evaluated by the Professionals who have the Special Hardware Software and Expertise to diagnose the issue and offer possible solutions

Make an Appointment at the Apple Genius Bar or call 1 800 MyApple and have them evaluate the computer

Other location Call Centres

Contact Apple for support and service

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Answer 4

Nov 17, 2024 7:25 AM in response to Bgnmarty

the fact that the issue does not occur in safe mode kind of indicates to me that the issue is some sort of third party software that doesn't run while in safe mode. and I only mentioned "clean up" type apps, because those are the most common reason for issues with proper operation of macOS. but it could also be any number of other things. that is why I asked for an etrecheck report.

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Answer 5

Owl-53

Level 10

104,353 points

Nov 17, 2024 7:45 AM in response to Bgnmarty

To avoid a session of Q&A, Q&A and Q&A

Follow the good advise from @jefferythefrog 👍

Download the Application Etrecheck ( External Link ) directly from the Developer.

The Report will Not Reveal Any Personal Information.

Post back the Full Report - copy and paste - >>>> using the Additional Text Icon <<<<

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Answer 6

Nov 17, 2024 3:32 PM in response to Bgnmarty

it may not seem so, but using VPN on a Mac can, and often does cause different issues within macOS. and I noticed that you have TWO separate VPN apps. the one tied to DuckDuckGo, and also Open Technology's VPN. if one is bad, I can only imagine what havoc could be caused by having two. that is about the only thing I saw. others here may see additional issues.

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Answer 7

Nov 22, 2024 1:23 PM in response to Bgnmarty

For me after upgrading to sequoia 15.1.1 from Sonoma the default filenames were being saved with a "." at the beginning of the filename effectively hiding the file from some apps. I had to open the Screenshot.app itself and change the options to save to a directory other than the previous default of "Desktop".

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Answer 8

dialabrain

Level 10

136,385 points

Nov 17, 2024 7:17 AM in response to Bgnmarty

Bgnmarty wrote:

Any suggestions on what I can do while waiting on Apple to fix this?

It's not an Apple issue per se. It's something local to your Mac. I don't have the problems described on three different Macs running Sequoia 15.1. Jeffrey's suggestion of posting an EtreCheck report is a good one.

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Answer 9

Bgnmarty Author

Level 1

113 points

Nov 24, 2024 8:58 AM in response to Bgnmarty

Day 7 post Etretech suggested actions (refer to my Nov 20 at 5:40pm post)

I had a Finder issue yesterday where it hung up and refused to work. When this happens, screenshots stop working as well and so did Preview. In looking at the logs, I'm of the opinion that Photoshop hung and the rest were a result of that. While I can't be sure, the Photoshop issue happened before the Finder issue. A reboot brought everything back to normal.

I then ran Etretech again but nothing new or different was found as compared to after I had taken its recommendations back on Nov 20. I decided to do the Apple Hardware Test and it ended with code ADP000 No Issues Found. A point estimate. I then booted in Safe Mode and then back to normal mode. I still wonder why all this started upon the upgrade to Sequoia???

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Answer 10

Bgnmarty Author

Level 1

113 points

Nov 18, 2024 7:17 AM in response to Owl-53

Thanks for reviewing this PRP_53. I have removed the DuckDuckGo extensions and VPN app and have verified they are gone. As for OpenVPN, I use this to connect to my home network when on travel and have been using it since I installed it without issue. Running out of space is a constant maintenance item, I offload large files to free up space and will take another look to see what I can offload now since its just the right thing to do but I don't believe its the cause of this issue.

My plan of action going forward:

Verify Finder and screenshot is working properly - they are as of this writing
Put the MBP to sleep
Upon wake up, check Finder and screenshot for proper functionality. If working ok, do what I have to do on it and then put the MPB back to sleep and repeat that process for a couple of days, which is plenty long enough to know if the removal of the DuckDuckGo ext and VPN had a positive impact.
If the issue persists I will remove all peripherals (displays, backup drives, Ethernet, kybd, mouse, etc) and repeat the above steps with the MBP isolated from anything else except its built in WiFi.

I'm more of the opinion that it's a sleep/wake issue now which is why I will do the above. However, I welcome anyones input.

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Answer 11

Nov 22, 2024 2:16 PM in response to Bgnmarty

Bgnmarty wrote:

How did you open Screenshot and change the save location?

you can use the keyboard shortcut "shift-command-5" to bring up the recording controls. then choose "options".

and there, you can choose your "save to" location.

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Answer 12

BDAqua

Level 10

250,259 points

Dec 1, 2024 9:14 AM in response to Bgnmarty

Did you delete this file?

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

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Answer 13

Bgnmarty Author

Level 1

113 points

Nov 17, 2024 7:17 AM in response to jeffreythefrog

Hi jeffreythefrog and thanks for your reply. I see you cannot reproduce my issue, well after I do a reboot all is well on my MBP, that is, until it isn't. It will work fine for hours or a day before all of a sudden it doesn't. So I'm not surprised you couldn't reproduce the issue I'm having in such a short period of time.

I do not have anti virus or cleaning apps installed, I don't believe in them. In terms of using EtreChek, while I can do that, I don't think it's going to produce the desired root cause results. Why? .. because the one and only thing I did was to upgrade to Sequoia. Nothing else, no new software, no tweaks, no hardware changes, nada, nothing, zilch, just the Sequoia upgrade.

I don't mean to turn down help but after reading all the posts on this forum, Reddit and others claiming the same or screenshot related issues once they moved to Sequoia, I'm not of the opinion that anything other than Sequoia running my my MBP is causing it.

Am I not thinking logically or?

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Answer 14

Bgnmarty Author

Level 1

113 points

Nov 17, 2024 7:48 AM in response to jeffreythefrog

My reasoning as to why everything worked in Safe Mode is the same as after a fresh reboot...meaning everything just works as it should. Given enough time/usage, screenshots fail.

Ok, well, until root cause is found, I really can't rule anything out even if it doesn't seem logical to me. I came here for advice so I will run EtreCheck and see what happens. If it tells me to make changes or other recommendations, it will still take a while before I will be able to tell if the issue is gone since it doesn't happen after a reboot for fresh start up so hang in there while I go through that process.

Thanks for your desire to help!

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Answer 15

Nov 17, 2024 7:58 AM in response to Bgnmarty

you're welcome. :) when you run etrecheck, (time permitting) if you need help interpreting it, you can share it with us. but also, if you figure out what the issue is, could you please reply here and let us know the solution? that info could be helpful to us as well as to others.

TIA.

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