Reset iMac main User Account? Multiple browser issues don't occur in Guest Account

Yesterday my iMac began unexpectedly quitting, specifically at banking websites log in pages - other websites were fine. I tried the banking website logins also in Chrome and Firefox and they also unexpectedly quit. Apple reports Termination Reason: Namespace SIGNAL, Code 6 Abort trap: 6.


I can log in to my Guest Account on my iMac and all websites act perfectly, including financial. The websites also work fine on my MacBook. Is there a way to reset the main User Account for my iMac?


The one thing that changed yesterday, that seemed to start everything, is I opened a new Profile in Safari to try to manage a different set of Safari bookmarks on my iPad that my mom is using, to make Safari simpler for her on iPad. I've deleted that Profile now to see if it helped. Restarted a few times, updated to the latest OS. Website interaction appears to be getting worse rather than better though - across all browsers, but Guest Account works perfectly.

Posted on Feb 5, 2025 7:32 AM

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Posted on Feb 6, 2025 10:25 AM

The next step I'd try is to disable all items in the System/Login Item & Extensions/Open at Login settings pane. Then reboot and if it's fixed add one item back in at a time to find which item is the culprit.


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13 replies

Feb 5, 2025 7:16 PM in response to bicyclebuilt

After doing a quick review of the EtreCheck report two things stand out:


  1. Configuration Files: File /etc/launchd.conf exists but not expected - This file exists either because a third-party app added it, it was caused by malware, or it is something you did and are aware of.
  2. Numerous application crashes. with three apps/process crashing more than 25x within the last 60 days.


Those three apps/process are:

  • gaileod (50x): The executable is located in /usr/local/bin/, which means it's not part of macOS itself but rather a manually installed or third-party application. The name "galileod" suggests it could be related to scientific computing, GPS services, or astronomy software. The -d at the end of the name typically indicates a daemon (background service).
    • Potential reasons why it may be crashing:
      • Binary Corruption or Incompatibility. This would be typical if the app was compiled for an older version of macOS.
      • If galileod relies on third-party libraries (e.g., Homebrew, Python, or ROS dependencies) that are missing or broken, it may crash immediately.
      • If galileod doesn’t have execute permissions or lacks access to required system files.
  • axassetsd (52x): axassetsd is a system process related to Accessibility assets on macOS. It resides in: /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/AXAssetLoader.framework/Support/axassetsd
    • It is part of a private Apple framework (not user-installed software).
    • It likely manages or loads accessibility-related resources such as VoiceOver, Magnifier, or Switch Control.
    • A persistent crash (52 times) suggests an underlying issue with accessibility services, system corruption, or a misbehaving third-party accessibility tool.
  • MacinTalkAUSP (26x): MacinTalkAUSP is part of MacinTalk, Apple’s text-to-speech (TTS) engine. The AUSP part likely stands for Apple Unified Speech Processing.
    • The executable is in: /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/MacinTalk.framework/Versions/A/PlugIns/MacinTalkAUSP.appex/Contents/MacOS/MacinTalkAUSP
    • Since it is a system-level app, the crash is likely due to a problem with macOS’s speech synthesis engine.
    • This could affect VoiceOver, Siri, Dictation, or any app using system speech (like Messages, Safari’s "Read Aloud", or accessibility tools).


Since you verified that this still occurs in Safe Mode with your existing user account, pretty much means that account would need some serious troubleshooting to figure out how to salvage it. At this point, I'm not sure it will be worth the effort and would only suggest that you re-install macOS.


Feb 5, 2025 12:34 PM in response to bicyclebuilt

The Abort trap: 6 specifically refers to an assertion failure in macOS, which often occurs when a program encounters an internal inconsistency or illegal operation that forces it to crash.


Some potential causes are:

  • The browser may be using an outdated or corrupted version of a library or plugin required by the financial website.
  • Some security extensions or ad blockers may interfere with the website's security protocols. Are you using any third-party extension with all of your web browsers?
  • If the browser is consuming too much memory, macOS may terminate it to prevent further instability.
  • If the website or its certificate handling triggers macOS security mechanisms, the browser may be terminated to prevent potential security risks. However, if you are able to access these same sites with another user account then this would indicate an issue with your current account ... as you expected.
  • Some financial institutions enforce strict security policies, and your browser may be attempting to use an outdated or unsupported protocol.


Which exact model is your iMac and what version of macOS is it currently running?

Feb 5, 2025 9:10 AM in response to bicyclebuilt

There is no way to "reset" a user account. The best you can do is try to determine exactly what is causing the problem.


Start here: Clear the history, cache, and cookies from Safari on your iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch - Apple Support


❝ Clearing the Safari cookies and cache, but keep your history

  1. Go to Settings > Apps > Safari > Advanced > Website Data.
  2. Tap Remove All Website Data.

When there's no website data to clear, the button to clear it turns gray. The button might also be gray if you have web content restrictions set up under Content & Privacy Restrictions in Screen Time. ❞



Feb 5, 2025 10:30 AM in response to D.I. Johnson

Thank you for the suggestion! I tried that and still didn't work. It must be something outside Safari, because it also happens in Chrome and Firefox, only with financial sites and only in my User Account. I tried Disk Utility First Aid, reinstalling my password manager, but no luck. It must be some security setting associated with my main User Account/Admin . . .

Thank you for trying to help though. :)

Feb 5, 2025 1:20 PM in response to Tesserax

3.3 GHZ 6-Core Intel Core i5 (last of the Intel chip model)

32GB

Macintosh HD

Sequoia 15.3


I posted the Etrecheck diagnostics replying to OldToad below.

Thank you for the potential causes

I do have 1Password, but haven't done anything recently that would make such a dramatic change - no updates or changes to Extensions. And 1Password is only on Safari, not connected to Chrome or Firefox.

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Reset iMac main User Account? Multiple browser issues don't occur in Guest Account

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