How to resolve 'Ghost Window' issue with minimized Finder windows in macOS Ventura after migration?

cjozzy wrote:

I recently bought another Mac (2017 iMac 27”) and used Migration Assistant to transfer the data from the old computer to the new one. I’ve encountered an issue with the new clone.

Did you perform a clean install of macOS onto this used iMac by first erasing the whole physical drive (or Fusion Drive if so equipped)? Even if the previous owner did this already, I always recommend the new owner do it as well to make sure it was done properly, plus it may reveal whether a previous owner is still managing the device or has a firmware lock enabled on it.

Here is what the previous owner should have done:

https://support.apple.com/en-us/102773

If I have a finder window minimized, upon startup, the window will appear on the desktop but will become unresponsive. The buttons to close, minimize and maximize will be greyed out as well as the items in the folder.

When I click on “Window” along the top I see the folder name listed but it has a diamond icon next to it indicating that it’s still minimized. When I click on the window name, it now minimizes and the original window minimized in the dock fans out and replaces the one on the desktop and the one on the desktop disappears. It’s almost like a ghost window. I tried deleting the .com.playlist.finder preference, running Disk Utility but nothing works.

I’m running the latest version of Ventura.

I would suspect a failing drive. Run the third party app DriveDx (free trial period) to check the health of the internal drive(s). Post a complete DriveDx text report for each internal drive. Use the "Additional Text" icon which looks like a piece of paper on the forum editing toolbar to post the full text report(s) so I can review them.

Also try running the third party app EtreCheck & posting the complete report here so we can examine it for possible clues.

How to Post an EtreCheck Check

Sorry, I never received notification that you had updated the thread until now.

The SSD looks Ok.

I don't see any of the normal signs in the EtreCheck of a problem (you have very little currently installed), but the report is hard to read because it lost its formatting. Can you run EtreCheck again and post the new report....maybe something more will appear since the last report? Make sure to follow the instructions in the following article for attaching the EtreCheck report so that it retains its formatting:

How to Post an EtreCheck Report

Try running Disk Utility First Aid on the drive using the instructions in the following Apple article (it explains how to scan the hidden Container and it uses Recovery Mode to do so as well):

How to repair a Mac storage device with Disk Utility - Apple Support

Even if the First Aid summary says everything is "Ok", click "Show Details" and scroll through the report to see if any errors or warnings are shown. If there are errors/warnings, then run First Aid again until they are gone. If after several scans the errors/warnings remain, then they cannot be repaired (assuming you are running First Aid from Recovery Mode as mentioned in the linked Apple article).

If First Aid shows no errors/warnings and you still have issues, then I would try testing with a clean install of macOS without restoring/migrating anything & without installing any third party apps and without signing into your AppleID/iCloud. You would want to erase the whole physical SSD and not just the "Macintosh HD" volume and Volume Group so that a new partition table is created along with the fresh file system. Erase the physical drive as GUID partition and APFS (top option) if installing macOS 10.13+. The following Apple article explains how to reveal the physical drive in Disk Utility:

Erase and reformat a storage device in Disk Utility on Mac - Apple Support