Finder not responding on iMac (late 2013) running Catalina

Finder not responding


iMac (late 2013) Intel Core i5

OS Catalina 10.15.8

SSD 1TB. 759.58 GB available


I've restarted & rebooted as per the various instructions on the Net.

I've applied the remedies in Terminal & Activity Monitor.

Reinstalled OS twice.

Please help!



[Edited by Moderator]




Posted on Jun 30, 2026 5:24 PM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Jul 1, 2026 8:04 PM

Zenon Stoikos wrote:
I downloaded EntreCheckPro.zip but cannot access it since Desktop is blank and Downloads cannot be accessed from Finder.
See sequential mob.ph. pic-sh ots from own Mac Report that I could only scroll (yellow highlights indicate common sequence while scrolling).
I'm in a tight bind. Please help me!
Shots to follow....

Try booting into Safe Mode to see if that makes any difference.


Try booting the Apple Diagnostics to see if any hardware issues are detected. Only a failing diagnostic result is useful.


When you reinstalled macOS, did you first erase the whole physical internal drive (or Fusion Drive item if equipped with a Fusion Drive)?


If you have a Fusion Drive, the perhaps break the Fusion Drive by erasing the whole physical internal SSD and installing macOS only onto the internal SSD (I'm assuming it is a 120GB SSD since it is a 2013 model). The Hard Drive portion is more likely to be bad than the SSD portion.


Don't install any third party apps and do not restore from a backup. You need to test the system under these conditions to make sure the hardware is actually functional.


Most likely you have a hardware issue of some sort.


As for the photos, your link looks like a hyperlink, but cannot be clicked. And copy/paste of text URL gives an error. Just attach the photos using the "Image Insertion" tool whose icon looks like a portrait of a mountain scene on the forum editing toolbar. It is the best way because then those images will remain with the thread so others looking at this thread will be able to view them. Usually items on third party sites disappear very quickly which breaks the usefulness of a thread.

11 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Jul 1, 2026 8:04 PM in response to Zenon Stoikos

Zenon Stoikos wrote:
I downloaded EntreCheckPro.zip but cannot access it since Desktop is blank and Downloads cannot be accessed from Finder.
See sequential mob.ph. pic-sh ots from own Mac Report that I could only scroll (yellow highlights indicate common sequence while scrolling).
I'm in a tight bind. Please help me!
Shots to follow....

Try booting into Safe Mode to see if that makes any difference.


Try booting the Apple Diagnostics to see if any hardware issues are detected. Only a failing diagnostic result is useful.


When you reinstalled macOS, did you first erase the whole physical internal drive (or Fusion Drive item if equipped with a Fusion Drive)?


If you have a Fusion Drive, the perhaps break the Fusion Drive by erasing the whole physical internal SSD and installing macOS only onto the internal SSD (I'm assuming it is a 120GB SSD since it is a 2013 model). The Hard Drive portion is more likely to be bad than the SSD portion.


Don't install any third party apps and do not restore from a backup. You need to test the system under these conditions to make sure the hardware is actually functional.


Most likely you have a hardware issue of some sort.


As for the photos, your link looks like a hyperlink, but cannot be clicked. And copy/paste of text URL gives an error. Just attach the photos using the "Image Insertion" tool whose icon looks like a portrait of a mountain scene on the forum editing toolbar. It is the best way because then those images will remain with the thread so others looking at this thread will be able to view them. Usually items on third party sites disappear very quickly which breaks the usefulness of a thread.

Jul 1, 2026 8:11 PM in response to Zenon Stoikos

Zenon Stoikos wrote:
https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipM9yyurjQwaB49fmqRmjUTHRDDkPQo926VmL3JC5UJSyI7RVW-PaQKRmY_8rN5iZg?key=aGh5NENISUVMSEJyTnJkUVROTjF4ZjhUMmJNQTJB
Visible?

Technically this link is accessible, but I cannot read anything in the photos.


If this is the Kernel Panic report, then you can find the actual Kernel Panic logs at "/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports" usually with a file name containing "kernel" and/or "panic". Sometimes they may also be found in the "Proxied Device Bridge" subfolder (not sure the exact name of the latter). Plus the "Retired" subfolder in both those folders as well. You can attach log files using the "Additional Text" icon which looks like a piece of paper on the forum editing toolbar.

Jul 2, 2026 6:18 PM in response to Zenon Stoikos

Dear HWTech

  1. The mob.photos can be read better, by selecting one and zooming in, then moving about. The Community edit icon is not visible in my Mac and the Link icon does not go anywhere, naturally since Finder is not working.
  2. I'll try the "mountain icon" from my mob.ph.
  3. Right now I'm a bit under the weather. I'll follow your instructions in a few days. Especially Apple Diagnostics.
  4. Meanwhile thanking you for your time and advice.
  5. Yes, I found the 'edit' icon which opens the edit tools.


Jul 2, 2026 7:07 PM in response to Zenon Stoikos

In all honesty it is probably unnecessary to upload any more of your pics of that report.

These reports are not aimed at being read and understood by mere mortals. They really don't bring much to the table here in the Community to assist with troubleshooting, so you don't go to the trouble to upload any additional pics, unless some other user trying to help asks you to.



Finder not responding on iMac (late 2013) running Catalina

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