Apple Event: May 7th at 7 am PT

Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

10.7.2 Lion freezing / apps lock up, must hard reset 2-3 times daily

I've seen several posts on this -- oddly, some of them are archived even though there has been no resolution...

Would love to hear people's experiences and especially if you have a fix. Would REALLY love it if Apple would get off their duff and give us a working O/S.

Ever since upgrading to Leopard I've been having problems with system stability and, specifically, with lockups. Usually this starts out with a few applications get "hung" (beach ball). Again, usually, I can force quit them, restart and continue for at least a little while... but, it always marks the beginning of a downward spiral. The final straw seems to be when Finder locks up. Once Finder locks, the system becomes unresponsive overall and I can't shut down without doing a hard reset (either cmd-opt-power or, more often, just hold power until a get a hard reboot).

Some of the behaviors I'm seeing:

Apps start to lockup. Best option at this point is to quickly shut everything down and restart. On occasion I get a software restart if I'm prompt about it.
Finder locks up... forget it. Hardware restart is in my future... will generally try to save work, but it seems that anything involving disk / file system access is completely frozen.
About one out of two times, the login screen is very slow to appear (about a 2 minute boot), and then it fails to respond to my wireless keyboard &/or mouse. Sometimes the mouse works, keyboard doesn't. If I wait for 1-2 minutes, it will usually "wake up" and suddenly gets all of the input in one blast... but usually I lose patience, open up the laptop, do another hard reset.
Sometimes the screen saver won't release control of the machine (much like login screen). I can move the mouse, tap keys, etc., screen saver just keeps right on running blithely along...
On rare occasion, even the force quit panel (cmd-opt-escape) refuses to appear.

Of late, I've taken to launching Terminal on login so that it's available (because after the lockups start, I won't be able to launch it). Then, I can issue a "shutdown -r now" which, most of the time, seems to work pretty well. I hate doing a hard reset, always worried it will lead to a damaged file structure or lost work.

I've tried a number of fixed, including (at the height of it) reinstalling 10.7.2, which I did a few days ago. It made no difference at all... Also tried resetting NVRAM, etc. About the only folklore I haven't tried yet is switching to Chrome or Firefox. A lot of people are blaming Safari for all of this, so perhaps I'll try that next...

I'm suspecting that Time Machine is making the situation worse, but turning it off (and disconnecting the drive) does NOT solve the problem. It seems to go a little longer in-between system lockups. Same symptoms... apps become unresponsive, one after the other starts to beach ball, eventually the whole system locks up... I'm wondering if it has something to do with disk access, as posted in other threads. I've been trying to minimize disk access wherever possible, for one, just plugging in my Time Machine drive about once a day, let it backup, then unplug. Not really sure if it's helping or not though.

Currently, I'm running into this on average 3 times daily (worst day was 6 times, best day was just once, yay...) Yes I've been keeping track. By my count I'm also losing up to two hours a day, because the shutdown / reboot process is so baby-sitting intensive (and I have to do it several times a day).

Very, very frustrating. This is definitely the worst O/S release Apple has ever put out there. I'd like to go back to Leopard, but worried about the downgrade... arrrgggh. (Wish Mr. Jobs was still around, somehow I think he would never have tolerated this...)

MBP 4GB, PM G5, iMac, macMini, Mac OS X (10.5.1)

Posted on Nov 21, 2011 1:23 PM

37 replies

Dec 15, 2011 11:20 PM in response to SteveKir

The list seems indeed long. Aside the issues I cannot test, as I do not have them, I cannot confirm any of this list. As you recently re-installed, the system should (tkeoretically) be OK—

SteveKir

Level 3

565 points

Dec 16, 2011 12:04 PM in response to Cattus Thraex

I have just discovered another bug: if I create a new group in Address Book, find I do not need it, try to delete it (File > Delete Group) nothing happens except a hang requiring a re-launch! More bugs are appearing than are disappearing. With my long list of problems and all my efforts to cure them, I can rightly criticise Apple for producing a poor quality product.

coldowl

Level 1

0 points

Dec 20, 2011 6:25 PM in response to Zacharias Beckman

I HAVE EXACTLY THE SAME PROBLEM STARTING TODAY, AFTER VIEWING A FLASH XMAS CARD. MY IPOD TOUCH HAD REFUSED THE CARD FOR VIEWING. MY MACBOOK WITH LION IS THE PROBLEM NOW, AND IT FREEZES ONCE AN HOUR, FOR ABOUT 10 MINUTES OR A HARD RESTART.(CAN'T DO A RESTART) CLICK THE MOUSE(WIRED MOUSE) NOTHING HAPPENS. LATER IT WORKS FINE.....:(:)

isbyrne

Level 1

0 points

Dec 26, 2011 1:13 AM in response to SteveKir

Had similar problems with 10.7.2

My system kept freezing, cursor moving OK, able to click on dock, desktop folders etc but no response so I had to do a hard shutdown and restart. Then when computer was restarting I would get progress wheel but it would freeze midway through restart so i was having to reboot in safe mode, then reboot gain from there.

I have now stopped using Safari 5.1.2,, switched to Google Chrome and all is well, no more freezing issues. I have no idea what Apple is doing with Safari but they do need to fix the many issues people are reporting with this software.

Hope this helps someone

Macbook Pro 15 inch 2.4GHz 4gb RAM

k8xd

Level 1

0 points

Dec 31, 2011 7:05 AM in response to SteveKir

I'm having the same problems ever since installling Lion. I've had it to the talked to Apple support numerous times and even taken it to the local Apple Store several times with the same issues, and they have done SMC resets. I mainly get the spinning wheel when mail and Safari are operating concurrently. Can't do anything. I rarely have it stop on its own. I've noticed also that the fan seems to pick up speed. Do yours? The SMC controler according to notes on apple site, does control munerous operations including the fan. Obviously there is something wrong as you sure should not have to reset the controler but in extreme conditions. I wish there would be some sort of definitive answer coming from Apple...... Love their product, but this is getting very old fast........

isbyrne

Level 1

0 points

Dec 31, 2011 7:11 AM in response to k8xd

Update to my last post:

I not using safari did cure the problem for 2-3 days but unfortunately it has re-occured and I now have to hard reset 2-3 time a day as before.

I am completely baffled as to the cause and wether it is a software or hardware issue. I will await Apples 10.7.3 update which hopefully will be released soon, although I am seriously considering downgrading to Snow Leopard in the meantime.

k8xd

Level 1

0 points

Dec 31, 2011 7:17 AM in response to isbyrne

I'm with you on the down grade. I just had to do a shutdown again. This sure ruins what could be a productive day. It seens to hit more with mail which now is part of Lion, and affects other apps like Safari and MS Word. Just my preception.....

newman33

Level 1

4 points

Dec 31, 2011 8:06 AM in response to k8xd

I'm no expert but I saw a thread in this fourm suggesting that the problem might be non supported Lion programs. I have a program called "Rapport" used for online banking security, once I updated it all the locking up problem when away.

just my 2 cents.

Dec 31, 2011 8:25 AM in response to newman33

Have same problem with Lion 10.7.2 on my iMac Book Pro, but it works fine on my desktop iMac G5.

I use mainly Mail and Safari on the Mac Book and mail continually freezes, with the ball going round and round.

It is very annoying, expecially for my wife who uses it all the time.

isbyrne

Level 1

0 points

Dec 31, 2011 8:55 AM in response to Royden Kading

OK newman33 thanks for that.

I have just been through the system report/software and deleted everything which was PowerPC applicable. It suprised me how many files were still in there that were PowerPC files.

I will report back in a few days if all is OK or sooner if not.

Dec 31, 2011 9:23 AM in response to isbyrne

Deleted all aps that were PowerPC applicable a few days ago, but problem still there.

gumsie

Level 4

2,179 points

Dec 31, 2011 10:05 AM in response to Zacharias Beckman

Have you been through any crash logs yet? They are located in your Library and in the top level library.

isbyrne

Level 1

0 points

Dec 31, 2011 1:41 PM in response to gumsie

I have just been through the crash logs but there are no logs corresponding to the freezes I have been experiencing - obviously Lion does not class this freezing as a crash so probably no reports to Apple.

I did notice however a couple of crashes mentioning Logitech Control Center so I have now updated this from 3.3 to 3.5.1-23.

Dec 31, 2011 3:02 PM in response to gumsie

I can't find the crash logs. Went through everything and can't find the Library, except in iPhoto and iTunes.

isbyrne

Level 1

0 points

Dec 31, 2011 3:07 PM in response to Royden Kading

Try This:

To make your Library folder permanently visible, follow these steps:

Launch Terminal from the /Applications/Utilities folder.
Type this single line and press return to make the Finder visible again. This assumes you are logged into the account in which you want the Library to become visible:

chflags nohidden ~/Library

Now you should be able to see the Library folder from within your user folder.

10.7.2 Lion freezing / apps lock up, must hard reset 2-3 times daily