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Safari freezing...

Safari has just started hanging today. It will only happen on certain sites and the spinning beachball is not permanent.

This does not happen if I log in with a guest account.


Any ideas anyone?


Thanks in advance

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.1)

Posted on Oct 13, 2012 9:21 AM

Reply
32 replies

Oct 13, 2012 11:23 AM in response to charlesbt

Read this whole message before doing anything.


Back up all data.


Quit Safari if it’s running. Then select  Force Quit... from the menu bar. A small window will open with a list of running applications. Safari may appear in that list, even though you quit it. If so, select it and press return. Close the window.


Step 1


In the Finder, press the key combination shift-command-A to open the Applications folder. Select the Safari icon in that folder and press the key combination command-I to open the Info window. There’s a checkbox in the Info window labeled Open in 32-bit mode. Uncheck it, if checked. Close the Info window and the Applications folder.


Hold down the option key and select Go Library from the Finder menu bar. Delete the following items from the Library folder (some may not exist):


Caches/com.apple.Safari

Caches/com.apple.WebKit.PluginProcess

Caches/Metadata/Safari

Preferences/com.apple.WebKit.PluginHost.plist

Preferences/com.apple.WebKit.PluginProcess.plist

Saved Application State/com.apple.Safari.savedState


Leave the Library folder open. Try Safari again. If it works now, stop here. Close the Library folder.


Step 2


If you still have problems, quit Safari again.


Launch the Terminal application in any of the following ways:


☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)


☞ In the Finder, select Go Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.


☞ Open LaunchPad. Click Utilities, then Terminal in the icon grid.


Drag or copy — do not type — the following line into the Terminal window, then press return:


rm -fr $TMPDIR../C/com.apple.Safari


Quit Terminal. Launch Safari and test.


Step 3


If Safari still doesn’t work right, quit, go back to the Finder and move the following items from the open Library folder to the Desktop (some may not exist):


Cookies/Cookies.binarycookies

Preferences/com.apple.Safari.LSSharedFileList.plist

Preferences/com.apple.Safari.plist

Preferences/com.apple.Safari.RSS.plist

Preferences/com.apple.WebFoundation.plist

PubSub/Database

Safari


(Note: you are not moving the Safari application. You’re moving a folder named “Safari.”)


Try again. This time Safari should perform normally, but your settings and bookmarks will be lost.


If the issue is still not resolved, quit Safari again and put all the items you moved to the Desktop back where they were, overwriting the newer ones that will have been created in their place. You don’t need to replace the files you deleted in step 1. Stop here and post again.


If Safari is now working normally (apart from the lost settings), look inside the “Safari” folder on the Desktop for a file named “Bookmarks.plist”. Select File Import Bookmarks from the Safari menu bar. Import from that file. Recreate the rest of your Safari settings. You can then delete the items you moved to the Desktop.


Note: This step will remove your Safari Extensions, if any, and their settings. If you choose to restore them, do so one at a time, testing after each step to make sure you haven’t restored the problem.


If you don’t like the results of step 3, you can undo it completely by quitting Safari and restoring the items you moved or deleted in that step from your backup, overwriting any that were created in their place.

Oct 13, 2012 11:23 AM in response to charlesbt

Hi,


So removing the preferance file fo safari will be in the local user library.

Quit Safari completly.

To get to this library have finder open, go to Go then hold down the option button and you should see the Library folder Appear. Select this icon an you will be take to your local user library. From there go to the Preferance Folder and Look the file called com.apple.Safari.plist Move this file to your trash or desktop. And relaunch Safari

Oct 13, 2012 11:56 AM in response to Linc Davis

HI Linc


The first two options have not worked and so I am about to try the third one. In the folder with all these files that I am going to put on the desktop, there is often a lockfile next to it with the same name.


See attached screenshot. Do I delete these ones too?file://localhost/Users/charlesbowes-taylor/Desktop/Plist.jpgfile://localhos t/Users/charlesbowes-taylor/Desktop/Plist.tiff

Oct 13, 2012 12:20 PM in response to Linc Davis

HI Linc


Firstly, thank you for all your help with this one.


I tried the third option but with no luck. Its so weird that its only on my account that this happens. I suppose a complete reinstall of osx is the only way now?


I am trying to think of what could have caused this. The only thing that I can think of(and you won't believe this) is that I have been downloading a torrent of a forty year old audiobook that I cant buy anywhere on the web.


Could this be the cause of this?


Thanks again

Safari freezing...

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