Endless mini-freezes on Mountain Lion, 2011 MBP

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Level 1

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Endless mini-freezes on Mountain Lion, 2011 MBP

My 2011 MBP decided to bring in the new year by freezing endlessly for small amounts of time - from 5 to 180 seconds at a time.

Each freeze generally only affects one application, but sometimes spreads to other running applications. The overall effect is to create a machine that lags behind what I'm doing, rendering it agonising and dangerous to use (eg, if a window has moved but the display has not updated, the click may be going somewhere else other than where your eyes tell you it is going).

I checked the forums here, and a few other people had this issue, though it seemed to relate to machines with out-of-date SSD firmware (this machines is using a traditional HDD).

One suggestion was to use Onyx, and to clear out every single cache. This seemed to work for a short while (hours?), but once spotlight had reindexed, the machine was pretty unstable again.

Another suggestion is that the graphics drivers are flaky - this seems to be a common pattern over the last few OS updates. I tried installing gfxCardStatus and set it to use "integrated only", bypassing the discrete graphics card. This seems to have stopped the hangs, certainly over the last few minutes.

Apple? Any chance of a fix? Is this something for 10.8.3?

MacBook Pro (15-inch Mid 2010), OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.2)

Posted on Jan 15, 2013 5:03 AM

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Answer 1

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,547 points

Jan 15, 2013 7:59 AM in response to Dave Mee

The next time you have the problem, note the exact times when it starts and ends: hour, minute, second.

If you have more than one user account, these instructions must be carried out as an administrator.

Launch the Console 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 Console in the icon grid.

Make sure the title of the Console window is All Messages. If it isn't, select All Messages from the SYSTEM LOG QUERIES menu on the left.

Scroll back in the log to the time you noted above. Select any messages timestamped during that interval. Copy them (command-C) to the Clipboard. Paste (command-V) into a reply to this message.

When posting a log extract, be selective. In most cases, a few dozen lines are more than enough.

Please do not indiscriminately dump thousands of lines from the log into this discussion.

Important: Some private information, such as your name, may appear in the log. Anonymize before posting.

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Answer 2

Dave Mee Author

Level 1

0 points

Jan 15, 2013 8:20 AM in response to Linc Davis

Thanks, Linc. I'll put the relevant entries up here for you.

If anyone else is watching here - I've been on 'integrated only' since I last posted, and there have been zero freezes. I didn't mention earlier, I'm a mail.app and safari user - I've seen a few people point fingers directly at both applications. Neither have exhibited the problems I've had so far.

A few apps try to flip out and enforce 'discrete' graphics, but quitting and restarting them with gfxCardStatus set to 'integrated only' worked okay. I'd better go tip Cody now ( http://gfx.io ) ...

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Answer 3

Dave Mee Author

Level 1

0 points

Jan 21, 2013 8:12 AM in response to Linc Davis

I've seen lines like this a few times when it's happened; gfxCardStatus tells me I'm running integrated graphics.

21/01/2013 16:06:43.904 WindowServer[114]: CGXDisableUpdate: UI updates were forcibly disabled by application "Console" for over 1.00 seconds. Server has re-enabled them.

21/01/2013 16:06:48.697 WindowServer[114]: reenable_update_for_connection: UI updates were finally reenabled by application "Console" after 5.79 seconds (server forcibly re-enabled them after 1.00 seconds)

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Answer 4

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,547 points

Jan 21, 2013 8:44 AM in response to Dave Mee

Please read this whole message before doing anything.

This procedure is a test, not a solution. Don’t be disappointed when you find that nothing has changed after you complete it.

Step 1

The purpose of this step is to determine whether the problem is localized to your user account.

Enable guest logins* and log in as Guest. For instructions, launch the System Preferences application, select Help from the menu bar, and enter “Set up guest users” (without the quotes) in the search box. Don't use the Safari-only “Guest User” login created by “Find My Mac.”

While logged in as Guest, you won’t have access to any of your personal files or settings. Applications will behave as if you were running them for the first time. Don’t be alarmed by this; it’s normal. If you need any passwords or other personal data in order to complete the test, memorize, print, or write them down before you begin.

Test while logged in as Guest. Same problem?

After testing, log out of the guest account and, in your own account, disable it if you wish. Any files you created in the guest account will be deleted automatically when you log out of it.

*Note: If you’ve activated “Find My Mac” or FileVault, then you can’t enable the Guest account. The “Guest User” login created by “Find My Mac” is not the same. Create a new account in which to test, and delete it, including its home folder, after testing.

Step 2

The purpose of this step is to determine whether the problem is caused by third-party system modifications that load automatically at startup or login.

Disconnect all wired peripherals except those needed for the test, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards. Boot in safe mode* and log in to the account with the problem. The instructions provided by Apple are as follows:

Shut down your computer, wait 30 seconds, and then hold down the shift key while pressing the power button.
When you see the gray Apple logo, release the shift key.
If you are prompted to log in, type your password, and then hold down the shift key again as you click Log in.

Safe mode is much slower to boot and run than normal, and some things won’t work at all, including wireless networking on certain Macs. The next normal boot may also be somewhat slow.

The login screen appears even if you usually log in automatically. You must know your login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin.

*Note: If FileVault is enabled, or if a firmware password is set, or if the boot volume is a software RAID, you can’t boot in safe mode.

Test while in safe mode. Same problem?

After testing, reboot as usual (i.e., not in safe mode) and verify that you still have the problem. Post the results of steps 1 and 2.

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Answer 5

Dave Mee Author

Level 1

0 points

Jan 28, 2013 9:16 AM in response to Linc Davis

Hi Linc,

To be honest, the results were pretty inconclusive.

I logged back in as guest, and there were no problems, at least for the 5 minutes I logged in as guest as. The problem is that Guest has 0 email accounts, with 0 unread messages, no browser history, no IM accounts, etc etc. So it wasn't much of a realistic test. There's just no load for the guest user.

I tried safe mode. It was impossible to open a safari window to post here, as it just constantly refreshed the thumbnail display, with very slow background gradient rendering and a vertical blinds effect re-painting the screen. It was impossible for me to start up the console or activity viewer, again because of the slow rendering of the launcher gui, and spotlight's non-availability.

I pasted the log from safe mode below, but it didn't really get to the point where it could exhibit any symptoms.

---

28/01/2013 16:35:04.194 WindowServer[125]: CGXDisableUpdate: UI updates were forcibly disabled by application "Console" for over 1.00 seconds. Server has re-enabled them.

28/01/2013 16:35:04.195 WindowServer[125]: disable_update_likely_unbalanced: UI updates still disabled by application "Activity Monitor" after 23.89 seconds (server forcibly re-enabled them after 7.68 seconds). Likely an unbalanced disableUpdate call.

28/01/2013 16:35:16.042 WindowServer[125]: reenable_update_for_connection: UI updates were finally reenabled by application "Activity Monitor" after 35.73 seconds (server forcibly re-enabled them after 7.68 seconds)

28/01/2013 16:35:17.904 WindowServer[125]: reenable_update_for_connection: UI updates were finally reenabled by application "Console" after 29.92 seconds (server forcibly re-enabled them after 16.21 seconds)

28/01/2013 16:35:19.781 WindowServer[125]: CGXDisableUpdate: UI updates were forcibly disabled by application "Activity Monitor" for over 1.00 seconds. Server has re-enabled them.

28/01/2013 16:35:19.781 WindowServer[125]: CGXDisableUpdate: UI updates were forcibly disabled by application "Console" for over 1.00 seconds. Server has re-enabled them.

28/01/2013 16:35:19.784 WindowServer[125]: reenable_update_for_connection: UI updates were finally reenabled by application "Console" after 1.87 seconds (server forcibly re-enabled them after 1.87 seconds)

28/01/2013 16:35:21.615 WindowServer[125]: reenable_update_for_connection: UI updates were finally reenabled by application "Activity Monitor" after 3.71 seconds (server forcibly re-enabled them after 1.87 seconds)

28/01/2013 16:35:23.489 WindowServer[125]: CGXDisableUpdate: UI updates were forcibly disabled by application "Console" for over 1.00 seconds. Server has re-enabled them.

28/01/2013 16:35:25.385 WindowServer[125]: reenable_update_for_connection: UI updates were finally reenabled by application "Console" after 3.77 seconds (server forcibly re-enabled them after 1.87 seconds)

28/01/2013 16:35:27.235 WindowServer[125]: CGXDisableUpdate: UI updates were forcibly disabled by application "Activity Monitor" for over 1.00 seconds. Server has re-enabled them.

28/01/2013 16:35:27.235 WindowServer[125]: CGXDisableUpdate: UI updates were forcibly disabled by application "Console" for over 1.00 seconds. Server has re-enabled them.

28/01/2013 16:35:27.236 WindowServer[125]: reenable_update_for_connection: UI updates were finally reenabled by application "Activity Monitor" after 1.85 seconds (server forcibly re-enabled them after 1.85 seconds)

28/01/2013 16:35:27.237 WindowServer[125]: reenable_update_for_connection: UI updates were finally reenabled by application "Console" after 1.85 seconds (server forcibly re-enabled them after 1.84 seconds)

28/01/2013 16:35:29.132 WindowServer[125]: CGXDisableUpdate: UI updates were forcibly disabled by application "Console" for over 1.00 seconds. Server has re-enabled them.

28/01/2013 16:35:29.140 WindowServer[125]: reenable_update_for_connection: UI updates were finally reenabled by application "Console" after 1.90 seconds (server forcibly re-enabled them after 1.89 seconds)

28/01/2013 16:35:31.024 WindowServer[125]: CGXDisableUpdate: UI updates were forcibly disabled by application "Activity Monitor" for over 1.00 seconds. Server has re-enabled them.

28/01/2013 16:35:31.024 WindowServer[125]: CGXDisableUpdate: UI updates were forcibly disabled by application "Console" for over 1.00 seconds. Server has re-enabled them.

28/01/2013 16:35:31.029 WindowServer[125]: reenable_update_for_connection: UI updates were finally reenabled by application "Console" after 1.89 seconds (server forcibly re-enabled them after 1.88 seconds)

28/01/2013 16:35:32.876 WindowServer[125]: CGXDisableUpdate: UI updates were forcibly disabled by application "Console" for over 1.00 seconds. Server has re-enabled them.

28/01/2013 16:35:32.877 WindowServer[125]: reenable_update_for_connection: UI updates were finally reenabled by application "Activity Monitor" after 3.74 seconds (server forcibly re-enabled them after 1.88 seconds)

28/01/2013 16:35:32.882 WindowServer[125]: reenable_update_for_connection: UI updates were finally reenabled by application "Console" after 1.85 seconds (server forcibly re-enabled them after 1.84 seconds)

28/01/2013 16:35:34.843 WindowServer[125]: CGXDisableUpdate: UI updates were forcibly disabled by application "Activity Monitor" for over 1.00 seconds. Server has re-enabled them.

28/01/2013 16:35:34.844 WindowServer[125]: reenable_update_for_connection: UI updates were finally reenabled by application "Activity Monitor" after 1.96 seconds (server forcibly re-enabled them after 1.96 seconds)

28/01/2013 16:35:35.005 PTPCamera[336]: waitForCallbackThreadConditionSignalWithTimeout: pthread_cond_timedwait() failed, status = 60

28/01/2013 16:35:39.285 WindowServer[125]: CGXDisableUpdate: UI updates were forcibly disabled by application "Console" for over 1.00 seconds. Server has re-enabled them.

28/01/2013 16:35:39.285 WindowServer[125]: CGXDisableUpdate: UI updates were forcibly disabled by application "Activity Monitor" for over 1.00 seconds. Server has re-enabled them.

28/01/2013 16:35:39.286 WindowServer[125]: reenable_update_for_connection: UI updates were finally reenabled by application "Activity Monitor" after 1.90 seconds (server forcibly re-enabled them after 1.89 seconds)

28/01/2013 16:35:39.294 WindowServer[125]: reenable_update_for_connection: UI updates were finally reenabled by application "Console" after 1.91 seconds (server forcibly re-enabled them after 1.90 seconds)

28/01/2013 16:35:43.069 WindowServer[125]: CGXDisableUpdate: UI updates were forcibly disabled by application "Console" for over 1.00 seconds. Server has re-enabled them.

28/01/2013 16:35:43.071 WindowServer[125]: reenable_update_for_connection: UI updates were finally reenabled by application "Console" after 1.89 seconds (server forcibly re-enabled them after 1.89 seconds)

28/01/2013 16:35:48.826 WindowServer[125]: CGXDisableUpdate: UI updates were forcibly disabled by application "Console" for over 1.00 seconds. Server has re-enabled them.

28/01/2013 16:35:48.828 WindowServer[125]: reenable_update_for_connection: UI updates were finally reenabled by application "Console" after 1.88 seconds (server forcibly re-enabled them after 1.88 seconds)

28/01/2013 16:35:49.192 com.apple.usbmuxd[23]: _handle_timer heartbeat detected detach for device 0x28-192.168.1.68:0!

28/01/2013 16:35:50.714 WindowServer[125]: CGXDisableUpdate: UI updates were forcibly disabled by application "Console" for over 1.00 seconds. Server has re-enabled them.

28/01/2013 16:35:50.728 WindowServer[125]: reenable_update_for_connection: UI updates were finally reenabled by application "Console" after 1.89 seconds (server forcibly re-enabled them after 1.88 seconds)

28/01/2013 16:35:52.618 WindowServer[125]: CGXDisableUpdate: UI updates were forcibly disabled by application "Activity Monitor" for over 1.00 seconds. Server has re-enabled them.

28/01/2013 16:35:52.618 WindowServer[125]: CGXDisableUpdate: UI updates were forcibly disabled by application "Console" for over 1.00 seconds. Server has re-enabled them.

28/01/2013 16:35:54.675 WindowServer[125]: reenable_update_for_connection: UI updates were finally reenabled by application "Activity Monitor" after 3.95 seconds (server forcibly re-enabled them after 1.89 seconds)

28/01/2013 16:35:55.689 com.apple.launchd[1]: (com.apple.iCloudHelper[321]) Exited: Killed: 9

28/01/2013 16:35:55.000 kernel[0]: memorystatus_thread: idle exiting pid 321 [com.apple.iCloud]

28/01/2013 16:35:55.000 kernel[0]: (default pager): [KERNEL]: ps_allocate_cluster - send HI_WAT_ALERT

28/01/2013 16:35:55.000 kernel[0]: macx_swapon SUCCESS

28/01/2013 16:35:56.769 WindowServer[125]: reenable_update_for_connection: UI updates were finally reenabled by application "Console" after 6.04 seconds (server forcibly re-enabled them after 1.89 seconds)

28/01/2013 16:35:56.000 kernel[0]: (default pager): [KERNEL]: ps_select_segment - send HI_WAT_ALERT

28/01/2013 16:35:56.000 kernel[0]: macx_swapon SUCCESS

28/01/2013 16:35:58.906 WindowServer[125]: CGXDisableUpdate: UI updates were forcibly disabled by application "Console" for over 1.00 seconds. Server has re-enabled them.

28/01/2013 16:36:00.000 kernel[0]: (default pager): [KERNEL]: ps_select_segment - send HI_WAT_ALERT

28/01/2013 16:36:00.000 kernel[0]: macx_swapon SUCCESS

28/01/2013 16:36:12.022 WindowServer[125]: reenable_update_for_connection: UI updates were finally reenabled by application "Console" after 15.25 seconds (server forcibly re-enabled them after 2.13 seconds)

28/01/2013 16:36:35.655 WindowServer[125]: CGXDisableUpdate: UI updates were forcibly disabled by application "Activity Monitor" for over 1.00 seconds. Server has re-enabled them.

28/01/2013 16:36:35.655 WindowServer[125]: CGXDisableUpdate: UI updates were forcibly disabled by application "Console" for over 1.00 seconds. Server has re-enabled them.

28/01/2013 16:36:35.659 WindowServer[125]: reenable_update_for_connection: UI updates were finally reenabled by application "Activity Monitor" after 7.87 seconds (server forcibly re-enabled them after 7.86 seconds)

28/01/2013 16:36:40.567 WindowServer[125]: reenable_update_for_connection: UI updates were finally reenabled by application "Console" after 12.77 seconds (server forcibly re-enabled them after 7.86 seconds)

28/01/2013 16:37:54.575 com.apple.launchd[1]: (com.apple.audio.ComponentHelper[303]) Exited: Killed: 9

28/01/2013 16:37:54.000 kernel[0]: memorystatus_thread: idle exiting pid 303 [com.apple.audio.]

28/01/2013 16:38:00.533 com.apple.launchd[1]: (com.apple.audio.SandboxHelper[302]) Exited: Killed: 9

28/01/2013 16:38:00.000 kernel[0]: memorystatus_thread: idle exiting pid 302 [com.apple.audio.]

28/01/2013 16:38:01.641 WebProcess[335]: CoreAnimation: failed to create OpenGL context

28/01/2013 16:38:01.794 com.apple.launchd.peruser.501[173]: (com.apple.pbs[242]) Exited: Killed: 9

28/01/2013 16:38:01.000 kernel[0]: memorystatus_thread: idle exiting pid 242 [pbs]

28/01/2013 16:38:34.936 lsboxd[235]: @AE relay 61657674:72617070

28/01/2013 16:40:17.709 WindowServer[125]: CGXDisableUpdate: UI updates were forcibly disabled by application "Activity Monitor" for over 1.00 seconds. Server has re-enabled them.

28/01/2013 16:40:18.166 WindowServer[125]: reenable_update_for_connection: UI updates were finally reenabled by application "Activity Monitor" after 8.13 seconds (server forcibly re-enabled them after 7.68 seconds)

28/01/2013 16:40:20.877 Safari[325]: CGContextClipToRect: invalid context 0x0

28/01/2013 16:40:28.777 WindowServer[125]: CGXDisableUpdate: UI updates were forcibly disabled by application "Activity Monitor" for over 1.00 seconds. Server has re-enabled them.

28/01/2013 16:40:28.779 WindowServer[125]: reenable_update_for_connection: UI updates were finally reenabled by application "Activity Monitor" after 1.70 seconds (server forcibly re-enabled them after 1.70 seconds)

28/01/2013 16:40:33.594 WebProcess[352]: CoreAnimation: failed to create OpenGL context

28/01/2013 16:40:41.467 WindowServer[125]: CGXDisableUpdate: UI updates were forcibly disabled by application "Console" for over 1.00 seconds. Server has re-enabled them.

28/01/2013 16:40:42.316 WindowServer[125]: reenable_update_for_connection: UI updates were finally reenabled by application "Console" after 2.64 seconds (server forcibly re-enabled them after 1.79 seconds)

28/01/2013 16:40:46.819 WindowServer[125]: CGXDisableUpdate: UI updates were forcibly disabled by application "Activity Monitor" for over 1.00 seconds. Server has re-enabled them.

28/01/2013 16:40:46.819 WindowServer[125]: reenable_update_for_connection: UI updates were finally reenabled by application "Activity Monitor" after 1.91 seconds (server forcibly re-enabled them after 1.91 seconds)

28/01/2013 16:40:50.260 WindowServer[125]: CGXDisableUpdate: UI updates were forcibly disabled by application "Console" for over 1.00 seconds. Server has re-enabled them.

28/01/2013 16:40:50.260 WindowServer[125]: CGXDisableUpdate: UI updates were forcibly disabled by application "Activity Monitor" for over 1.00 seconds. Server has re-enabled them.

28/01/2013 16:40:50.261 WindowServer[125]: reenable_update_for_connection: UI updates were finally reenabled by application "Activity Monitor" after 1.05 seconds (server forcibly re-enabled them after 1.05 seconds)

28/01/2013 16:40:50.262 WindowServer[125]: reenable_update_for_connection: UI updates were finally reenabled by application "Console" after 1.06 seconds (server forcibly re-enabled them after 1.05 seconds)

28/01/2013 16:41:27.117 WindowServer[125]: CGXDisableUpdate: UI updates were forcibly disabled by application "Activity Monitor" for over 1.00 seconds. Server has re-enabled them.

28/01/2013 16:41:27.118 WindowServer[125]: reenable_update_for_connection: UI updates were finally reenabled by application "Activity Monitor" after 5.84 seconds (server forcibly re-enabled them after 5.84 seconds)

---

After rebooting as myself, I had the familiarity of a 20 minute startup time, with mail freezing as it started, and lots of whingeing.

It seems to happen a lot with mail.app - I have about 20,000 messages sat in there, but I wouldn't have expected this to cause these symptoms.

Apologies I couldn't recreate the problem in safe mode.

HTH

Dave

Message was edited by: Dave Mee (clarified description)

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Answer 6

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,547 points

Jan 28, 2013 9:22 AM in response to Dave Mee

Please read this whole message before doing anything.

This procedure is a diagnostic test. It won’t solve your problem. Don’t be disappointed when you find that nothing has changed after you complete it.

Third-party system modifications are a common cause of usability problems. By a “system modification,” I mean software that affects the operation of other software — potentially for the worse. The following procedure will help identify which such modifications you've installed. Don’t be alarmed by the complexity of these instructions — they’re easy to carry out and won’t change anything on your Mac.

These steps are to be taken while booted in “normal” mode, not in safe mode. If you’re now running in safe mode, reboot as usual before continuing.

Below are instructions to enter some UNIX shell commands. The commands are harmless, but they must be entered exactly as given in order to work. If you have doubts about the safety of the procedure suggested here, search this site for other discussions in which it’s been followed without any report of ill effects.

Some of the commands will line-wrap or scroll in your browser, but each one is really just a single line, all of which must be selected. You can accomplish this easily by triple-clicking anywhere in the line. The whole line will highlight, and you can then either copy or drag it. The headings “Step 1” and so on are not part of the commands.

Note: If you have more than one user account, Step 2 must be taken as an administrator. Ordinarily that would be the user created automatically when you booted the system for the first time. The other steps should be taken as the user who has the problem, if different. Most personal Macs have only one user, and in that case this paragraph doesn’t apply.

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.

When you launch Terminal, a text window will open with a line already in it, ending either in a dollar sign (“$”) or a percent sign (“%”). If you get the percent sign, enter “sh” and press return. You should then get a new line ending in a dollar sign.

Step 1

Triple-click the line of text below to select it:

kextstat -kl | awk '!/com\.apple/{printf "%s %s\n", $6, $7}'

Copy (command-C) the selected text to the Clipboard. Then click anywhere in the Terminal window and paste (command-V). Post the lines of output (if any) that appear below what you just entered. You can do that by copy-and-paste as well. Omit the final line ending in “$”. No typing is involved in this step.

Step 2

Repeat with this line:

sudo launchctl list | sed 1d | awk '!/0x|com\.(apple|openssh|vix)|edu\.mit|org\.(amavis|apache|cups|isc|ntp|postfix|x)/{print $3}'

This time you'll be prompted for your login password, which you do have to type. It won't be displayed when you type it. Type it carefully and then press return. You may get a one-time warning not to screw up. You don't need to post the warning. If you see a message that your username "is not in the sudoers file," then you're not logged in as an administrator.

Note: If you don’t have a login password, you’ll need to set one before taking this step. If that’s not possible, skip to the next step.

Step 3

launchctl list | sed 1d | awk '!/0x|com\.apple|edu\.mit|org\.(x|openbsd)/{print $3}'

Step 4

ls -1A /e*/mach* {,/}L*/{Ad,Compon,Ex,Fram,In,Keyb,La,Mail/Bu,P*P,Priv,Qu,Scripti,Servi,Spo,Sta}* L*/Fonts 2> /dev/null

Important: If you formerly synchronized with a MobileMe account, your me.com email address may appear in the output of the above command. If so, anonymize it before posting.

Step 5

osascript -e 'tell application "System Events" to get name of every login item' 2> /dev/null

Remember, steps 1-5 are all copy-and-paste — no typing, except your password. Also remember to post the output.

You can then quit Terminal.

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Answer 7

Dave Mee Author

Level 1

0 points

Jan 28, 2013 11:22 AM in response to Linc Davis

Hi again Linc,

Some more updates - I killed a couple of tools I was running which were not listed as 100% mountain lion compatible - but it still happens when I'm running normally (this time, I'm using integrated graphics, though it's possible that the switch to integrated didn't happen properly) - the following appeared around an unexpected freeze from mail.app

28/01/2013 19:16:48.467 WindowServer[106]: CGXDisableUpdate: UI updates were forcibly disabled by application "LaunchBar" for over 1.00 seconds. Server has re-enabled them.

28/01/2013 19:17:02.467 WindowServer[106]: disable_update_likely_unbalanced: UI updates still disabled by application "LaunchBar" after 15.00 seconds (server forcibly re-enabled them after 1.00 seconds). Likely an unbalanced disableUpdate call.

28/01/2013 19:17:03.211 WindowServer[106]: reenable_update_for_connection: UI updates were finally reenabled by application "LaunchBar" after 15.74 seconds (server forcibly re-enabled them after 1.00 seconds)

I'll run through your command line stuff later today.

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Answer 8

Dave Mee Author

Level 1

0 points

Jan 28, 2013 11:44 AM in response to Linc Davis

Here goes!

---

davem-mbp:~ davem$ kextstat -kl | awk '!/com\.apple/{printf "%s %s\n", $6, $7}'

at.obdev.nke.LittleSnitch (3894)

com.ShapeServices.driver.HSAudioDevice (1.0.5)

com.paceap.kext.pacesupport.snowleopard (5.9)

davem-mbp:~ davem$ sudo launchctl list | sed 1d | awk '!/0x|com\.(apple|openssh|vix)|edu\.mit|org\.(amavis|apache|cups|isc|ntp|postfi x|x)/{print $3}'

Password:

com.Growl.GrowlHelperApp.GNTPClientService

com.paceap.pacesupport

org.macosforge.xquartz.privileged_startx

homebrew.mxcl.isc-dhcp

com.sharpcast.xfsmond

com.radiosilenceapp.nke.PrivateEye

com.paceap.eden.licensed

com.google.keystone.daemon

com.fernlightning.fseventer

com.cocoatech.pathfinder.SMFHelper6

at.obdev.littlesnitchd

davem-mbp:~ davem$ launchctl list | sed 1d | awk '!/0x|com\.apple|edu\.mit|org\.(x|openbsd)/{print $3}'

com.growl.GrowlLauncher

org.macosforge.xquartz.startx

at.obdev.LittleSnitchUIAgent

ws.agile.1PasswordAgent

com.valvesoftware.steamclean

com.google.GoogleContactSyncAgent

davem-mbp:~ davem$ ls -1A /e*/mach* {,/}L*/{Ad,Compon,Ex,Fram,In,Keyb,La,Mail/Bu,P*P,Priv,Qu,Scripti,Servi,Spo,Sta} * L*/Fonts 2> /dev/null

/Library/Components:

iGlasses3.component

/Library/Extensions:

/Library/Frameworks:

AEProfiling.framework

AERegistration.framework

AudioMixEngine.framework

EWSMac-GC.framework

EWSMac.framework

MacFUSE.framework

NyxAudioAnalysis.framework

OSXFUSE.framework

PluginManager.framework

Python.framework

XSKey.framework

iLifeFaceRecognition.framework

iLifeKit.framework

iLifePageLayout.framework

iLifeSQLAccess.framework

iLifeSlideshow.framework

iTunesLibrary.framework

/Library/Input Methods:

/Library/Internet Plug-Ins:

JavaAppletPlugin.plugin

Quartz Composer.webplugin

QuickTime Plugin.plugin

Unity Web Player.plugin

Unused

googletalkbrowserplugin.plugin

iPhotoPhotocast.plugin

nsIQTScriptablePlugin.xpt

/Library/Keyboard Layouts:

/Library/LaunchAgents:

at.obdev.LittleSnitchUIAgent.plist

com.google.keystone.agent.plist

org.macosforge.xquartz.startx.plist

/Library/LaunchDaemons:

PACESupport.plist

at.obdev.littlesnitchd.plist

com.apple.aelwriter.plist

com.cocoatech.pathfinder.SMFHelper6.plist

com.fernlightning.fseventer.plist

com.google.keystone.daemon.plist

com.paceap.eden.licensed.plist

com.radiosilenceapp.nke.PrivateEye.plist

com.sharpcast.xfsmond.plist

homebrew.mxcl.isc-dhcp.plist

org.macosforge.xquartz.privileged_startx.plist

/Library/PreferencePanes:

Network Link Conditioner.prefPane

OSXFUSE.prefPane

/Library/PrivilegedHelperTools:

Google Drive Icon Helper

com.cocoatech.pathfinder.SMFHelper6

com.fernlightning.fseventer

licenseDaemon.app

/Library/QuickLook:

GBQLGenerator.qlgenerator

iBooksAuthor.qlgenerator

iWork.qlgenerator

/Library/QuickTime:

AppleIntermediateCodec.component

AppleMPEG2Codec.component

CamTwist.component

Google Camera Adapter 0.component

Google Camera Adapter 1.component

MobiolaVDig.component

/Library/ScriptingAdditions:

Adobe Unit Types.osax

/Library/Services:

CurioService.service

/Library/Spotlight:

GBSpotlightImporter.mdimporter

LogicPro.mdimporter

Microsoft Office.mdimporter

iBooksAuthor.mdimporter

iWork.mdimporter

/Library/StartupItems:

/etc/mach_init.d:

/etc/mach_init_per_login_session.d:

/etc/mach_init_per_user.d:

Library/Address Book Plug-Ins:

AdiumAddressBookAction_AIM.scpt

AdiumAddressBookAction_ICQ.scpt

AdiumAddressBookAction_Jabber.scpt

AdiumAddressBookAction_MSN.scpt

AdiumAddressBookAction_SMS.scpt

AdiumAddressBookAction_Yahoo.scpt

SkypeABDialer.bundle

SkypeABSMS.bundle

Library/Fonts:

AkkurMon

Akkurat Bold Italic Pro.otf

Akkurat Bold Pro.otf

Akkurat Italic Pro.otf

Akkurat Light Italic Pro.otf

Akkurat Light Pro.otf

Akkurat Mono.suit

Akkurat Regular Pro.otf

BraueNeuBla

BraueNeuBlaIta

BraueNeuBol

BraueNeuBolIta

BraueNeuExp

BraueNeuExpBla

BraueNeuExpBlaIta

BraueNeuExpBol

BraueNeuExpBolIta

BraueNeuExpIta

BraueNeuIta

BraueNeuReg

BrauerNeue-Black.suit

BrauerNeue-BlackItalic.suit

BrauerNeue-Bold.suit

BrauerNeue-BoldItalic.suit

BrauerNeue-Expert.suit

BrauerNeue-ExpertBlack.suit

BrauerNeue-ExpertBlackItalic.suit

BrauerNeue-ExpertBold.suit

BrauerNeue-ExpertBoldItalic.suit

BrauerNeue-ExpertItalic.suit

BrauerNeue-Italic.suit

BrauerNeue-Regular.suit

Calibri.ttf

DIN Schablonierschrift.ttf

DaveMXXSignature-Regular.otf

EAGLBD__.ttf

FF_DIN_Black.otf

FF_DIN_Black.pfa

FF_DIN_Black_Alternate.otf

FF_DIN_Black_Alternate.pfa

FF_DIN_Black_Italic.otf

FF_DIN_Black_Italic.pfa

FF_DIN_Black_Italic_Alternate.otf

FF_DIN_Black_Italic_Alternate.pfa

FF_DIN_Black_Italic_Expert.otf

FF_DIN_Black_Italic_Expert.pfa

FF_DIN_Bold.otf

FF_DIN_Bold.pfa

FF_DIN_Bold_Alternate.otf

FF_DIN_Bold_Alternate.pfa

FF_DIN_Bold_Italic.otf

FF_DIN_Bold_Italic.pfa

FF_DIN_Bold_Italic_Alternate.otf

FF_DIN_Bold_Italic_Alternate.pfa

FF_DIN_Bold_Italic_Expert.otf

FF_DIN_Bold_Italic_Expert.pfa

FF_DIN_Condensed_Black.otf

FF_DIN_Condensed_Black.pfa

FF_DIN_Condensed_Black_Alternate.otf

FF_DIN_Condensed_Black_Alternate.pfa

FF_DIN_Condensed_Black_Expert.otf

FF_DIN_Condensed_Black_Expert.pfa

FF_DIN_Condensed_Bold.otf

FF_DIN_Condensed_Bold.pfa

FF_DIN_Condensed_Bold_Alternate.otf

FF_DIN_Condensed_Bold_Alternate.pfa

FF_DIN_Condensed_Bold_Expert.otf

FF_DIN_Condensed_Bold_Expert.pfa

FF_DIN_Condensed_Light.otf

FF_DIN_Condensed_Light.pfa

FF_DIN_Condensed_Light_Alternative.otf

FF_DIN_Condensed_Light_Alternative.pfa

FF_DIN_Condensed_Light_Expert.otf

FF_DIN_Condensed_Light_Expert.pfa

FF_DIN_Condensed_Medium.otf

FF_DIN_Condensed_Medium.pfa

FF_DIN_Condensed_Medium_Alternative.otf

FF_DIN_Condensed_Medium_Alternative.pfa

FF_DIN_Condensed_Medium_Expert.otf

FF_DIN_Condensed_Medium_Expert.pfa

FF_DIN_Condensed_Regular.otf

FF_DIN_Condensed_Regular.pfa

FF_DIN_Condensed_Regular_Alternate.otf

FF_DIN_Condensed_Regular_Alternate.pfa

FF_DIN_Condensed_Regular_Expert.otf

FF_DIN_Condensed_Regular_Expert.pfa

FF_DIN_Light.otf

FF_DIN_Light.pfa

FF_DIN_Light_Alternate.otf

FF_DIN_Light_Alternate.pfa

FF_DIN_Light_Italic_Alternate.otf

FF_DIN_Light_Italic_Alternate.pfa

FF_DIN_Light_Italic_Expert.otf

FF_DIN_Light_Italic_Expert.pfa

FF_DIN_Medium.otf

FF_DIN_Medium.pfa

FF_DIN_Medium_Alternate.otf

FF_DIN_Medium_Alternate.pfa

FF_DIN_Medium_Italic.otf

FF_DIN_Medium_Italic.pfa

FF_DIN_Medium_Italic_Alternate..pfa

FF_DIN_Medium_Italic_Alternate.otf

FF_DIN_Medium_Italic_Expert.otf

FF_DIN_Medium_Italic_Expert.pfa

FF_DIN_Pro_Black_Italic.otf

FF_DIN_Pro_Bold_Italic.otf

FF_DIN_Pro_Light_Italic.otf

FF_DIN_Pro_Medium_Italic.otf

FF_DIN_Pro_Regular_Italic.otf

FF_DIN_Regular.otf

FF_DIN_Regular.pfa

FF_DIN_Regular_Alternate.otf

FF_DIN_Regular_Alternate.pfa

FF_DIN_Regular_Italic.otf

FF_DIN_Regular_Italic.pfa

FF_DIN_Regular_Italic_Alternate.otf

FF_DIN_Regular_Italic_Alternate.pfa

FF_DIN_Regular_Italic_Expert.otf

FF_DIN_Regular_Italic_Expert.pfa

ITC Avant Garde CE Gothic Book.ttf

ITC Avant Garde CE Gothic Demi.ttf

ITC Avant Garde Gothic LT Bold Oblique.ttf

ITC Avant Garde Gothic LT Bold.ttf

ITC Avant Garde Gothic LT Book Oblique.ttf

ITC Avant Garde Gothic LT Book.ttf

ITC Avant Garde Gothic LT Condensed Bold.ttf

ITC Avant Garde Gothic LT Condensed Book.ttf

ITC Avant Garde Gothic LT Condensed Demi.ttf

ITC Avant Garde Gothic LT Condensed Medium.ttf

ITC Avant Garde Gothic LT Demi Oblique.ttf

ITC Avant Garde Gothic LT Demi.ttf

ITC Avant Garde Gothic LT Extra Light Oblique.ttf

ITC Avant Garde Gothic LT Extra Light.ttf

ITC Avant Garde Gothic LT Medium Oblique.ttf

ITC Avant Garde Gothic LT Medium.ttf

ITCAvantGardePro-Bk.otf

ITCAvantGardePro-BkObl.otf

ITCAvantGardePro-Bold.otf

ITCAvantGardePro-BoldObl.otf

ITCAvantGardePro-Demi.otf

ITCAvantGardePro-DemiObl.otf

ITCAvantGardePro-Md.otf

ITCAvantGardePro-MdObl.otf

ITCAvantGardePro-XLt.otf

ITCAvantGardePro-XLtObl.otf

Inconsolata.otf

Lorimer_Black.otf

Lorimer_Black_Italic.otf

Lorimer_Bold.otf

Lorimer_Bold_Italic.otf

Lorimer_Light.otf

Lorimer_Light_Italic.otf

Lorimer_Medium.otf

Lorimer_Medium_Italic.otf

Lorimer_Semibold.otf

Lorimer_Semibold_Italic.otf

ModeSeven.ttf

Null Free.otf

PERBI_.TTF

PERB__.TTF

PERI__.TTF

PERTIBD.TTF

PERTILI-1.TTF

PERTILI.TTF

PER___.TTF

Panic Sans.dfont

Pictos RIP.otf

StratumNo1-Black.otf

StratumNo1-Bold.otf

StratumNo1-Light.otf

StratumNo1-Medium.otf

StratumNo1-Regular.otf

StratumNo1-Thin.otf

StratumNo2-Black.otf

StratumNo2-Bold.otf

StratumNo2-Light.otf

StratumNo2-Medium.otf

StratumNo2-Regular.otf

StratumNo2-Thin.otf

VeraMoBI.ttf

VeraMoBd.ttf

VeraMoIt.ttf

VeraMono.ttf

WebSymbols-Regular.otf

encodings.dir

fonts.dir

fonts.list

fonts.scale

Library/Frameworks:

EWSMac-GC.framework

EWSMac.framework

OpenCV.framework

Library/Inform:

Documentation

Extensions

Library/Input Methods:

.localized

Library/InputManagers:

Library/Internet Accounts:

V1

Library/Internet Plug-Ins:

ClickToFlash.webplugin

Library/Keyboard Layouts:

Library/LaunchAgents:

com.apple.AddressBook.ScheduledSync.PHXCardDAVSource.B578BA9C-642A-4447-985D-6A3 1090AE286.plist

com.apple.AddressBook.ScheduledSync.PHXCardDAVSource.F1AC4688-F628-48BE-A6C4-6E3 3944CAAD8.plist

com.apple.CSConfigDotMacCert-davemxx@me.com-SharedServices.Agent.plist

com.apple.FolderActions.enabled.plist

com.apple.FolderActions.folders.plist

com.google.GoogleContactSyncAgent.plist

com.valvesoftware.steamclean.plist

ws.agile.1PasswordAgent.plist

Library/Mail/Bundles:

OmniMailMessageServiceEnabler.mailbundle

Library/Mail/Bundles (Disabled 1):

DEVONMailConduit-SnowLeopard.mailbundle

OmniMailMessageServiceEnabler.mailbundle

Library/Mail/Bundles (Disabled 2):

DEVONMailConduit-SnowLeopard.mailbundle

OmniMailMessageServiceEnabler.mailbundle

Library/Mail/Bundles (Disabled):

Library/PreferencePanes:

.nBuBZpJ+jlU=

BlueHarvest.prefPane

Hazel.prefPane

Jitouch.prefPane

PastebotSync.prefPane

Perian.prefPane

Library/QuicKeys:

Abbreviations

Clips

Equation Functions

Global Variables.qkvariables

Imported Supporting Items

Instant Shortcut.qkshortcutd

PlugIns

Saved Searches

Shortcuts

Toolbars

Trigger Functions

Uninstalled Downloads

Library/QuickLook:

QLStephen.qlgenerator

Library/QuickTime:

AC3MovieImport.component

Perian.component

Library/ScriptingAdditions:

Library/Services:

CalcService.service

Clear Subversion and Git cruft.workflow

Convert MultiMarkDown to HTML.workflow

Convert MultiMarkDown to RTF.workflow

CurioService.service

Geocode to latitude, longitude.workflow

OmniOutliner Professional.service

Open Current File in Marked.workflow

PDF Annotations to clipboard.workflow

PDF to RTF Service.service

Preview Selection in Marked.workflow

Shorten URL with bit.ly.workflow

Word count.workflow

WordService.service

textsoap7.service

Library/Spotlight:

_TagsMail.mdimporter

davem-mbp:~ davem$ osascript -e 'tell application "System Events" to get name of every login item' 2> /dev/null

Flux, CheatSheet, LaunchBar, Fantastical, Dropbox, gfxCardStatus, QuickCursor, Moom, Jitouch

davem-mbp:~ davem$

Message was edited by: Dave Mee (changed surname references to mxx, then realised there was no point as my full name is here anyway)

Reply

Answer 9

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,547 points

Jan 28, 2013 12:59 PM in response to Dave Mee

You have some system modifications that might cause such a problem, but there's really no evidence that they are causing it, because you were unable to test adequately in safe mode. Normally safe mode is slow, but it does work. So you could be dealing with system corruption or a hardware fault. Uninstalling system modifications is a lot of work, and you don't want to do it only to find that nothing has changed.

What I would do in your place is to boot from a clean installation of OS X on an external drive and see whether I could reproduce the problem. If so, it's definitely a hardware fault. A shortcut would be to boot into Recovery (command-R at startup), but then you can only run Safari, which is even more limited than the guest account.

If you don't reproduce the problem with a clean installation, the next step would be to reinstall the OS on your primary boot volume. You could do that anyway, skipping the previous step. It usually doesn't help unless you have proven system corruption, but it's relatively easy to do. Back up all data first.

Reply

Answer 10

gmarinov

Level 1

34 points

Mar 7, 2013 4:01 AM in response to Dave Mee

Mountain lion still has issues with its graphics drivers. This is apparent to anyone who has migrated from 10.6 and paid attention during the process. The new graphics run faster, but they are too agressive and sometimes the graphics subsystem locks up.

A soft wakeup of the graphics controller after a certain timeout, in a case like this, can buy you some time, and Apple's software engineering practice suggests that more often than not they first issue a work-around rather than a fix. (See Logic 9.1.8's "fix" for a problem which really is caused by OSX itself).

As Windowserver is tightly integrated with the graphics drivers, this is where I myself am seeing the most inconsistencies and bugs, especiallly when running with external display at large resolutions (e.g. 1920x1200 or more).

Safe mode, resetting pram/nvram, etc, these are old tricks, that fail to work in this scenario.

This is a software problem, affecting a large number of users. Since Apple have to work together with Nvidia to roll out better drivers (anyone else with broken VGA in 10.6.4+ ?), graphics' development is very sluggish (just look at the number of betas for 10.8.3)

Since, unlike iOS, OSX also supports non-cocoa code, some older codebase applications are plagued by all sorts of problems as these APIs are deprecated. This includes big software titles such as Photoshop, Pro Tools, etc, where a proper rewrite would be voted "no" from high up in the company's hierarchy. Even Logic seems to be suffering the mythical X rewrite being long overdue now.

Reply

Answer 11

gmarinov

Level 1

34 points

Mar 15, 2013 5:49 AM in response to Dave Mee

now that 10.8.3 has shipped with updated graphics drivers, i'd be interested to hear if you're still having the same problems?

Reply

Answer 12

bjw

Level 4

1,329 points

Mar 18, 2013 6:43 PM in response to Dave Mee

I just started noticing similar stuff today, restricted to Finder.

When I Select All on more than a hundred or so files in a Finder window I get the beachball for a few seconds, sometimes more. Sometimes less. Same thing when I sort by a different column in a Finder window. Whenever it takes a while to respond I get lines like these in the Console.

3/18/13 9:30:44.347 PM WindowServer[88]: CGXDisableUpdate: UI updates were forcibly disabled by application "Finder" for over 1.00 seconds. Server has re-enabled them.

3/18/13 9:30:46.439 PM WindowServer[88]: reenable_update_for_connection: UI updates were finally reenabled by application "Finder" after 3.09 seconds (server forcibly re-enabled them after 1.00 seconds)

I can't say it's 10.8.3 but it's pretty much when I noticed it, after installing the Combo updater.

I don't have anything different plugged into my iMac. (27" i7, 16GB RAM) And I don't run utilities and stuff like that. My menubar is pretty clean. I sometimes repair permissions and run the periodic daily, weekly, monthly command in Terminal once in a while.

If I had to bet I'd say 10.8.3 did this, but I'm not sure. Can't remember having anything like this before.

Reply

Answer 13

dmaude

Level 1

0 points

Mar 27, 2013 11:01 AM in response to gmarinov

You will probably have seen in other forums that 10.8.3 – even with the twice-updated drivers in the combo update – is continuing to cause problems. This is particularly irksome for folk like me, who are still trying to run a mid-2007 iMac with an ATI Radeon HD2400 display.

Many of us had rather hoped the update would solve the freezing and crashing problems we've been experiencing since 10.6.3. Until the enterprising Krzysztof Turek located the previous kexts, and posted an easy way to install them, Apple had managed to turn our machines into expensive paperweights.

Unfortunately, this solution – while considerably better than nothing – is no longer ideal. Before reverting the kexts, in addition to renewed outbreaks of freezing and crashing, with added full-screen whiteouts, 10.8.3 upgraders have reported:

1 Items in menu bar killed - can't see volume setting, date or time

2 Calling system prefs window from Apple symbol takes a long time, fails and won't easily show all

3 Asking prefs window to show date in clock either refuses or crashes the window

4 iPhoto won't email - share button comes up blank

5 Dock disappears

6 While setting a hot corner to sleep display, a mouse-click activates the notification panel

7 Attempts to wake from sleep, entered by moving into a hot corner, result in a white screen.

Even after applying Kryszrtof's fix, which gets rid of the freezing and most whiteouts, I have found that:

a) The machine refuses to go to sleep

b) Reaction to screen events is generally slower

c) Asking Time Machine to back up now brings a whiteout

d) The mouse pointer periodically freezes completely – requiring a double-click to reactivate

e) Trackpad scrolls add momentum to whole windows, causing them to carry on moving around the screen for a bit on their own.

Reply

Answer 14

SIPAnkh

Level 1

43 points

Apr 5, 2013 8:14 PM in response to gmarinov

I am on 10.8.3 and MacBook Pro 2Ghz Intel Core i7 and am plagued by CGXDisableUpdate freezups. What s interesting I haven't had this problem as soon as I upgraded to ML, rather started few months later.

Reply

Answer 15

G619

Level 1

4 points

Apr 19, 2013 11:18 PM in response to Dave Mee

Add me to the list. MBP Retina 15. The issue really only rears its head when copying large files to a network share. I've also noticed numerous issues with external monitors including the external display not being activated when waking and the idle display sleep almost never works. Hope this gets resolved.

Reply