Safari freezes opening www.microsoft.com/surface/en-US

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.

Boot into Recovery by holding down the key combination command-R at the startup chime. Release the keys when you see a gray screen with a spinning dial.

Note: You need an always-on Ethernet or Wi-Fi connection to the Internet to use Recovery. It won’t work with USB or PPPoE modems, or with proxy servers, or with networks that require a certificate for authentication.

From the OS X Utilities screen, select Get Help Online. A clean copy of Safari will launch. No plugins, such as Flash, will be available. While in Recovery, you'll have no access to your saved bookmarks or passwords, so make a note of those before you begin, if they're needed for the test.

Test. After testing, reboot as usual and post the results.

Back up all data.

Boot into Recovery again. When the OS X Utilities screen appears, follow the prompts to reinstall the OS. You don't need to erase the boot volume, and you won't need your backup unless something goes wrong. If your Mac was upgraded from an older version of OS X, you’ll need the Apple ID and password you used to upgrade, so make a note of those before you begin.

From the menu bar, select

 ▹ System Preferences ▹ Network

If the preference pane is locked, click the lock icon in the lower left corner and enter your password to unlock it. Then click the Advanced button and select the Proxies tab. If any proxy options are selected, deselect them. You don’t need to change the bypass or FTP settings. Click OK and then Apply. Test. The result may be that you can't connect to any web server, so be prepared to restore the previous settings if that happens.

From the Safari menu bar, select

Help ▹ Installed Plug-ins

Besides the following, what plugins are listed?

• iPhotoPhotocast
• Java
• QuickTime
• Shockwave Flash
• WebKit built-in PDF

I suggest you back up all data, then delete or move aside all the plugins not listed in my last message. Relaunch Safari and test. If there's no improvement, restore the plugins.

Just to add something... the page works on my 13" MBA, 10.8.3, Safari 6.0.3, and Firefox 19.0.2. But I noticed some things.

Initial load on Safari has an animation of the Surface rotating and showing the ports, then goes to a static image. Subsequent loads don't have it. First load on Firefox didn't have the animation. I tried IE10 on a work PC and it also has the animation on first load, but reloads don't have it. Quitting and reloading also does not show the animation. Could it be a cookie tracks whether the animation has played?

I have a slew of plug-ins installed too... Flash, Java, SilverLight, Adobe PDF, Google Earth, WebKit PDF, Sharepoint, Quicktime, Flip4Mac, all up to date.

Not to take anything away from Linc, he's a Safari Ninja and has solved more problems for people here than I can count, but it occured to me that if everything else is working fine and it's just this one page that is the problem, then logic would dictate the page is the root of the problem, not Safari. Something in the JavaScript, a cookie, a plugin call, something? W3C.org validation service shows 219 errors, 168 warnings for that page.

Just my .02

I of course tested the page myself with the same version of Safari (but without the third-party plugins), and had no trouble with it.