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How to force close finder?

Accidently opened about 40 finder windows. Finder doesnt respond anymore, it has the loading symbol when i click it, and i cant close the windows. The same windows reopen when i force quit it or restart or shut it down (even unchecking the reopen windows thing). How do i get finder to quit and not reopen the windows??

MacBook Air, OS X Mavericks (10.9.1)

Posted on Dec 25, 2013 10:44 AM

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19 replies

Dec 25, 2013 1:43 PM in response to Achau4

To solve your issue, go to spotlight, and search "System Preferences". Then, press Return or Enter. Then click on the "General" button. You should see a checkbox that says "Close windows when quitting an application." Make sure that checkbox is selected. Also, try restarting the computer by pressing the power button on the computer. When you push the button, a window should open, giving you the options to Log Out, Restart, or Shut Down. Below those options, there should be a checkbox that says "Reopen windows when logging back in." Make sure this is unchecked. I've included an image to help you.


User uploaded file


Sincerely,

Austin

Dec 25, 2013 2:56 PM in response to Achau4

This is an unusual problem, and it calls for an unusual solution.


Back up all data.

Please triple-click anywhere in the line below on this page to select it:

mv L*/S*/*finder.savedState Desktop

Copy the selected text to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C.


Launch the Terminal application in either 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.)


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


Paste into the Terminal window by pressing the key combination command-V. I've tested these instructions only with the Safari web browser. If you use another browser, you may have to press the return key after pasting.

Wait for a new line ending in a dollar sign (“$”) to appear below what you entered. You can then quit Terminal.

Relaunch the Finder. If it works now, there will be a folder named "com.apple.finder.savedState" on the Desktop. Delete it.

Dec 25, 2013 4:11 PM in response to nbar

I'm sorry my last post failed to solve your problem. It seems like this is a hardware issue because unchecking the box did not correct the problem. When did you purchase your MacBook Air? I have reason to believe that it is a MacBook Air affected by the recall. Recently Apple has recalled MacBook Air models because of faulty Flash storage drives. These models were sold between June 2012 and June 2013. If your system is affected, you should make a backup of your system using Time Machine or other backup methods as soon as possible, and visit an Apple Retail Store for service.


If your MacBook Air is not one of the ones that have been recalled, you might want to check out the article that I've provided a link to below about how to solve performance issues with Mavericks.


If these instructions don't work, you should next try to boot into safe mode. I have included a link to an Apple article explaining how to do so below.


You also might want to just do a fresh install of the whole operating system. I've included a link to instructions for that, too.


I hope I helped!


Sincerely,

Austin


MacBook Air Flash Storage Drive Replacement Program

http://www.apple.com/support/macbookair-flashdrive/


Mac Basics: Time Machine backs up your Mac

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1427

OS X: What is Safe Boot, Safe Mode?

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1564?viewlocale=en_US


OS X: About OS X Recovery

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4718

How to force close finder?

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