Level 1

40 points

10.9.3 = major problem with fast user switching

I've found a major problem with the 10.9.3 update with my 27" iMac, you probably won't see it if your on a laptop. I did all the updates in past few days i.e., 10.9.3 combo update, iTunes 11.2.1.

Afterward I noticed a bug when Fast User Switching i.e. FUS. I have 5 accounts but the bug can be replicated with only 2.

I login to userA have some windows open but you can just open a Finder window. Now make the window at least half the with of the screen and move it to the right side of the screen. Then login in to userB and setup the windows the same way as userA. Now FUS to userA and then back to userB. You will notice that the Finder window has been moved to the upper left corner of the screen. This problem happened's to all user accounts you login to except the first account you logged into.

Since I didn't know what update caused the problem I had to use Time Machine to revert to my last version of 10.9.2. I then double checked the for the bug and sure enough everything was working fine. I now was going to install one update at a time and to see which one was causing the bug. So I installed 10.9.3 first and found the bug immediately.

I now know what's happening. When the switch occurs the screen is resized to about the equivalent of a 13" MBP. At this point the windows that fall some ware outside that size get moved to the upper left corner and resized. Then the screen resizes to normal but it's too late, all the window have moved and been resized to fit the 13" screen size.

You can reproduce this effect by going to System Preferences and selecting Display and then select the Scaled radio button. No select the smallest size, say, 1280 x 720. Now select the Best for display radio button again. You will now see all the windows you have open that were too big no moved and resized to the upper left corner. I know why the Mac moves the windows, it's so you don't have any windows stuck off screen.

Now when I say 13" it could be some other size but it's about that size give or take.

iMac (27-inch, Late 2012), OS X Mountain Lion, 1TB Fusion Drive

Posted on May 25, 2014 12:10 PM

Top-ranking reply

DY-E

Level 1

20 points

Posted on Jul 1, 2014 6:34 AM

Hi Boblishman and other folks.

The 10.9.4 updated provided no relief for us either. However, making an Automator workflow does work well for us, and we've deployed it on several machines.

The steps are:

Open Automator
Create a new workflow
(If you want to be fancy, add a "Pause" for 2 seconds)
Add a 'Run Shell Script', with the command: killall Dock
(make sure you have a Capital D in Dock)
Save the workflow (for later reference), e.g. "Kill-dock-after-2-seconds.workflow"
Save a copy of the workflow as an Application, and pop it somewhere handy (e.g. Applications folder)
Set your newly created Automator application as a login item (under each user account, in System Preferences)
Logout or switch users, and log back in again.

Sure, the underlying issue is not fixed by Apple. But until more people report it, and until it's fixed, it's a stable work-around, and it requires no further intervention, and our desktops and docks are back to normal within seconds of logging in.

Has anybody else tried this solution for themselves too?

Hope that helps,

View in context

55 replies

May 27, 2014 2:14 AM in response to Mike Retondo

Same problem here. Happened sometimes previous to 10.9.3. Since 10.9.3 it happens every time I switch between users. The screen stays OK for the first user that logs in but is temporarily smaller for everybody that logs in after that.

Consequently all open windows are moved to the topleft of the screen. Sometimes impossible to grab them back.

Very annoying.

May 27, 2014 12:10 PM in response to Mike Retondo

After multiple experiments on multiple machines today I found that all 10.9.3 machines experienced the same issue. I could not find anything common between them, this does not seem to be an issue with a specific softwarepackage.

Jun 13, 2014 4:07 AM in response to Mike Retondo

Thank god I'm not the only one who finds this unbelievably annoying.

I am using a 21" iMac and this started to happen after the 10.9.3 update.

I have two user accounts because we both have different native languages (English and Spanish)

Like everyone, the "auto-login" account is unaffected (my "English" account), but any subsequent accounts... (including the GUEST account ! ... check for yourselves!) ... also show this strange "resize" issue. It affects not only the desktop background but the dock too.

I hope 10.9.4 fixes it.

a brody

Level 10

85,472 points

Jul 2, 2014 5:32 AM in response to bobcrossley

You can't depend on developers to pick up everything. Plus your condition may be unique based on your software installed.

Only by sending in a complete System Profiler report to Apple in a bug report from a person having the problem can Apple isolate the issue.

a brody

Level 10

85,472 points

Jul 25, 2014 5:14 AM in response to bobcrossley

Just be sure it is finally fixed in the final release. Stay on top of it. What's fixed presumably in one beta release may not be in another. And it is up to people reporting at http://bugreporter.apple.com/ to keep Apple aware of what is going on. If you are able to keep a partition of 10.9.4 and Yosemite on your machine, you may want to see if it gets fixed on future releases of 10.9 and let Apple know its status under 10.9.

Level 7

24,351 points

May 25, 2014 12:44 PM in response to Mike Retondo

Apple - Mac OS X - Feedback

a brody

Level 10

85,472 points

Jul 25, 2014 5:29 AM in response to DY-E

10.9.2-10.9.4 Fast User Switching desktop issue

has been published.

Mike Retondo Author

Level 1

40 points

May 26, 2014 12:06 PM in response to bobcrossley

Yes, it's when you user Fast User Switching.

Here's snapshot before the screen resized. Ignore the window in the lower right, I moved it from the upper left before taking the screen shot.

I hate to say it but I'm glad I'm not the only one with this bug.

Drew Saur

Level 2

199 points

May 27, 2014 3:35 AM in response to Mike Retondo

I see this, and from experimentation, I think this may be a permissions-related issue. It seems to happen to any user who is NOT the first logged-in user after the machine starts. Can anyone else confirm this?

Drew

Jul 1, 2014 3:22 AM in response to Mike Retondo

Updated to 10.9.4. ... not fixed.

What is the point of us all reporting MAJOR bugs if they don't fix them? Come on Apple, this cannot be so difficult and meantime you are creating a bad feeling for your customers. Steve ("Spinning") Jobs would not be a happy bunny if he were here now ...

Jul 2, 2014 1:12 AM in response to boblishman

With all the developers around why haven't any of them picked this up and informed Apple.

Perhaps our best chance of Apple taking any notice is when the public beta of Yosemite starts. (if it still persists)!

a brody

Level 10

85,472 points

Jul 2, 2014 5:55 AM in response to boblishman

I can't comment on why the moderators would choose to delete something, as I'm just an end user myself. Although sometimes posts may appear deleted after you log out simply because more than one server accesses the Support Community database, and it may take time for the databases to get in sync. If you posted something that was in any manner non-constructive, the moderators may choose to remove it, because one of the experienced posters decides to notify to the moderator to have it removed. I thus far have not seen anything untoward.

Jul 2, 2014 6:29 AM in response to a brody

Ooh, I get it now... "in any manner non-constructive" is Apple-speak for "pointing out Apple's responsibilities under consumer law".

So, I'll try again, without being "in any manner non-constructive":

Yes, I have reported it to Apple feedback. I did that within days of the 10.9.3 update being released. More or less a month ago.

No, I haven't opened a Developer account because, well, I'm not a developer, I'm a consumer.

Surely, the point of "feedback" is that someone, somewhere, reads it and acts on it (the clue is in the name, after all).

(Unless of course, "feedback" is just purely for PR purposes, but then Apple would never do that, would they).

Maybe I should take a screenshot of this post, in case it, too, "disappears" and I could then show it to someone who would take some action.

Jul 2, 2014 10:53 AM in response to a brody

Oh... just found the email in my inbox. The moderator removed my post because :

" We’ve removed your post ... because it contained either product feedback or feature requests."

Well, that explains that then.

Mike Retondo Author

Level 1

40 points

May 25, 2014 5:28 PM in response to CT

I reported this to an Apple Sr. Tech today 5/25/14

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10.9.3 = major problem with fast user switching