Facetime will not open, just hangs & requires force quit.

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.

The purpose of this test is to determine whether the problem is localized to your user account. Enable guest logins* and log in as Guest. 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 documents or settings. Applications will behave as if you were running them for the first time. Don’t be alarmed by this behavior; 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 in OS X 10.7 or later, 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.

Back up all data.

Quit FaceTime if it’s running. Force quit if necessary. After each of the following steps, log out or restart the computer, then test FaceTime. If the problem isn't resolved, quit again and go on to the next step.

Step 1

Make sure you know the ID and password you use with FaceTime. Launch the Keychain Access 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 Keychain Access in the icon grid.

Use the search box in the toolbar of the Keychain Access window to find and delete all items with "facetime" or "com.apple.idms" in the name.

Step 2

Hold down the option key and select

Go ▹ Library

from the Finder menu bar. Move the following items from the Library folder to the Trash (some may not exist):

Containers/com.apple.FaceTime

Containers/com.apple.soagent

IdentityServices

Leave the Library folder open.

Step 3

In the Preferences subfolder, there may be several files having names that begin with one of the following strings:

com.apple.facetime.bag.plist

com.apple.FaceTime.plist

com.apple.ids

com.apple.imagent

com.apple.imservice.FaceTime

com.apple.imservice.ids.FaceTime

Move them all to the Trash.

Also in the Preferences folder, there is a subfolder named "ByHost". Open it and do the same thing.

Back up all data before proceeding.

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

~/Library/Containers/com.apple.corerecents.recentsd

Right-click or control-click the line and select

Services ▹ Reveal in Finder (or just Reveal)

from the contextual menu.* A folder should open with an item selected. Move the selected item to the Trash. Log out or restart the computer and test.

*If you don't see the contextual menu item, copy the selected text to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C. In the Finder, select

Go ▹ Go to Folder...

from the menu bar and paste into the box that opens by pressing command-V. You won't see what you pasted because a line break is included. Press return.

And does it work?

Please read this whole message before doing anything.

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

The purpose of the test is to determine whether the problem is caused by third-party software that loads automatically at startup or login, by a peripheral device, by a font conflict, or by corruption of the file system or of certain system caches.

Disconnect all wired peripherals except those needed for the test, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards, if applicable. Start up in safe mode and log in to the account with the problem. You must hold down the shift key twice: once when you turn on the computer, and again when you log in.

Note: If FileVault is enabled in OS X 10.9 or earlier, or if a firmware password is set, or if the startup volume is a software RAID, you can’t do this. Ask for further instructions.

Safe mode is much slower to start up and run than normal, with limited graphics performance, and some things won’t work at all, including sound output and Wi-Fi on certain models. The next normal startup may also be somewhat slow.

The login screen appears even if you usually login 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.

Test while in safe mode. FaceTime won't work, because there's no sound, but it should launch. Same problem?

After testing, restart as usual (not in safe mode) and verify that you still have the problem. Post the results of the test.