Q: itunes and iPhoto not responding

Hi nyac,

Welcome to the Support Communities!  There are a number of troubleshooting steps you can try if your computer runs slowly.  See if any of these suggestions work for you.

OS X Yosemite: If your Mac runs slowly
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH19031

If you find your Mac is running slowly, there are a number of potential causes that you can check.

An app you’re using may require more memory than your computer has easily available. To see how much memory your computer has, choose Apple menu > About This Mac, then click Memory. See the help that came with the app to see its system requirements. 

To find out how to increase your computer’s memory, choose Apple menu > About This Mac, click Memory, then click Memory Upgrade Instructions in the lower-left corner. 

• To see what processor your computer has, choose Apple menu > About This Mac, then click Overview.

Your computer’s startup disk may not have enough free disk space. To make disk space available, move files to another disk, then delete files you no longer need on the startup disk. 

Quit any apps you’re not using.

If you have problems with your disk, use Disk Utility to verify and try and fix any issues. 

Use Activity Monitor to see if a particular app or activity is making a large demand on your Mac.

 

 

Last Modified: Nov 18, 2014

Resolve startup issues and perform disk maintenance with Disk Utility and fsck - Apple Support
http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT203176

OS X: What is Safe Boot, Safe Mode? - Apple Support
http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201262

Try Safe Mode

If you're using Mac OS X 10.2 or later, you can start up your computer in Safe Mode, which includes an automatic disk check and repair. 

1. Follow these steps to start up into Safe Mode.

   1. Be sure your Mac is shut down.
   2. Press the power button.
   3. Immediately after you hear the startup sound, press and hold the Shift key. The Shift key should be pressed as soon as possible after startup, but not before the startup sound.
   4. Release the Shift key when you see the Apple logo appear on the screen.

   After the Apple logo appears, it may take longer than usual to reach the login screen. This is because your computer is performing a directory check as part of Safe Mode.

   To leave Safe Mode, restart your computer without pressing any keys during startup.

 

If your Mac successfully restarts, the issue should be resolved. If the issue continues, try using Disk Utility.

 

 

Use these steps to use the Disk Utility app to verify or repair a disk.

1. If you're using OS X Lion or later, start the computer from Recovery System or Internet Recovery. 
3. When your computer finishes starting up, choose Disk Utility from the Utilities window, 
   
   
4. Click the First Aid tab.
   
   
5. Click the disclosure triangle to the left of the hard drive icon to display the names of your hard disk volumes and partitions.
   
   
6. Select your Startup Disk (usually named "Macintosh HD").
   
   
7. Click Repair. Disk Utility checks and repairs the disk.

 

 

 

iTunes: May become unresponsive when connecting iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch - Apple Support
http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT203356

Install any available software updates for your computer.

OS X: Use Software Update.

Update iTunes to the latest version.

OS X: Use Software Update or download iTunes from the Apple website.

Test with automatic syncing disabled.

• For OS X: Click the iTunes menu and choose Preferences. Click the Devices tab and place a check next to option to "Prevent iPods, iPhones and iPads from syncing automatically." Click OK.

 

1. Check your device for podcasts. If there are any podcasts, manually delete all podcast episodes from the device by sliding your finger across the podcast episode's name and tapping Delete. Once all podcasts are removed from your device, reconnect it to the computer, open iTunes, and test.
2. If possible, test to see if connecting your device to a different computer with the latest version of iTunes installed resolves the issue.

Test with iTunes plug-ins removed.

• Quit iTunes.

• Mac OS X:
  • ~/Library/iTunes/iTunes Plug-ins (The "~" represents your Home folder)
  • /Library/iTunes/iTunes Plug-ins
• If any files are in this folder, move them to the Desktop temporarily.
• Open iTunes and test to see if the issue is resolved. If so, you may leave these iTunes plug-ins removed. If you wish to re-use these iTunes plug-ins, consult the vendor for the iTunes plug-ins to see if any updates are available.

 

Test in a New User Account

It can be useful to determine if the issue affects a specific computer user account or all accounts.
Follow the steps below for your operating system to create a new user account to test.

 

Mac OS X

1. From the Apple () menu, choose System Preferences.
2. Click Accounts.
3. Click the Add (+) button below the list of accounts.
4. Choose a type of account from the New Account pop-up menu. Make the new account an administrator.
5. Enter a name for the account.
6. Click Create Account.
7. Click the Apple () menu and then choose Log out.
8. When the login screen appears, log in to the new user you just created.
9. Open iTunes and determine whether the issue you were experiencing persists in this new user.

Last Modified: Nov 8, 2014

Resolve issues between iTunes and security software - Apple Support
http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201413

OS X Yosemite: Protect your Mac from malware
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH18656

I hope this information helps ....

- Judy