shippster
Level 1 (5 points)

Q: How to stop Yosemite processes from repeatedly asking for Keychain passwords?

Short version: Several times an hour I am getting slammed with multiple requests for processes to use keychains. Most are for the login keychain, but one is for a keychain I do not even see in the list. I would like it to stop. See attachment for examples.

Screen Shot 2015-05-12 at 10.34.10 PM.png

What I have tried:

  • reset the keychain password to match the use account (was already the same, but I tried anyway - failed to resolve issue),
  • reset the account password (which is supposed to - and did - change the keychain password. This failed to resolve the issue),
  • I unchecked the locking options in the keychain options and made sure that the keychain "login" was set to stay unlocked in the preferences (failed to resolved)
  • I repaired the keychain (found no errors - no resolution)

 

My setup:

  • 2011 iMac, OS 10.10.3, 8 GB RAM, 90 GB free on home-made Fusion drive (I added an SSD and have OS X treat the 2 as one volume)

 

Possible related issues/causes/straws I am pulling to guess what's going on

  • About a week ago the machine froze up because there were only maybe 2GB free on my fusion drive. I went through and deleted some things -- iPhoto library (which I don't think made a difference because of the new magic with Photos), Dropbox, emptied downloads, deleted audiobooks I had already listened to. The problem seemed to coincide with this cleaning, but might have started a day or 2 later.
  • I seem to have more "program not responding" problems since this has started.
  • I booted into safe mode when I struggled to get dropbox to allow me to delete it (it was saying that a plugin was in use, but then activity monitor would not allow me to force quit the process). The safe mode boot process too like 10 minutes ( I am used to 30 seconds). I understand that may or may not be too long - as I believe it checks the memory when it boots into safe mode.

 

Any ideas?

iMac (21.5-inch Mid 2011), OS X Yosemite (10.10.3)

Posted on May 12, 2015 8:40 PM

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shippster

Q: How to stop Yosemite processes from repeatedly asking for Keychain passwords?

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  • Helpful answers

  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis May 12, 2015 9:14 PM in response to shippster
    Level 10 (208,037 points)
    Applications
    May 12, 2015 9:14 PM in response to shippster

    There are several possible causes for this issue. Please take each of the following steps that you haven't already tried, testing after each one, until it's resolved. Back up all data before making any changes.

    Step 1

    Follow the directions in this support article.

    Step 2

    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 and start typing the name.

    Select the iCloud keychain from the list on the left side of the Keychain Access window. If your default keychain has a different name, select that.

    If the lock icon in the top left corner of the window shows that the keychain is locked, click to unlock it. You'll be prompted for the keychain password, which is the same as your login password.

    Select

              Keychain Access ▹ Keychain First Aid

    from the menu bar and repair the keychain.

    Step 3

    Open the iCloud preference pane and uncheck the Keychain box. You'll be prompted to delete the local iCloud keychain. Confirm. Then re-check the box. Follow one of the procedures described in this support article to set up iCloud Keychain on an additional device.

    Step 4

    Open the Keychains folder as in Step 1. There should be a file in that folder with the name "login.keychain". If there is also a file iwith the name "login_renamed_1.keychain", then please do as follows:

    ☞ Rename login.keychain to "login-old.keychain".

    ☞ Rename login_renamed_1.keychain to "login.keychain".

    You can then close the folder. 

    Delete the login keychain from the keychain list in Keychain Access. Choose

               Delete References

    when prompted, not Delete References & Files.

    Select

              File ▹ Add Keychain...

    from the menu bar. Add back the file now named "login.keychain". If any of your needed keychain items are missing from it, also add back the file now named "login-old.keychain". I suggest you transfer any needed items from that keychain to the login keychain, then delete it. The transfers are made by drag-and-drop in Keychain Access. You'll need to enter your password for each item transferred. 

    Run Keychain First Aid again. Quit Keychain Access.