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User profile for user: David White
David White Author
User level: Level 4
1,166 points

Safari freezes when swiping back with trackpad or mouse

Safari has just started to freeze every time when using the two fingered gesture to swipe back between pages. I can move the page a few mm backwards and forwards but once I go further the browser freezes completely, I cannot then open tabs or scroll the page. The only solution is to quit Safari and re-start. I get the same issue using my trackpad or a magic mouse.


The problem appeared with Safari 8.0 so my first idea was to upgrade to the just released version 9. Unfortunately this did not fix it. I scanned the forums and tried the following, all to no avail:

Deleted /Library/Caches/com.apple.Safari/Cache.db

Reset the Pram, multiple times

I disabled safari extensions (I only had DevonThing Pro)

Emptied Safari Caches

Used Cocktail to clear System and Applications Caches

Disabling gestures and re-enabling them


I saw a spate of reports of the problem a year ago but nothing recently. Any suggestions gratefully received.


Thanks,

Dave

Mac Pro, OS X Yosemite (10.10.5), 14GB Ram, 840Pro 512 GB SSD, 18TB

Posted on Oct 3, 2015 9:56 AM

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5 replies
User profile for user: Eric Root
Eric Root
User level: Level 10
684,039 points

Oct 4, 2015 7:40 AM in response to David White

Try a restart.


Do a backup, using either Time Machine or a cloning program, to ensure files/data can be recovered. Two backups are better than one.


Try setting up another admin user account to see if the same problem continues. If Back-to-My Mac is selected in System Preferences, the Guest account will not work. The intent is to see if it is specific to one account or a system wide problem. This account can be deleted later.


Isolating an issue by using another user account


If the problem is still there, try booting into the Safe Mode using your normal account. Disconnect all peripherals except those needed for the test. Shut down the computer and then power it back up after waiting 10 seconds. Immediately after hearing the startup chime, hold down the shift key and continue to hold it until the gray Apple icon and a progress bar appear. The boot up is significantly slower than normal. This will reset some caches, forces a directory check, and disables all startup and login items, among other things. When you reboot normally, the initial reboot may be slower than normal. If the system operates normally, there may be 3rd party applications which are causing a problem. Try deleting/disabling the third party applications after a restart by using the application un-installer. For each disable/delete, you will need to restart if you don't do them all at once.


Safe Mode - About


Safe Mode - Yosemite

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User profile for user: David White
David White Author
User level: Level 4
1,166 points

Oct 11, 2015 7:13 AM in response to Eric Root

Hi Eric,


I have now got some time to troubleshoot this again.


It is definitely not hardware related. I have a Mountain Lion partition on another disc in my MacPro and when I booted from it my track pad behaved normally, the swipe worked with no crashing of Safari. The only difference in this case was the actual boot disc. All peripherals and other hardware are the same.


I switched back to Yosemite and created a new admin user as you suggested. I booted into this new user and re-enabled the back swipe action for the track pad. Safari again crashed so it looks like it is something in the system software that is across users.


I will new try a safe mode boot.


Regards

Dave

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Safari freezes when swiping back with trackpad or mouse

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