Foreground application constantly becoming inactive

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Level 1

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Foreground application constantly becoming inactive

I recently ran the update to 10.11.1 after it had been asking me for a few days and now I wish I hadn't. When I am in any application and working, the application will all of the sudden go to the background and it will be "inactive", like another app is in the foreground but there is nothing there. If I wait a few seconds or click on the app I'm in, it will be active again but it makes it incredible difficult do do anything, especially type this message. So many errors because it is constantly going inactive when I am typing (or doing anything for that matter).

I have restarted the computer, checked for additional updates, checked to see if there is another app running in the background that I am not aware of (though the Force Quit Menu and Activity Monitor), ran the "First Aid" in Disk Utility on both the user level and on the computer level though the recovery partition. I have done some research on this and nothing is coming up. I also looked around the Forums a little and nothing came up there either. Sorry if this a duplicate.

I am just hoping to not have to reinstall the operating system if I don't have too, but at this point I'll do just about anything.

This issue has basically made this computer unusable.

Running:

Mac OS X 10.11.1

Macbook Pro Retina 13" (Late 2013)

MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Late 2013), OS X El Capitan (10.11.1)

Posted on Oct 27, 2015 9:52 AM

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Answer 1

Linc Davis

Level 10

209,739 points

Oct 27, 2015 5:29 PM in response to captroberts

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.

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. 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.

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Answer 2

captroberts Author

Level 1

0 points

Oct 28, 2015 7:29 AM in response to Linc Davis

Thank you very much for your response, it means a lot that you took the time to help me. After dealing with the issue for a few hours yesterday, It randomly stopped. Im not sure why it did, but I was very thankful nonetheless. If it starts up again, I will follow your instructions and post the results here.

Thank you again for your time and assistance.

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