Finder frozen, not launching at startup nor relaunching - El Capitan 10.11.2

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Finder frozen, not launching at startup nor relaunching - El Capitan 10.11.2

Finder all of the sudden is not working after a simple reboot. (I was attempting to fix a problem I was experiencing with my Messages app - mainly trying to restart iCloud, contacts setup, had tried to trash some plist files at one point but restored them after that didn't work.)

After trying to log out of iCloud and FaceTime, I figured I would reboot to see if that would help.

Upon rebooting, Finder wouldn't launch. Tried relaunching to no avail. Restarted (had to force restart), same issue.

I can't get it to work at all. Same problem in safe mode. Odd thing is that other apps launch (some seem to function, others don't).

Tried resetting NVRAM, tried resetting SMC, neither solved the issue.

Harddrive utility came up clean. Tried reinstalling the OS via recovery mode and that changed nothing.

Getting a ton of activity in the log, not sure if/what I should post here (or if I'll even be able to launch safari to post - I'm currently posting from my phone).

I don't have a recent backup and time machine won't launch. I can't access my files currently, thinking of rebooting in target mode to try to at least transfer important files.

Thoughts?

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X El Capitan (10.11.2)

Posted on Jan 14, 2016 7:24 AM

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Answer 1

thunderzzz

Level 6

8,468 points

Jan 14, 2016 7:29 AM in response to SeriousLee

Hi. Try some steps here: Troubleshooting Steps to Make Finder Work Fine Again

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Answer 2

SeriousLee Author

Level 1

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Jan 14, 2016 7:37 AM in response to thunderzzz

Relaunch does not work. Since Finder isn't launching to begin with, I cannot access the Go menu. Trying to launch in Terminal did not work.

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Answer 3

Jan 14, 2016 7:39 AM in response to SeriousLee

DO THIS AT YOUR OWN RISK.

1. Select the Spotlight button in the top right-hand corner of the display.

2. Type Terminal into the search box.

3. Select the Terminal application from the results.

4. Triple click the Terminal command below labeled "Command 1" to select it.

5. Press both the Command key and the C key to copy the command.

6. Click the Terminal window, and then press both the Command key and the V key to paste the command.

7. Quit the Terminal application.

8. Select the Apple menu in the top left-hand corner of the display.

9. Select Restart... from the list.

10. Make sure the "Reopen windows when logging back in" check box is unchecked.

11. Click the Restart button to restart your computer.

Command 1:

rm -fR ~/Library/Saved\ Application\ State/com.apple.finder.savedState ~/Library/Caches/com.apple.finder; killall Finder

Finder should now launch normally. If it doesn't, continue with the steps below:

1. Select the Spotlight button in the top right-hand corner of the display.

2. Type Terminal into the search box.

3. Select the Terminal application from the results.

4. Triple click the Terminal command below labeled "Command 2" to select it.

5. Press both the Command key and the C key to copy the command.

6. Click the Terminal window, and then press both the Command key and the V key to paste the command.

7. Quit the Terminal application.

8. Select the Apple menu in the top left-hand corner of the display.

9. Select Restart... from the list.

10. Make sure the "Reopen windows when logging back in" check box is unchecked.

11. Click the Restart button to restart your computer.

Command 2:

mv ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.finder{,.backup}.plist; killall Finder

I hope this resolves your issue. If it doesn't, let us know!

Best regards,

Austin

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Answer 4

SeriousLee Author

Level 1

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Jan 14, 2016 7:50 AM in response to AustinJGibson

Unfortunately, neither worked. The computer would not restart on its own so both times I had to hard restart.

It seems that the problem is occurring in OS apps - Safari won't launch but I can open Chrome and use it with no problem. Tried launching numbers and that didn't work either, but I can launch Creative Cloud.

In spotlight I can see all of my files and folders, but they won't open.

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Answer 5

SeriousLee Author

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Jan 14, 2016 7:58 AM in response to SeriousLee

So I normally run with just one user, but I was able to create a another user account to test - this account is seemingly running everything perfectly. I was able to open Finder and I am currently posting this from Safari in this user account.

Thoughts?

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