iMac hangs (UI freezes)

Question

Level 1

41 points

iMac hangs (UI freezes)

My desktop Mac intermittently freezes. Specifically, it will not respond to any mouse click or key combination. However, the disk is still active, and today it froze but left a webinar running (I could hear the audio from the hidden window). My only solution so far is a forced power down and reboot. This is extremely disruptive, and can result in loss of data. I would really love to fix the problem, but don't even know where the problem is. How can I identify the source of this issue?

iMac, OS X Yosemite (10.10), iPhoto 9.6

Posted on Feb 10, 2016 10:46 AM

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Answer 1

rkaufmann87

Level 10

140,532 points

Feb 11, 2016 9:38 AM in response to tahm77

I would recommend starting by posting an EtreCheck report of your system. We can look for obvious issues and then tell you what to do. Click the link, download and install the app and run the report. Then copy and paste the report into your reply to this message. If you wan to find out what EtreCheck is simply click the link and it will provide a description of the app.

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Answer 2

Feb 11, 2016 10:40 AM in response to rkaufmann87

I have the same type problem,much beach balling . Have run EtreCheck and will attempt to attach. Thanks to all who make Apple work! Attachment does not work for me. I am getting insufficient ram as most damaging problem. I have max of 8GB. My older 2006 with 4GB was not this slow, i am perplexed. My Mac is a early 20" 2009 Imac9,1 2.66 Ghz ,2 TB disc, running OS X EL Capitan 10.11.3 . Any clues would be appreciated. Thanks,KC

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Answer 3

BobHarris

Level 9

53,117 points

Feb 11, 2016 2:49 PM in response to kwcrews99

kwcrews99 wrote:

I have the same type problem,much beach balling . Have run EtreCheck and will attempt to attach. Thanks to all who make Apple work! Attachment does not work for me. I am getting insufficient ram as most damaging problem. I have max of 8GB. My older 2006 with 4GB was not this slow, i am perplexed. My Mac is a early 20" 2009 Imac9,1 2.66 Ghz ,2 TB disc, running OS X EL Capitan 10.11.3 . Any clues would be appreciated. Thanks,KC

You should start your own thread (see the "New" button at the top of the page) and not threadjack tahm77's thread. If you want to put a pointer to your "New" thread, that is fine.

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Answer 4

notcloudy

Level 4

1,252 points

Feb 11, 2016 2:59 PM in response to tahm77

tahm77 wrote:

My desktop Mac intermittently freezes. Specifically, it will not respond to any mouse click or key combination. However, the disk is still active, and today it froze but left a webinar running (I could hear the audio from the hidden window). My only solution so far is a forced power down and reboot. This is extremely disruptive, and can result in loss of data. I would really love to fix the problem, but don't even know where the problem is. How can I identify the source of this issue?

I think the problem (as I have had a few times and have other posts on it) comes down to a problem with the Spotlight indexing - check your console logs for finder having a memory leak - something like that.

Before hooking up to the internet today - I added Caches in my user library to the list of private items in the spotlight search list --This along with my IPHOTO libraries, my folders used for my stuff and the downloads folder.

Removing Caches seems to have pepped up my internet connection -

If you are using top sites - or not - in Safari -- clean them up as they refresh and based on the amount of junk web designers keep adding to some sites -

you may be getting updates you don't know about.

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Answer 5

tahm77 Author

Level 1

41 points

Feb 12, 2016 10:57 AM in response to rkaufmann87

Here is my EtreCheck report:

EtreCheck version: 2.9.3 (253)

Report generated 2016-02-12 10:52:46

Download EtreCheck from http://etrecheck.com

Runtime 6:16

Performance: Below Average

Click the [Support] links for help with non-Apple products.

Click the [Details] links for more information about that line.

Click the [Check files] link for help with unknown files.

Problem: Beachballing

Description:

Computer hangs. Last instance, webinar audio could still be heard. Usually, disk access continues, but UI is frozen. No mouse or keyboard response

Hardware Information: ⓘ

iMac (20-inch, Mid 2007)

[Technical Specifications] - [User Guide] - [Warranty & Service]

iMac - model: iMac7,1

1 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo CPU: 2-core

4 GB RAM Upgradeable - [Instructions]

BANK 0/DIMM0

2 GB DDR2 SDRAM 667 MHz ok

BANK 1/DIMM1

2 GB DDR2 SDRAM 667 MHz ok

Bluetooth: Old - Handoff/Airdrop2 not supported

Wireless: en1: 802.11 a/b/g/n

Video Information: ⓘ

ATI,RadeonHD2600 - VRAM: 256 MB

iMac 1344 x 840

System Software: ⓘ

OS X El Capitan 10.11.3 (15D21) - Time since boot: about 2 days

Disk Information: ⓘ

WDC WD6400AAKS-00H2B0 disk0 : (640.14 GB) (Rotational)

EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB

Bluestar (disk0s2) / : 639.28 GB (128.60 GB free)

Recovery HD (disk0s3) <not mounted> [Recovery]: 650 MB

USB Information: ⓘ

Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver

LaCie P'9233 Desktop Drive 2 TB

EFI (disk1s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB

Lacie Backup (disk1s2) /Volumes/Lacie Backup : 2.00 TB (731.93 GB free)

Apple Inc. Built-in iSight

Gatekeeper: ⓘ

Mac App Store and identified developers

Unknown Files: ⓘ

/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.macpaw.CleanMyMac2.Agent.plist

/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.macpaw.CleanMyMac3.Agent.plist

/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.timothyarmes.TheTouchPrivilegedHelper.plist

3 unknown files found. [Check files]

Kernel Extensions: ⓘ

/Applications/LaCie Desktop Manager.app

[not loaded] com.LaCie.ScsiType00 (1.2.13 - SDK 10.5) [Support]

[not loaded] com.jmicron.driver.jmPeripheralDevice (2.0.4) [Support]

[not loaded] com.lacie.driver.LaCie_RemoteComms (1.0.1 - SDK 10.5) [Support]

[not loaded] com.oxsemi.driver.OxsemiDeviceType00 (1.28.13 - SDK 10.5) [Support]

System Launch Agents: ⓘ

[killed] com.apple.CallHistoryPluginHelper.plist

[killed] com.apple.CallHistorySyncHelper.plist

[killed] com.apple.FolderActionsDispatcher.plist

[killed] com.apple.cmfsyncagent.plist

[killed] com.apple.gamed.plist

[killed] com.apple.icloud.fmfd.plist

[killed] com.apple.printtool.agent.plist

[loaded] 155 Apple tasks

[running] 74 Apple tasks

7 processes killed due to insufficient RAM

System Launch Daemons: ⓘ

[killed] com.apple.icloud.findmydeviced.plist

[killed] com.apple.wdhelper.plist

[killed] com.apple.xpc.smd.plist

[loaded] 197 Apple tasks

[running] 88 Apple tasks

3 processes killed due to insufficient RAM

Launch Agents: ⓘ

[loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist [Support]

[loaded] com.canon.MFManager.plist [Support]

[loaded] com.divx.dms.agent.plist [Support]

[loaded] com.divx.update.agent.plist [Support]

[loaded] com.google.keystone.agent.plist [Support]

[loaded] com.oracle.java.Java-Updater.plist [Support]

Launch Daemons: ⓘ

[failed] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist [Support]

[loaded] com.barebones.textwrangler.plist [Support]

[loaded] com.google.keystone.daemon.plist [Support]

[loaded] com.macpaw.CleanMyMac2.Agent.plist [Support]

[loaded] com.macpaw.CleanMyMac3.Agent.plist [Support]

[loaded] com.malwarebytes.MBAMHelperTool.plist [Support]

[loaded] com.microsoft.office.licensing.helper.plist [Support]

[loaded] com.oracle.java.Helper-Tool.plist [Support]

[loaded] com.skype.skypeinstaller.plist [Support]

[loaded] com.timothyarmes.TheTouchPrivilegedHelper.plist [Support]

User Launch Agents: ⓘ

[failed] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist [Support]

[loaded] com.adobe.ARM.[...].plist [Support]

[loaded] com.citrixonline.GoToMeeting.G2MUpdate.plist [Support]

User Login Items: ⓘ

iTunesHelper Application Hidden (/Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/MacOS/iTunesHelper.app)

Dropbox Application (/Incompatible Software/Dropbox.app)

Canon IJ Network Scanner Selector2 Application Hidden (/Library/Printers/Canon/IJScanner/Utilities/Canon IJ Network Scanner Selector2.app)

Google Drive Application (/Applications/Google Drive.app)

RealPlayer Downloader Agent Application (~/Library/Application Support/RealNetworks/RealPlayer Downloader Agent.app)

Other Apps: ⓘ

[running] com.apple.xpc.launchd.oneshot.0x10000004.Microsoft Excel

[running] com.apple.xpc.launchd.oneshot.0x10000007.Simplenote

[running] com.apple.xpc.launchd.oneshot.0x10000012.Novabench

[running] com.apple.xpc.launchd.oneshot.0x10000014.Canon IJScanner1

[running] com.apple.xpc.launchd.oneshot.0x10000016.EtreCheck

[running] com.google.GoogleDrive.64032

[running] com.realnetworks.realplayerdownloaderagent.111712

[running] jp.co.Canon.bj.scan.network.scannerselector2.110112

[running] jp.co.canon.cijscannerregister.166112

Internet Plug-ins: ⓘ

Google Earth Web Plug-in: Version: 6.0 [Support]

Default Browser: Version: 601 - SDK 10.11

OVSHelper: Version: 1.1 [Support]

RealPlayer Plugin: Version: Unknown [Support]

Silverlight: Version: 5.1.30317.0 - SDK 10.6 [Support]

FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 20.0.0.306 - SDK 10.6 [Support]

DivX Web Player: Version: 3.3.1.10 - SDK 10.10 [Support]

VLC Plugin: Version: 2.2.1 [Support]

QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.7.3

Flash Player: Version: 20.0.0.306 - SDK 10.6 [Support]

iPhotoPhotocast: Version: 7.0

SharePointBrowserPlugin: Version: 14.6.0 - SDK 10.6 [Support]

AdobePDFViewer: Version: 8.3.1 [Support]

EPPEX Plugin: Version: 3.0.5.0 [Support]

JavaAppletPlugin: Version: Java 8 Update 65 build 17 Check version

User internet Plug-ins: ⓘ

CitrixOnlineWebDeploymentPlugin: Version: 1.0.105 [Support]

WebEx64: Version: 1.0 - SDK 10.6 [Support]

Safari Extensions: ⓘ

Adblock Plus

AdBlock

Franker

3rd Party Preference Panes: ⓘ

Citrix Online Plug-in [Support]

Flash Player [Support]

FUSE for OS X (OSXFUSE) [Support]

Java [Support]

Perian [Support]

Time Machine: ⓘ

Skip System Files: NO

Mobile backups: OFF

Auto backup: YES

Volumes being backed up:

Bluestar: Disk size: 639.28 GB Disk used: 510.67 GB

Destinations:

Lacie Backup [Local]

Total size: 2.00 TB

Total number of backups: 130

Oldest backup: 2013-07-17, 12:25 PM

Last backup: 2016-02-12, 10:33 AM

Size of backup disk: Excellent

Backup size 2.00 TB > (Disk size 639.28 GB X 3)

Top Processes by CPU: ⓘ

7% WindowServer

3% Mail

2% cloudphotosd

1% kernel_task

1% AppleSpell

Top Processes by Memory: ⓘ

492 MB kernel_task

401 MB com.apple.WebKit.WebContent(14)

389 MB Safari

119 MB com.apple.MediaLibraryService(2)

102 MB Mail

Virtual Memory Information: ⓘ

32 MB Free RAM

3.97 GB Used RAM (387 MB Cached)

783 MB Swap Used

Diagnostics Information: ⓘ

Feb 11, 2016, 12:20:44 PM /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/installd_2016-02-11-122044_[redacted].cpu_resou rce.diag [Details]

/System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/PackageKit.framework/Resources/installd

Feb 11, 2016, 11:55:27 AM ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/suggestd_2016-02-11-115527_[redacted].crash

/System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/CoreSuggestions.framework/Versions/A/Support/ suggestd

Feb 10, 2016, 11:13:22 AM Self test - passed

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Answer 6

rkaufmann87

Level 10

140,532 points

Feb 12, 2016 11:07 AM in response to tahm77

You have made a mess of your computer by installing

com.macpaw.CleanMyMac2.Agent.plist [Support]

[loaded] com.macpaw.CleanMyMac3.Agent.plist [Support]

OS X does not need any cleaning, antivirus or ANY third party "maintenance" utilities. You need to uninstall it immediately. If you cannot then you will need to do an erase and install of OS X and manually restore your data and the apps.

Good luck!!

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Answer 7

Eric Root

Level 10

684,039 points

Feb 13, 2016 10:54 AM in response to tahm77

More RAM would help. The 2 places I’ve seen recommended most to buy reliable RAM are below. I have purchased RAM several times from Other World Computing and have always been very satisfied with the product and service. They have on-line instructions on how to replace the RAM. OWC has also tested RAM above what Apple states is the maximum. I now have 6GB installed on a early 2008 iMac supposedly limited to 4 GB and noticed an improvement.

Crucial

Other World Computing

CleanMyMac2 Un-install

CleanMyMac 3 Uninstall

After un-installing, use this program to make sure you got all the pieces.

EasyFind – Spotlight Replacement

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Answer 8

notcloudy

Level 4

1,252 points

Feb 12, 2016 12:41 PM in response to tahm77

First you do not have enough RAM to accommodate all of the jobs you are running These notes are for Yosemite and El Capitan .

Yosemite changes the way both RAM and VM are used. If you are used to having open a certain number of applications on your desk top in earlier releases with no problem - loading the same applications with Yosemite may cause Memory pressure.

Yosemite puts your entire application into RAM - unlike earlier releases where it put some in VM (pages in) if you see pages out swapping is occurring.

In order to keep active applications in RAM (those that have activity) Yosemite may compress parts of memory -- if its still not enough for active processes it Kills processes that have had no activity in a certain amount of time, only as a last resort will it swap active processes to VM.

I see 2 downsides to Yosemite: First Killing processes: Some applications may crash because the caller of a process opens it with initialization of some field then tries to call the same application after it has been killed - but is assuming it is running. Second: Compress of Memory - compression of information has one quick - very rare - the data compresses into an instruction that signifies end of data when it really isn't. Both problems would not occur if you have enough ram to run everything you have open.

Regarding available cleaners for mac - that may have been given good reviews --

Prior to Tiger, Apple scheduled Unix scripts to run sometime at midnight or early morning. For users who did not want to leave their mac up 24/7 3rd party cleanups were a way to run these scripts during the day. With Tiger and after, you don't need the cleanup if you power down after use, if you don't power down the apple unix script will run when you wake your system.

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Answer 9

tahm77 Author

Level 1

41 points

Feb 14, 2016 9:58 AM in response to Eric Root

Hi Eric,

With some help from MacPaw support, I have removed/deleted all CleanMyMac files. EasyFind does not find any CleanMyMac files now. The only file EtreCheck now lists as Unknown is:

/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.timothyarmes.TheTouchPrivilegedHelper.plist

I don't know what this is.

As for memory, I upgraded from 2GB to 4GB, and I thought I had maxed out. Apple (Install memory in an iMac - Apple Support) says 4GB is the max for my model, but I will check out OWC and see if 6GB could work for me. That is very promising.

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Answer 10

tahm77 Author

Level 1

41 points

Feb 14, 2016 10:02 AM in response to notcloudy

not cloudy, I definitely have noticed performance degration after the last couple major OS upgrades. But I am not clear if there's anything I can do (outside of installing more memory). I don't power down (unless I'm forced to) due to the very lengthy startup time. Are the scripts you mention provided by Apple?

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