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Safari 9.1 Stops Responding to My Input

I'm using Safari 9.1 with Yosemite (10.10.5) on a 15" MacBook Pro with Retina Display. Since updating from 9 to 9.1, I've repeatedly had the experience of Safari looking normal but not responding to keyboard commands or normal mouse clicks. I can scroll pages (and scrolling items on a page can be scrolled normally), and the cursor changes to the appropriate pointer over links, but I can click 'til the cows come home and NOTHING will happen. Right-clicking gives me the usual pop-up menu allowing me to open a link in a new tab or window, and if I go that route the link will open properly... but with the same maddening lack of response.


I have been unable to predict when this problem will be triggered. It thought it was linked to how many cookies have been collected, but sometimes happens when I've got about 60 cookies (my usual browser "baggage") and sometimes happens when the count is close to 400. I've tried disabling all plug-ins and it hasn't made a difference. The only way to return to normal functionality is to quit from Safari and then start over -- and when I re-open the same page of the same site on which the problem occurred moments earlier, all is copacetic and I can browse the web normally until Safari suddenly decides to ignore me again. I do not need to force-quit the app when the problem occurs because as far as my Mac is concerned Safari is running A-OK.


I've begun using the Mozilla browser a lot more (it never has the same problem) but I'd like to be able to use Safari without worrying about having to quit & retrace my path several times. Has anyone else encountered (and hopefully fixed) this problem?

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X Yosemite (10.10.5)

Posted on Apr 24, 2016 8:29 PM

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8 replies

Apr 24, 2016 9:49 PM in response to BSL59

When Safari becomes unresponsive, note the exact time: hour, minute, second.

These instructions must be carried out as an administrator. If you have only one user account, you are the administrator.

Launch the Console application in any one 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.

The title of the Console window should be All Messages. If it isn't, select

SYSTEM LOG QUERIES All Messages

from the log list on the left. If you don't see that list, select

View Show Log List

from the menu bar at the top of the screen.

Each message in the log begins with the date and time when it was entered. Scroll back to the time you noted above.

Select the messages entered from then until the end of the episode, or until they start to repeat, whichever comes first.

Copy the messages to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C. Paste into a reply to this message by pressing command-V.

The log contains a vast amount of information, almost all of it useless for solving any particular problem. When posting a log extract, be selective. A few dozen lines are almost always more than enough.

Please don't indiscriminately dump thousands of lines from the log into this discussion.

Please don't post screenshots of log messages—post the text.

Some private information, such as your name, may appear in the log. Anonymize before posting.

When you post the log extract, you might see an error message on the web page: "You have included content in your post that is not permitted," or "The message contains invalid characters." That's a bug in the forum software. Please post the text on Pastebin, then post a link here to the page you created.

If you have an account on Pastebin, please don't select Private from the Paste Exposure menu on the page, because then no one but you will be able to see it.

Apr 25, 2016 6:21 AM in response to BSL59

Safari/Preferences/Advanced - enable the Develop menu, then go there and Empty Caches. Quit/reopen Safari and test. Then try Safari/History/Show History and delete all history items. Quit/reopen Safari and test. You can also try try Safari/Clear History…. The down side is it clears all cookies.Doing this may cause some sites to no longer recognize your computer as one that has visited the web site. Go to Finder and select your user/home folder. With that Finder window as the front window, either select Finder/View/Show View options or go command - J. When the View options opens, check ’Show Library Folder’. That should make your user library folder visible in your user/home folder. Select Library./Caches/com.apple.Safari/Cache.db and move it to the trash.


Go to Safari Preferences/Extensions and turn all extensions off. Test. If okay, turn the extensions on one by one until you figure out what extension is causing the problem.


Safari Corruption See post by Linc Davis

Apr 26, 2016 1:32 PM in response to BSL59

Well, here is what I have done. I cleared all the caches and deleted all the cookies and I made safari ask if I want to install the flash plugin and it asks me for every page i go to but i tell it not now and so far every thing is working. If I didn't know any better it could have something to do with that plugin...but i will try enabling it and see what happens.


I usually don't need to see any videos when I am cruising cnn as I prefer to read the articles.


ken

Apr 27, 2016 7:40 AM in response to BSL59

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





Safari 9.1 Stops Responding to My Input

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