Login Window ScreenShot Problem

Using Mac OS X El Capitan 10.11.5 on a MacBook Pro (Retina, Mid 2012), I get an endlessly spinning beach ball if I do the following:

Sleep (in order to get the login screen)
Press [Ctrl]+[Cmd]+[4] a few times in a row, then
[Ctrl]+[Cmd]+[3] a few times in a row, then again
[Ctrl]+[Cmd]+[4] a few times in a row.

As far as I see, [Ctrl]+[Cmd]+[4] is supposed to take a partial screen shot of the login screen (LWScreenShot ....png in the Desktop folder). And that works, if I press that key combination just once. But it crashes if I do it multiple times. I guess this is not reentrant.

One of my co-workers could reproduce the problem on his computer (same model, same OS). It is not reproducible on an older version of Mac OS X.

To resolve the issue, I have to do a power cycle.

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X El Capitan (10.11.5)

Posted on Jun 24, 2016 6:28 AM

18 replies

Jun 24, 2016 9:49 AM in response to dialabrain

Sleep (in order to get the login screen)

I have no idea what you are talking about now. Why would you want a screen shot of the screen sleeping?

The subject of the question is "Login Window ScreenShot Problem". I don't want to get a screen shot of the screen sleeping. Anyway, once you press a key, the login screen will appear.

By the way, it was not _me_ who wanted to get a screenshot of the login screen. It was my son (3 years old) pushing some keys. He managed to get the mouse cursor (or whatever you want to call it) to change to the crosshair with the position. I was confused at first how he got that, so I tried some key combinations and got the beach ball.

OK you can't reproduce, but maybe you didn't follow the exact steps. You have to repeatedly press those keys a few times. On my machine, I can easily reproduce it, my coworker had to try a few times with different combinations. So maybe the exact combination is not correct, or maybe you have to be quick. I suggest you try a few times with different ones. I have a screen saver by the way (the out-of-the-box "Sliding Panels", source "National Geographics"), but I don't think my coworker has the same one.

Jun 24, 2016 9:53 AM in response to Tom Gewecke

And my coworker, who also got the problem, uses an US keyboard, with an US keyboard layout. Nothing special really. I can ask some other coworkers next week.

dialabrain

Level 10

136,115 points

Jun 24, 2016 11:11 AM in response to ThomasMueller

ThomasMueller wrote:

And my coworker, who also got the problem, uses an US keyboard, with an US keyboard layout. Nothing special really. I can ask some other coworkers next week.

I don't see the point of pressing the wrong series of key combinations nine or more times in a row constitutes a "Login Window ScreenShot Problem" any more than dropping my MacBook from various heights until it breaks is a reliability problem. 😮

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