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macOS Sierra freeze on iMac late 2009 using Safari

Hey guys,


Since the installation of macOS Sierra on my iMac 27 inch late 2009, I'm experiencing freezes of the computer with the following symptoms:


- the freeze occurs when I scroll a webpage in Safari.

- The mouse cursor still moves but I can't click and manipulate the system ; the keyboard doesn't work, as well.

- A force reboot is mandatory to recover.

- I can establish a ssh connection from my MacBook to the iMac, suggesting that Darwin is still running well.

- The log indicates "userspace_watchdog_timeout.spin report for WindowServer version", suggesting that the problem is related to a crash of the WindowServer.


Somebody here with the same machine has the same problem?


Thanks!

VIN,iMac (27-inch Late 2009), macOS Sierra (10.12)

Posted on Sep 28, 2016 11:13 AM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Feb 3, 2017 2:50 AM

Hey guys,


I have a good news. I asked through my bug report when this problem is supposed to be fixed.


Bug report team told me that the bug is still under investigation BUT they say also that I should test this issue on macOS 10.12.5.


Hopefully, a fix will be proposed in the coming macOS 10.12.5 update. 🙂

473 replies

Oct 22, 2016 7:26 AM in response to riadfromhabsheim

Thanks to the great support and guidance from this community, I was able to find a solution. It turns out that OS installs have two paths: upgrade install or clean install. All the new OS releases I have installed via upgrade, and have worked well up to macOS Sierra.


Here are the general steps:


  1. Make sure you backup your computer using Time Machine or Carbon Copy Cloner
  2. Download macOS Sierra, but do NOT install, quit the installer
  3. Create a bootable drive (I used a 16GB flash drive) of macOS Sierra
  4. Restart the computer with the bootable drive connected
  5. Press and hold the alt/option key when booting, and select the bootable drive
  6. Use disk utility to erase your hard drive (e.g. Macintosh HD) and format as journaled
  7. Install macOS sierra from the bootable drive onto your hard drive
  8. Once you complete macOS Sierra setup, use Migration Assistant to move all your apps, docs, photos, music, etc. from Time Machine


My late 2009 iMac is running smooth now!


This site explains very nicely how to do all this, including how to create a bootable flash drive.


https://www.lifewire.com/perform-a-clean-install-of-mac-os-sierra-4057209


I hope this works for the other users that are facing the same issue of Finder freezing and beachballing in macOS Sierra.

Oct 22, 2016 8:02 AM in response to hendrix1975

Hi hendrix1975,

Hope this works for you, for me the clean install did not work either.

I first did the regular upgrade, which also created a recovery partition. The upgrade had the freeze issues with Safari. Then I wiped the disk (secure wipe - overwrite once) and installed clean from the recovery partition, similar to your suggestion for USB. I still have the freeze issues when using Safari.

However, I'm now using Firefox and this has not caused freezes for the past week. It's just unfortunate that Firefox isn't as smooth and integrated as Safari, esp on my sync'ed mobile devices.

Oct 22, 2016 8:17 PM in response to riadfromhabsheim

I, too, am having this issue. Late 2009 iMac11,1 (27" Core i5 model) w/ ATI Radeon HD 4850 512 MB video card. Clean install of macOS Sierra.


Same exact behavior others have reported -- entire system becomes unresponsive except for the mouse. I've let it sit for a long while but it never comes back -- I have to hold the power button down to shut down the system for a restart.


So far, the issue always seems to happen when I'm using Safari. Since switching to Chrome a few days ago (and never using Safari along the way), I've not had the issue. I prefer Safari over Chrome so I'm really hoping this one is tracked down and fixed.

Oct 23, 2016 3:50 AM in response to riadfromhabsheim

Hi guys,


I have changed Safari with Chrome and my Imac has been working great without freezing for some 2-3 weeks, until a few minutes ago when it froze.


It is true that Safari was freezing a few times a day but it seems that there is still something that is bothering Mac, although I am using Chrome.


I have also upgraded HDD to SSD a few months ago. But I see that the problem appear also on IMac with HDD


regards


Dejan

Oct 24, 2016 1:45 AM in response to FernandoSobrino

Sadly, yes. I did a clean install with the SSD and HDD as well and the problem still persisted. The very bad news is that i did revert to El Capitan and it was going well for about 2 weeks straight and it just occured few days ago. So my conclusion is that this issue is deeply embedded in safari 10 but when using sierra it just speeds up the process..... bad bad news....

macOS Sierra freeze on iMac late 2009 using Safari

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