Janita
Level 1 (39 points)
Photos for Mac

Q: Photos app slow to open, constantly beachballing

I upgraded to El Capitan from Snow Leopard.  Most everything went well and is working except the Photos app.  It never takes less than20 - 30 seconds to open, and while doing so I get a beach ball.  Any action in Photos (import photos, create album, etc.) takes a very very long time and inevitably causes another beach ball "hang".

 

I do not have this problem using iPhotos within El Capitan, and never had this problem with Snow Leopard.

 

I read the forum about similar problems but did not find any of the proposed solutions to solve the problem.  I have done a Photos rebuild several times but it makes no difference. I've restarted the Mac several times, run Disk Utility and everything seems okay.

 

This is so frustrating and makes using Photos app almost impossible.  I do not automatically upload to icloud and have unchecked the preference to do so.

 

I'm attaching an Etre report in case it will help.

 

Thanks for any suggestions you can offer.

 

EtreCheck version: 3.0.6 (315)

Report generated 2016-10-09 07:46:16

Download EtreCheck from https://etrecheck.com

Runtime 2:23

Performance: Excellent

 

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

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

 

Problem: Beachballing

Description:

Photos app VERY slow to open even after rebuild.  Constant beach balling with any action. Downloads take extremely long time.

 

Hardware Information: ⓘ

    iMac (27-inch, Mid 2010)

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

    iMac - model: iMac11,3

    1 3.2 GHz Intel Core i3 CPU: 2-core

    8 GB RAM Upgradeable - [Instructions]

        BANK 0/DIMM0

            4 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok

        BANK 1/DIMM0

            4 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok

        BANK 0/DIMM1

            Empty  

        BANK 1/DIMM1

            Empty  

    Bluetooth: Old - Handoff/Airdrop2 not supported

    Wireless:  en1: 802.11 a/b/g/n

 

Video Information: ⓘ

    ATI Radeon HD 5670 - VRAM: 512 MB

        iMac 2560 x 1440

 

System Software: ⓘ

    OS X El Capitan 10.11.6 (15G1004) - Time since boot: about 16 days

 

Disk Information: ⓘ

    WDC WD1001FALS-40Y6A0 disk0 : (1 TB) (Rotational)

        EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB

        Macintosh HD (disk0s2) /  [Startup]: 999.35 GB (820.46 GB free)

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

 

    OPTIARC DVD RW AD-5670SC   ()

 

USB Information: ⓘ

    Apple, Inc. Keyboard Hub

        Logitech USB Receiver

        Apple, Inc Apple Keyboard

    Apple Card Reader

    Apple Inc. BRCM2046 Hub

        Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

    Silicon Labs CP2102 USB to UART Bridge Controller

    MediaTek Inc MT1887 

    Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver

    Apple Inc. Built-in iSight

 

Firewire Information: ⓘ

    OWC Elite Pro U3FW 800mbit - 800mbit max

        EFI (disk1s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB

        OWC HD (disk1s2) /Volumes/OWC HD : 2.00 TB (1.43 TB free)

 

Configuration files: ⓘ

    /etc/sudoers, File size 1242 but expected 2299

 

Gatekeeper: ⓘ

    Mac App Store and identified developers

 

Kernel Extensions: ⓘ

        /System/Library/Extensions

    [loaded]    com.Logitech.Control Center.HID Driver (3.9.0 - SDK 10.6 - 2016-09-15) [Support]

    [loaded]    com.Logitech.Unifying.HID Driver (1.3.0 - SDK 10.6 - 2016-09-15) [Support]

    [not loaded]    com.MCCI.SLAB_USBtoUART (V1.02.2 - 2016-09-15) [Support]

    [not loaded]    com.Maxtor.driver.PowSecDriver (4.3.16 - 2016-09-15) [Support]

    [not loaded]    com.cy.iokit.Morpheus (1.4.0 - 2016-09-15) [Support]

    [not loaded]    com.maxtor.iokit.IOFireWireMxBt (4.2.6 - 2016-09-15) [Support]

    [not loaded]    com.novatelwireless.kext.wwan (v3.0.15 (004) - 2016-09-15) [Support]

    [loaded]    com.silabs.driver.CP210xVCPDriver64 (2.9.0d1 - 2016-09-15) [Support]

 

        /System/Library/Extensions/NovatelWirelessWWAN.kext/Contents/Plugins

    [not loaded]    com.NovatelWireless.driver.NovatelWirelessUSBCDCECMControl (v3.0.15 (004) - 2010-06-09) [Support]

    [not loaded]    com.NovatelWireless.driver.NovatelWirelessUSBCDCECMData (v3.0.15 (004) - 2010-06-09) [Support]

    [not loaded]    com.novatelwireless.driver.3G (v3.0.15 (004) - 2010-06-09) [Support]

    [not loaded]    com.novatelwireless.driver.3GData (v3.0.15 (004) - 2010-06-09) [Support]

    [not loaded]    com.novatelwireless.driver.DisableAutoInstall (v3.0.15 (004) - 2010-06-09) [Support]

    [not loaded]    com.novatelwireless.driver.NWVBE (v3.0.15 (004) - 2010-06-09) [Support]

 

System Launch Agents: ⓘ

    [not loaded]    8 Apple tasks

    [loaded]    148 Apple tasks

    [running]    83 Apple tasks

 

System Launch Daemons: ⓘ

    [not loaded]    46 Apple tasks

    [loaded]    148 Apple tasks

    [running]    96 Apple tasks

 

Launch Agents: ⓘ

    [running]    com.Logitech.Control Center.Daemon.plist (2014-06-19) [Support]

    [not loaded]    com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist (2014-07-09) [Support]

    [running]    com.brother.LOGINserver.plist (2013-10-06) [Support]

    [loaded]    com.google.keystone.agent.plist (2016-07-11) [Support]

    [loaded]    com.oracle.java.Java-Updater.plist (2016-09-17) [Support]

 

Launch Daemons: ⓘ

    [loaded]    com.adobe.SwitchBoard.plist (2014-02-15) [Support]

    [loaded]    com.adobe.fpsaud.plist (2016-08-29) [Support]

    [loaded]    com.barebones.authd.plist (2014-03-02) [Support]

    [running]    com.fitbit.galileod.plist (2015-10-30) [Support]

    [loaded]    com.google.keystone.daemon.plist (2016-09-01) [Support]

    [loaded]    com.klieme.TimeMachineScheduler.plist (2014-01-28) [Support]

    [loaded]    com.novatelwireless.NvtlServer.plist (2010-04-16) [Support]

    [loaded]    com.oracle.java.Helper-Tool.plist (2016-09-17) [Support]

 

User Launch Agents: ⓘ

    [loaded]    com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist (2014-02-23) [Support]

    [loaded]    com.adobe.ARM.[...].plist (2010-02-18) [Support]

    [loaded]    com.adobe.ARM.[...].plist (2014-03-08) [Support]

    [running]    com.akamai.single-user-client.plist (2016-09-01) [Support]

    [loaded]    com.nchsoftware.prism.schedule.LikeSurvey.plist (2014-11-23) [Support]

 

User Login Items: ⓘ

    PhotoSync    Application  (/Applications/PhotoSync.app)

    SE Media Sync Helper    Application  (/Applications/Sony Ericsson Media Sync.app/Contents/Resources/SE Media Sync Helper.app)

    Fitbit Connect Menubar Helper    Application  (/Applications/Fitbit Connect.app/Contents/MacOS/Fitbit Connect Menubar Helper.app)

    LOGINserver    Application  (/Library/Printers/Brother/Utilities/Server/LOGINserver.app)

    InstUtilLaunch    Application  (/Library/Printers/Brother/Utilities/InstallUtility.app/Contents/Resources/Inst UtilLaunch.app)

 

Internet Plug-ins: ⓘ

    Java Applet: 11.4.2 (2007-09-18)

    Google Earth Web Plug-in: 7.1 (2015-09-28) [Support]

    Default Browser: 601 - SDK 10.11 (2016-07-08)

    AdobeExManDetect: AdobeExManDetect 1.1.0.0 - SDK 10.7 (2014-07-09) [Support]

    Flip4Mac WMV Plugin: 2.3.8.1 (2011-01-13) [Support]

    Musicnotes: 1.17.3 (2009-06-26) [Support]

    AdobePDFViewerNPAPI: 11.0.10 - SDK 10.6 (2016-08-22) [Support]

    FlashPlayer-10.6: 23.0.0.162 - SDK 10.9 (2016-09-13) [Support]

    RealPlayer Plugin: Unknown

    Silverlight: 5.1.50428.0 - SDK 10.6 (2016-08-29) [Support]

    QuickTime Plugin: 7.7.3 (2016-07-08)

    Flash Player: 23.0.0.162 - SDK 10.9 (2016-09-13) [Support]

    iPhotoPhotocast: 7.0 - SDK 10.7 (2012-06-10)

    AdobePDFViewer: 11.0.10 - SDK 10.6 (2016-08-22) [Support]

    CouponPrinter-FireFox_v2: 1.1.10 - SDK 10.6 (2013-11-16) [Support]

    Scorch: 6.2.0 (2012-02-01) [Support]

    JavaAppletPlugin: Java 8 Update 101 build 13 (2016-09-17) Check version

 

User internet Plug-ins: ⓘ

    iGetterScriptablePlugin: 2.9.2 (2013-11-04) [Support]

 

Safari Extensions: ⓘ

    ClickToFlash - Marc Hoyois - http://hoyois.github.com/safariextensions/clicktoplugin/ (2014-07-06)

    iGetter Extension - Presenta Ltd. - http://www.igetter.net/ (2013-06-21)

    Slick Savings - Spigot, Inc. (2013-12-05)

 

3rd Party Preference Panes: ⓘ

    Akamai NetSession Preferences (2016-09-01) [Support]

    Flash Player (2016-08-29) [Support]

    Flip4Mac WMV (2011-01-13) [Support]

    Growl (2010-07-24) [Support]

    Java (2016-06-22) [Support]

    Logitech Control Center (2014-08-28) [Support]

    TimeMachineScheduler (2012-07-29) [Support]

 

Time Machine: ⓘ

    Skip System Files: NO

    Mobile backups: OFF

    Auto backup: YES

    Volumes being backed up:

        Macintosh HD: Disk size: 999.35 GB Disk used: 178.89 GB

    Destinations:

        OWC HD [Local]

        Total size: 2.00 TB

        Total number of backups: 145

        Oldest backup: 10/15/14, 5:08 PM

        Last backup: 10/9/16, 6:41 AM

        Size of backup disk: Adequate

            Backup size 2.00 TB > (Disk used 178.89 GB X 3)

 

Top Processes by CPU: ⓘ

       100%    Mystika3

        10%    backupd

         6%    coreaudiod

         6%    Finale 2014.5

         5%    Adobe InDesign CS6

 

Top Processes by Memory: ⓘ

    1.05 GB    firefox

    824 MB    kernel_task

    311 MB    mdworker(17)

    221 MB    Mail

    197 MB    LWC2

 

Virtual Memory Information: ⓘ

    829 MB    Free RAM

    7.19 GB    Used RAM (2.98 GB Cached)

    1.30 GB    Swap Used

 

 

Files deleted by EtreCheck: ⓘ

    Oct 9, 2016, 07:35:13 AM - ~/Library/Safari/Extensions/Amazon Shopping Assistant.safariextz

    Oct 9, 2016, 07:35:13 AM - ~/Library/Safari/Extensions/Ebay Shopping Assistant.safariextz

iMac (27-inch Mid 2010), Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on Oct 9, 2016 7:58 AM

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Janita

Q: Photos app slow to open, constantly beachballing

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  • Helpful answers

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  • by Janita,

    Janita Janita Oct 10, 2016 6:48 PM in response to Old Toad
    Level 1 (39 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Oct 10, 2016 6:48 PM in response to Old Toad

    I apologize for not being able to respond sooner--I was away from the computer most of the day.  I tried your suggestion to boot into safe mode and discovered the following:

     

    Photos took 1:56 to load and most of the time the beach ball was spinning.  But it did load and looked fine.

    All Photos took 5:37 to load but I discovered that all the photos except 100 loaded into the top "half" of the window, and were finally visible if I scrolled upward.  It is odd that about half of the window (the bottom half) shows the outlines--nothing loaded and the bar at the top said all but about 100 were loaded...there was no beach ball so I presume loading was complete.  There were definitely far more than 100 "outlines" in the lower half of the window so I don't think it was still trying to load.  (And in any event, 5 + minutes is a long time to wait for loads.)  In the bottom half of the window, there is one outline that appears to be a video (it has a .06 time/length of video), and maybe 20 lines below that one is a single photo; clicking info presents a blank info box and then the Photo app hangs.  After 10 minutes I had to do a force quit as the beach ball was not going away.

     

    In comparison, I opened iPhotos and all photos loaded in 12.63 seconds.

     

    Restarted the computer in "normal" mode and the results were similar: Photos loaded in 53 seconds; All Photos took 5:28.

     

    Should I just give up on using the Photos app?  I hate to keep troubling you for help because I'm sure there are far more serious issues you're working on to help others, but I do sincerely appreciate all your suggested fixes and your willingness to keep trying.  Thanks for all your input, and if you can think of anything else I'm of course willing to try.  I will be at work for the next couple of days so won't be able to reply immediately, but I will check whenever I can.

     

    Thanks so very much.  It does seem to be quite the puzzle!

  • by Old Toad,

    Old Toad Old Toad Oct 11, 2016 9:03 AM in response to Janita
    Level 10 (141,773 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Oct 11, 2016 9:03 AM in response to Janita

    I've asked someone whose has more experience with Photos and its issues than I to drop by.  Maybe she'll be able to help.

  • by léonie,

    léonie léonie Oct 11, 2016 9:46 AM in response to Janita
    Level 10 (109,057 points)
    iCloud
    Oct 11, 2016 9:46 AM in response to Janita

    Photos is usually a bit lagging right after upgrading from iPhoto or Aperture. It needs to scan again for faces

    It may help to try to narrow down the problem by systematic testing.

    Slowness could be caused by a system wide problem, by problematic preferences or startup items in your user account, or by a problem with your Photos library.

     

    1. Your Photos Library:  Check, if the lagging behavior of Photos will also happen, if you are using a pristine, new Photos Library. Launch Photos while holding down the options key and select to create a new library. Then import a few photos and test, if Photos is more responsive. What happens?  If Photos is more responsive on a new library, you have probably items in your Photos Library that cannot be processed, for example videos with incompatible codes.
    2. If a new library does not help, create a new user account and test Photos there.See this support document:   Isolating an issue by using another user account.   What happens, if you test in a different user account? Is Photos still beach balling?  If yes, the problem is system wide. Then post back.

  • by Janita,

    Janita Janita Oct 12, 2016 6:34 AM in response to léonie
    Level 1 (39 points)
    Photos for Mac
    Oct 12, 2016 6:34 AM in response to léonie

    I believe you have come up with the solution.  I created a new Photos Library, dragged some pics into it and it performs beautifully.  I'll keep adding photos to it if and until I find the incompatible files.  This may take a while but it would be worth it to have an operating Photos app.

     

    I should be able to work on this later on this afternoon and will let you know if Photos continues to perform as well as it has done in this initial test.

     

    Thank you (and Old Toad) for your help--you're great!!!

  • by léonie,

    léonie léonie Oct 12, 2016 6:47 AM in response to Janita
    Level 10 (109,057 points)
    iCloud
    Oct 12, 2016 6:47 AM in response to Janita

    You can find some potentially problematic files using a smart album:  Create a smart album (File > New Smart album) with the rule "Photo is unable to upload to iCloud Photo Library".  This album will collect items, that cannot be converted for uploading to iCloud Photo Library.

    It may also be videos with an unsupported codec, or older scanned photos with unsupported color profiles (TIFFs, PSD files, BMP files). Check for any unusual image format, that has not beeb generated by your cameras but by external editor software or a scanner.

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