Safari can't start and make entire macOS freeze

Question

Safari can't start and make entire macOS freeze

Hello guys,

Recently I can't open Safari to browse web. When I click on Safari it jumps for several times and my pointer start to spinning forever. After that it seems like my MacBook freezes and I can't click on anything. Can't open Force Quit with short-key command. I have to restart my Mac but the problem is still there. Other apps worked fine, this only happens when I try to open Safari, I tried deleting Safari cache, delete plug in....but none of that worked. I checked for update but didn't see any update, my Safari has the latest version I guess. This never happened to me before.

Please help, I really need to use Safari to get my documents now. I only use Safari and didn't download Firefox or Chrome. Now I have to boot to Windows to post this thread. Please help 😟

MacBook Pro, macOS Sierra (10.12), 13-inch, Mid 2012

Posted on Oct 10, 2016 11:04 PM

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Answer 1

Ptaxey

Level 6

8,089 points

Oct 11, 2016 12:42 AM in response to Jason Đặng

Try to reset Safari, open it with Shift key held down. If it does not help, try to boot in safe mode Try safe mode if your Mac doesn't finish starting up - Apple Support

Also check this article

If Safari is slow, stops responding, quits unexpectedly, or has other issues - Apple Support

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Answer 2

Oct 11, 2016 6:18 AM in response to Ptaxey

Hello Ptaxey,

My Mac can boot fine, but I have to hold down the Power button to hard shutdown the machine every time I open Safari. Yes, i have tried all your above methods but none of that worked.

Another information is that after opening Safari, it seems like Finder stopped to respond too, that's why I can't do anything. Plus, when I use Chrome to transfer bookmarks from Safari...Yeah, my Mac freezes too (even with Safari wasn't running at all !!!).

Please help, seems like my Safari has became a malware 😟

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Answer 3

Eric Root

Level 10

685,341 points

Oct 11, 2016 6:54 AM in response to Jason Đặng

Might be a corrupt .plist.

Do a backup, preferably 2 backups on 2 separate drives.

Quit the application.

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. Then go to Preferences/com.apple.Safari.plist. Move the .plist to your desktop.

Restart the computer, open the application, and test. If it works okay, delete the plist from the desktop.

If the application is the same, return the .plist to where you got it from, overwriting the newer one.

Thanks to leonie for some information contained in this.

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Answer 4

Oct 11, 2016 6:01 PM in response to Eric Root

Hi Eric,

I've tried moving the .plist file to Desktop as you said but the problem is still there.

Should I download Sierra from App Store and reinstall my Mac ?

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Answer 5

Oct 12, 2016 5:40 AM in response to Jason Đặng

Hey guys,

I have finally managed to open my Safari.( but I don't know how).

The process was very long though. Just as I said Safari stopped working and made my computer extremely lag like almost freeze (screen stands still). This time, I didn't force shut down my Mac. Instead, I decided to wait and see what would happen. After 30 minutes of spinning pointer, the screen finally moving again. Safari's froze jumping icon disappeared from the dock. However, when I check Force Quit menu it said Safari was running. I've decided to open Safari again and the screen froze again, but not for long, like 2 minutes.

After that a Safari windows popped up and I was so happy. I can surf webpages like normal now.

I really don't know what happened. Someone please explain this situation for me so we can take a clear look at this problem.

Important note: I did reinstall macOS but it didn't work.

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