"What's new in Photos" being displayed on each launch

Question

Level 1

21 points

"What's new in Photos" being displayed on each launch

Each time I open Photos.app I get the launch screen "What's new in Photos".

I have a 265Gb Photos library sitting on an external Thunderbolt connected Lacie drive formatted Mac OS Extended (Journaled), with "Ignore ownership on this volume" ticked and with the correct permissions and ownership.

Permissions have also been confirmed as per:

Resolve issues caused by changing the permissions of items in your home folder - Apple Support

I have tried all the suggestions on these forums including removing:

~/Library/Containers/com.apple.Photos

The com.apple.Photos.plist was also removed on subsequent attempts at closing and re-opening Photos.app with no change in behaviour:

rm ~/Library/Containers/com.apple.Photos/Data/Library/Preferences/com.apple.Photos .plist

When I remove the directory: ~/Library/Containers/com.apple.Photos and restart Photos.app I get the splash screen and looking at the preferences in the app I see "Use as System Library" is greyed out meaning it is selected as the System Library. If I close and reopen I get the splash screen again but this time "Use as System Library" is not greyed out meaning the selection has not 'stuck'.

If I convert the binary plist (~/Library/Containers/com.apple.Photos/Data/Library/Preferences/com.apple.Photos.pl ist) to xml I can see the following has been set:

<key>IPXWhatsNewSerialNumber</key>

I assume this means it should not be showing me the splash screen again. I couldn't see anything in the plist about the System Library setting however.

This was working fine before High Sierra.

Software versions:

OSX - High Sierra 10.13.2

Photos - Version 3.0 (3251.12.190)

Posted on Dec 17, 2017 8:33 AM

Reply

Answer 1

Best reply

Old Toad

Level 10

207,631 points

Dec 17, 2017 8:53 AM in response to ilium78

Open the library an go to Photo's General preference pane. There click on the button which says Use as System Photo Library. (If it's greyed out then the library is already the System Photo Library).

That should kill the New in Photos tour.

Reply

Answer 2

Old Toad

Level 10

207,631 points

Dec 17, 2017 9:31 AM in response to ilium78

Some tests to determine how widespread the problem is:

1 - to determine if it's the library that's not behaving correctly launch Photos with the Option key held down and create a new, test library. Import some photos and test to see if the same problem persists, i.e. try to set it as the System library. Close that library and reopen it to see if stuck. Then reopen your original library and try setting it as the system library.

NOTE: do not try this if you have activated the iCloud Photo Library as this will trigger a complete upload of your library to iCloud.

2 - log into another user account, create a new library there and test to see if it works there. This will tell us if the problem is limited to your user account or is system wide.

3 - to see if there's some 3rd party software that's interfering with the library's performance boot into Safe Mode, Mac OS X: Starting up in Safe Mode, and try your original library from there.

Also download and run Etrecheck. Copy and paste the results into your reply. Etrecheck is a diagnostic tool that was developed by one of the most respected users here in the ASC and recommended by Apple Support to provide a snapshot of the system and help identify the more obvious culprits that can adversely affect a Mac's performance.

Reply

Answer 3

ilium78 Author

Level 1

21 points

Dec 17, 2017 1:22 PM in response to Old Toad

Ok.....

Creating a new Photos library under the same user results in the same behaviour.

Creating a new user and opening Photos shows the spash screen as expected but on the second open it is all as it should be.

Now here is the interesting part. Going back to the first user and opening Photos again, it didn't show the splash screen and the Photos library was the System Library but on the next open it had reverted to showing the splash screen and the System Library de-selected.

I can't do the safe-mode check because I am off site and troubleshooting remotely but will do the next time I am at my parents.

EtreCheck Report:

EtreCheck version: 3.4.6 (460)

Report generated2017-12-18 07:18:34

Download EtreCheck fromhttps://etrecheck.com

Runtime:5:25

Performance:Below Average

Click the[Lookup]links for more information from Apple Support Communities.

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

Problem:No problem - just checking

Hardware Information:ⓘ

iMac (21.5-inch, Mid 2011)

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

iMac - model: iMac12,1

1 2.8 GHz Intel Core i7 (i7-2600S) CPU: 4-core

12 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

2 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok

BANK 1/DIMM1

2 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok

Handoff/Airdrop2: not supported

Wireless:en1: 802.11 a/b/g/n

Video Information:ⓘ

Intel HD Graphics 3000 - VRAM: 512 MB

AMD Radeon HD 6770M - VRAM: 512 MB

iMac 1600 x 900

Disk Information:ⓘ

WDC WD1001FALS-403AA0 disk1: (1 TB) (Rotational)

[Show SMART report]

EFI (disk1s1 - MS-DOS FAT32) <not mounted>[EFI]: 210 MB

HDD1 (disk1s2 - Journaled HFS+) /Volumes/HDD1 : 999.35 GB (962.80 GB free)

Recovery HD (disk1s3 - Journaled HFS+) <not mounted>[Recovery]: 650 MB

APPLE SSD TS256C disk0: (251 GB) (Solid State - TRIM: Yes)

[Show SMART report]

EFI (disk0s1 - MS-DOS FAT32) <not mounted>[EFI]: 210 MB

(disk0s2) <not mounted>[APFS Container]: 250.79 GB

OPTIARC DVD RW AD-5690H()

USB Information:ⓘ

USB20Bus

Apple Inc. FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)

hub_device

Western Digital Elements 25A2

Elements 25A2 disk4: (2 TB)

EFI (disk4s1 - MS-DOS FAT32) <not mounted>[EFI]: 210 MB

IHB-1 (disk4s2 - Journaled HFS+) /Volumes/IHB-1 : 2.00 TB (1.56 TB free)

Recovery HD (disk4s3 - Journaled HFS+) <not mounted>[Recovery]: 650 MB

Apple Inc. BRCM2046 Hub

Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

USB20Bus

hub_device

USB2.0 Hub

VIA Labs, Inc. USB2.0 Hub

USB 2.0 Hub [MTT]

Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver

Apple Internal Memory Card Reader

Thunderbolt Information:ⓘ

Apple Inc. thunderbolt_bus

LaCie d2 TBT2 USB3

ST3000DM001-1ER166 disk3: (3 TB) (Rotational)

[Show SMART report]

EFI (disk3s1 - MS-DOS FAT32) <not mounted>[EFI]: 210 MB

PHOTOS_01 (disk3s2 - Journaled HFS+) /Volumes/PHOTOS_01 : 750.00 GB (510.88 GB free)

BACKUP_02 (disk3s3 - Journaled HFS+) /Volumes/BACKUP_02 : 2.25 TB (1.32 TB free)

Virtual disks:ⓘ

HDD (disk2s1 - APFS) /[Startup]: 250.79 GB (68.75 GB free)

Physical disk: disk0s2 250.79 GB (68.75 GB free)

(disk2s2) <not mounted>[Preboot]: 250.79 GB

Physical disk: disk0s2 250.79 GB

(disk2s3) <not mounted>[Recovery]: 250.79 GB

Physical disk: disk0s2 250.79 GB

(disk2s4) /private/var/vm[VM]: 250.79 GB

Physical disk: disk0s2 250.79 GB

System Software:ⓘ

macOS High Sierra10.13.2 (17C88) - Time since boot: about 5 hours

Gatekeeper:ⓘ

Mac App Store and identified developers

Kernel Extensions:ⓘ

/System/Library/Extensions

[not loaded] com.livescribe.kext.LivescribeSmartpen (1.0)[Lookup]

System Launch Agents:ⓘ

[not loaded] 6 Apple tasks

[loaded] 174 Apple tasks

[running] 110 Apple tasks

System Launch Daemons:ⓘ

[not loaded] 34 Apple tasks

[loaded] 178 Apple tasks

[running] 120 Apple tasks

Launch Agents:ⓘ

[failed] com.adobe.ARMDCHelper.cc24aef4a1b90ed56a725c38014c95072f92651fb65e1bf9c8e43c37a2 3d420d.plist (Adobe Systems, Inc. - installed2017-10-14)[Lookup]

[loaded] com.citrix.AuthManager_Mac.plist (? 1ce99fae 57953573 - installed2014-11-06)[Lookup]

[running] com.citrix.ReceiverHelper.plist (? 75b63b97 f87ad377 - installed2014-11-06)[Lookup]

[running] com.citrix.ServiceRecords.plist (? 8e6543d d49a1f01 - installed2014-11-06)[Lookup]

[loaded] com.google.keystone.agent.plist (Google, Inc. - installed2017-12-15)[Lookup]

[loaded] com.oracle.java.Java-Updater.plist (? 9ae0225f 72ac4dde - installed2017-11-03)[Lookup]

[running] com.teamviewer.teamviewer.plist (TeamViewer GmbH - installed2017-12-18)[Lookup]

[running] com.teamviewer.teamviewer_desktop.plist (TeamViewer GmbH - installed2017-12-18)[Lookup]

Launch Daemons:ⓘ

[loaded] com.adobe.ARMDC.Communicator.plist (Adobe Systems, Inc. - installed2017-10-14)[Lookup]

[loaded] com.adobe.ARMDC.SMJobBlessHelper.plist (Adobe Systems, Inc. - installed2017-10-14)[Lookup]

[failed] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist (? 2afb3af7 6cf41d3c - installed2016-04-16)[Lookup]

[running] com.bombich.ccchelper.plist (Bombich Software, Inc. - installed2017-10-17)[Lookup]

[running] com.fitbit.galileod.plist (Fitbit, Inc. - installed2017-09-25)[Lookup]

[loaded] com.google.keystone.daemon.plist (Google, Inc. - installed2017-10-13)[Lookup]

[failed] com.livescribe.PenCommService.plist (? ce8953a9 81089673 - installed2013-10-01)[Lookup]

[loaded] com.macpaw.CleanMyMac3.Agent.plist (MacPaw Inc. - installed2017-11-03)[Lookup]

[loaded] com.microsoft.autoupdate.helper.plist (Microsoft Corporation - installed2017-10-06)[Lookup]

[loaded] com.oracle.java.Helper-Tool.plist (Shell Script e3fefdd2 - installed2017-09-06)[Lookup]

[loaded] com.teamviewer.Helper.plist (TeamViewer GmbH - installed2017-08-24)[Lookup]

[running] com.teamviewer.teamviewer_service.plist (TeamViewer GmbH - installed2017-12-18)[Lookup]

User Launch Agents:ⓘ

[running] com.akamai.single-user-client.plist (? 9ecda9e0 f4f704a9 - installed2017-09-26)[Lookup]

[loaded] com.dropbox.DropboxMacUpdate.agent.plist (Dropbox, Inc. - installed2017-08-11)[Lookup]

[running] com.ecamm.printopia.plist (Decisive Tactics, Inc. - installed2016-03-09)[Lookup]

[loaded] com.macpaw.CleanMyMac3.Scheduler.plist (MacPaw Inc. - installed2017-10-14)[Lookup]

[loaded] com.skype.skype.shareagent.plist (Skype Communications S.a.r.l - installed2017-08-15)[Lookup]

[running] com.spotify.webhelper.plist (Spotify - installed2017-12-17)[Lookup]

User Login Items:ⓘ

CCC User Agent Application - Hidden (Bombich Software, Inc. - installed2017-11-03)

(/Applications/Carbon Copy Cloner.app/Contents/Library/LoginItems/CCC User Agent.app)

ScanSnap Manager Application - Hidden

(/Applications/ScanSnap/ScanSnap Manager.app)

Photo Transfer App Application - Hidden

(/Applications/Photo Transfer App.app)

Fantastical Launcher SMLoginItem - Hidden (Apple, Inc. - installed2017-12-18)

(/Applications/Fantastical 2.app/Contents/Library/LoginItems/Fantastical Launcher.app)

Internet Plug-ins:ⓘ

JavaAppletPlugin: Java 8 Update 151 build 12 (installed2017-11-03)Check version

LogMeInSafari64: 1.0.730 (installed2012-07-12)[Lookup]

net.juniper.DSSafariExtensions: Unknown (installed2013-05-22)[Lookup]

AdobePDFViewerNPAPI: 17.012.20098 (installed2017-12-05)[Lookup]

FlashPlayer-10.6: 21.0.0.226 (installed2016-04-28)[Lookup]

LogMeIn: 1.0.730 (installed2012-07-12)[Lookup]

Silverlight: 5.0.61118.0 (installed2015-12-14)[Lookup]

QuickTime Plugin: 7.7.3 (installed2017-12-18)

Flash Player: 21.0.0.226 (installed2016-04-28)Outdated!Update

CitrixICAClientPlugIn: 11.9.0 (installed2014-10-04)[Lookup]

LogMeInSafari32: 1.0.730 (installed2012-07-12)[Lookup]

AdobePDFViewer: 18.009.20050 (installed2017-12-05)[Lookup]

CANONiMAGEGATEWAYDL: 3.2.0.1 (installed2012-12-10)[Lookup]

MeetingJoinPlugin: 1.0 (installed2017-10-06)[Lookup]

Safari Extensions:ⓘ

[not loaded] 1Password - AgileBits -http://agilebits.com/onepassword(installed2013-12-30)

[not loaded] 1Password - AgileBits -https://agilebits.com/onepassword(installed2016-04-13)

[enabled] Evernote Web Clipper - Evernote Corp. -http://evernote.com(installed2015-08-22)

3rd Party Preference Panes:ⓘ

Akamai NetSession Preferences (installed2017-10-06)[Lookup]

Flash Player (installed2016-04-16)[Lookup]

Java (installed2017-11-03)[Lookup]

Printopia (installed2016-03-11)[Lookup]

Time Machine:ⓘ

Skip System Files: NO

Mobile backups: OFF

Auto backup: YES

Volumes being backed up:

HDD: Disk size: 250.79 GB Disk used: 182.04 GB

PHOTOS_01: Disk size: 750.00 GB Disk used: 239.12 GB

Destinations:

BACKUP_02 [Local]

Total size: 2.25 TB

Total number of backups: 84

Oldest backup:24/1/17, 01:13

Last backup:18/12/17, 06:31

Size of backup disk: Adequate

Backup size 2.25 TB > (Disk used 421.16 GB X 3)

Top Processes by CPU:ⓘ

26%rsync

16%rsync

12%TeamViewer_Desktop

10%WindowServer

9%kernel_task

Top Processes by Memory:ⓘ

1.25 GBkernel_task

314 MB mds_stores

228 MB TeamViewer_Desktop

204 MB photolibraryd

192 MB photoanalysisd

Top Processes by Network Use:ⓘ

Input Output Process name

642 KB 10 MB TeamViewer_Service

4 MB 257 KB mDNSResponder

74 KB 52 KB apsd

19 KB 1 KB netbiosd

13 KB 552 B SystemUIServer

Top Processes by Energy Use:ⓘ

21.60 WindowServer

17.18 Fantastical 2

17.18 rsync

13.36 rsync

11.64 TeamViewer_Desktop

Virtual Memory Information:ⓘ

5.37 GBAvailable RAM

1.11 GBFree RAM

6.63 GBUsed RAM

4.25 GBCached files

44 MB Swap Used

Software installs (last 30 days):ⓘ

Photo Transfer App: 3.54 (installed2017-11-24)

Scapple: 1.30 (installed2017-11-30)

Scapple: 1.30.1 (installed2017-12-03)

Adobe Acrobat Reader DC (18.009.20050):(installed2017-12-05)

Fantastical: 2.4.4 (installed2017-12-18)

Install information may not be complete.

Diagnostics Events (last 3 days for minor events):ⓘ

2017-12-18 01:33:08 Last shutdown cause: 3 - Hard shutdown

2017-12-18 00:58:23 WindowServer High CPU use[Open][Details]

2017-12-17 21:57:54 Photos.app Hang[Open]

2017-12-17 14:40:00 Scan to Evernote2.app High CPU use[Open][Details]

Reply

Answer 4

ilium78 Author

Level 1

21 points

Dec 17, 2017 2:49 PM in response to ilium78

Removed CleanMyMac as per suggestion, removed directory again:

rm -rf ~/Library/Containers/com.apple.Photos

Rebooted, logged back in and Photos still behaves the same.

Ran EtreCheck again:

EtreCheck version: 3.4.6 (460)

Report generated2017-12-18 08:45:50

Download EtreCheck fromhttps://etrecheck.com

Runtime:3:29

Performance: Good

Click the[Lookup]links for more information from Apple Support Communities.

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

Problem:Other problem

Description:

Photos.app not holding settings

Hardware Information:ⓘ

iMac (21.5-inch, Mid 2011)

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

iMac - model: iMac12,1

1 2.8 GHz Intel Core i7 (i7-2600S) CPU: 4-core

12 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

2 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok

BANK 1/DIMM1

2 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok

Handoff/Airdrop2: not supported

Wireless:en1: 802.11 a/b/g/n

Video Information:ⓘ

Intel HD Graphics 3000 - VRAM: 512 MB

AMD Radeon HD 6770M - VRAM: 512 MB

iMac 1600 x 900

Disk Information:ⓘ

WDC WD1001FALS-403AA0 disk0: (1 TB) (Rotational)

[Show SMART report]

EFI (disk0s1 - MS-DOS FAT32) <not mounted>[EFI]: 210 MB

HDD1 (disk0s2 - Journaled HFS+) /Volumes/HDD1 : 999.35 GB (962.80 GB free)

Recovery HD (disk0s3 - Journaled HFS+) <not mounted>[Recovery]: 650 MB

APPLE SSD TS256C disk1: (251 GB) (Solid State - TRIM: Yes)

[Show SMART report]

EFI (disk1s1 - MS-DOS FAT32) <not mounted>[EFI]: 210 MB

(disk1s2) <not mounted>[APFS Container]: 250.79 GB

OPTIARC DVD RW AD-5690H()

USB Information:ⓘ

USB20Bus

Apple Inc. FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)

hub_device

Western Digital Elements 25A2

Elements 25A2 disk4: (2 TB)

EFI (disk4s1 - MS-DOS FAT32) <not mounted>[EFI]: 210 MB

IHB-1 (disk4s2 - Journaled HFS+) /Volumes/IHB-1 : 2.00 TB (1.56 TB free)

Recovery HD (disk4s3 - Journaled HFS+) <not mounted>[Recovery]: 650 MB

Apple Inc. BRCM2046 Hub

Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

USB20Bus

hub_device

USB2.0 Hub

VIA Labs, Inc. USB2.0 Hub

USB 2.0 Hub [MTT]

Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver

Apple Internal Memory Card Reader

Thunderbolt Information:ⓘ

Apple Inc. thunderbolt_bus

LaCie d2 TBT2 USB3

ST3000DM001-1ER166 disk3: (3 TB) (Rotational)

[Show SMART report]

EFI (disk3s1 - MS-DOS FAT32) <not mounted>[EFI]: 210 MB

PHOTOS_01 (disk3s2 - Journaled HFS+) /Volumes/PHOTOS_01 : 750.00 GB (510.88 GB free)

BACKUP_02 (disk3s3 - Journaled HFS+) /Volumes/BACKUP_02 : 2.25 TB (1.32 TB free)

Virtual disks:ⓘ

HDD (disk2s1 - APFS) /[Startup]: 250.79 GB (68.39 GB free)

Physical disk: disk1s2 250.79 GB (68.39 GB free)

(disk2s2) <not mounted>[Preboot]: 250.79 GB

Physical disk: disk1s2 250.79 GB

(disk2s3) <not mounted>[Recovery]: 250.79 GB

Physical disk: disk1s2 250.79 GB

(disk2s4) /private/var/vm[VM]: 250.79 GB

Physical disk: disk1s2 250.79 GB

System Software:ⓘ

macOS High Sierra10.13.2 (17C88) - Time since boot: less than an hour

Gatekeeper:ⓘ

Mac App Store and identified developers

Kernel Extensions:ⓘ

/System/Library/Extensions

[not loaded] com.livescribe.kext.LivescribeSmartpen (1.0)[Lookup]

System Launch Agents:ⓘ

[not loaded] 9 Apple tasks

[loaded] 172 Apple tasks

[running] 109 Apple tasks

System Launch Daemons:ⓘ

[not loaded] 31 Apple tasks

[loaded] 187 Apple tasks

[running] 114 Apple tasks