Safari 12: URLs do not resolve

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Level 1

41 points

Safari 12: URLs do not resolve

I updated to Safari 12. When I enter a URL into the search field, Safari stays blank, doesn't return a website, doesn't resolve the URL. This is true for some URLs, not all. For example, digg.com and unitymedia.de the browser simply will not display, even though unitymedia.de is in the browser history.

After typing and hitting return, the search field turns blank and grey and after a few seconds it simply reloads the webpage that has already been in the tab. When the tab is blank, the search field turns blank and grey and after a few seconds returns a basso sound and that's it.

What's this about?

Mac mini, macOS High Sierra (10.13), Late 2012, MacMini6,1

Posted on Sep 18, 2018 5:45 AM

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Answer 1

Top-ranking reply

Alexome Author

Level 1

41 points

Sep 20, 2018 6:33 AM in response to Eric Root

I think I have identified the problem. Before starting into Safe Mode, I first disabled all extensions, cleared all website data, stopped plug-ins and cleared history – restarting Safari after each action. But the problem remained, e.g. typing "apple.com" would fail to load the website.

The problem did not occur in safe mode and after restarting the Mac, the problem was fixed. Then I restored the browsing history (History.db with 2 GB file size) from Time Machine, because I would not want to give it up. The problem re-appeared! I have "Remove history items" set to "After one year" in Safari preferences.

After concluding that the history database is the cause, I saw two options: Clear history and start over with a new one or remove specific history entries from September 15 – the day on which Safari froze after being on a particular Apple subdomain for a while (ironically). I removed 45 Apple history entries which was arduous, because Safari would stall with the spinning wheel indicating that something is wrong. But after removing the 45 entries, everything is back to normal.

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Answer 2

Eric Root

Level 10

685,257 points

Sep 18, 2018 6:44 AM in response to Alexome

See if it works in the Safe Mode.

Safe Mode - About

Safe Mode Startup – El Capitan. also Sierra

If it works in the Safe Mode, try running this program when booted normally and then copy and paste the output in a reply. The program was created by Etresoft, a frequent contributor. Please use copy and paste as screen shots can be hard to read. Click “Share Report” button in the toolbar, select “Copy to Clipboard” and then paste into a reply. This will show what is running on your computer. No personal information is shown.

Etrecheck – System Information

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Answer 3

Alexome Author

Level 1

41 points

Sep 18, 2018 6:00 AM in response to Alexome

I now tested Safari 12 in another user account on the same computer and it works. So this is not about Safari 12, it's about (who knows) ...

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Safari 12: URLs do not resolve

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