macOS Mojave - Failure w/thumbnail cache same problem with High Sierra

This problem has existed before and was also called: Abnormally Slow Folder Opening & Folder Populating. I have been searching the web and still have not found a solution.

Changed the drive to APFS. This did not speed anything up by the way, and it made the drive incompatible with older systems as well as PC so don't do this unless the drive is exclusively for Mac with OS High Sierra or higher. Fortunately I have a backup drive that I did not modify.

Tried clearing cloudkitmedadata + (shm, wal) http://osxdaily.com/2015/04/17/fix-slow-folder-populating-cloudkit-macosx/

Of course, cleared cache, restarted etc...

Anyone else having this problem? I can't imagine I'm the only one.

It's the only issue I am having, but it's a pain and I'd like to get it working properly.

This discussion has other info here: Still no fix for macOS Mojave - Failure w/thumbnail cache?

Update:

About an hour ago I got a call back from the person I spoke to earlier in the day. Apparently all of the detailed information that I have given on this issue to the support team was not clear enough because after receiving the data report as well as all of the transcripts from previous conversations about this issue, here and with their support staff, I was just asked if the problem was with the artwork not showing up at all (!!!)

Even at the start of this post I was very clear about this issue (even more detailed messaging and talking with Apple support), they actually asked me to start the process all over. Unbelievable! Somewhere there is a serious breakdown in the chain of communication at Apple and they seriously need to get it sorted. I'm quickly going from patiently annoyed to I will never buy another Apple product again if they don't get this fixed; and soon! So let me reiterate: THIS IS THE EXACT SAME PROBLEM AS WHEN HIGH SIERRA WAS RELEASED. IT WAS FIXED IN THE FOLLOWING HIGH SIERRA UPDATE. REFERENCE HERE: High Sierra - Failure w/thumbnail cache

This last bit was for you guys in the support team. Respectfully, I'm sure you have other things to worry about (we all do) but please read the first page of this post, carefully. Try to understand what is says: I know it's not written in computer speak but I have confidence that you can get it. Every person I have spoken with on this issue has been able to read this post, as I have directed them to it. I like to write things out with the intention of leaving a log of events for everyone so they may have some insight into the process. I own an electrical company and I find that my customers like to feel as if they have learned something from me, but they also like to know that I understand them and that I am going to fix their problem. If I don't they'll go elsewhere.

I'm channeling my inner Steve Jobs there a bit in the hopes that someone will get to work, so sorry for the condescension. 🙂 This is what happens when you get tired of explaining things. I've listened to you now it's your turn to listen to me.

Thanks for the reply. To be clear, I previously had this issue with High Sierra when I first downloaded it in November of last year. There were many complaints of the same issue on this forum and action was taken swiftly by the Apple team to resolve it. I downloaded the fix as soon as it was made available and my movie thumbnail artwork have shown as they should ever since... Until I downloaded OS Mojave yesterday. I now am having the exact same issue as before the High Sierra fix so I assume it may be the same or similar issue that caused the problem this time? What ever the fix was I am not sure, I only know that there was an update that solved the problem.

I'm not sure if the suggestions above pertain to this exact problem, and being as it is the only problem I am experiencing with OS Mojave I would rather not risk causing other issues trying solutions not directly related to this issue. I of course have done a restart etc... this does not solve the problem in fact anything I do that clears the memory causes the process to start over i.e. I open a movie file folder I see the generic movie thumbnails, then it begins to load the images very slowly (normally this would happen almost instantly). Also If I try to download a file onto the drive while this is occurring the download is significantly slower (normally takes 30 sec. to a min.- during this process takes 5-8 min.) It seems to be a memory issue but only related to movie icons (thumbnails) whether the files are on the external drive or on my laptop directly it makes no difference besides the fact that there are more to load on the external hard-drive.

One other detail which may be helpful: When I use other media such as my music in iTunes I do not appear to have this issue - the artwork loads properly. Makes no sense to me why this would be the case other than there may be a difference in how the image is stored... total guess, I'm an electrician not a computer guru. 🙂

Thanks again for the reply, I'm sure a solution will present itself eventually. Hopefully it's a simple fix.

I'm sorry to hear you are having the same problem, but grateful for your reply. I was starting to think I was the only one with this issue. I contacted "support" by phone a few days ago, told them the issue and her reply was she had never heard of this occurring. I guess they must have a high turn over rate in the customer service department.

She was very friendly and made several suggestions (same as I have listed above) but her final suggestion was to re-download Mojave. After I got off the phone with her I gave it a shot, and after going through the process I restarted it, plugged in my hard-drive and... No change whatsoever. Complete waste of time, I don't recommend this.

I have looked into "downgrading" back to High Sierra, unfortunately I did not create a bootable drive for this prior to upgrading to Mojave, plus the process is a bit of a pain (https://www.imore.com/how-downgrade-macos) and I'd rather Apple just fixed the bug and put in an update. . .

I agree, Perhaps Apple should get things working before releasing updates. We'll see I guess. This type of thing is making me re-think owning Apple products. Seems like ever since Steve Jobs died the company is less focused on quality and more interested in raising it's stock values .https://www.forbes.com/sites/drewhansen/2018/08/01/triple-stock-buybacks-apple- workers-economy/#64ba6787808e. Perhaps It's time they start thinking about their customers before they loose them altogether.

I agree that some solutions are confusing, but more to the point they do not address the problem specified.It's baffling to me how this isn't being addressed.

I still haven't found a solution. So apparently there are only three people who have this issue, or no one else is talking about it. If you have this issue please say so and also contact Apple. If they don't know about it they won't fix it. The more people who say something the better the odds of a solution arising.

As I stated previously; when this happened with the release of High Sierra the problem was addressed by many and the solution came in the form of an update to the OS within a month of it's occurrence. If you are reading this and have not experienced this issue please let us know as well. If this is an isolated issue it would be helpful to know.

Thanks for any and all relevant input 🙂.

I have talked to Apple's "support" team on 4 occasions now, the last time being two weeks ago. I was on the phone with with a tech (for two Hours) who walked me through the steps of creating a system report of the time when I open the file so they can analyze what's causing the issue. I was told that they are aware of the issue and are working on it so hopefully there will be a fix in the next update. Hopefully soon...

A nightmare is right. After I read your post I decided to contact Apple support again to get a progress report. First I opened a chat window where they directed me to a phone call. . . trouble is they couldn't make the call because whoever put my number in the database added an extra digit to my area code, the call wouldn't go trough. Once we got that sorted out I talked to someone who told me they were connecting me to tech support. . . I was on hold for over 30 minutes before I spoke with someone who needed to take a moment to review my case. . . After several minutes of waiting I was then connected with another person who after having me clarify the situation discovered that the system report I created weeks ago had never been sent down the line to the engineers. I was told that a high priority would be attached and they should hear back sometime today. Doubtful. 😟

All caught up, the only hope is someone else with this issue as made more progress and a solution is being hatched.

Good luck to us all.

Actually I do and I'm mostly letting others know where things stand. Additionally, I have spoken with several people in tech support in the last month by phone and they have actually viewed this post. Also, the woman who walked me through making a system report for the engineers to look at transcribed what I have written here for reference, and the last person I spoke with from tech support also visited this forum also to gain insight into the issue.