However, despite its powerful functions and extreme importance, there are still several cases where the finder stops responding at all. It either gets stuck on the screen or the window displays a ‘not responding’. This is a very common issue and occurred to numerous people around the world. In this article, we will go through all the potential causes as to why this issue occurs and what are the possible solutions to fix everything again.
What causes Mac Finder to Stop Responding?
After receiving numerous user reports and conducting our own investigation, we came to the conclusion that there are several different reasons as to why this issue might occur on your computer. Some of the reasons as to why the Mac Finder might stop working for you are but not limited to: Before we start the solutions, we advise that you are logged into your computers as an administrator and also have all your work saved safely as we will be restarting the system quite often.
Solution 1: Restarting the Finder Module
The best way to start troubleshooting any application or module is by restarting it thoroughly. The same goes for Mac Finder. These modules or features run side by side with other software. Hence there might be instances where because of a bad configuration or temporary data, the module behaves bizarrely and goes into an error state like the ‘Not responding’ one in our case. In this solution, we will be restarting the Mac Finder completely using several different methods. The reason for including multiple methods is to make sure at least one of them works in completely reinitializing the module and removing the temporary data. First, we will try Force Quitting the Finder from its own drop down and see if it works. However, there might be some instances where this method doesn’t work. So, we will be using the application running menu and remove it from there. Here, instead of the ‘Force Quit’ option, we will have a relaunch button. Before we move on in restarting the process properly by killing it using the activity monitor, there is another way you can relaunch the module:
Solution 2: Killing the Process from Activity Monitor
OS X comes bundled with an application named as Activity Monitor. This application helps give you an idea of what is running on your computer. From looking at the window and looking at the process, you will get an idea of whether the Finder is writing or reading data onto your computer. If it is stuck, it probably means that it has run into an error state and has become purely not responding. In other cases, the Finder might be running in the background but not responding; this means that there are some issues with the modules running or the configuration files. Or you can navigate to the Spotlight by pressing Command + Spacebar and search for Activity Monitor.
Solution 3: Deleting the Preference Files
Another thing we can try is deleting the preferences files altogether using the terminal present in OS X. Preferences files keep track of your Finders actions and your personal preferences. If by any chance the preference files are corrupt or incomplete, you will not be able to launch the Finder in any way properly. It will either not work at all or get into a ‘not responding’ state every time. This will happen either every time or it may recur time to time. In this method, we will open the Terminal application in the Mac and then delete the preference files manually using a command. Note: Make sure that you have saved all your work as your computer will be restarted again.
Solution 4: Power cycling your Computer
Another thing which you should initially try is power cycling your computer completely. Power cycling is the act of shutting down your computer and all modules and disconnecting all devices. This act will ensure that all temporary configurations are removed forcefully from the computer and fix any issues if the ‘not responding’ problem was due to the corruption or incomplete files. Make sure that you have completely saved your work before proceeding.
Solution 5: Clearing Storage
Another situation which can hinder the Finder’s working is if you have low space on your computer. As you all might know, Apple mostly delegates low storage for all its devices. Even though the storage might be low, the access and read/write speed is a lot faster than even other SSDs on a normal desktop. This is a huge plus but doesn’t help when you run out of space and the system starts to act in a bizarre manner (including the Finder as under discussions). Make sure that you delete extra files present in your directories (look out for seasons and movies and delete them preferably). You can also look for pictures and clear the Recycle bin. If you still have low space after deleting the unnecessary files, you can try clearing the disks using the utility of Disk cleaner. Only after you have around 5-6 GB of extra space in your operating system, should you restart your computer and try launching Finder again.
Solution 6: Checking Third-party Plugins
Another thing to check before we refresh your operating system is checking the third-party plugins. These plugins/add-ons/applications might be useful for you but there are instances where they conflict with the system. When they do, both the items will be running but you will see erratic behavior in either of the applications (like the one under discussions). Here, since each user’s configuration will be different, we cannot list the exact steps on which plugins to look out for. If you have started receiving the issue recently, it means that there must be some recent application causing the problem.
Solution 7: Resetting Mac to Factory Settings
If all the above methods don’t work out, it probably means there are some issues with the internal files/folders which we cannot access and restoring the Mac to factory settings is the only way to get the Finder back up and running again. Here, it is recommended that you save all your files and folders beforehand as they will get erased when we clear your storage. Only you are done with the backup and saving of configuration files of applications on the cloud, should you only proceed.
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