A screwy Mac

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Karl
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A screwy Mac

Post by Karl »

For the last couple weeks Safari has be quitting unexpectedly. I reset Safari, having read that might fix the issue.

I'm know basically nothing about computers. Small kids know more than I do, so any help would be greatly appreciated.
mhalley
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Re: A screwy Mac

Post by mhalley »

I don't have a mac and thus know nothing about them. I would suggest getting chrome.

http://www.google.com/mac/

Mike
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in_reality
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Re: A screwy Mac

Post by in_reality »

+1 for getting Chrome

Is it always the same page it crashes on? My son has been having trouble with a particular page, and he uses Chrome to view it. I think it's an issue with the flash plugin for him.
r60rider
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Re: A screwy Mac

Post by r60rider »

Try this.
1.Safari Menu >Empty Cache
2.History Menu>Clear History
3.Quit Safari then reopen


Gary
nomas
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Re: A screwy Mac

Post by nomas »

I'm running Mac OS 10.6 Snow Leopard so I don't know if this applies if you're using a newer operating system. You can try repairing permissions, performing a Safe Boot, and then restarting your computer.

1. Start the computer and login to the administrator account. If you only have one account it is by default an administrator account.

2. To repair permissions in Snow Leopard, click "Go", click "Utilities", click "Disk Utility", click the internal hard drive (Macintosh HD), and click "Repair Disk Permissions". If you're using a newer operating system (Lion or Mountain Lion, OS 10.7 or 10.8) I believe that you have to use a different method to repair permissions. Search the internet for repairing disk permissions for your specific OS. In 10.7 and 10.8 you may also need to repair the permissions for each account if you have more than one account. The repairing permissions process can take a while.

3. Once repair permissions is done, run a Safe Boot. Shutdown the computer. Wait 30 seconds and start the computer. As soon as you hear the bong or the screen turns white, press and hold the Shift key until you see the moving circle, then release the Shift key. Login to the administrator account. After the Desktop appears, let the computer run for 5-10 minutes to let it complete all of the Safe Boot functions. Restart the computer.

Hope this helps.
Last edited by nomas on Sun Sep 17, 2017 7:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.
YeOldeWolf
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Re: A screwy Mac

Post by YeOldeWolf »

r60rider wrote:Try this.
1.Safari Menu >Empty Cache
2.History Menu>Clear History
3.Quit Safari then reopen


Gary
Also, make sure all of your software is up to date.

Safari > Chrome for browsing imo.
davebarnes
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we need more data

Post by davebarnes »

What version of Mac OS?
What version of Safari?
What model Mac?
A nerd living in Denver
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nisiprius
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Re: A screwy Mac

Post by nisiprius »

Badly designed web pages that have huge quantities of stuff, trendy Web 2.0 stuff with lots of sketchy Javascript, etc. can and do crash web browsers. Since web developers are apt to test with the most popular browsers, it used to be that IE running under Windows would be consistently more reliable than other browsers, but Microsoft has now made enough changes in IE and Windows that that's no longer as true as before. Firefox has an advantage in that a) Firefox under Windows is popular enough that it tends to be something developers test with; b) Firefox is close enough to Web standards that developers who are close to Web standards often work under Firefox; c) Firefox on the Mac is very, very similar to Firefox under Windows, to the point where websites that work with Firefox on any platform are likely to work with Firefox on all platforms.

So one diagnostic test is whether Firefox crashes on the same page.

On both WIndows and the Mac, I regard it as a necessary evil to have more than one browser, so that I can try another if my first-choice browser has problems.

Another good diagnostic test is to create a new user, using Users and Groups in the control panel, and see whether Safari has the same problems in a "clean" user account. If it does not, then it could be an issue of cookies or preferences or other per-user stored information in your account.

(Blame Netscape--remember way back when, when Netscape took it on itself to embrace and extend the HTML spec, and websites proudly added blinking text to everything so they could display the "Enhanced for Netscape" logo? Ugh.)

It seems as if an unreasonably large number of Mac OS X problems can be cured by deleting the preferences for the offending application, which of course loses all your personalized information, bookmarks, saved passwords, security settings etc. although it is often surprising just how quickly you can rebuild your "life" afterwards...
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CherylHall
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Re: A screwy Mac

Post by CherylHall »

I have a Mac as well, love Safari but its not performing well on many pages lately. Suggest using Chrome....(and I have not completely made the move yet either....)
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Karl
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Re: A screwy Mac

Post by Karl »

in_reality wrote:Is it always the same page it crashes on?
I'm not sure. There's one site where I spend most of my online time, so by mere chance odds are high it's going quit unexpectedly while on that site. The only time it's really annoying is while I'm typing a long private message or lengthy post where all my work gets lost. I'm always on the edge of my seat worrying that's going to happen. If I'm not in the middle of a post or private message then it's no big deal -- just start back up and I'm right back to where I left off.
in_reality wrote:My son has been having trouble with a particular page, and he uses Chrome to view it. I think it's an issue with the flash plugin for him.
I know so little about computers that I don't know what a flash plugin is. :(
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Karl
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Re: A screwy Mac

Post by Karl »

YeOldeWolf wrote:Also, make sure all of your software is up to date.
How do I do that? :confused

I periodically get updates and I always install them.
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frugaltype
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Re: A screwy Mac

Post by frugaltype »

Karl wrote: The only time it's really annoying is while I'm typing a long private message or lengthy post where all my work gets lost. I'm always on the edge of my seat worrying that's going to happen. If I'm not in the middle of a post or private message then it's no big deal -- just start back up and I'm right back to where I left off.
For long text items, I compose in Notepad (or Word to get spelling correction and then plunk the Word contents into Notepad to strip off the extra Word stuff) and then copy that into the browser input area. I periodically save as I'm composing.

That's Windows, of course. The Mac must have something similar.

It was a happy day when I discovered that my email program, thunderbird, had an option to automatically save composition drafts every 3 seconds.

Also, here's another vote for having a second browser around.
Last edited by frugaltype on Sun Dec 01, 2013 4:03 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Karl
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Re: we need more data

Post by Karl »

davebarnes wrote:What version of Mac OS?
What version of Safari?
What model Mac?
I don't know to the first two questions.

It's an iMac bought new in June 2012, so whatever OS and version of Safari that Apple was putting on iMacs at that time. I'm sure there's a real easy way to find that information, though I don't know how.
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frugaltype
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Re: A screwy Mac

Post by frugaltype »

nisiprius wrote:Badly designed web pages that have huge quantities of stuff, trendy Web 2.0 stuff with lots of sketchy Javascript, etc. can and do crash web browsers.
I don't even read huffpost any more. Trying to load those pages, you might as well have breakfast and then come back.
furwut
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Re: A screwy Mac

Post by furwut »

OP should also run Software update to ensure they have the latest fixes.

I predominately use Safari on my 6'year old MacBook Pro. To me it seems to render pages much faster than Chrome. I do use Chrome for any pages where I have to have Flash (thankfully fewer and fewer).
mbres60
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Re: A screwy Mac

Post by mbres60 »

In the upper left hand corner you will see a little apple right next to the word Safari (after you have opened Safari). Click on it. In the drop down click on about this Mac. It will tell you about your computer. There is a little rectangle that says more information. Click on that too. You will see what you are running. I bought mine in March of 2012 and have Mac OS X Lion 10.7.5. You might have the same.
furwut
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Re: A screwy Mac

Post by furwut »

Karl wrote: The only time it's really annoying is while I'm typing a long private message or lengthy post where all my work gets lost. I'm always on the edge of my seat worrying that's going to happen. If I'm not in the middle of a post or private message then it's no big deal -- just start back up and I'm right back to where I left off.
Recommend typing lengthy replies first into a text editor - like TextEdit - then copy and pasting into the browser. In addition to preserving your reply if your browser crashes you also can make the text editor window larger for easier entry.
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in_reality
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Re: A screwy Mac

Post by in_reality »

Karl wrote:
YeOldeWolf wrote:Also, make sure all of your software is up to date.
How do I do that? :confused



I periodically get updates and I always install them.
To update

Select the Apple icon (top left) --> Software updates.

To check the version

Select the Apple icon (top left of menu bar) --> About this mac (shows OS version)
Select the Apple icon (top left) --> About this mac (shows Mac date to identify which Mac)
(open Safari) Select the "Safari" icon (top left of menu bar) --> About safari (shows safari version)

Did this work (r60rider's suggestion):

Try this.
1.Safari Menu >Empty Cache
2.History Menu>Clear History
3.Quit Safari then reopen

I don't know what is happening but perhaps the site you use have targeted their page for the newest verstion of Safari. Mavericks is out and is a free upgrade. There is a new version of safari that comes with.

If you are not running Mavericks, you will have to at some point because last I heard Apple stopped doing security releases for earlier versions. I would try clearing your cache on safari first and if that doesn't work upgrade to Mavericks. If you do so, I would back up you info first. If you don't know how to do that post back. The upgrade process is pretty easy but always backup before making changes for safety.

To upgrade, go to the app store application and check the updates. Mavicks should be listed or you can search the store for it.

Clearing the cache is the simplest thing so try that first. I assumed doing a reset on Safari would do that but ... give it a try.

If the problem keeps happening and you don't want to upgrade, you may have to find an error message. If nothing shows when it crashes, you can go to Applications (folder in your menu to pick programs) --> Utilitities --> Console. That is the program that shows logs. There are a lot of logs so you might have to search in the filter box for Safari.

So your suggested options are:

1) clear the cache
2) reset permissions (see the post by nomas)
3) find the error to try to track down the problem
4) upgrade to Mavericks and a new Safari

If you need any help with those, post back.
Last edited by in_reality on Sun Dec 01, 2013 4:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Karl
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Re: A screwy Mac

Post by Karl »

mbres60 wrote:I bought mine in March of 2012 and have Mac OS X Lion 10.7.5. You might have the same.
Mine doesn't say "Lion," but is otherwise the same.
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Re: A screwy Mac

Post by DonCamillo »

I had performance problems with my iMac for a couple of months, including browser problems, then it crashed with a hard drive failure. Make sure you are doing regular backups with Time Machine if you have any performance problems. My 3 week out of date backup was all I recovered on my system.
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sans souliers
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Re: A screwy Mac

Post by sans souliers »

You have a fairly new Mac. Mine is 7 years old and had a similar hiccup this past spring.

A phone call to Apple tech support and $20 later, I was reminded of a step I hadn't thought to try. It worked.

I said to the guy " Did I just pay twenty bucks for somebody to tell me to Restart?"

"Yes" Click the Apple in the upper left corner, and choose "Restart". Won't hurt...
Sometimes pessimism leaves me pretty well prepared for when things don't go my way, and pleasantly surprised when they do.
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Re: A screwy Mac

Post by linenfort »

Karl,
Some of these things eventually work themselves up with updates.
I agree with most of the advice you've gotten so far, but I would not rush to upgrade to Mavericks (the newest version of OS X, Apple's operating system).

My computer has been screwy as well, with iTunes shutting down abruptly and a normally trusty external drive that doesn't want to eject.

Code: Select all

One or more programs is using this volume,
so you're out of luck, Sucker
Get a youngster to help you install Chrome and see if you like it. You can always remove it.
mbres60
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Re: A screwy Mac

Post by mbres60 »

Karl wrote:
mbres60 wrote:I bought mine in March of 2012 and have Mac OS X Lion 10.7.5. You might have the same.
Mine doesn't say "Lion," but is otherwise the same.
Does yours say something different or does it just leave the word Lion out? Just before Lion was Snow Leopard (I think). I don't remember what came next but I believe it was after you bought yours anyways.
sscritic
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Re: A screwy Mac

Post by sscritic »

mbres60 wrote:
Karl wrote:
mbres60 wrote:I bought mine in March of 2012 and have Mac OS X Lion 10.7.5. You might have the same.
Mine doesn't say "Lion," but is otherwise the same.
Does yours say something different or does it just leave the word Lion out? Just before Lion was Snow Leopard (I think). I don't remember what came next but I believe it was after you bought yours anyways.
Apple --> About this Mac doesn't use names. I have 10.9, and there is not a crashing wave anywhere in sight.
davebarnes
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Out-of-date software on a Mac

Post by davebarnes »

Karl,
Your software is out-of-date.
You need to upgrade your operating system to the latest.
It is free.
A nerd living in Denver
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