Finder freezing up

[Paul in Toledo]

on my iMac OS X 10.9.5 Finder freezes up; I have force quit and rebooted twice, no help. With disc utilities i ran verify disc for my hard drive and got back message disc OK. Any suggestions?

 

[pigoo3]

- How full is the hard drive (gigs used & gig's free)?
- Did you do anything to the computer recently (installed new software...installed new hardware)?

* Nick

 

[Paul in Toledo]

the hard drive has 1 terabyte capacity with 846 gigabytes free. I haven't installed anything in a long time.

 

[LexS]

If the Finder freezes, click the Apple menu, select ForceQuit, then choose "Relaunch Finder".
If it keeps freezing all the time you have a more serious issue.
Run a Etrecheck list here.
etrecheck.com

 

[Paul in Toledo]

Force quit and relaunch did not help

Here is my etrecheck report (I removed 4 adware items identified in the report):

EtreCheck version: 3.0.2 (306)
Report generated 2016-08-21 16:33:51
Download EtreCheck from https://etrecheck.com
Runtime 2:24
Performance: Excellent

Click the [Support] links for help with non-Apple products.
Click the [Details] links for more information about that line.
Click the [Remove] links to remove adware.

Problem: Other problem
Description:
finder freezes

Hardware Information: ⓘ
iMac (21.5-inch, Mid 2010)
[Technical Specifications] - [User Guide] - [Warranty & Service]
iMac - model: iMac11,2
1 3.2 GHz Intel Core i3 CPU: 2-core
4 GB RAM Upgradeable - [Instructions]
BANK 0/DIMM0
Empty
BANK 1/DIMM0
Empty
BANK 0/DIMM1
2 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok
BANK 1/DIMM1
2 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok
Bluetooth: Old - Handoff/Airdrop2 not supported
Wireless: en1: 802.11 a/b/g/n

Video Information: ⓘ
ATI Radeon HD 5670 - VRAM: 512 MB
iMac 1920 x 1080

System Software: ⓘ
OS X Mavericks 10.9.5 (13F1911) - Time since boot: about 2 days

Disk Information: ⓘ
WDC WD1001FALS-40Y6A0 disk0 : (1 TB) (Rotational)
EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB
Macintosh HD (disk0s2) / : 999.35 GB (846.23 GB free)
Recovery HD (disk0s3) <not mounted> [Recovery]: 650 MB

HL-DT-STDVDRW GA32N ()

USB Information: ⓘ
Apple, Inc. Keyboard Hub
Apple, Inc Apple Keyboard
Western Digital Ext HDD 1021 1 TB
PaulBU (disk1s1) /Volumes/PaulBU : 1.00 TB (632.31 GB free)
Apple Inc. BRCM2046 Hub
Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller
Apple Internal Memory Card Reader
Logitech USB Receiver
Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver
Apple Inc. Built-in iSight

Gatekeeper: ⓘ
Mac App Store and identified developers

Adware: ⓘ
~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.genieo.completer.download.plist
~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.genieo.completer.ltvbit.plist
~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.genieo.completer.update.plist
~/Library/Safari/Extensions/Omnibar.safariextz
4 adware files found. [Remove]

Kernel Extensions: ⓘ
/System/Library/Extensions
[loaded] com.Logitech.Control Center.HID Driver (3.6.0 - SDK 10.6 - 2016-07-19) [Support]
[loaded] com.Logitech.Unifying.HID Driver (1.2.0 - SDK 10.6 - 2016-07-19) [Support]

System Launch Agents: ⓘ
[not loaded] 6 Apple tasks
[loaded] 138 Apple tasks
[running] 40 Apple tasks

System Launch Daemons: ⓘ
[not loaded] 49 Apple tasks
[loaded] 133 Apple tasks
[running] 66 Apple tasks

Launch Agents: ⓘ
[running] com.Logitech.Control Center.Daemon.plist (2012-05-24) [Support]
[failed] com.adobe.ARMDCHelper.cc24aef4a1b90ed56a725c38014c95072f92651fb65e1bf9c8e43c37a23d420d.plist (2016-07-12) [Support]
[loaded] com.google.keystone.agent.plist (2016-07-12) [Support]
[loaded] com.hp.help.tocgenerator.plist (2009-07-28) [Support]
[loaded] org.macosforge.xquartz.startx.plist (2014-08-11) [Support]

Launch Daemons: ⓘ
[loaded] com.adobe.ARMDC.Communicator.plist (2016-07-12) [Support]
[loaded] com.adobe.ARMDC.SMJobBlessHelper.plist (2016-07-12) [Support]
[loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist (2012-12-03) [Support]
[loaded] com.google.keystone.daemon.plist (2016-07-12) [Support]
[loaded] com.microsoft.office.licensing.helper.plist (2010-08-25) [Support]
[loaded] jp.co.canon.MasterInstaller.plist (2014-01-22) [Support]
[loaded] org.macosforge.xquartz.privileged_startx.plist (2014-08-11) [Support]

User Launch Agents: ⓘ
[loaded] com.genieo.completer.download.plist (2015-01-10) Adware! [Remove]
~/Library/Application Support/com.genieoinnovation.Installer/Completer.app/Contents/MacOS/InstallerS
[loaded] com.genieo.completer.ltvbit.plist (2015-01-10) Adware! [Remove]
~/Library/Application Support/com.genieoinnovation.Installer/Completer.app/Contents/MacOS/InstallerS
[running] com.genieo.completer.update.plist (2015-01-10) Adware! [Remove]
~/Library/Application Support/com.genieoinnovation.Installer/Completer.app/Contents/MacOS/InstallerS

User Login Items: ⓘ
Google Drive Application (/Applications/Google Drive.app)
Wondershare Helper Compact Application (~/Library/Application Support/Helper/Wondershare Helper Compact.app)
HP Product Research Application (/Library/Application Support/Hewlett-Packard/Customer Participation/HP Product Research.app)

Internet Plug-ins: ⓘ
Google Earth Web Plug-in: 7.1 (2015-10-26) [Support]
Default Browser: 537 - SDK 10.9 (2015-10-26)
Flip4Mac WMV Plugin: 2.3.8.1 (2011-01-13) [Support]
OfficeLiveBrowserPlugin: 12.2.8 (2010-12-10) [Support]
AdobePDFViewerNPAPI: 15.017.20053 - SDK 10.11 (2016-08-04) [Support]
Silverlight: 4.0.51204.0 (2015-10-26) [Support]
QuickTime Plugin: 7.7.3 (2016-07-19)
iPhotoPhotocast: 7.0 (2010-08-10)
SharePointBrowserPlugin: 14.6.6 - SDK 10.6 (2016-07-21) [Support]
AdobePDFViewer: 15.017.20053 - SDK 10.11 (2016-08-04) [Support]
EPPEX Plugin: 10.0 (2013-04-15) [Support]
JavaAppletPlugin: 14.8.0 - SDK 10.9 (2012-06-17) Check version

User internet Plug-ins: ⓘ
Picasa: 1.0 - SDK 10.6 (2014-03-05) [Support]
WebEx: 1.0 (2010-10-07) [Support]

Safari Extensions: ⓘ
Omnibar - InstallMac - http://www.installmac.com/faq#omnibar (2014-12-22) Adware! [Remove]
Add To Amazon Wish List - Amazon.com - https://www.amazon.com/wishlist?ref=cm_wl_saf_ext?tag=macforums0e4-20 (2011-07-20)

3rd Party Preference Panes: ⓘ
Flash Player (2012-12-26) [Support]
Flip4Mac WMV (2011-01-13) [Support]
Logitech Control Center (2015-10-26) [Support]

Time Machine: ⓘ
Skip System Files: NO
Mobile backups: OFF
Auto backup: YES
Volumes being backed up:
Macintosh HD: Disk size: 999.35 GB Disk used: 153.12 GB
Destinations:
PaulBU [Local]
Total size: 1.00 TB
Total number of backups: 258
Oldest backup: 12/9/11, 7:48 AM
Last backup: 8/21/16, 3:54 PM
Size of backup disk: Adequate
Backup size 1.00 TB > (Disk used 153.12 GB X 3)

Top Processes by CPU: ⓘ
4% kernel_task
2% mdworker(4)
2% ps
2% WindowServer
1% fontd

Top Processes by Memory: ⓘ
453 MB kernel_task
225 MB com.apple.WebKit.WebContent(2)
201 MB Google Chrome
168 MB Mail
164 MB softwareupdated

Virtual Memory Information: ⓘ
277 MB Free RAM
3.70 GB Used RAM (1.25 GB Cached)
0 B Swap Used

Diagnostics Information: ⓘ
Aug 20, 2016, 12:58:41 PM ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Finder_2016-08-20-125841_[redacted].crash
com.apple.finder - /System/Library/CoreServices/Finder.app/Contents/MacOS/Finder
Aug 20, 2016, 09:10:04 AM ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Finder_2016-08-20-091004_[redacted].crash
Aug 19, 2016, 08:54:08 PM Self test - passed

 

[LexS]

1. Clear situation:
you one of the worst adware/malware things on your Mac: Genieo.
You can remove it within the etrecheck list, but also with Adwaremedic (now called malwarebytes.) which I prefer:
download it here and then run a scan, even twice to be sure:
https://www.malwarebytes.com/antimalware/mac/

2. after that there are some more things to do, less important:
-- in SystemPreferences->Users&Accounts->LoginItems: remove all entries with the minus sign underneath.
restart the mac after that;
-- in Safari->Preferences->Extensions: delete the extensions if they are still there. They are both bad.
-- in MacintoshHD->Library->LaunchAgents: delete the hp.tocgenerator...plist (hp printers do not need that)
restart after this. check the Finder issue.
3. Run a new etrecheck list and post, to check if everything is OK.
LexS

 

[Paul in Toledo]

ran malwarebytes & it removed genieo

system preference login items did not see any entries with minus signs
Safari deleted extensions
Library launchagents can't access library without finder

rebooted

finder still freezing up

 

[LexS]

again:
2.
-- SystemPreferences->Users&Accounts->LoginItems: you have entries there: GoogleDrive, Wondershare, HP. Remove them with the minus sign just underneath the window in which you see them: there is a + sign (to add) and a - sign to remove entries.
-- In Finder: Your startup disk is called MacintoshHD, if you select that, you will see folders, one of these folders is called "Library", open that folder, there are a lot of folders inside, one of them is called "LaunchAgents", open that folder, there are a lot of files in it, then find the ...HP.tocgenerator plist and delete it.
3. restart the mac, then uninstall GoogleDrive: this GoogleDrive caused issues from Lion on, and is still causing issues in ElCapitan. If necessary you can always re-install it.
Lex

 

[Paul in Toledo]

Finally!

Clearing the log in items seems to have fixed the problem. I also uninstalled google drive. Thanks very much for the help.

I regularly back up my hard drive with time machine onto an external drive. As you know, genieo was on my computer. Does that mean it is also in the back ups on the external drive.

 

[LexS]

It may have been Google Drive....
good that your issue is solved.
If you have TimeMachine backups: yes, the Genieo will be there. But from now on every new TM backup will not have it. So a complete restore from the newest TM backup will not have it (emergency case). When you want to have an older backup restored, do not do a complete restore, but only those files/folders of your user data that you want restored...
Lex

 

[Paul in Toledo]

Thanks; by the way the computer is running faster now.

 

[LexS]

Of course it is running faster now: no unnecessary things loaded at startup, crap software removed, and GenieO is really really bad...
Happy computing
Lex

 

[pigoo3]

Thanks; by the way the computer is running faster now.

Congrats Paul. I think that you had a more complex issue than most folks with "freezing" issues.

Thanks to "LexS" for some great tips!

- Nick