Tabs in Safari go blank

Question

Level 1

12 points

Tabs in Safari go blank

MacBook Pro Retina (late 2013)

macOS 10.13.6

Safari 13.1.2

When I link to a new page in Safari I almost always (right-click) open the page in a new tab, particularly when I am doing a web search but other times as well. If the new tab was not what I was looking for or I am finished with it I close that tab. Quite frequently when I close the new tab the first window (the referring page) turns blank. Sometimes the page content reappears after 5 to 10 seconds. Other times it doesn't come back at all. It does not appear to be related to the search engine website because it can happen when linking from many different kinds of web pages. I thought perhaps it was a problem related to older stored data not being identical to the current version of the web page so I searched through my cookies for the ones related to the page(s) I was linking from and deleted them. No change. I've also tried rebooting and deleting history. No change.

What's my next step?

MacBook Pro 15″, macOS 10.13

Posted on Oct 13, 2021 12:17 PM

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Answer 1

BMW-KTM Author

Level 1

12 points

Oct 14, 2021 9:21 AM in response to BMW-KTM

Well that didn't last long. It's happening again. I have another issue as well and I think they might be related or maybe even the same exact thing but with different outcomes. I'm getting the blank tab again, when switching between tabs or when closing a tab but there's something else. Sometimes after closing a tab the current tab isn't blank but it is unresponsive. It's not the computer crashing. I can do anything else I want, just not anything to do with that open website. Can't scroll. Can't click. The cursor moves but it's like trying to scroll or click on a screenshot. Nothing. If I refresh the page it reloads and works again.

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Answer 2

BDAqua

Level 10

245,021 points

Oct 13, 2021 12:48 PM in response to BMW-KTM

Sounds like you're short of RAM and/or Disk space.

Safe Boot, (holding Shift key down at startup), does the problem occur in Safe Mode? Could take 10 minutes.

Safe mode attempts to repair Disks & clears lots of caches & loads safe Drivers, & prevents loading of 3rd party extensions, so if Safe Mode works try again in regular boot.

EtreCheck is a FREE simple little diagnostic tool to display the important details of your system configuration and allow you to copy that information to the Clipboard. It is meant to be used with Apple Support Communities to help people help you with your Mac. It will not display any personal info.

https://www.etrecheck.com/

Pastebin is a good place to paste the whole report if you capture the URL while there…

https://pastebin.com/

Whew, they've changed pastebin & made it harder, but after pasting in, click Create new paste button, then Embed button, then copy the URL...

The important part of the above is between the quote marks...

https://pastebin.com/embed_js/KuvnghqA

If pastebin is a problem for you then workable but harder for me to work with...the Note tool on the bottom of this editor's toolbar, as shown in the image, to copy and paste the output from EtreCheck. In a Reply before you click post, look for this to add longer texts...

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Answer 3

BMW-KTM Author

Level 1

12 points

Oct 21, 2021 12:45 AM in response to BDAqua

So I've been asking around about EtreCheck.

I have a friend who knows a guy who knows a guy, blah blah blah.

Anyway, through a third party I was given a screenshot.

This comes from a guy who figures it's a program that makes mountains out of molehills.

Looking at the screenshot I was given, I have to say there appears to be merit to that assertion.

A Time Machine backup being older than 10 days is considered a major issue.

Yes. I can see why that would be a major issue. The computer's gonna break if he doesn't back it up right away.

Battery failure ..... on a computer with a perfectly functioning battery.

Automatic updates are disabled.

His comment? He does his updating manually. So do I actually.

My comment? Why would that be any of EtreCheck's business in the first place and what does it have to do with whether or not the computer is functioning properly right now? They call that a fault with the computer? That's a setting. Nothing more.

Apple Security is disabled.

He says it is not disabled.

Considering the questionable info given by EtreCheck so far I think I will give him the benefit of the doubt on that.

Obsolete Hardware.

Oh my God. The world is coming to an end. His computer is more than 6 minutes old! Whatever shall we do?

THIS is the program that is well respected in the ASC?

Something that grossly exaggerates the importance of items than should be classified as low priority recommendations rather than "Major Issues" and tries to scare you with a bright red stop sign and an exclamation point?

I'll tell you what. If you or any of your colleagues here on ASC know the people at EtreCheck please tell them that exaggeration done to such a level that it borders on outright lies might not be the best way to earn credibility out in the real world where most people live.

I'm sorry man but ..... Wow.

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Answer 4

BMW-KTM Author

Level 1

12 points

Oct 13, 2021 1:38 PM in response to BDAqua

I don't think I have any RAM or storage shortage. I maxed out my MacBook when I bought it. 16Gig was the highest I could go and 750Gig of SSD was the highest I could go and I still have 420Gig available. The machine still runs pretty quickly.

I will read through the rest of your post more closely.

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Answer 5

BMW-KTM Author

Level 1

12 points

Oct 13, 2021 2:08 PM in response to BDAqua

That was an interesting experience; running in safe mode. The machine ran very slowly and was rather choppy when scrolling. I guess that must be normal because it went back to normal after reboot. It seems to have cured my issue for the time being at least. I will leave this as unsolved for a day or two so I can wait and see if it crops up again.

Thanks.

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Answer 6

BMW-KTM Author

Level 1

12 points

Oct 15, 2021 1:42 PM in response to BDAqua

I'm sorry. That's not going to happen. I never heard of it before so I searched for it. After reading about it, I looked and EtreCheck is not available in the AppStore. I tried several spellings. As of about a year ago I only use software supplied by Apple unless it is from a large and well known developer like Microsoft, Adobe, etc. I will download software from a company that is a household name but not from a company I never heard of. I have used unapproved apps in the past and have had about a 10% success rate so I won't do that anymore.

I am assuming your next comment will be that EtraCheck is perfectly safe and trusted by many and there is nothing to worry about. My response is, well then it should be no problem for them to get it into the AppStore. Even apps in the AppStore are not necessarily useful and can be buggy and they did get Apple approval so I am never going off the reservation again. It's already bad enough just in the AppStore.

Thanks anyway.

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Answer 7

BDAqua

Level 10

245,021 points

Oct 16, 2021 1:03 PM in response to BMW-KTM

I understand your position, but the author is well respected right on ASC, I know why it was pulled from the App store & that doesn't bother me one bit, it is the absolute best diagnostic tool, nothing Apple makes or has on the App Store compares. :)

Would likely take me weeks to ask for the info it provides & inform you how to get at it... I'm also a one finger typist... boys weren't allowed to take typing when I went to school... not that I would've taken it if I could've. :)

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