Garageband begins to open then..doesn't.

Question

Stelephant Author

Level 1

8 points

Garageband begins to open then..doesn't.

Mac Studio

Apple M2 Ultra

64GB

Sequoia 15.2

I was plaging in Garageband when it quit. I restarted it, then restarted my Mac but the same results; it starts to open, then doesn't. I can see the Menu in the top bar. It even offers to open recent projects, but the interface is not visible on my screen. When I press Shift, Option, Escape I can see that it is not responding.

I downloaded and installed the latest Sequoia 15.2 but it's the same.

Please advise,

Thanks!

Mac Studio, macOS 15.2

Posted on Jan 5, 2025 9:39 AM

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Answer 1

Jan 8, 2025 8:08 AM in response to Stelephant

Since a simple reboot of your Mac doesn’t fix things, see if the problem still happens in safe mode.

How to use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support

Safe mode will often correct weird software behavior by forcing the OS to do disk repair, clear caches and other housekeeping and temporarily disables third-party mods. When you're in safe boot, the machine won’t be at its best performance, especially with graphics, but that's expected.

Does the same thing happen while in Safe mode?

Does Garage Band launch and run while you're in safe mode?

You can exit safe mode by restarting your Mac normally, then reevaluate the problem.

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Answer 2

Stelephant Author

Level 1

8 points

Jan 8, 2025 7:11 AM in response to Keith Barkley

Yes, I did that just now by typing in

defaults delete com.apple.garageband

into Terminal (as suggest on the Apple website).

Unfortunately...it still won't open. I have to Quit through Force Quit Applications as it is Not Responding.

Any further suggestions?

Thanks

Reply

Answer 3

Jan 11, 2025 6:50 AM in response to Stelephant

Stelephant wrote:

...

I tried to OPen my Mac in Safe Mode(?). I followed the instructions but was unable to do it.

Are you using a Bluetooth keyboard? If so, you might borrow a USB keyboard and try again.

❝Start up your Mac with Apple silicon in safe mode

On your Mac, choose Apple menu > Shut Down.
Wait for your Mac to shut down completely. A Mac is completely shut down when the screen is black and any lights (including in the Touch Bar) are off.
Press and hold the power button on your Mac until “Loading startup options” appears.
Select a volume.
Press and hold the Shift key, then click Continue in Safe Mode.
The computer restarts automatically. When the login window appears, you should see “Safe Boot” in the menu bar.❞

Start up your Mac in safe mode - Apple Support

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Answer 4

Jan 7, 2025 11:42 AM in response to Stelephant

Have you gone through these steps?

If GarageBand isn't working on your Mac - Apple Support

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Answer 5

Stelephant Author

Level 1

8 points

Jan 12, 2025 8:52 AM in response to Keith Barkley

Hi Keith,

I followed the instructions from the Apple website. No luck!

I did find this message in Terminal after I restarted:

'The default interactive shell is now zsh.

To update your account to use zsh, please run `chsh -s /bin/zsh`.

For more details, please visit https://support.apple.com/kb/HT208050.

Mac-Studio:~ geofflangan2$

Is this relevant?

Otherwise....any idea how I canget Garageband back?

Thanks

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Answer 6

Jan 6, 2025 2:33 AM in response to Stelephant

MacBook Pro

i9

Sequoia 15.2

I have a mic icon in the top right in orange. I have read to disable all inputs, uninstall and reinstall app.

If I could get the mic icon to disappear, I think garage band will open. I cannot get it to disappear.

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Answer 7

Stelephant Author

Level 1

8 points

Jan 8, 2025 7:35 AM in response to Keith Barkley

Yes, I did that just now by typing in

defaults delete com.apple.garageband

into Terminal (as suggest on the Apple website).

Unfortunately...it still won't open. I have to Quit through Force Quit Applications as it is Not Responding.

Any further suggestions?

Thanks

Reply

Answer 8

Stelephant Author

Level 1

8 points

Jan 11, 2025 6:02 AM in response to Keith Barkley

Yes, I did that just now by typing in

defaults delete com.apple.garageband

into Terminal (as suggest on the Apple website).

I tried to OPen my Mac in Safe Mode(?). I followed the instructions but was unable to do it.

I ran Disk Utility on my Mac and all connected Hard Drives.

Unfortunately...it still won't open.

Any further suggestions?

Thanks

Reply

Answer 9

Jan 11, 2025 8:05 AM in response to Stelephant

Apple support helped me. We went through a lot of diagnostics and attempts. The final cure was to open a new administrators user. Apple support said to try to open garage band each time I migrate something to the new user account.

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Answer 10

Stelephant Author

Level 1

8 points

Jan 12, 2025 11:32 AM in response to Keith Barkley

Yes I did delete the preferences but it didn’t work!

DIFFERENT APPROACH

I opened GarageBand under a different User/ Log In. I can open GarageBand and I can hear the Drummer. GarageBand can ‘hear’ my guitar as the meter is responding but I am getting no guitar sound FROM MY EXTERNAL SPEAKERS. The GarageBand guitar tuner hears my guitar.

The Speaker icon on the guitar track is flashing a pale blue.

I tried several settings in both Garageband Settings and Mac Sound Settings but I can’t hear the guitar.

The guitar is turned up full.

Any suggestions please?

Thanks

Reply

Answer 11

Stelephant Author

Level 1

8 points

Jan 13, 2025 1:21 AM in response to Keith Barkley

Yes, I deleted preferences but it still doesn't respond.

That said, it now shows the top controls (?) File, Edit, Track, etc. but then a not appears telling me it is not responding. Any help much appreciated.

Thanks

Reply

Answer 12

Stelephant Author

Level 1

8 points

Jan 13, 2025 1:22 AM in response to Keith Barkley

Yes, I deleted preferences but it still doesn't respond.

That said, it now shows the top controls (?) File, Edit, Track, etc. but then a not appears telling me it is not responding. Any help much appreciated.

Thanks

Reply

Answer 13

Jan 13, 2025 7:19 AM in response to Stelephant

At this point I would delete the Garage Band app and then download a fresh copy.

Deleting the app won't erase any of the projects you have saved.

Delete the app, empty the trash, restart the Mac, download a fresh copy of the app and see what happens.

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Answer 14

Stelephant Author

Level 1

8 points

Jan 14, 2025 4:34 AM in response to D.I. Johnson

Thanks food your reply. I have already done this twice as well as every other permutation.

In the end, the only thing I could do was to download Logic Pro. That works just fine.

Thank you to everyone on here who contributed.

All the best!

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Answer 15

Stelephant Author

Level 1

8 points

Jan 6, 2025 4:45 AM in response to Stelephant

BTW, I just deleted, then downloaded and installed Garageband, but I got the same results as above. Please help!!

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