Finder stuck/crashes with endless "preparing to move" file message

Finder has suddenly stopped letting me move files from iCloud. It just gives me an endless message that it is "preparing to move" the file. After a while Finder just crashes.

I am using a 2019 desktop iMac, running Monterey v 12.6.3.
I have over 400GB free disk space on the desktop and over 1TB free on iCloud.
I have shut down and restarted multiple times.
I have reset the finder plist file.

Further suggestions to fix this issue warmly welcomed as it's killing my ability to work!!

Thanks in advance...

iMac 27″, macOS 10.13

Posted on Feb 10, 2023 01:53 PM

Top-ranking reply

D.I. Johnson

Level 7

30,965 points

Posted on Feb 10, 2023 01:57 PM

If a simple reboot of your Mac doesn’t fix things, see if the problem still happens in Safe mode (hold the shift key down at startup). It can take much longer to safe boot (10 min) so be patient.

How to use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support

Safe mode disables loading third-party drivers, forces the OS to do disk repair, clear certain caches and logs and other miscellaneous housekeeping. It's non-destructive to user data so is safe to do. Very often certain weird software behavior is corrected by simply logging in this way as a troubleshooting method. When you're in safe boot, the machine will not be at its best performance, especially with graphics, but that's expected.

Does the problem persist while in Safe mode?

Exit safe mode by restarting your Mac normally and re-evaluate the issue again.

If the problem is still unresolved, please return here and post a reply and we’ll see what else we can come up with for help.

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Finder stuck/crashes with endless "preparing to move" file message

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