Garage Band is stuck on "searching for audio unit plugins" and won't open. Help!

Hi Nashvillerandy,

Got it. Were you able to use the steps suggested above to set up a new administrator account and then see if you can open GarageBand there? Knowing what happens then will tell you if you have a system-wide or user-specific issue, which helps with troubleshooting. Here's how to Set up users, guests, and groups on Mac.

You could also test in safe mode to rule out some possible software causes. This has the steps: How to use safe mode on your Mac

The steps above would help to rule out causes, so try those and let us know the results. Take care.

Hello Nashvillerandy,

We would like to see how we can help you with GarageBand not launching as expected. Follow the steps in this link and get back to us with your results: If GarageBand isn't working on your Mac - Apple Support

"Disable Audio Units plug-ins

If you're using Audio Units plug-ins, try disabling them. Damaged or incompatible Audio Units plug-ins can create unexpected behavior in GarageBand.

To disable Audio Units plug-ins:

1. Open a project in GarageBand.
2. Go to GarageBand > Preferences > Audio/MIDI, and deselect Audio Units. 
3. Play back a project that has been experiencing issues. 

If the project opens and plays back properly, a plug-in you're using in the project might be damaged or incompatible with your version of GarageBand. Check with the manufacturer of the plug-in for support. 

Test with a new project

You can create a new project and test to check if the issue is with your project or with the GarageBand app.

1. If GarageBand is open, quit the app.
2. Open GarageBand and choose File > New.
3. Choose Empty Project in the New Project window. 
4. Add audio files or Apple Loops to the new project.
5. Try to recreate the issue you were having. For example, if the project you're having an issue with uses a particular third-party plug-in, add it to the test project. If the problem reappears, the plug-in might be damaged or might need to be updated.

Test GarageBand with a new user account

Create another user account on your Mac, then try to recreate the issue in the new user account. If the issue doesn't occur in the new user account, settings in the original account might be causing the issue.

Reset GarageBand preferences

Resetting preferences doesn't affect your project files, presets, or patches. However, you do lose any custom preference settings you might have made.

1. Choose GarageBand > Preferences, and note any specific preference settings you've made.
2. Close GarageBand.
3. In the Finder, choose Utilities from the Go menu. 
4. Open Terminal.
5. Copy this command, paste it into Terminal, then press Return:
6. defaults delete com.apple.garageband10
7. If you have ever updated from a previous version of GarageBand, also copy this command, paste it into Terminal, then press Return:
8. defaults delete com.apple.garageband
9. Restart your computer.

After your Mac restarts, open GarageBand and try to reproduce the issue you were experiencing. If the issue no longer occurs, open GarageBand preferences and reapply your custom settings."

Cheers!