OS 12 Why Does this crash happen?

Late 2015 IMac running 12.7.6. So it's happening more and more. This is new. After returning to awake the mac, the cursor, will move but won't open anything related to the "system", such as opening/selecting windows, file folders, apps, no preview of photos if press spacebar, I get the beachball of death.

Whats weird is, if Safari is open, I can go into it online, pay bills, bid on ebay, all web functionality works, but anything outside that Safari window, with system doesn't. I can't restart from menu either, and all functions above the desktop wallpaper or dock won't respond.

I stumbled across a fix, I relaunch the finder and I seem to get everything back, but this can't be good and it never did this before? It's happening more frequently.

I ran "R" boot Disk Utility and it fixes stuff but doesn't seem to fully fix the problem. I've disabled anything in Preferences I dont need or recognize too. NO virus software running in real time, a scan shows clean.

I don't want to reinstall the OS if I dont have to, as dealing with all the "side effects" of a new install.

So is this hardware or software related?

Note this mac seems to take forever to start, load and ready to use almost 20 minutes before anything responds. Thats crazy but been like that for years.

Posted on Apr 17, 2025 12:13 PM

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12 replies

Apr 17, 2025 03:44 PM in response to illstudio

Give this a try: boot into Safe Mode according to How to use safe mode on your Mac and test to see if the problem persists. Reboot normally and test again.


NOTE 1: Safe Mode boot can take up to 3 - 5 minutes as it's doing the following; 

Verifies your startup disk and attempts to repair directory issues, if needed

• Loads only required kernel extensions (prevents 3rd party kernel/extensions from loading)

• Prevents Startup Items and Login Items from opening automatically

• Disables user-installed fonts 

Deletes font caches, kernel cache, and other system cache files


NOTE 2: if you have a wireless keyboard with rechargeable batteries connect it with its charging cable before booting into Safe Mode. This makes it act as a wired keyboard as will insure a successful boot into Safe Mode.


If after the normal reboot the problem persists please download and run Etrecheck.  The free version is sufficient.


Copy and paste the results into your reply. Etrecheck is a diagnostic tool that was developed by one of the most respected users here in the ASC and recommended by Apple Support  to provide a snapshot of the system and help identify the more obvious culprits that can adversely affect a Mac's performance.


Copy the report



and after clicking on the Reply button use the Additional Text button to paste the report in your reply.



Check Etrecheck's Privacy settings and make sure the checkbox for full disk access before running:


Then we can examine the report and see if we can determine the cause of the problem.


May 27, 2025 07:27 AM in response to illstudio

Just saw this response, never got an email notification, will try. FYI: From running D.U. i got this: see pic. I used Deepseek to try and decipher this cryptic error message and actually ran a terminal command something like (Im going by memory): fsck_apfs -l1 /dev/disk4. This helped a lot with startup time BUT after I put it to sleep for the night. I awoke to same problem. Cant get finder to response to desktop commands (Wouldn't eject an external USB drive, wont select it). I had to Relaunch finder. Then it seems ok.

May 27, 2025 08:35 AM in response to illstudio

The error message in the screenshot tells you what to do although it may not be completely obvious because Disk Utility hides the APFS Container from view by default.


Within Disk Utility click "View" and select "Show All Devices" so that the hidden Container appears on the left pane of Disk Utility. Run First Aid on that hidden Container. It will also automatically run First Aid on all of the APFS volumes within that hidden Container. It looks like maybe the Terminal command you used may have done that, however, did that scan of the Container resolve the previous error or is that error still there.


If after several First Aid scans of the hidden Container the error remains (while booted into Recovery Mode), then the error cannot be fixed. In that case erasing the disk followed by reinstalling macOS & restoring from backup will be needed.


The question then becomes what caused those errors. Is the internal Hard Drive starting to fail or did something else cause it? You can check the health of the internal drive(s) by running DriveDx (free trial period) and posting the complete text report here using the "Additional Text" icon which looks like a piece of paper on the forum editing toolbar.


May 31, 2025 01:31 PM in response to illstudio

illstudio wrote:

I'm guessing the news isn't good. Can the Late 2015 3.2Gz iMac have it's HDD replaced? Im assuming the 1 Tb is failing drive. I have the org fusion drive setup. Any HDD replacement suggestions, if replacement is possible? THX.
<DriveDX log.log>

The DriveDx does show that the internal Hard Drive is failing with currently 64 Reallocated Sectors. Currently there are no Pending Sectors so all of the identified bad sectors have been reallocated at the time of the report was run.


While the internal Hard Drive can be replaced, this is not a simple matter. It is much easier to just use an external USB3 or Thunderbolt2 SSD instead for your macOS installation. A USB3 SSD will give about the same performance as your Fusion Drive, while a Thunderbolt2 SSD may give you even more performance depending on the SSD. Plus when you retire this iMac, you can re-purpose the external SSD to other things with another computer.

May 31, 2025 01:40 PM in response to illstudio

illstudio wrote:

Hi, I have PureVPN which I rarely use cause it causes some website response problems. My iMac is never in a public place, doesnt leave my home office.
BitCoin Expert is an app that appears if I launch it, above desktop image where "time/date" shows (Forget what that area is called)? Not married to it, so it can go. Thanks

If BitCoin Expert launches when you launch PureVPN, then you just discovered that most VPNs targeting consumers are pure junk and are not focused on privacy or security. I would be very concerned what that extra app is doing to your system besides impacting system performance since I'm sure at the very least your system is being used to mine BitCoins.


Consumer VPNs do not provide the privacy & security that you believe. VPNs are only useful when accessing network resources on a business network. People should read the following article for more details:

https://gist.github.com/joepie91/5a9909939e6ce7d09e29


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OS 12 Why Does this crash happen?

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