Mac OS X 10.8.4 Update – Startup Freeze Issues
I downloaded the OS X 10.8.4 update lately that covered a lot of bug fixes. But every time my Mac started up and reached the desktop screen, it would freeze for a couple of minutes. Researching online, I found that I may have to re-install with the combo update just to make sure that the update gets installed properly again. Or this could be for a variety of other reasons – your startup applications, connected devices or apps messing up. Here are the possible solutions.
1. Got a Card Adapter?
Got an empty ‘microSD to SD card’ adapter connected to your Mac? Pull it out! For weird reasons, an empty SD card (without a microSD connected) freezes up OS X 10.8.4 at the startup. Try restarting your Mac without connecting the card adapter and see if it works. I usually have the adapter connected to Mac so that I don’t miss it. You may slightly pull it out if you want to have it connected always.
2. Startup Applications
Startup applications are those that start along with your Mac (when you log in). Your startup applications could be a mess if they are resource hungry. I wouldn’t suggest having too many startup applications. To filter out your startup applications, head over to System Preferences and click ‘Users & Groups’. Select a user and click the ‘Login Items’ tab to find out which applications start up when you log in. Select an item and press the – icon to remove them from startup.
3. Disk Permissions
Permissions problem could rarely be an issue, but is worth giving a try. To verify disk permissions, open up the Disk Utility app from the Launchpad (or open Spotlight and type ‘Disk Utility’). In Disk Utility, select your Macintosh HD and click ‘Verify Disk Permissions’ from the First Aid tab. Once the verification is complete, you might want to repair them. Once this is done, try restarting your Mac to see if it sorts out the issue.
4. Nothing works?
If you’ve reached here, it could be because all the above mentioned methods have failed for you. Try downloading the combo update and reinstalling. This ‘might’ sometimes fix any issue that could have happened because the update wasn’t properly installed.