More fixes for freezes, stalls in Safari

There are numerous causes for indefinite stalls (freezes) in Safari -- characterized by the appearance of an unending "spinning beach ball" progress indicator -- and a number of associated fixes.

One of the more common causes for a Safari freeze is a failure in the lookupd mechanism, as covered in our tutorial "Fixes for system-wide freezes when Web browsing [avoiding lookupd bug]." We also recently noted a repeatable freeze that can be caused in Safari by a problematic code fragment.

We've now identified some additional causes/solutions for lock-ups in Safari.

SyndicationAgent file -- replacing SyndicationAgent is a component of Safari's RSS capabilities that automatically updates RSS feeds. By default, it checks every half-hour.

We've recently encountered some cases where problems with this component can cause freezes in Safari -- usually accompanied by a page failing to load completely or an RSS feed not loading at all.

The SyndicationAgent file is located at:

/System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/Syndication.framework

Some users have reported that replacing this file with a copy from a Mac OS X system that does not exhibit issues resolves the repeated hang-ups.

Note that according to Apple, you can also change how often this component checks web feeds via the following Terminal command:

• defaults write com.apple.Syndication RefreshInterval (interval)

where interval is the number of seconds, e.g. 600 for every ten minutes.

Alternatively, you can try turning off RSS feeds altogether.

Disconnect from AirPort network Meanwhile, we've received some reports from readers who say that the repeated freezes only occur when connected to a wireless network via AirPort. Using a wired connection has solved the issue for some.

Feedback? Late-breakers@macfixit.com.

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