Mac OS X 10.3.7: Slow startup; solutions

One of the most notorious issues occurring under Mac OS X 10.3.6 resurfaced under Mac OS X 10.3.7: longer-than-normal startup times or a completely stalled startup process.

This problem caused many of those who updated to Mac OS X 10.3.6 to revert to Mac OS X 10.3.5 -- and has caused a number of Mac OS X 10.3.7 adopters to do the same.

Typical reader reports include:

MacFixIt reader Brendan writes "Have just installed the 10.3.7 update via Software Update. I forgot to run repair permissions prior to installation unfortunately. Ran update OK, rebooted. Booted to log on screen at normal speed, but upon logging in, it took about 2 to 3 minutes for the top menu bar to load, and to open a finder window. So I ran repair permissions, rebooted, and the same thing happened."

Ken Marks corroborates "Following all the usual rules, repair permissions etc., I updated a G4 dual 1.25 MHz MDD from 10.3.6 to 10.3.7 using the combo updater. All went well, with one exception. My startup time increased an additional 38 seconds, most of which was represented by a menu bar normal in every way except for its color. It was blue. Upon completion of startup the menu-bar turned white and everything appeared to function normally. I have since returned to 10.3.6 from my backup with the exception that I used the ATI extensions from 10.3.7. My startup is now back to normal."

Philip Byrne writes "The long delay after log-in has returned directly after installing the update (run DiskWarrior - Onyx repair permissions - install update - Onyx repair permissions). I had eliminated (or shortened) the delay by applying your cache-cleaning solution for the 10.3.6 delay but it's back, consistently, with a vengeance."

MacFixIt reader Christopher Brentano describes an instance (noted by other readers) where the Mac OS X startup process stalls completely, necessitating startup in single user mode or from a separate boot volume. He writes:

"After applying (the Mac OS X 10.3.7) update, (my Mac) hangs at 'Login Window starting.' Booted with Safe Boot (Shift-key) same deal.

"Booted in single-user mode successfully, moved all items from /Library/StartupItems to a temp directory in /Users/Shared, no go. Moved one 3rd party kext from /System/Library/Extensions to a temp dir too. Still no go.

"Unplugged all peripherals, nope.

"Booted from Panther CD, ran disk repair and permissions repair. It corrected some permissions on /Library/Internet Plug-Ins/flashplayer.xpt, /System/Library/Filesystems/cd9660.fs/cd9660.util, /private/etc/mach_init_per_user.d, /private/var/log/install.log, /private/var/log/wtmp, and /usr/libexec/httpd/libphp4.so -- they all seem inconsequential though.

"Still hangs at 'Login Window starting.'"

Disable network volume automounts Some users have been able to resolve slow login times by disabling automounting of networked volumes.

This involves opening System Preferences, clicking on the "Accounts" pane, then selecting the "Startup Items" tab. Remove any networked volumes from this section using the subtract ("-") button below the list.

Fonts Others users have experienced success cleaning font caches with Font Finagler, though for most, it doesn't seem to provide a significant reduction of startup time:

Some have been able to eliminate the startup lag by simply removing extraneous, non-native fonts from their system using Apple's Font Book (located in the "Applications" folder on a standard Mac OS X installation):

Fonts can be removed using the "Remove Font" menu item inside Font Book. Also, make sure all default fonts are all reactivated or you will not be able to activate "Accounts" in "System preferences".

AppleScript Yvan Koenig, a poster to Apple's Discussion Boards, has submitted an AppleScript that deletes several files implicated in increased startup time. The script has been successful for a number of users, and is as follows:

property systemList : {¬
"com.apple.ATS.System.fcache", ¬
"com.apple.ATSServer.FODB_System", ¬
"fontTablesAnnex"}
property localList : {¬
"501:Classic.fcache", ¬
"501:Local.fcache", ¬
"User.fcache", ¬
"Classic.fodb", ¬
"Local.fodb", ¬
"User.fodb", ¬
"FondResourceCache"}
tell application "Finder"
set versionFinder to version as text
end tell
if versionFinder starts with "10.3" then
set localCaches to ((path to "cusr") as text) & "Library:Caches:com.apple.ATS:"
set systemCaches to ((path to "boot") as text) & "System:Library:Caches:"
tell application "Finder"
repeat with name in localList
try
delete file (localCaches & name)
end try
end repeat
repeat with name in systemList
try
delete file (systemCaches & name)
end try
end repeat
end tell
end if

In order to run this script, simply open the application Script Editor (located in Applications/AppleScript on a standard installation), create a new file, paste the above script, click "Compile" then click "Run." You will be asked for your administrator password several times.

Delete loginwindow.plist, com.apple.loginwindow.plist Since the startup process on the problematic Mac OS X installation is stuck, you will need to boot your Mac from another source -- either the Mac OS X CD/DVD or an extra boot volume.

Once your machine has booted, navigate to the /Library/Preferences/ directory on the volume that contains the afflicted Mac OS X installation, and drag the "loginwindow.plist" and "com.apple.loginwindow.plist" files to the Desktop or another location outside of their original parent folder.

Restart your Mac from the original Mac OS X installation and check for elimination of the startup stall.

Replace "loginwindow" Core Service If the aforementioned solution is not successful, this, more tedious solution might. As above, start the Mac from an alternative boot volume. Navigate to the folder /System/Library/CoreServices/loginwindow.app/Contents/MacOS/ on the afflicted Mac OS X installation, and look for the file "loginwindow."

According to scattered reader reports, including one from MacFixIt reader Tom Cheney, replacing this file with one from a Mac OS X installation that did not receive Security Update 2004-12-02 eliminates the startup stall.

Since you will want the versions of this file to match, you will need to actually get the file from another Mac OS X system (or backed up installation) running the same incremental release of 10.2.x or 10.3.x. Disconnecting drives Some readers have reported that disconnecting external volumes while booting can significantly reduce startup time lag:

"I've been following your story on slow startup, and I have the same issue on my G5. Just hit today's posting about Airport, and thought I'd add that the slow startup on my G5 is on a machine that's hooked to Gigabit Ethernet, and has its Airport card disabled.

"Interestingly, during a slow-boot cycle I decided to pull the FW800 cable on an external drive (since the Mac tends to hang on bad disk issues) and it finished the boot cycle instantly."

Disabling all extraneous ports A workaround previously reported for other network problems has proved successful for Mac OS X 10.3.7-related networking issues: Disabling any network ports that are not being used. This is accomplished by selecting "Network Port Configurations" from the "Show:" pull-down menu in the Network pane of System Preferences and unchecking any ports not in use.

George Regan confirms "I ran the update on two Macs: An iMac DV , and a 12" G-4 Powerbook. Powerbook - no problem. My iMac however suffered significant delay at startup. In 'Network Port Configurations' I had Airport, Ethernet, and Modem all enabled. I turned off all BUT Airport (which is the only connection I use regularly.) Now My iMac starts up faster than before the update."

Changing router settings In Ken Marks' case, the issue was resolved by switching his system's IP address to the one assigned by his router:

"Apparently those experiencing the problem are using a some sort of router. In TCP/IP settings change from DHCP to Manual and enter the IP address assigned to your computer by the router. All other settings that need to be entered should appear when you switch. Note that DHCP with manual address does not work as the router address is not entered."

Deleting automatic network mount links Removing automatically mounting network links (in the left-hand column of a standard Finder window) can, in some cases, resolve issues with slow or stalled startup.

David Luckhardt confirms this workaround, and notes that users can delete the com.apple.sidebarlists.plist file, located in ~/Library/Preferences, if problems get too bad:

"I've seen this problem over and over in corporate settings -- the only solution is to delete ALL links to anything network-based in the sidebar. The Apple "Add to Sidebar" command in Finder's File menu can be a real mistake if network resources get moved or renamed. Safest to make aliases of network resources and leave them on the Desktop.

"If the problems get bad enough, users often can't open any Finder windows or sometimes even view the Desktop at startup. Then the only fix is to start up the Terminal / Console and delete the user's com.apple.sidebarlists.plist preference file."

Apple Pro Speakers In the case of MacFixIt reader Tim Westen, the presence of Apple Pro speakers was the primary cause of slow-down. He was able to temporarily resolve the issue by removing a specific kernel extension, AppleDallasDriver.kext, from his System/Library/Extensions/ folder.

Westen writes:

"I have experienced a particular start-up delay problem with 10.3.7 and some prior updates. In my case it relates to a long standing problem that I have with my Apple Pro Speakers where the OS insists that I unplug and re-plug the speakers as they 'are not recognized'. Needless to say no amount of unplugging and re-plugging makes any difference. The speakers themselves seem to function perfectly normally; to my ears at least.

"One side effect of this problem is a longer start-up time while the system tries repeatedly to initialize the unrecognized hardware. The fix in my case is to move the AppleDallasDriver.kext out of the Extensions folder. Result: No warning messages and no start-up delays [...] In my case the problem will generally reappear each time Apple releases a new version of the AppleDallasDriver.kext in one of the incremental Mac OS X updates."

Launching an application spurs startup? MacFixIt reader Mike reports an odd situation where launching an application after the Dock loads, but before other interface components such as the menu-bar appear (a point in the startup process where many users experience a stall), spurs the startup process to continue more quickly.

He writes:

"My start-up screen has gone from 3 minutes max to about 15 minutes plus. I found if I open an application from the dock which is accessible despite no menu bar showing at the top of the screen, it seems to have a "kick-start" function."

Slow startup/login with AirPort enabled; Fixed IP workaround Slow startup/login can sometimes be "fixed" by disabling AirPort before shutdown/restart. For example, James Weymouth writes, "With the slow start up I have solved that by turning off Airport before shut down and then I get a normal start up."

However, Matt Petrowsky reports that configuring your AirPort connection with a static IP address -- if possible -- is an effective workaround:

"Shortly after installing 10.3.7 via Software Update, my iBook G4 1.2GHz was booting VERY slowly. At first I thought it was a conflict with sshLogin and the bootup [but] after hours of testing, I found that the startup was hinged to whether AirPort was turned on or not. The computer would boot quickly if Airport was off and take forever if it was on...I ran through the standard process of permissions, combined updater, permissions and found (when downloading the 10.3.7 combined updater) that when Ethernet was used, the boot time had no problem and was faster. Without Ethernet and using Airport, Safari was also having problems connecting to websites. It would take many minutes where it should be seconds or less.

"The solution to my problem was a fixed IP. Previously, I had Airport set to use DHCP with my home network. (I'm running an older 802.11b Snow-colored Airport and my new iBook has Airport Extreme.)...After setting TCP/IP to a static IP on my home network the issue went away."

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