Being the default browser shipped with every Mac, you are very likely using Safari as your main way of accessing the Web. Therefore, if something goes wrong where Safari either loads and runs slowly, crashes on startup, or is otherwise not functioning correctly, then you might find yourself in a bit of a frustrating situation. If you need to reset aspects of Safari in order to regain functionality, then even though the options for doing so are somewhat scattered, you can still use them to regain use of your browser.
Remove site history
Safari has its built-in tools for clearing temporary data that may be causing problems. To do this, go to the Safari menu and choose the option to Clear History and Website Data. If the problem you are experiencing only happened in the last hour or the past day, then you can try choosing the option here for encompassing that timeframe, otherwise you can remove all history data in this menu.
If the MacBook supports Yosemite (the latest OS version), then you could download the installer from the App Store. There are several tutorials on how to make a bootable USB drive; in which case you could boot in to the installer, wipe the disk, and install a clean Yosemite. If you want a clean 10.6 installation, you'll need a DVD.
The Server 3 app that comes with Yosemite (aka Yosemite Server if you’re a Yosemite Sam fan) is great. But when you go making changes to some things, you’re just going to cause problems, sometimes something as simple as just upgrading to the latest and greatest version of Server I know, you’ve been told that Continue reading Reset the Server App in Yosemite Server. In newer versions of Mac OS X, such as on Yosemite, you will see a button Reset My Default Keychain under the General pane. Click it and enter the new login password in Password field to create new keychain.
Alternatively, if you are finding problems happening only with one Web site you visit, then you can remove this data on a per-site basis:- Go to the Privacy section of Safari’s preferences.
- Click the Details button that appears under the “Remove All Website Data” button.
- Search for your site, and then remove only it from the list.
Clear Safari’s Web caches
Apple has somewhat hidden the options for clearing Safari’s caches (temporary local storage for a number of different settings and configurations), but they are still available:
- Go to the Advanced section of Safari’s preferences
- Click the Show Develop menu in menu bar option
- Select Empty Caches from this menu
Disable Extensions
Extensions give additional functions to Safari, but may also cause some problems if they contain bugs. Therefore, try going to the Extensions section of Safari’s preferences and sliding the setting to “Off.” Alternatively, you can try disabling plugins on an individual basis (each should have a checkbox for enabling/disabling), but first turning them off globally and then testing Safari will help indicate whether these are contributing to the problem. Also be sure you use the Updates button in these preferences to check for and install any new versions of your extensions.
Disable and manage plugins
Plugins handle specific internet content that sites may try to display for you, but also may cause problems when loading these sites. Therefore, as with Safari Extensions, you can try disabling them to see if this clears problems you are experiencing:
- Go to the Safari’s Security preferences
- Uncheck the Allow Plug-Ins checkbox
- Reload your Web pages, or optionally quit and re-launch Safari
In addition to disabling them in this way, you can manage plug-ins on a per-site basis by clicking the Website Settings button and then adjusting which sites are allowed, denied, or must ask for loading a specific plug-in.
Manual approaches
The above approaches should be most of what you need to clear and reset problems in Safari; however, if not then you can take more surgical approaches to clearing out Safari’s configuration data and getting the browser up and running again. Keep in mind that this approach will fully reset Safari and clear out your history, local bookmarks, and other settings, so be sure you make a backup of your system before doing this. Then quit Safari, and perform the following steps:
Remove Safari’s configuration folder:
- Open the Go menu in the OS X Finder
- Hold the Option key and choose the Library option that appears
- Move the “Safari” folder in here to your desktop
Remove Safari’s window state:
- Open the Library > Saved Application State folder
- Locate the “com.apple.Safari.savedState” folder
- Move this folder to the trash
Remove Safari’s application caches:
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- Open the Library > Caches folder
- Locate all folders that begin with “com.apple.Safari”
- Move these folders to the trash.
Remove Safari Cookies configurations:
- Open the Library > Cookies folder
- Remove the file called “com.apple.Safari.SafeBrowsing.binarycookies”
Remove Safari’s preferences:
- Open the Library > Preferences folder
- Remove any file that begins with “com.apple.Safari”
Remove user plug-ins:
- Go to the Library > Internet Plug-Ins folder
- Move all items from this folder to your Desktop (or elsewhere)
Remove global plug-ins:
- Go to the Macintosh HD > Library > Internet plug-ins folder
- Move all items out of this folder except the following plug-ins:
These ones may also be removed for testing your situation, but should be replaced. In addition, if removing plugins does not show any difference in your browser’s behavior, then replace them. However, you can also replace them by downloading the latest versions from their developers’ Web sites.
Sometimes your Mac’s parameter RAM (PRAM) becomes scrambled and needs to be reset. This can cause startup problems for your Mac. This small piece of memory isn’t erased or forgotten when you shut down your Mac.
A small amount of your computer’s memory, called “parameter random-access memory” or PRAM, stores certain settings in a location that OS X can access quickly. The particular settings that are stored depend on your type of Mac and the types of devices connected to it. The settings include your designated startup disk, display resolution, speaker volume, and other information.
Os X Yosemite 10.10
- Shut down your Mac.
- Locate the following keys on the keyboard: Option, Command (⌘), P, and R. You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously in step 4.
- Turn on your Mac.
- Immediately press and hold the Option-Command-P-R keys. You must press this key combination before the gray screen appears.Continue holding the keys down until your Mac restarts, and you hear the startup sound for the second time.
- Release the keys.
If you have a Redundant Array of Independent Disks (RAID) scheme set up, your computer may not start up if you reset parameter random-access memory (PRAM) when you restart.
If this happens, hold down the Option key while you restart your computer. Then select your startup disk when you see the prompt. After you successfully start up your computer, choose Apple menu > System Preferences, click Startup Disk, then select your startup disk.
Resetting PRAM may change some system settings and preferences. Remember that your chosen startup disk, time zone, and sound volume are reset to their default values when you zap your PRAM. Use System Preferences to restore your settings.
See Also:
How To Reset Os X Yosemite
How to reset the System Management Controller (SMC)