Finder freezing or not responding on Mac

Symptoms

• Finder windows stop responding to clicks
• The desktop and file browsing feel stuck
• Finder shows '(Not Responding)' when force-quitting
• Freezing happens especially when accessing a specific drive or folder

Likely causes

• CommonA disconnected or slow-to-respond external or network driveFinder can hang while waiting for a drive that isn't responding.
• CommonA folder with an extremely large number of filesFinder can struggle to list and generate previews for huge folders.
• PossibleA corrupted preference file for FinderThis can cause recurring instability specific to Finder.
• PossibleA stuck background process related to file syncing (like iCloud Drive or another cloud service)Sync conflicts can cause Finder to hang while trying to resolve them.
• PossibleLow available memory causing all apps, including Finder, to lagThis is a symptom of broader memory pressure rather than a Finder-specific bug.

What to do

1. Wait a short while, since Finder sometimes recovers on its own from a brief hang.
2. Force quit Finder via the Apple menu > Force Quit, then it will automatically relaunch.
3. Disconnect any external or network drives that might be slow or unreachable, then reconnect them one at a time to identify the culprit.
4. Check Activity Monitor for high memory pressure or another app hogging resources.
5. If a specific folder consistently causes freezing, check how many files it contains and consider splitting large folders into subfolders.
6. Check for pending iCloud Drive or other cloud sync activity that might be causing conflicts.
7. Restart the Mac if force-quitting Finder doesn't resolve the issue.
8. As a deeper fix, reset Finder's preferences by moving com.apple.finder.plist (in ~/Library/Preferences) to the Trash and restarting.

Tools and parts

• None required

When to call a pro

If Finder keeps freezing across different drives and folders after these steps, a technician can check for deeper system file issues.

Safety