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Google Chrome crashes hard with Mac OS 10.10.2 beta, here’s the fix

…Use Safari! (lol,)

Google Chrome 39 had started to crash for me as soon as I updated to 10.10.2 Beta. I tried all of the normal things (trashing Google prefs, using Canary, etc etc). Nothing worked except downgrading back to Mac OS 10.10.1 stable.

[tweet https://twitter.com/llsethj/status/538403705201377281]

It turns out that the new 10.10.2 has depreciated some Trackpad APIs that cause an immediate crash.

The answer comes via Reddit today:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMVte93tgTM

Obviously use at your own risk: an Automator app has also been built to speed up the below process.

Workaround that was found on the Apple dev forums – this is not my code – use at your own risk – I’ve used it and it works fine.

1) Open up text edit and paste this code – save it as “patch.m”

#import <AppKit/AppKit.h>

__attribute((constructor)) void Patch_10_10_2_entry()
{
NSLog(@"10.10.2 patch loaded");
}

@interface NSTouch ()
- (id)_initWithPreviousTouch:(NSTouch *)touch newPhase:(NSTouchPhase)phase position:(CGPoint)position     isResting:(BOOL)isResting force:(double)force;
@end

@implementation NSTouch (Patch_10_10_2)
- (id)_initWithPreviousTouch:(NSTouch *)touch newPhase:(NSTouchPhase)phase position:(CGPoint)position     isResting:(BOOL)isResting
{
return [self _initWithPreviousTouch:touch newPhase:phase position:position isResting:isResting force:0];
}
@end

2) Run this command in Terminal

clang -dynamiclib -framework AppKit ~/Desktop/patch.m -o ~/Desktop/patch.dylib

3) Run this command in Terminal to open Chrome.

env DYLD_INSERT_LIBRARIES=~/Desktop/patch.dylib "/Applications/Google Chrome.app/Contents/MacOS/Google Chrome"

Notes: This will leave Terminal open in the background, do not close it or Chrome will quit out. This doesn’t modify anything permanently just fixes it temporarily. To reopen chrome a second time all you have to do is repeat step 3.

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Comments

  1. The fix is to use Safari, not that Goole spying *thing*.

    • Andrew Bell (@fiixed) - 10 years ago

      Who would want to use a shit browser like that?

      • coolfactor - 10 years ago

        You responded to an ignorant comment with an ignorant response. Congrats!

      • I use Safari as my primary browser and have for years. How is it shit? Exactly, please explain in detail.

        I go to a website and I can view it. All of them. All the time. It therefore works. This browser wars business is nonsense.

    • standardpull - 10 years ago

      I’d rather use a browser built by the world’s largest advertising firm. Because I know they have my best interests in mind. They do all that tracking and dossier building to bring us the best internet.

      Browsers with easy to use privacy controls and opt-in tracking only serve to confuse the user.

      • lkernan - 10 years ago

        You should try out that new Facebook service, I hear they use similar tech to make it even better!

  2. pateljj04 - 10 years ago

    The easier fix for now until its patched without doing anything in terminal (only if you are using an external mouse, this won’t work if you use your touchpad) is to go to System Preferences -> Accessibility -> and tick the Ignore build-in trackpad when mouse or wireless trackpad is present.

  3. WaveMedia (@WaveMedia) - 10 years ago

    Am I the only one wondering why an update to trackpad drivers are causing a BROWSER to crash?

    • Scott Buscemi - 10 years ago

      Chrome takes advantage of the trackpad for multi-touch gestures (like going back or forward a page). The trackpad APIs were updated in 10.10.2 (IIRC, there were some APIs that were fully deprecated) and Chrome’s dependence on these APIs causes it to crash on open.

    • standardpull - 10 years ago

      Google loves all forms of tracking. It’s what their business is based on.

  4. Chris Denny (@dennyc69) - 10 years ago

    Download this version of Chromium, it’s stable and works on 10.10.2

    Chromium Installer http://hivelocity.dl.sourceforge.net/project/osxportableapps/Chromium/ChromiumOSX_38.0.2125.122.dmg(32-bit) (FreeSMUG build)

    ChromiumOSX.dmg • Version: 38.0.2125.122 • Date: Wednesday, 12 Nov 2014

    It requires OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard) or later, Intel only. To install it, double click on ChromiumOSX.dmg file you have downloaded. Then drag its icon on Applications folder. You may then “Eject” and throw away this disk image. This build has a digital signature

    How to update it ?
    You can update to next stable build using command Chromium → Check for Updates…

    How to add the Flash plugin?
    Nothing to do. PepperFlash is integrated. ^^

    Sorry Seth, that’s to much to have to do.

    http://chromium.woolyss.com

  5. if you use the automator app linked above, its runs the command without opening terminal

  6. Saifur Rahman Mohsin - 10 years ago

    Such an easy patch. Google developers found it so difficult to figure this out and insert the patch on their own?? *facepalm*

    • coolfactor - 10 years ago

      Clearly they are developing Chrome on stable, trusted systems. Running beta on beta would be a secondary level of testing that clearly wasn’t done here.

      • Saifur Rahman Mohsin - 10 years ago

        Ok let me rephrase that. Google developers found it so difficult to perform a secondary level of testing on beta?? *facepalm*

  7. Edison Wrzosek - 10 years ago

    Seth’s first comment is the right advice, just use Safari on OS X, especially on a MacBook, as it gives the best performance with the best battery life.

    Don’t use this code, as you don’t know what side effects it may have, just to make a POS browser like Chrome work, better off without it!

    • joh05gra - 10 years ago

      In other words, I should not install any third party software on an Mac?

      • Edison Wrzosek - 10 years ago

        Did I say that? No…

        However when it comes to something like web browsing, Safari is the best you can have on OS X, bar none, especially v8 on Yosemite.

      • standardpull - 10 years ago

        No, install what you want. But if it doesn’t work because the developer can shy away from deprecated APIs then you may as well try better software. Then again, some people love Chrome’s ability to quickly track and collect all surfing habits and sell them to the highest bidding “partners”. Google does provide the best adware in the ad biz by far!

    • coolfactor - 10 years ago

      Each browser has its own strengths and weaknesses. For some of us in the web development industry, using multiple browsers in our workflow is standard protocol. I frequently launch Safari, Chrome, Firefox and Opera simultaneously to test out different websites that I’m developing. It’s not just about web consumption. I’ve found that Chrome easily beats Safari in terms of rendering large, complex pages, such as pages with hundreds of form fields on it. Safari hangs for a couple of minutes while it renders the page in the background. Chrome displays the page instantly.

      • Edison Wrzosek - 10 years ago

        Fair enough, I can see developers wanting to ensure their creations work on as many platforms as possible, however I still do not support Google, or their products, in any way, shape, or form, so would not cater to their software if I was still in the website creation biz.

        Also, I’m not sure what lag you’re referring to, as Safari on my 2011 i7 MBP w/ Yosemite loads without a hitch or stutter, and it does so much faster than any of my other machines / browsers, all of which have faster hardware than this Mac.

  8. philboogie - 10 years ago

    This is the first time I hear people are actually using Chrome¡

  9. Fred Hall - 10 years ago

    You might want to get out once in a while philboogie: http://www.w3schools.com/browsers/browsers_stats.asp

  10. Marklewood at Serenity Lodge - 10 years ago

    I only use Chrome (or Firefox) when I need to — which isn’t often any more. I can’t remember the last time I opened either one.

    • standardpull - 10 years ago

      Here is my cheat sheet:

      Use IE when testing browsers
      Use Firefox when you don’t want to be tracked
      Use Safari when you want speed
      Use Chrome when you want to be tracked

  11. Howie Isaacks - 10 years ago

    I use Chrome occasionally when I need to login to a site using two different user accounts. I’ll load one in Safari, and a second in Chrome. Chrome is crashing under 10.10.2, so I switched to Firefox as my secondry browser. Problem solved. Chrome is nice, but it doesn’t integrate with iCloud, among other failings. I can take it or leave it, and it’s not worth going through all of this trouble just to get it to work.

  12. Shanijaf (@shanijaf) - 10 years ago

    Here is the fix that worked for me

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0v9B-GMQvfg

  13. decoratiff (@decoratiff) - 10 years ago

    Since several people here are talking about downgrading: Is there a way rolling back the 10.10.2 update without just plain restore from backup? I suppose not. Would appreciate any useful advice alot!

    Since Chrome is by far not the single wide used application I guess somebody soon will offer a way of patching back in the functionality discussed here but systemwide.

    It’s sad to see such a culmination of events pointing to Apple’s software quality assurance going down the drain.

  14. Josh The Geek - 10 years ago

    `env DYLD_INSERT_LIBRARIES=~/Desktop/patch.dylib “/Applications/Google Chrome.app/Contents/MacOS/Google Chrome” &` with an ampersand at the end should allow you to close Terminal without closing Chrome.

  15. Bill Young - 10 years ago

    Ah Google, the masters of poor Mac OS X coding.

    Not to mention that Chrome 39 really does a number on OS X Lion if you leave Flash enabled…

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Avatar for Seth Weintraub Seth Weintraub

Publisher and Editorial Director of the 9to5/Electrek sites.


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