Why does Mathematica frequently crash on Mac OS?

[member 428835]

Hi PF

I have Mathematica 10.1.0.0 Student version running on mac OS High Sierra 10.13.5.

Mathematica frequently crashes. Also, every time I minimize a sheet or "save selection as" it brings up a dark window that I either have to close, or if it doesn't let me close I have to quit the program or move the dark window to another desktop.

Very very frustrating. Is my version of Mathematica obsolete?

Edit: also, the latest bug, when I input

ListPlot[{\!\(\*
TagBox[
RowBox[{"(", "", GridBox[{
{"10", "0.166192219310699"},
{"30", "0.05854972757883798"},
{"50", "0.03872905766945772"},
{"70", "0.2180897711161198"},
{"110", "35.732521763600786"},
{"130", "153.67728343527116"},
{"150", "0.4"},
{"170", "10"}
},
GridBoxAlignment->{
        "Columns" -> {{Center}}, "ColumnsIndexed" -> {},
         "Rows" -> {{Baseline}}, "RowsIndexed" -> {}, "Items" -> {},
         "ItemsIndexed" -> {}},
GridBoxSpacings->{"Columns" -> {
Offset[0.27999999999999997`], {
Offset[0.7]},
Offset[0.27999999999999997`]}, "ColumnsIndexed" -> {}, "Rows" -> {
Offset[0.2], {
Offset[0.4]},
Offset[0.2]}, "RowsIndexed" -> {}, "Items" -> {},
         "ItemsIndexed" -> {}}], "", ")"}],
Function[BoxForm`e$,
MatrixForm[BoxForm`e$]]]\)},
 AxesLabel -> {"\[Alpha] (degrees)", "% Error"},
 PlotRange -> {{0, 180}, {0, 0.5}}, Filling -> Axis]

into Mathematica only the first four data points show the fill axis. The next 3 show nothing, and finally the last one does plot. Notice when the second to last data point changes from 0.4 to 0.5 it also does not plot...

 

[jim mcnamara]

Do you have logging enabled?
http://reference.wolfram.com/language/tutorial/LoggingMathLM.

If not, enable it. It sounds like the application is crashing. This can be the result of improper installation: bad settings, missing files, file permissions, and other ills.
Nobody here will likely be able to help until you have logs indicating problems. And we can see them, or mathematica support can see them. If you have support.

I cannot comment on whether your code is generating faults.

 

[member 428835]

Thanks for your response. I tried following the link and instructions but I'm not sure how to proceed. Can you offer any additional info for a complete novice?

 

[aheight]

If you generate a lot of data, the history saving option will run out of memory. Try:

$HistoryLength = 0;

 

[member 428835]

If you generate a lot of data, the history saving option will run out of memory. Try:

$HistoryLength = 0;

I don't think it's a memory issue, as I can crash Mathematica immediately after I open the program.

 

[jim mcnamara]

That is by no means proof that you did not run out of memory - ex: running a bad program with infinite recursion can crash a system in a few seconds - I accidentally started a fork bomb on a development box - all memory was used up and the system froze in about 2 seconds - the code was a less than 50 characters - 32GB HPUX 11i

We are going to be hard- pressed to help to diagnose your problem if you automatically discard possibilities on a hunch.

I have not used Mathematica for a long time, so any advice I can give would probably be close to useless. Since there are no other answers I give a shot below.

A priori it is something in your code, probably not mathematica.
Try this:
Get into bash - the command line interpreter by opening the terminal app.

find -f / -type f -name '*.log' -exec grep -i error  {} \;

Have lunch.
This works on older macs so I am guessing it works on yours. You are going find a file or two full of error messages. You can also try finder if you know it well.

 

[member 428835]

That is by no means proof that you did not run out of memory - ex: running a bad program with infinite recursion can crash a system in a few seconds - I accidentally started a fork bomb on a development box - all memory was used up and the system froze in about 2 seconds - the code was a less than 50 characters - 32GB HPUX 11i

We are going to be hard- pressed to help to diagnose your problem if you automatically discard possibilities on a hunch.

I have not used Mathematica for a long time, so any advice I can give would probably be close to useless. Since there are no other answers I give a shot below.

A priori it is something in your code, probably not mathematica.
Try this:
Get into bash - the command line interpreter by opening the terminal app.

find -f / -type f -name '*.log' -exec grep -i error  {} \;

Have lunch.
This works on older macs so I am guessing it works on yours. You are going find a file or two full of error messages. You can also try finder if you know it well.

Thanks for your response. I say I don't think it's a memory issue since I can open Mathematica, save the file (with nothing written or executed), and Mathematica will get very buggy, i.e. open a blank black notebook, redirect my screen to a plain white screen, etc.

I typed what you suggested into terminal and it said

/: illegal option -- t
usage: find [-H | -L | -P] [-EXdsx] [-f path] path ... [expression]
find [-H | -L | -P] [-EXdsx] -f path [path ...] [expression]

what do you think? Should I just upgrade Mathematica versions?

 

[jim mcnamara]

I really do not know. Plus, I think there may have been a typo as there is no -t in the command I gave you. To answer your question, upgrading to a current version often fixes problems. Not always.

https://www.wolfram.com/mathematica/quick-revision-history.html show 11.3 as the current version. Consider upgrading to that.

 

[vela]

I just installed an old copy of Mathematica 10.1.0 I had lying around. My computer is running macOS 10.13.6. What specific steps will reproduce the problems you're seeing? I can try them out here. (I don't know if there's a difference between the version of 10.1.0 I have and the student version or if it's just a difference in licensing.) I tried minimizing a window as well as making a plot, selecting the graphic, and choosing Save Selection As... from the File menu. I didn't notice any weird behavior.

One thing you can try is reinstalling Mathematica in case the app somehow was corrupted.

Also, try creating a new user account and see if you can reproduce the problems there. If they don't occur, then you probably have corrupt settings somewhere in your regular user account.

 

[member 428835]

What specific steps will reproduce the problems you're seeing? I can try them out here. (I don't know if there's a difference between the version of 10.1.0 I have and the student version or if it's just a difference in licensing.) I tried minimizing a window as well as making a plot, selecting the graphic, and choosing Save Selection As... from the File menu. I didn't notice any weird behavior.

Bummer, because these things almost always cause errors. Additionally, if I'm trying to plot a group of vectors, say a = {2,1} and b = {4,3} and I plot via {a,b}, while I'm typing {a,b} it almost always shuts down without saving.

One thing you can try is reinstalling Mathematica in case the app somehow was corrupted.

Also, try creating a new user account and see if you can reproduce the problems there. If they don't occur, then you probably have corrupt settings somewhere in your regular user account.

Good point! I'll give this a try. Hopefully it works! Will keep you all updated. So annoying!

 

[member 428835]

So I uninstalled and reinstalled and the problem persists. Any other ideas?

 

[vela]

Did you try the different user account on your Mac?

 

[member 428835]

Did you try the different user account on your Mac?

I did not. Do you think that would matter since Mathematica initially worked very well?

 

[vela]

Yes, it definitely could. I've actually had that experience with other apps. If the problem goes away, you'll know the app basically works, and that the problem is likely a corrupt file in ~/Library. If the problem persists, that's a sign of a more serious problem.

 

[member 428835]

So when you say new user account, you're saying on my Mac and not on Mathematica, right?

 

[vela]

Right. You can delete the account afterward.

 

[member 428835]

Nothing ended up working so I deleted Mathematica 10 and installed 11 (only 20$ from my school so not a bad deal). Thanks so much for the help troubleshooting!

 

[member 428835]

Right. You can delete the account afterward.

Sorry to bring this thread back, but as it turns out the solution was to both update Mathematica AND make a new user account. My question is, and I can repost this since it's different from my initial problem, should I just delete my previous user account on my Mac and make a new one?

 

[vela]

If you absolutely have to move to a new user account, you just want to copy over documents, music, data, etc. from your old account before you delete it. I think when you delete an account, the system will offer to make a disk image of the home directory before deleting the account. Or you could just leave the old account lying around, unused.