Applications crashing 10.9.1 mail & safari a.o.

Question

My iMac had become unstable. Safari is cashing, mail is crashing amongst other apps. How can I check my system? Hardware and software?

Answer 1

Hey there Diede48,
It sounds like you have 2 applications quitting on you unexpectedly, Safari and Mail after updating to Mavericks. I would recommend a few things here. First try resetting your SMC on the computer with this process:
Resetting the SMC for Mac Pro, Intel-based iMac, Intel-based Mac mini, or Intel-based Xserve
Shut down the computer.
Unplug the computer's power cord.
Wait fifteen seconds.
Attach the computer's power cord.
Wait five seconds, then press the power button to turn on the computer.
From: Intel-based Macs: Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC)
          http://support.apple.com/kb/ht3964
Then I would also perform a Safe Boot as well, and then reboot the computer again:
Starting up in Safe Mode
To start up into Safe Mode (to Safe Boot), follow these steps.
Be sure your Mac is shut down.
Press the power button.
Immediately after you hear the startup tone, hold the Shift key.
The Shift key should be held as soon as possible after the startup tone, but not before the tone.
Release the Shift key when you see the gray Apple logo and the progress indicator (looks like a spinning gear).
After the logo appears, you should see a progress bar during startup. This indicates that your computer is performing a directory check as part of Safe Mode.
To leave Safe Mode, restart your computer without holding any keys during startup.
From: OS X: What is Safe Boot, Safe Mode?
          http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1564?viewlocale=en_US
If the issue persists, I would try using the Disk Utility to check for errors and repair them if needed:
Disk Utility 12.x: Repair a disk
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH5836?viewlocale=en_US
Thank you for using Apple Support Communities.
All the very best,
Sterling