Finder stuck in Restore Windows loop

Can you help with this issue?

I had this problem (running os x lion 7.1 on a MBP i7) and went through all suggestions offered on the web and in the apple discussions, including using terminal to remove finder saved state files, preferences, etc., everything short of doing a clean install -- and none of them worked. In the end the solution (for me) was very, very simple.
I had noticed that every time I re-started the laptop, spotlight would start indexing. Originally, I had tried to click on either restore or do not restore windows or perform some other operation, the effect of which was to stop spotlight from indexing and to enter into the loop. No matter what I did, so long as I did something, I would enter into the infinite finder window restore loop.
Finally, after re-starting for about the thirtieth time, I decided to do nothing and let spotlight finishing indexing. After it finished indexing (after about 5 mins) I choose not to restore finder windows and exited the loop. Now everything appears fine and I haven't had a finder crash or infinite loop restore windows problem.
So, in my case, it seems that the loop was caused by the finder trying to relaunch after a crash but before spotlight indexing had completed. Once I let the indexing complete, the finder was able to relaunch and exit the loop.
Given my experience, I would recommend looking to see whether your system is trying to index while the windows restore dialogue pops up. If it is, do nothing until the indexing is finished. Once it's finished click on the appropriate option in the finder windows restore dialogue box, and see if this will allow the finder to exit the loop and relaunch.
If it isn't indexing, then your problem might be elsewhere and you'll need to try some or all of the more serious remedies involving terminal command-line entry -- though I wonder whether perhaps the problem could still be linked to indexing. Perhaps try to make spotlight index before doing anything else?

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The finder keeps flashing "restore windows or don't restore windows

does anynone know, why the finder keeps flashing and saying that the restore windows (Don't restore windows or Restore Windows)

Try this.
1. click on "spotlight" on the top right corner of your desktop.
2. type "terminal" (without the quotation marks) and open it.
3. when the terminal opens, type "cd desktop" and hit enter.
4. type "rm -rf .DS_Store" and enter
5. type "exit" and enter
If it doesn't work try the follow:
1. click on "spotlight" on the top right corner of your desktop.
2. type "terminal" (without the quotation marks) and open it.
3. when the terminal opens, type "sudo rm -rf ~/.Trash/" (This will empty your trash) and enter
4. type your administrator password. As you type, you will not see any character on the screen. Just type it and hit enter. (If you left your password blank, you have to make one by going to system preferences - users & groups - change password)
5. type "exit" and enter

Finding photos after restoring windows 8 to Factory Settingd

where to find photos placed in hidden folder in C after restoring windows to factory settings

HI @Xarar,
Welcome to the HP Forums!
It is a terrific place to find answers.
For you to have the best experience in the HP forum I would like to direct your attention to the HP Forums Guide Learn How to Post and More
It is my understanding the you did a recovery back to factory. If you did a full factory recovery, it would have reformatted the drive, recreated the partitions and reinstalled the software back to factory. That means all data on the hard drive would be gone.
You can do a Google search for data recovery. You may be able to locate data recovery software that would allow you to retrieve your photos.
Good Luck!
Sparkles1
I work on behalf of HP
Please click “Accept as Solution ” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution.
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Finder "unexpectedly quit" restore windows

Dock appears, finder icon bounces. I cant access the terminal, HD Documents etc. Can't Empty trash. Reboot using guest or other user is good.
Any suggestions on fixing this..... very irritating little icon won't sit still!
thanks
Doug

Launch the Console application in any of the following ways:
☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)
☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.
☞ If you’re running Mac OS X 10.7 or later, open LaunchPad. Click Utilities, then Console in the page that opens.
Step 1
Enter the name of the crashed application or process in the Filter text field. Post the messages from the time of the last crash, if any — the text, please, not a screenshot.
Important: Some private information, such as your name, may appear in the log. Edit it out by search-and-replace in a text editor before posting.
Step 2
Still in the Console window, look under User Diagnostic Reports for crash reports related to the process. The report name starts with the name of the crashed process, and ends with ".crash". Select the most recent report and post the contents — again, the text, not a screenshot. In the interest of privacy, I suggest that, before posting, you edit out the “Anonymous UUID,” a long string of letters, numbers, and dashes in the header of the report, if it’s present (it may not be.) Please don’t post shutdownStall or hang logs — they're very long and not helpful.

6th generation Nano stuck in restore/recovery loop

My daughter's nano won't come back to life. It's a 6th generation attached to an iMac running 10.6.7 with up to date software.
Restoring it brings me to a panel that says iTunes needs to prepare your iPod for recovery. OK, so I click continue, which eventually brings up a panel that says iTunes has detected an iPod in recovery mode and that it must be restored. And back to the beginning, ad infinitum.
Disconnected, I can reset it, but the screen stays black and never gets to the Apple.
How can I break this cycle?
How far can I throw an iPod nano? I hope not to find out.
Thanks in advance.

I had this exact issue with my iPod Nano 6th Gen. Spent close to 4 weeks on forums and found no solution. Ended up calling Apple Support and they directed me to a Service Company here in Singapore. But I was immediate faced with the dreaded UV torch, the torch they check water damage with. After 2 iPod Shuffles and now 3 iPod Nanos, I should know better. iPods are just fit for exercise,. no matter how careful you are, or what protective case you use. Nothing is going to protect it.
The current iPod Nano 6th Gen will have restart issues and require you to restore when connected to a computer, usually resulting in Unknown Error 1430 (VERY common error).
Result was I am continually told the iPod is water damaged and not covered. Seems the iPod range has a hyper sensitve water sensor, which even moisture on your headphone plug will set off. If you google iPod Water Senor you'll find hundreds of cases globally with the same issue.
This ***** cause the iPod Nano, particularly those that are Nike+ compatiable are heavily marketed as music players for exercise. But the reality is, they just can't handle sweat.
I also experienced this annoying reality with the previous iPod Shuffle, where the earphone controls continually broke down from moisture.
After 6 years of trying iPods for exercise, I am still waiting for one that is actually built for exercise.

IPod deletes all files every time it resets; stuck in restore-recovery loop

I have a major problem with my 120GB iPod classic, which was working perfectly until yesterday (it barely even had a scratch on it). I was playing my iPod normally when it suddenly froze. No problems there, this occasionally happens so I simply reset it as I normally do when it freezes (Menu+Centre buttons); but then I noticed something was wrong - the Apple logo reset screen remained for much longer than usual (usually after about 10 seconds it switches on back to normal). I left the iPod on my desk for about a minute, and it eventually switched on back to normal - however I was greeted by the 'Welcome' page to select a language, and all my music etc has been deleted!
I've tried everything to get this iPod working normally again - when I restore (even when using disk mode); the iTunes tells me it is in recovery mode and needs to be restored, however I've restored several times and the iTunes insists it is still in recovery mode. I've also tried changing the drive letter and formatting via the PC, but to no avail. I have also noticed that every time the iPod is ejected and it says 'OK to disconnect', it resets instead of switching on... and every time it resets, it erases all the data all over again and the 'Welcome' screen returns...
In short, the problem seems to be that the iPod is interpreting 'reset' and as a complete reboot - it keeps on resetting itself completely.
What can I do? I'm slowly going insane

a detail which I may have overlooked is, I have a suspicion that the iPod is not even being restored at all; the iPod simply resets (and deletes all the data while doing so) during a restore; therefore its not even allowing me to do a restore!

My Finder is blinking "Restore windows"

And my desk top is blank except for the background screen,
but the dock is working. i was able to log onto the internet
Any suggestions???
thanks Russ

Try this.
1. click on "spotlight" on the top right corner of your desktop.
2. type "terminal" (without the quotation marks) and open it.
3. when the terminal opens, type "cd desktop" and hit enter.
4. type "rm -rf .DS_Store" and enter
5. type "exit" and enter
If it doesn't work try the follow:
1. click on "spotlight" on the top right corner of your desktop.
2. type "terminal" (without the quotation marks) and open it.
3. when the terminal opens, type "sudo rm -rf ~/.Trash/" (This will empty your trash) and enter
4. type your administrator password. As you type, you will not see any character on the screen. Just type it and hit enter. (If you left your password blank, you have to make one by going to system preferences - users & groups - change password)
5. type "exit" and enter

Finder stuck

I have a problem with the finder. It's stuck in restore windows loop. I've tried all the things , including restarting in save mode and using commands in terminal window. Nothing helps.
Can anybody help me?
I have a problem with the finder. It's stuck in a restore loop, I've tried everything - Terminal, disk utility (to reset permisions), restarting etc but nothing helps. I can't get to the desktop to try something such a Applejack, or even get into Utilities to get to the restore Mac OS. What's completely rediculous is nowadays you don't recieve a start up DVD with Mac Lion on it, otherwise you could reboot from that .... at least!
Can anybody help, or had similar experiences that they've solved? As you can see i can get to the net, and of course anything that's already installed on my system. However, as already mentioned I can't open the finder window to get to anything such as folder, files and the like which could be wiped to solve problem.
Help!!!!!

Try to relaunch the Finder by holding down the shift key and clicking its icon in the Dock.
If that doesn't work, launch the Terminal application by entering the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Copy or drag -- do not type -- the line below into the Terminal window, then press return:
ls -d Library/Saved\ Application\ State/com.apple.finder.savedState
The following line should appear below what you entered:
Saved Application State/com.apple.finder.savedState
If it does, enter the following:
rm -r !$
Log out and log back in.

Fcpx gets stuck restoring window layout

basically final cut pro was working fine until i did a reinstall of snow leopard . then it wouldn't open saying its not compatable , i had this problem before the fix was to install prokit 7.0 , which i managed to do and now final cut pro x gets stuck at "restoring window layout" and some times the windows do open but they are extremely glitchy , i have deleted the preference in library - preferences i've deleted the files in the layout folder , and i've deleted everything and reinstalled fcpx . NOTHING WORKS!!!. and i would appreciate any help someone could throw at me . i'm using a late 2009 21.5" imac baseline. and running snow leopard 10.6.8 . would installing lion gold master work??? do i need a completely fresh erase and install of my hd .?????

not to worry Lion fixed all issues with final cut pro!!! LION FTW

Ipod touch stuck in restore mod after update

hi i have windows 8 release preview. i tried to update my 8gb ipod touch 4th gen and not its stuck in restore mod loop. but i have a 32gb ipod touch 4th gen that sync's to itunes just fine. ive tried the home and lock button, RecBoot to push it out of restore mod, iRecovery to push it out of restore mod and nothing works. i keep getting error 1603 and 1611. it comes up on itunes and says it needs to be restored. please help

Error 1604
This error is often related to USB timing. Try changing USB ports, using a different dock connector to USB cable, and other available USB troubleshooting steps (troubleshooting USB connections. If you are using a dock, bypass it and connect directly to the white Apple USB dock connector cable. If the issue persists on a known-good computer, the device may need service.
If the issue is not resolved by USB isolation troubleshooting, and another computer is not available, try these steps to resolve the issue:
Connect the device to iTunes, confirm that the device is in Recovery Mode. If it's not in Recovery Mode,put it into Recovery Mode.
Restore and wait for the error.
When prompted, click OK.
Close and reopen iTunes while the device remains connected.
The device should now be recognized in Recovery Mode again.
Try to restore again.
If the steps above do not resolve the issue, try restoring using a known-good USB cable, computer, and network connection.
Error 1603
Follow the steps listed above for Error 1604. Also, discard the .ipsw file, open iTunes and attempt to download the update again. See the steps under Advanced Steps > Rename, move, or delete the iOS software file (.ipsw) below for file locations.If you do not want to remove the IPSW in the original user, try restoring in a new administrator user. If the issue remains, Eliminate third-party security software conflicts.
Restore loop (being prompted to restore again after a restore successfully completes)
Troubleshoot your USB connection. If the issue persists, out-of-date or incorrectly configured third-party security software may be causing this issue. Please follow Troubleshooting security software issues. .
Also, it could be due to an incompatiblity with iTunes and the pre-release Windows 8 version.

My finder is caught in a never ending loop of wanting to restore windows

The Finder icon is bouncing up and down on the dock, there is a popup flashing on and off on the desktop which states "Restore Windows The Application "Finder" unexpectedly quit while trying to restore it's windows. Do you want to try to restore its windows again?" It offers the options "Don't restore windows and Restore windows". Neither of these actions respond. I have turned off; shut down etc... but it prevails.

I have it resolved now, I discovered some previous questions and found the solution. Phew!

Finder icon stuck in constant motion- says it had a problem restoring window. It's unresponsive. I did download turbo tax yesterday- it all seemed to download fine.

my mac mini finder icon keeps flashing a sign that said it had a problem restoring a window. It asks me if I want it to restore window, but it is unresponsive. My computer seems to be working fine when I go on to safari, but my desktop itself will not respond to any requests because the finder has taken over. I did download turbotax application yesterday... it seemed to go just fine. This might be the first time I have restarted my computer since then, though. Could the turbo have created this mess? My mini is10.7.5 intel 2.3 Ghz so the turbo tax should have been ok. The only other thing I did wierd was when I started up my computer this morning I sort of started iPhoto at the same time that I started its backup program so the two collided. Could that have caused this finder issue?

BD,   I am unable to find the files you suggested I move to the desk top.
When I ran the SAFE BOOT the other day, and also ran repair permissions, I dont think it stayed in SAFE BOOT. I found no access to utilities when I was in safe boot - either I can't figure it out, or the machine wasn't letting me proceed due to the finder- I don't know which.
Today,As I was looking for the files you suggested I move (user/your user.......) to desk top, I did copy a few of the messages the mac was sending through utilities and console. I don't know if anything here helps, but I am copying a few clips below for you; it may be all Greek to you too, however. Thank you.
Finder_2014-02-15-215410_Angies-Mac-mini.crash
Feb 15 21:54:31 angies-mac-mini Finder[3208]: ISGetIconFamilyFromStorage: seed mismatch for 27f80012, actual seed is 1f16e9e8
Feb 15 21:54:31 angies-mac-mini Finder[3208]: ISGetIconFamilyFromStorage: seed mismatch for 231b0013, actual seed is 1190cde7
Feb 15 21:54:32 angies-mac-mini com.apple.launchd.peruser.501[128] (com.apple.Finder[3208]): Job appears to have crashed: Segmentation fault: 11
Feb 15 21:54:32 angies-mac-mini ReportCrash[3131]: Saved crash report for Finder[3208] version 10.7.5 (10.7.5) to /Users/council_angie/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Finder_2014-02-15-215432_An gies-Mac-mini.crash
Feb 15 21:54:32 angies-mac-mini ReportCrash[3131]: Removing excessive log: file://localhost/Users/council_angie/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Finder_2014 -02-15-215411_Angies-Mac-mini.crash
Application Specific Information:
objc[2915]: garbage collection is OFF
Thread 0:: Dispatch queue: com.apple.main-thread
0   libsystem_kernel.dylib                  0x000000011234dbca __psynch_cvwait + 10
1   libsystem_c.dylib                       0x00000001122032a6 _pthread_cond_wait + 890
2   com.apple.finder                        0x000000010d0311ef 0x10cfe8000 + 299503
3   com.apple.finder                        0x000000010d031058 0x10cfe8000 + 299096
4   com.apple.finder                        0x00
Finder_2014-02-15-215410_Angies-Mac-mini.crash
Feb 15 21:54:31 angies-mac-mini Finder[3208]: ISGetIconFamilyFromStorage: seed mismatch for 27f80012, actual seed is 1f16e9e8
Feb 15 21:54:31 angies-mac-mini Finder[3208]: ISGetIconFamilyFromStorage: seed mismatch for 231b0013, actual seed is 1190cde7
Feb 15 21:54:32 angies-mac-mini com.apple.launchd.peruser.501[128] (com.apple.Finder[3208]): Job appears to have crashed: Segmentation fault: 11
Feb 15 21:54:32 angies-mac-mini ReportCrash[3131]: Saved crash report for Finder[3208] version 10.7.5 (10.7.5) to /Users/council_

Finder keeps prompting a 'Restore Windows'

After installing Lion, Finder went nuts and started prompting a 'Restore Windows' warning. I've tried everything but but just doesn't go away... Other programs work but Finder. I'm in the process of reinstalling Lion again from Recovery.
If anyone has had the same problem please advise me. Thank you

I'm afraid that deleting Trash didn't help me.
We're still getting the loop of Finder crashing and restarting with the "Restore Windows" prompt which disappears before we can click on an option.
Currently using Spotlight to run commands like Console !
I've tried Repiaing Permissions and restarting with the Restore Windows button unchecked to no avail.
- Paul
Console shows
============================
26/07/2011 08:07:55.489 com.apple.launchd.peruser.502: (com.apple.Finder[4390]) Job appears to have crashed: Segmentation fault: 11
26/07/2011 08:07:55.843 ReportCrash: Saved crash report for Finder[4390] version 10.7 (10.7) to /Users/niki/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Finder_2011-07-26-080755_kitchenmac. crash
26/07/2011 08:07:55.846 ReportCrash: Removing excessive log: /Users/niki/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Finder_2011-07-26-080722_kitchenmac. crash
26/07/2011 08:07:57.106 com.apple.launchd.peruser.502: (com.apple.Finder[4392]) Job appears to have crashed: Segmentation fault: 11
26/07/2011 08:07:57.483 ReportCrash: Saved crash report for Finder[4392] version 10.7 (10.7) to /Users/niki/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Finder_2011-07-26-080757_kitchenmac. crash
26/07/2011 08:07:57.489 ReportCrash: Removing excessive log: /Users/niki/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Finder_2011-07-26-080723_kitchenmac. crash
26/07/2011 08:07:58.929 com.apple.launchd.peruser.502: (com.apple.Finder[4394]) Job appears to have crashed: Segmentation fault: 11
26/07/2011 08:07:59.454 ReportCrash: Saved crash report for Finder[4394] version 10.7 (10.7) to /Users/niki/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/Finder_2011-07-26-080759_kitchenmac. crash
26/07/2011 08:07:59.462 ReportCrash: Removing excessive log:
and
Process:         Finder [3263]
Path:            /System/Library/CoreServices/Finder.app/Contents/MacOS/Finder
Identifier:      Finder
Version:         ??? (???)
Code Type:       X86-64 (Native)
Parent Process: launchd [218]
Date/Time:       2011-07-26 07:47:25.138 +0100
OS Version:      Mac OS X 10.7 (11A511)
Report Version: 9
Crashed Thread: 4 Dispatch queue: com.apple.root.default-priority
Exception Type: EXC_BAD_ACCESS (SIGSEGV)
Exception Codes: KERN_INVALID_ADDRESS at 0x0000000000000000

When I login, all of my desktop items are gone, the "Finder" icon is bouncing and a message asking to restore windows is blinking but unresponsive. I can't exit out of it. What do I do? I've tried force quitting, and it doesn't get rid of it.

When I login, all of my desktop items are gone, the "Finder" icon is bouncing and a message asking to restore windows is blinking but unresponsive. I can't exit out of it. What do I do? I've tried force quitting, and it doesn't get rid of this message. When I login to my husband's account, this message does not appear.

Hey sunnyday7!
Here is an article that can help you address this issue:
OS X: How to quit an unresponsive application using Force Quit
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht3411
Additional Information
OS X automatically relaunches the Finder when it is quit. If the Finder is unresponsive, use Force Quit to relaunch it. Select Finder in the Force Quit Window or Dock, then click Relaunch.
Thanks for using the Apple Support Communities. Have a good one!
-Braden

My Finder is going crazy. Keep getting a message saying it quit unexpectedly and asking if I want to restore windows, but I can't get it to stop. buttons don't work.

My Finder is going crazy. Keep getting a message saying it quit unexpectedly and asking if I want to restore windows, but I can't get it to stop. buttons don't work.

Something else you can try.
In Finder hold down the option/alt key while selecting the Go menu item. Select Library. Then go to Preferences/com.apple.finder.plist. Move the .plist to your desktop.
Restart and test. If it works okay, delete the plist from the desktop.
If the same, return the .plist to where you got it from, overwriting the newer ones.
If you want to make your user library permanently visible, run the below command in Applications/Terminal.
chflags nohidden ~/Library/
You will need to do that after any updates.

Finder stuck in Restore Windows loop

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