Help: series of seemingly indexing-related issues (word, spotlight, shutdown, finder)

[lrsdrn]

So, something odd is happening to my early 2013 rMPB '13. Over the past few weeks, it started displaying a number of issues:

1. First, Word stopped closing normally. Whenever I tried to close the application, it told me that I 'Cannot save the file when it is in use by another process (Normal.dotm)'. It then asks me if I want to save Normal.dotm somewhere else. It closed down when I tell it no.
2. Then, much more recently, spotlight would first only return files and web results.
3. Then, my mac stopped shutting down normally. When I tell it to shut down, it closes all apps and switches to a black screen. After a few seconds, my mouse pointer appears, which is still moveable. The laptop remains in this state unless I reset it.
4. Today, I noticed how both finder and spotlight stopped showing files as search results. When I try to rebuild the spotlight index via terminal (command sudo mdutil -E /), it tells me "Error: Index is already changing state. Please try again in a moment."

This last error message actually gave me the idea that all these issues might be related. However, I do not really have any idea as to where I'd have to start looking for solutions. When running Windows via bootcamp, the machine functions perfectly normal. I'm currently switching off file vault to see if that changes anything, and sincerely hope these are not signs of a defective ssd.

Has anyone here experienced similar issues and managed to resolve them?

 

[BLUEDOG314]

First I highly doubt it is a SSD issue if Windows works fine. Reboot into safe mode so no unecessary kexts load, and the non terminal way to rebuild index is to go into system preferences and spotlight privacy settings, add your Macintosh HD to the security exceptions. Reboot normally, then remove it from exceptions and let sit for like 20 minutes. See if you're still having issues. If so I'd say best solution is backup and clean install, manually migrating data and reinstalling apps cleanly.

 

[lrsdrn]

Thanks for that, it seems to have solved my issue with spotlight. However, the other ones are still there. Running disk utility told me that there is an issue with the partition-structure that could cause the mac to not start up properly. Running disc repair in disc recovery mode returns several errors:

error: invalid dstream.default_crypto_id (0x4), given apfs_fs_flags (0x1)

error: inode_val: object (oid0x137cff0): invalid xfields

fsroot tree is invalid.

The volume /dev/rdisk1s1 could not be verified completely.

So, I guess that means a clean install... Just to be sure: you say I should not do a clean install and then restore a time machine copy, if I understand you correctly?

 

[BLUEDOG314]

No, I think a clean install is the best method to fix this. I personally would never restore a time machine backup either with a full restore or using migration assistant.

Before you do this, there is an option that you could try. I do not know about the encryption related error, however, usually inode issues are bad news bears. I have however managed to fix invalid inode entry errors by running fsck in single user, then if you get an inode entry, it will usually be accompanied by the actual inode value, a number. You can then reboot and use the find command in terminal to to look up what file is associated with that inode value and depending on what it is, delete it and then reboot running fsck in single user again. That being said I hope that DiskWarrior will be able to rebuild apfs at some point.

If you go this route good luck, and let me know what happens.

 

[lrsdrn]

I tried to go down the second route (to see if I could safe myself the trouble of a clean install), and that gives me this (see attachment). I think I'll just go with the clean install which might be good anyways after five years of use.

 

[BLUEDOG314]

Yea when you start to get crypto warnings like that, a clean install is imo your best bet. It would be worse to sit on the issue and then one day your boot volume does not mount or something. Just be aware, most people say that encrypting APFS drives takes forever.