Compensating for a Major Problem with the Finder app on the Mac
Put too many files in one folder on your Mac, and your Mac can seize. Here is a workaround that succeeds for me.
INTRODUCTION
I ran into a difficulty on my Mac. It happened twice. Each time it was major.
It was that the Finder app on my Mac stopped working. It seized.
(You may know that the Finder app on Mac is like File Explorer on PC.)
FIRST INSTANCE
In the first instance, the failure prevented me from working on tens of thousands of files for my work. It also prevented me from using my Mac for my own purposes.
In essence, it bricked my Mac.
I dutifully went to the Apple Store. A Genius wiped my machine and reinstalled MacOS.
It took about two days for me to re-download everything and get the machine set up all over again.
It was a massive effort. But I was relieved that the problem was fixed.
Or was it?
SECOND INSTANCE
The exact same problem happened again.
In this second instance, I was hesitant to go back to the Apple Store.
I expected they would repeat the same solution as last time:
- Wipe the machine
- Reload MacOS
Recovering from that would take another two days of grueling effort.
I wasn’t willing to squander my life on that fix, knowing it didn’t actually fix the underlying problem.
REMEDY #1 - FAIL
Searching online, I found a possible remedy. It was that I sign out of iCloud. Apple claims this can fix many difficult problems.
However, long-term Mac users always warn against signing out of iCloud. I was aware of the dangers. But my Mac was effectively bricked. I was desperate for a solution.
So I did it. I signed out of iCloud
However, upon signing out of iCloud, it simply wiped out all the files stored on my machine.
To recover, I had to manually re-download more than a hundred thousand files.
And nothing was fixed. The underlying problem with Finder persisted.
Signing out of iCloud did NOT fix the problem.
REMEDY #2 - SUCCESS!
Searching online, I found possible remedy #2.
It was in a forum called AskDifferent at StackExchange. People were discussing a seizing problem with the Finder app.
The discussion thread was more than a decade old. However, in my experience, it is still relevant.
They pointed out the following dichotomy:
Point 1. Apple’s Claim
An Apple Doc says the HFS Plus file system has a theoretical limit of two billion files per folder in all Mac OS X versions.
Point 2. Real-World Findings
In the real world, people experience seizing problems in the Finder app after just a few thousand files in one folder. A realistic limit is something like 2,000 to 3,000 files in one folder. Much beyond that and Finder stops working. It seizes.
That discussion thread explained all my recent woes. I had tens of thousands of files in one individual folder.
The remedy was to split the files into a bunch of individual folders so that the number of files in each folder is less than roughly 2,000 files.
I did that.
With that change, Finder no longer seized. I was spared a needless trip to the Apple Store. And I was spared yet another needless wiping of my Mac and two days of needless recovery work.
MUSINGS
Point 1. Finder is profoundly limited
The Finder app should have a capacity that is effectively unlimited. However, the above demonstrates that the Finder app has profound limitations.
Point 2. Apparently not tested
Apple claims macOS can theoretically handle two billion files per folder. However, it is clear that they have not tested that claim in real-world scenarios.
Point 3. More than a Decade ago
The forum discussion cited took place more than a decade ago. And yet Apple has not fixed the problem.
Point 4. The Mac cannot do my work
I routinely need to handle folders containing tens of thousands of files. In my own experience, the Mac operating system is incompetent for this simple task.
Originally published on July 2, 2025
Last updated on July 16, 2025
TOPICS: apple, macos,