My Finder results are flashing and my computer fan runs nearly non-stop since I changed a few settings. I don't know whether it's from an auto-update or (more likely) from me encrypting (and then attempting to unencrypt) my MacBook Air. It's an older computer (mid 2012 according to "about my mac"), currently running Mojave version 10.14.6.
A few days ago my MacBook Air auto-updated and there were some odd things on the screen: background picture had a 1" black line at top, the banner alerts for new messages or calendar item alerts were partly off-screen, etc. I figured it would self-correct when I restarted, but I (foolishly) didn't restart at that time. So now I don't know if the flashing Finder results problem is from the update or from the encryption debacle.
I suspect the real problem came from me encrypting my laptop: I turned FileVault on and it began the encryption process. That took over an hour. I then could not log into my computer. (there was no place below the user medallion on the opening page to put in my password.) Nothing worked. I rebooted several times by holding down the power key and finally got an error message saying if I'd forgotten my password (I hadn't) I could change it (no thanks) or that perhaps my password (which is admittedly not as complex as it could be) might be incompatible with encryption. The latter gave me an option to turn off FileVault, which I did. But, oddly, tho it took over an hour to encrypt the drive, it took no time at all to turn FileVault off. And later, when an automatic backup to my AirPort drive initiated I got a warning that I was backing up an encrypted drive to an unencrypted backup drive. So turning off FileVault seems to have not un-encrypted my drive.
Since then, my computer runs VERY hot, the fan runs nearly non-stop, and whenever I use Finder, the results flash on and off: sometimes rhythmically (about one second on and about 2 seconds off) and at other times irregularly. It's now like a video game trying to double click files while they're showing, before they disappear again!
I suspect I need to successfully un-encrypt my drive. But when I look up how to do that, I've done what it suggests (go into FileVault, click open the padlock icon, and turn off FileVault). The instructions say I should then get a progress bar showing the unencryption progress, but that didn't happen in my case. My FileVault currently claims to be "off." Any suggestions?
A few days ago my MacBook Air auto-updated and there were some odd things on the screen: background picture had a 1" black line at top, the banner alerts for new messages or calendar item alerts were partly off-screen, etc. I figured it would self-correct when I restarted, but I (foolishly) didn't restart at that time. So now I don't know if the flashing Finder results problem is from the update or from the encryption debacle.
I suspect the real problem came from me encrypting my laptop: I turned FileVault on and it began the encryption process. That took over an hour. I then could not log into my computer. (there was no place below the user medallion on the opening page to put in my password.) Nothing worked. I rebooted several times by holding down the power key and finally got an error message saying if I'd forgotten my password (I hadn't) I could change it (no thanks) or that perhaps my password (which is admittedly not as complex as it could be) might be incompatible with encryption. The latter gave me an option to turn off FileVault, which I did. But, oddly, tho it took over an hour to encrypt the drive, it took no time at all to turn FileVault off. And later, when an automatic backup to my AirPort drive initiated I got a warning that I was backing up an encrypted drive to an unencrypted backup drive. So turning off FileVault seems to have not un-encrypted my drive.
Since then, my computer runs VERY hot, the fan runs nearly non-stop, and whenever I use Finder, the results flash on and off: sometimes rhythmically (about one second on and about 2 seconds off) and at other times irregularly. It's now like a video game trying to double click files while they're showing, before they disappear again!
I suspect I need to successfully un-encrypt my drive. But when I look up how to do that, I've done what it suggests (go into FileVault, click open the padlock icon, and turn off FileVault). The instructions say I should then get a progress bar showing the unencryption progress, but that didn't happen in my case. My FileVault currently claims to be "off." Any suggestions?
