What files should I provide if MATLAB freezes on a Mac?

I am using a Mac and often experience MATLAB freezing/becoming unresponsive. Are there any files I should provide to Technical Support when this happens?

Answer 1

[MathWorks Support Team]

If you are able to, reproduce the issue up until MATLAB becomes unresponsive. Leave MATLAB unresponsive, and collect the following data:

1. A spindump, which collects data on all processes running on the system over a 10-second period, which can provide insight on what could be interfering with MATLAB. Follow these steps to take a snapshot of all running processes when MATLAB becomes unresponsive:

1. Open /Applications/Utilities/Activity Monitor.app
2. Select the dropdown near the top and choose "Spindump"
3. It may take several minutes for this to complete - when it finishes, save the result into a text file 
   
4. Alternatively, you can execute the following command from the Terminal:

   sudo spindump -file ~/Desktop/spindump.txt

2. A sysdiagnose, which is a snapshot of system information, that can include information about installed apps/system preferences that may be conflicting with MATLAB. Follow these steps to sample all of the running processes when MATLAB is unresponsive:\n

1. Open /Applications/Utilities/Terminal.app
2. Execute the following command - note that it make take 10-15 minutes to complete:

   sudo sysdiagnose

3. Save the resulting ZIP file

3. After collecting the above two diagnostics, try to Force Quit MATLAB and see if additional reports are created - this would show up as a .hang file in either of these directories: \n

• ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports
• /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports 

If you are sharing your diagnostic logs for Technical Support purposes, be sure to provide any files generated above, to provide additional context about MATLAB freezing on your machine.

How do I know if MATLAB is unresponsive vs. crashing?

A crash occurs when the program terminates unexpectedly. Therefore, if you are unable to continue to use MATLAB but the program/MATLAB window is not forcefully closing, then MATLAB is likely unresponsive/freezing. Some other indicators of MATLAB being unresponsive would include (1) the spinning pinwheel, or (2) MATLAB not responding to interactions, requiring a force close to stop the app. 

If MATLAB is crashing instead, follow the steps detailed here:https://www.mathworks.com/matlabcentral/answers/2108711-how-do-i-generate-a-native-crash-dump-for-matlab-on-a-mac