08-09-2008, 12:53 PM

My mac radomly gets a spinning whell like 10 times in 30 minutes...

Help, i have installed all the updates and used onyx still nothing


HELP PLEASE

08-09-2008, 01:02 PM

The spinning beach ball is an indicator that something is going on in the background. Do you have any programs running in the background? For example - Is your email program checking for mail every 5 minutes?

Open your activity monitor and see if something's running or if any processes are in progress.

Regards.

08-09-2008, 01:06 PM

Originally Posted by chscag

The spinning beach ball is an indicator that something is going on in the background. Do you have any programs running in the background? For example - Is your email program checking for mail every 5 minutes?

Open your activity monitor and see if something's running or if any processes are in progress.

Regards.

No i don't think so... i was messing about earlier and i don't know how i did it but i managed to see what i was running when my mac starts... it was full of applications, is there a way i can make only certain applications start...

This could be what is causing the beechball to spin

cheers

08-09-2008, 03:07 PM

Double click your Macintosh HD icon, double click the Library folder, double click the StartupItems folder. The StartupItems folder will contain startup programs or sub folders which contain startup programs.

Look them over and decide if you need any of them to start when the system boots and\or run in the background. If you should decide that you do not need a certain program you can remove it from the StartupItems folder.

But before you remove anything from the StartupItems folder be very sure it's not needed or necessary. You could create a sub folder in the Library folder and name it "backup" or something similar and move the unwanted startup programs to that folder - just in case. Then if it turns out to be something that you need or must run at startup, you can always move it back.

Regards.

08-09-2008, 05:47 PM

I had this same problem about 5 months ago. I tried all those little tricks but nothing really seemed to work. I would just suggest getting more RAM. It cost me about 40 dollars to get 500mb more and its pretty simple to install. Computer has worked fine ever since.

08-10-2008, 11:03 AM

Thanks but funny enough it was none of these reasons...

I heard about the cpu of the Macbook gets really hot.. apple set the fans at low speeds.. so i found a program which let me raise the fan speeds keeping the macbook cooler...

1 freeze in about a hour...

So anyone one with this problem, download http://www.conscius.de/~eidac/index.html

The spinning wheel is used to cool the macbook down, it stops you from using the cpu HEAVILY so it can cool

08-10-2008, 11:18 AM

Originally Posted by hitmancs3255

Thanks but funny enough it was none of these reasons...

I heard about the cpu of the Macbook gets really hot.. apple set the fans at low speeds.. so i found a program which let me raise the fan speeds keeping the macbook cooler...

1 freeze in about a hour...

So anyone one with this problem, download http://www.conscius.de/~eidac/index.html

The spinning wheel is used to cool the macbook down, it stops you from using the cpu HEAVILY so it can cool

The spinning "beach ball", as it's commonly referred to, can appear for a number of different reasons - heat is not one of them. It simply means that the OS is too busy to respond to your request. This can happen for any number of reasons - not enough system resources, an error in the filesystem on your disk or even just a very heavy load on the system at any one moment.

I recommend against using programs that alter the thermostatically controlled thermal mitigation systems built into Apple products. Trust me, the Apple engineers are competent.

08-10-2008, 11:42 AM

Im 100% sure you are correct...

But it worked for me so... hay hoe

08-10-2008, 02:17 PM

Originally Posted by hitmancs3255

Im 100% sure you are correct...

But it worked for me so... hay hoe

My point was that you are experiencing a placebo effect, because you haven't actually corrected the root of the issue.

08-10-2008, 04:06 PM

I will let you know if it a placebo effect...

Still using it now, and its still not encountered the "beach ball"

?

05-10-2009, 10:10 PM

I tend to agree with cwa107. The fan speed trick did not work in my case.

I've been having the same problem on my Macbook Intel Core 2 Duo (July-2007) but only recently; spinning wheel appears randomly. There isn't any correlation with the size and type of applications running. When this recently happened, I opened up the Activity monitor to see if I am running out of memory, but the Free memory is around 300 MB (out of 1GB). I have noticed that the current application that I am working on (Safari or Microsoft Word or FireFox or even Preview) shows up as "not responding" in the Activity monitor when the I get the spinning wheel. Since I noticed that my Macbook was running pretty hot, I tried the Smart Fan control app. It seemed to correct the problem but not entirely (I feel the root cause is elsewhere). The strange thing is that on some days the Macbook works just fine (statistically, I use the same applications everyday), but on some days, the spinning wheel appears every 5 minutes (very frustrating).

I have even reformatted and reinstalled my Macbook recently.

Interestingly this started to appear after I replaced my Macbook base through Apple support. Although I asked them to replace only the base (which had cracked along the edges for no reason that I can think of), they mentioned replacing something else (heat sink...or something to that effect). Unfortunately, this problem started to harass me only after 90 days...:-( or I could have gone back to Apple support (I do not have a warranty anymore)..

Does anyone have pointers to what could be amiss...hard drive, memory, etc.

Thanks!

10-31-2010, 01:49 AM

The fan speed utility helped me, too!

I have plenty of resources (4GB RAM, 500GB drive), no startup apps and even when just browsing internet my Macbook Pro the spinning wheel would come every minute approx. after some time from startup. The computer is clean, no dust inside.

No more spinning wheel now, thanks for the tip!

10-31-2010, 10:22 AM

Upgrade your RAM.

04-06-2012, 06:49 PM

The spinning "beach ball", as it's commonly referred to, can appear for a number of different reasons - heat is not one of them.

Actually that is incorrect. Nearly all Intel processors have thermal protection. This includes a temperature sensor built into the processor die as well as thermal throttling and thermal shutdown.

If a processor overheats (over its Tcase specification), it will lower its clock rate then halt.

Trust me, the Apple engineers are competent.

Engineers cannot anticipate every environment nor every possible failure mode. For example, MacBook Pro laptops placed on a soft, deformable surface like a couch or futon will overheat because the heatsink vents on the back near the screen hinge can become blocked. Ditto with dust, grime, pet hair, tobacco smoke, etc.

Manufacturing defects are a possibility. Consider the failures of adhesive thermal compound pads in numerous laptop brands. Or the lithium ion battery fires caused by metal contamination during assembly. Or the capacitor plague caused by bad electrolyte recipes. Bottom line, mistakes happen even in the best engineering teams and manufacturing facilities.

That said, the most likely causes of this symptom are:

Run away process. Use Activity Monitor or similar program to see if any program or service is using a large percentage of processor time or hard drive activity.

Insufficient memory. Use Activity Monitor to determine the amount of free (unused) memory. If it is consistently low, then a memory upgrade might be an inexpensive solution.

Insufficient hard drive space. Check the available space on your boot drive. If it's less than 20%, consider deleting unnecessary files, moving seldom used files to another drive, or upgrading to a higher capacity drive. Utilities like JDiskReport can help you locate large folders and files.

Hard drive failure. Read or write errors can manifest as long delays even though the storage device appears to work. Use a SMART utility to check its stats and a benchmark utility to check its speed. Listen carefully to the drive for a high pitched whine or grinding noise. On the filesystem level, try a filesystem check (fsck) using an OS install DVD if possible.

System overheating. Check the air vents on the computer to ensure they have no obstructions. With the computer turned off, use a can of compressed air to blow the vents clean. If you have long haired pets or smoke near your computer, additional cleaning may be necessary.

More things to try:

The Spinning Beach Ball of Death
The Spinning Beach Ball of Death

04-06-2012, 07:21 PM

Originally Posted by DanielSydnes

For example, MacBook Pro laptops placed on a soft, deformable surface like a couch or futon will overheat because the heatsink vents on the back near the screen hinge can become blocked.

Actually, this was thought of. Which is why it's covered in the users guide.


To operate the computer safely and reduce the possibility of heat-related injuries, follow these guidelines:
• Set up your MacBook Pro on a stable work surface that allows for adequate air circulation under and around the computer.
• Do not operate your MacBook Pro on a pillow, blanket, or other soft material, because the material can block the airflow vents.
•Never place anything over the keyboard when operating your MacBook Pro.
•Do not push objects into the ventilation openings.
•If your MacBook Pro is on your lap and gets uncomfortably warm, remove it from
your lap and place it on a stable work surface.


Believe it or not, we DO (engineers that is) anticipate manufacturing failures.. and often calculate the anticipated failure rates for such during the development process (you know, you do have to plan for parts availability)