Can't quit spinning wheel of death in FCP 6

The spinning wheel of death appears whenever I mouse hover over FCP.
It won't force quit or hide from the dock. The FCP menu doesn't appear.
It acts like it's no even running.
Other applications will run okay.
FCP 6 (studio II) on MacPro 3.0 Quad 2gigs mem

Pressing the power button for seven seconds was the only way to shut down.
It turned out the cause was the scratch disk decided to hide.
After rebooting, my scratch disk was gone. . .Mac could see something unidentified attached to the firewire - but that's all - no identification as to what was attached.
After powering down the scratch disk (a 320 Gig WD "My Book"), unplugging the firewire, then reversing the process, everything was fine.
I still don't know what initiated the problem, but at least its working again.
Thank you for your quick response on this one.

Similar Messages

My Mac is lagging big and whenever I click on something it just goes to the spinning wheel of death I can't do anything I need help

Somebody help me My Mac is lagging big and whenever I click on something it just goes to the spinning wheel of death I can't do anything I need help

What model year Mac and what version of OS X are you running.
If this is on an older Mac with standard Rotating HDD it could be a sign the HDD is either to full of data or it is starting to fail. It could also be caused by 3rd party software you've installed.

In Word I constantly get the spinning wheel of death. Tried force quite several times, did restart i`mac, waited for a day etc etc but problem remains, what to do next?, i my

In Word I constantly get the spinning wheel of death, wait a few seconds and then go again. I have tried force quit several times, restarting the IMac etc. Waited one day, nothing seems to work. What to try next?

Please post on Microsoft's Office for Mac Product Forums

Corrupt font book & spinning wheel of death means I can't access my desktop! HELP!!!

I hope someone can help as this is driving me CRAZY!!!
I am running Mac OS X 10.6.8 on my mac and earlier installed some fonts to font book - which appears to have corrupted the font book. I am frozen out of my desktop. I can ONLY log in using safe boot to access my desktop. If I try my usual log in, all I get is the spinning wheel of death!!! Aargghhh!! It's proving a problem as I can't access any of my servers using the safe boot.
Really hope someone can help!!
Thanks,
Lee

What BDAqua said. Get those crummy fonts you added off the drive. At least one of them must be so bad that's it's corrupting RAM every time the system tries to load it.
A Safe Mode boot removes the user cache files of the account you log into in Safe Mode, and clears Font Book's database. Normally, that would allow you to restart normally since Font Book's database is not rebuilt until you launch Font Book. That you can't even get that far means you have some really BAD fonts.
Boot into Safe Mode again. Make a new folder on the desktop and move all of the fonts you added out of the /Library/Fonts/ folded, or the Fonts folder of your user account. Whichever one you put them in.
Now you should be able to startup normally.

What is the cause of the Spinning Wheel of Death (SWOD) and how can we fix it?

What is the cause of the Spinning Wheel of Death (SWOD) and how can we fix it?
I get the SWOD using Safari, Mail, Google chrome, Firefox, Mathematica, and other programs. This cannot be a browser plug-in issues as other forums suggest. I suspect a windows process at the root but I don't enough to know how to trace. Does anyone know what's causeing this epidemic?

I'm having a similar problem. Someone PLEASE HELP!
I'll start with just an example of what I've been facing. During the composing of this post, when I switched from Firefox to Word, I had to wait 60 seconds before the spinning wheel stopped and I got a cursor. I then copied one set of Etrecheck results, switched back to Firefox, hit Command-v to paste and had to wait 45 seconds or so for the spinning wheel to stop. And the paste operation didn't paste until I hit Command-v again (with no wait this time).
Here's what I've done:
I tried three times to run a scan with avast! and all three times the scan was unable to complete.
I restarted holding down Command-r and it found and fixed many permissions, but found no problems with files.
I ran Etrecheck in a "Safe Boot" and in a normal startup and there were two things that were tagged as "[failed]" in the normal startup:
Launch Agents: [failed]com.logmein.LMILaunchAgentFixer.plist Support
User Launch Agents: [failed][email protected]
I apologize for taking up so much space, but here are the results from both Etrecheck runs:
EtreCheck in Safe Mode
EtreCheck version: 1.9.12 (48)
Report generated July 24, 2014 3:38:40 PM CDT
Hardware Information:
MacBook Pro (17-inch, Early 2008) (Verified)
MacBook Pro - model: MacBookPro4,1
1 2.6 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo CPU: 2 cores
5 GB RAM
Video Information: GeForce 8600M GT - VRAM: 512 MB
Color LCD 1680 x 1050
System Software: Mac OS X 10.7.5 (11G63) - Uptime: 0 days 0:12:35
Disk Information: WDC WD1600BEVS-00VAT0 disk0 : (160.04 GB) disk0s1 (disk0s1) <not mounted>: 209.7 MB
Macintosh HD (disk0s2) / [Startup]: 159.18 GB (27.6 GB free)
Recovery HD (disk0s3) <not mounted>: 650 MB
USB Information: Apple Inc. Built-in iSight
Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller
Apple Computer Apple Internal Keyboard / Trackpad
Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver
Kernel Extensions:
[not loaded]com.AmbrosiaSW.AudioSupport (4.1.2 - SDK 10.6) Support
[not loaded]com.avast.AvastFileShield (2.1.0 - SDK 10.9) Support
[not loaded]com.avast.PacketForwarder (1.4 - SDK 10.9) Support
[not loaded]com.devguru.driver.CDFree (0.1.8) Support
[not loaded]com.devguru.driver.DevGuruVsp (0.1.8) Support
[not loaded]com.logmein.driver.LogMeInSoundDriver (1.0.3 - SDK 10.5) Support
[not loaded]com.parallels.kext.prl_usb_connect (7.0 15107.796624) Support
[not loaded]com.vmware.kext.vmci (3.1.4) Support
[not loaded]com.vmware.kext.vmioplug (3.1.4) Support
[not loaded]com.vmware.kext.vmnet (3.1.4) Support
[not loaded]com.vmware.kext.vmx86 (3.1.4) Support
Startup Items: HP IO: Path: /Library/StartupItems/HP IO
Launch Daemons:
[not loaded]com.adobe.fpsaud.plist Support
[not loaded]com.adobe.SwitchBoard.plist Support
[not loaded]com.ambrosiasw.ambrosiaaudiosupporthelper.daemon.plist Support
[not loaded]com.avast.init.plist Support
[not loaded]com.avast.uninstall.plist Support
[not loaded]com.avast.update.plist Support
[not loaded]com.cloudpath.maccmd.plist Support
[not loaded]com.crashplan.engine.plist Support
[not loaded]com.google.keystone.daemon.plist Support
[not loaded]com.logmein.logmeinblanker.plist Support
[not loaded]com.logmein.logmeinserver.plist Support
[not loaded]com.logmein.raupdate.plist Support
[not loaded]com.oracle.java.Helper-Tool.plist Support
[not loaded]com.oracle.java.JavaUpdateHelper.plist Support
[not loaded]com.orbicule.uc.plist Support
[not loaded]com.parallels.desktop.launchdaemon.plist Support
[not loaded]com.vmware.launchd.vmware.plist Support
Launch Agents:
[not loaded]com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist Support
[not loaded]com.avast.userinit.plist Support
[not loaded]com.google.keystone.agent.plist Support
[not loaded]com.hp.help.tocgenerator.plist Support
[not loaded]com.logmein.LMILaunchAgentFixer.plist Support
[not loaded]com.logmein.logmeingui.plist Support
[not loaded]com.logmein.logmeinguiagent.plist Support
[not loaded]com.logmein.logmeinguiagentatlogin.plist Support
[not loaded]com.oracle.java.Java-Updater.plist Support
[not loaded]com.orbicule.UCAgent.plist Support
[not loaded]com.parallels.desktop.launch.plist Support
[not loaded]com.parallels.DesktopControlAgent.plist Support
[not loaded]com.parallels.vm.prl_pcproxy.plist Support
User Launch Agents:
[not loaded]com.adobe.ARM.[...].plist Support
[not loaded]com.adobe.ARM.[...].plist Support
[not loaded]com.akamai.single-user-client.plist Support
[not loaded][email protected]
[not loaded]com.avast.home.userinit.plist Support
User Login Items:
CrashPlan menu bar
VMware Fusion Start Menu
Dropbox
TeamViewer
EvernoteHelper
Internet Plug-ins: GlancePlugIn: Version: 2.5.6 - SDK 10.4 Support
o1dbrowserplugin: Version: 5.4.2.18903 Support
OfficeLiveBrowserPlugin: Version: 12.3.6 Support
Flip4Mac WMV Plugin: Version: 3.2.0.16 - SDK 10.8 Support
AdobePDFViewerNPAPI: Version: 10.1.10 Support
FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 14.0.0.145 - SDK 10.6 Support
LogMeIn: Version: 1.0.935 - SDK 10.7 Support
Silverlight: Version: 5.1.30317.0 - SDK 10.6 Support
Flash Player: Version: 14.0.0.145 - SDK 10.6 Support
iPhotoPhotocast: Version: 7.0
CitrixICAClientPlugIn: Version: 11.1.0 Support
googletalkbrowserplugin: Version: 5.4.2.18903 Support
AdobePDFViewer: Version: 10.1.10 Support
LogMeInSafari32: Version: 1.0.935 - SDK 10.7 Support
QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.7.1
SharePointBrowserPlugin: Version: 14.1.2 Support
JavaAppletPlugin: Version: Java 7 Update 60 Check version
Safari Extensions: avast! Online Security: Version: 9.0.2022.120
Audio Plug-ins: iSightAudio: Version: 7.7.1 - SDK 10.7
iTunes Plug-ins: Quartz Composer Visualizer: Version: 1.3 - SDK 10.7
User iTunes Plug-ins: TuneUp Visualizer: Version: 2.2.0 Support
User Internet Plug-ins:
CitrixOnlineWebDeploymentPlugin: Version: 1.0.26 Support
WebEx64: Version: 1.0 Support
3rd Party Preference Panes:
Akamai NetSession Preferences Support
Citrix online plug-in Support
Flash Player Support
Flip4Mac WMV Support
Java Support
Perian Support
Time Machine: Time Machine not configured!
Top Processes by CPU:
23%firefox
2%WindowServer
1%Microsoft Word
0%Finder
0%Microsoft Excel
Top Processes by Memory:
307 MBfirefox
164 MBMicrosoft Word
108 MBMicrosoft Excel
90 MBWindowServer
72 MBDock
Virtual Memory Information:
1.11 GBFree RAM
1.14 GBActive RAM
392 MBInactive RAM
2.36 GBWired RAM
341 MBPage-ins
0 BPage-outs
EtreCheck in Normal Mode
EtreCheck version: 1.9.12 (48) Report generated July 24, 2014 3:59:15 PM CDT
Hardware Information:
MacBook Pro (17-inch, Early 2008) (Verified)
MacBook Pro - model: MacBookPro4,1
1 2.6 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo CPU: 2 cores 5 GB RAM
Video Information:
GeForce 8600M GT - VRAM: 512 MB
Color LCD 1280 x 800
System Software:
Mac OS X 10.7.5 (11G63) - Uptime: 0 days 0:11:57
Disk Information:
WDC WD1600BEVS-00VAT0 disk0 : (160.04 GB)
disk0s1 (disk0s1) <not mounted>: 209.7 MB
Macintosh HD (disk0s2) / [Startup]: 159.18 GB (27.56 GB free)
Recovery HD (disk0s3) <not mounted>: 650 MB
USB Information:
Apple Inc. Built-in iSight
Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller
Apple Computer Apple Internal Keyboard / Trackpad
Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver
Kernel Extensions:
[loaded]com.AmbrosiaSW.AudioSupport (4.1.2 - SDK 10.6) Support
[loaded]com.avast.AvastFileShield (2.1.0 - SDK 10.9) Support
[loaded]com.avast.PacketForwarder (1.4 - SDK 10.9) Support
[not loaded]com.devguru.driver.CDFree (0.1.8) Support
[not loaded]com.devguru.driver.DevGuruVsp (0.1.8) Support
[loaded]com.logmein.driver.LogMeInSoundDriver (1.0.3 - SDK 10.5) Support
[not loaded]com.parallels.kext.prl_usb_connect (7.0 15107.796624) Support
[loaded]com.vmware.kext.vmci (3.1.4) Support
[loaded]com.vmware.kext.vmioplug (3.1.4) Support
[loaded]com.vmware.kext.vmnet (3.1.4) Support
[loaded]com.vmware.kext.vmx86 (3.1.4) Support
Startup Items:
HP IO: Path: /Library/StartupItems/HP IO
Launch Daemons:
[loaded]com.adobe.fpsaud.plist Support
[loaded]com.adobe.SwitchBoard.plist Support
[loaded]com.ambrosiasw.ambrosiaaudiosupporthelper.daemon.plist Support
[loaded]com.avast.init.plist Support
[loaded]com.avast.uninstall.plist Support
[loaded]com.avast.update.plist Support
[loaded]com.cloudpath.maccmd.plist Support
[running]com.crashplan.engine.plist Support
[loaded]com.google.keystone.daemon.plist Support
[not loaded]com.logmein.logmeinblanker.plist Support
[running]com.logmein.logmeinserver.plist Support
[loaded]com.logmein.raupdate.plist Support
[loaded]com.oracle.java.Helper-Tool.plist Support
[loaded]com.oracle.java.JavaUpdateHelper.plist Support
[running]com.orbicule.uc.plist Support
[running]com.parallels.desktop.launchdaemon.plist Support
[loaded]com.vmware.launchd.vmware.plist Support
Launch Agents:
[not loaded]com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist Support
[loaded]com.avast.userinit.plist Support
[loaded]com.google.keystone.agent.plist Support
[loaded]com.hp.help.tocgenerator.plist Support
[failed]com.logmein.LMILaunchAgentFixer.plist Support
[running]com.logmein.logmeingui.plist Support
[running]com.logmein.logmeinguiagent.plist Support
[not loaded]com.logmein.logmeinguiagentatlogin.plist Support
[loaded]com.oracle.java.Java-Updater.plist Support
[running]com.orbicule.UCAgent.plist Support
[loaded]com.parallels.desktop.launch.plist Support
[loaded]com.parallels.DesktopControlAgent.plist Support
[running]com.parallels.vm.prl_pcproxy.plist Support
User Launch Agents:
[loaded]com.adobe.ARM.[...].plist Support
[loaded]com.adobe.ARM.[...].plist Support
[running]com.akamai.single-user-client.plist Support
[failed][email protected]
[loaded]com.avast.home.userinit.plist Support
User Login Items:
CrashPlan menu bar
VMware Fusion Start Menu
Dropbox
TeamViewer
EvernoteHelper
Internet Plug-ins:
GlancePlugIn: Version: 2.5.6 - SDK 10.4 Support
o1dbrowserplugin: Version: 5.4.2.18903 Support
OfficeLiveBrowserPlugin: Version: 12.3.6 Support
Flip4Mac WMV Plugin: Version: 3.2.0.16 - SDK 10.8 Support
AdobePDFViewerNPAPI: Version: 10.1.10 Support
FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 14.0.0.145 - SDK 10.6 Support
LogMeIn: Version: 1.0.935 - SDK 10.7 Support
Silverlight: Version: 5.1.30317.0 - SDK 10.6 Support
Flash Player: Version: 14.0.0.145 - SDK 10.6 Support
iPhotoPhotocast: Version: 7.0
CitrixICAClientPlugIn: Version: 11.1.0 Support
googletalkbrowserplugin: Version: 5.4.2.18903 Support
AdobePDFViewer: Version: 10.1.10 Support
LogMeInSafari32: Version: 1.0.935 - SDK 10.7 Support
QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.7.1
SharePointBrowserPlugin: Version: 14.1.2 Support
JavaAppletPlugin: Version: Java 7 Update 60 Check version
Safari Extensions:
avast! Online Security: Version: 9.0.2022.120
Audio Plug-ins:
iSightAudio: Version: 7.7.1 - SDK 10.7
iTunes Plug-ins:
Quartz Composer Visualizer: Version: 1.3 - SDK 10.7
User iTunes Plug-ins:
TuneUp Visualizer: Version: 2.2.0 Support
User Internet Plug-ins:
CitrixOnlineWebDeploymentPlugin: Version: 1.0.26 Support
WebEx64: Version: 1.0 Support
3rd Party Preference Panes:
Akamai NetSession Preferences Support
Citrix online plug-in Support
Flash Player Support
Flip4Mac WMV Support
Java Support
Perian Support
Time Machine:
Time Machine not configured!
Top Processes by CPU:
6%WindowServer
4%mdworker
2%SystemUIServer
0%LogMeIn
0%configd
Top Processes by Memory:
113 MBCrashPlanService
108 MBcom.avast.daemon
108 MBDropbox
92 MBFinder
67 MBSystemUIServer
Virtual Memory Information:
2.61 GBFree RAM
1.19 GBActive RAM
651 MBInactive RAM
573 MBWired RAM
534 MBPage-ins
0 BPage-outs
There were two listed as [failed]:
Launch Agents:
[failed]com.logmein.LMILaunchAgentFixer.plist Support
User Launch Agents:
[failed][email protected]

I have been transfeing my DVD footage to I movie using handbreak and the spinning wheel of death has arrived and locked up I movie as I tried to import footage. The message says, "Optimizing movies, processing event DVD" but I can't get out of it.

I have been transfeing my DVD footage to I movie using handbreak and the spinning wheel of death has arrived and locked up I movie as I tried to import footage. The message says, "Optimizing movies, processing event DVD" but I can't get out of it.

Yes I held them down till the apple logo appears, then spinning wheel and repeated boot up process. I only knew it was going round in circles because the charging sound kept repeating every so many seconds.
I am downloading iOS.5.0.1 now to do a complete factory restore. I hope this works. I have been looking online for hours for fixes and I have very little batter on it as its been spinning for hours now.
Why do things like this happen? I am sat there watching tv and one minute the settings folder is there then its not! How does that happen? It just disappear? I hadn't moved it to another folder or deleted it, it just.... went!

Spinning wheel of death when try to sync itunes with ipod

I've had no bother from syncing my ipod until today and then for no reason I now keep getting the spinning wheel of death.
When my ipod is connected and on auto sync mode it gets recognised, says it's syncing and then totally freezes. The only way to get out of this is to manually remove the ipod and force quit itunes.
I've tried starting itunes without auto sync on, which works ok until you decide to move any music content across. For some strange reason it was ok about transferring podcasts but just refuses to transfer music content.
I've uninstalled itunes 9 and reinstalled with no effect. I've restored the ipod to factory settings which all it's done is now cleaned the ipod of all content and won't transfer anything. I'm using a mac with OSX Snow Leopard.
Can anyone help?

I think your problem is different to the OP's - in your case, did you check the format of the drive before you began using it? It's possible that it's formatted as NTFS or FAT32 out of the box, and you need to reformat to Macintosh Extended.
But this wouldn't apply to the OP's as he already had been using his drive for a while with no problems, although maybe permissions and/or ownership got scrambled.

IPhone 4s unresponsive stuck on the spinning wheel of death.

Hi,
My 4s has gotten progressively more unresponsive for the last few days. It worked flawlessly for two weeks or so, but the last two or so days have seen it getting weird.
Symptom 1 appeared 2-3 days or so ago: Facebook started getting freezy. 50% of the time it would take after opening it would take 15-45 sec to become to finish loading and become responsive to touch commands.
Symptom 2 happened 2 days ago: The phone froze for 15 or so seconds, went to black screen, showed the spinning wheel of death, and then rebooted to lock screen very quickly.
Symptom 3 happened 4 hours ago: The phone was searching for the carrier when I took it out of my pocket. Other iphone users in the room had perfect reception. I solved the problem by turning on airplane mode briefly and then turning it off again.
Symptom 4 happened just now: I was playing music, paused with the earbud control, switched to a different set of headphones, pressed play on the lock screen and got no response. Realized the phone was frozen. It stayed that way for 2-3 minutes, went to black screen and the spinning wheel of death, but then the spinning wheel of death froze as well. It has been in this state for the last 20 minutes.
I will be happy to post time-stamped photos of the locked up phone if anyone needs proof.
A hard-reset solved the problem. For now.
Any advice on what this could be? A software setting? An app interaction?
Any advice on if I should return the phone and get a different one?
Thanks!
--Jason

Hey sorry to hear about your frustration.
A couple of things.
First, Facebook is known for causing issues on iPhone. It takes up a lot of memory and has been known to crash a lot. It has gotten a lot better with time and updates but can still cause problems. I tend to manually quit it from the App-switcher/multitasking tray.
Second, the reception issue you mentioned ("Searching", lack of data connection) sounds like it might be similar to some of the reports on this thread: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3511559?tstart=30#3511559
Personally, I've been having the same problems on my 4S with reception as well as Siri being unavailable in spite of having 3G and being able to make/receive calls.
Thirdly, now that you mention it, I have noticed lack of responsiveness to touch input at times. Sometimes when my phone is locked, I'll press the home button or the wake button and it will take quite awhile before the phone reponds amd the screen turns on. Sometimes it doesn't at all and I have to press the button multiple times to get a reponse.
So, yes, many of your issues sound familiar. Unfortunately, I think I share some of them with you.
One thing you might want to check is what software version you have. The most recent is 5.0.1 build 9A406. If you have 5.0.1 build 9A405 you're not running the most up-to-date software. In that case, update by backing ul and restoring from iTunes (sofware update on the phone will not show the update; it has to be done via backup+restore in iTunes). To check what version you have, go to Settings>General>About. Scroll down and check what it says under "Version".
I hope that helps somewhat.

URGENT!!! FCP 5.04 keeps giving the Spinning wheel of Death

Everytime we load up the FCP with the Apple Raid on, it will give me the spinning wheel of death, so we trashed the preferences, and it went along fine for a while and then we shut down and the spinning wheel of death. Now on the load up, the spinning wheel of death.... WHAT DO I DO? Should I delete FCP, and reload, if so what is the safest way to delete FCP??? If not, what other solutions might one have. Thanks

Interesting event: I manually override the Raid Admin while the computer was down, and waited for it to boot, then I turned the computer on and the Raids mounted, and everything was fine, but when I went to the Raid Admin (Version 1.5) it loaded up fine as well. I can't quite put my finger on the issue, but manually overriding the boot up seemed to help out.
Now as for the issue of having one side striped raid 5 and one striped raid 0, is this a good way to have my system setup or should I do something about this setup, if so what can I do???
Thanks

Powerpoint & Spinning wheel of death

We bought this iMac brand new about 4 months ago. My wife has been working on a project for school on Powerpoint, and yesterday started the spinning wheel of death anytime she logs onto her desktop, when i sign in on mine it doesnt appear. Also, when she tried to open powerpoint to continue on her project, pop up appears and doesnt allow her to use anything from Office... says "make sure version is up to date with OS" it has worked fine for 2 months now messing up and she cant work on her presentation that is due very soon

If it works in your account and not hers, I suspect some conflict or corruption, usually with preference (plist) files. Simplest thing to do if both accounts are admin ones, is to log into yours, launch Users & Groups, unlock the padlock, select her account, and delete it, SAVING her data (put into a disk image and saved in /Users/Deleted Users/). Then, recreate her account, using the exact same username/password combo, quit User's & Groups, log out, and log into her account. To retrieve the saved data, mount the disk image, and copy stuff back. Do note that you can slowly restore the plist files, logging out and back in, until you determine which one(s) caused the SBBOD. For more on the SBBOD, see http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/sbbod.html

Google Desktop and the spinning wheel of death

For anyone who is reading this who has installed Google products on Leopard: DON'T!
I don't know what exactly caused the spinning wheel, but what I can tell you is that I used Onyx on my system. After that, I had huge problems with my node structure. I fixed those problems with Disk Warrior 4 and was able to at least get my computer to boot reasonably fast, but not as fast as it should. I kept getting the dreaded, spinning wheel! Why? Why? Why?, I asked myself.
Well, after reading someone else's post about running activity monitor to see what could be running, I saw that Google's Dektop analyzer was running. I quit it, only for it to restart automatically by itself.
I ended up getting CleanApp to delete a bunch of stuff I didn't need to see if that would get rid of the problem. When that didn't, I went back to the Google products and delted anything and everything Google from both Library/Preferences folders as well as from my Applications folder.
I can tell you that I am now back running smoothly and typing this note faster than I could type anything for the past 5 hours!!! Woohoo!
You can't imagine how frustrated I was. In the middle of homework and I get crunched by the spinning wheel of death.
So, for all of you who are running Google Desktop...beware! Even if you quit from your activity monitor, it will launch again immediately after. You just have to delete the darn thing.
I'm not sure if Onyx affected it or not. That's for someone else to figure out. But I haven't had good luck with both Onyx and now Google Desktop, so I'm steering far, far clear of both of those applications for now.
Hope this helps someone.

Here is an update on my situation with Google Desktop. I found out that was not the problem at all. Actually, Software Update - 10.5.2 caused the problem. I even wiped the drive, reinstalled 10.5.1 and then upgraded again to 10.5.2 and the same issues arose. The spinning pinwheel (beachball of death) would appear for a few seconds before most operations and the system would not shut down after the Updating Boot Cache notice appeared.
I contacted Apple support by phone and they walked me through a number of steps to try and resolve. When those steps did not work, which included setting up an alternate user and trying to log of from that user, they assigned me a incident number and notified me that they'll have to scale it up to engineering to see if there will be a solution.

Spinning Wheel of Death

I am constantly getting the color Spinning Wheel of Death and my computer is very slow. Etrecheck gave this report.
Problem description:
Constantly getting the SWOD on my screen in a variety of programs. Machine is just slow and sluggish.
EtreCheck version: 2.1.8 (121)
Report generated March 7, 2015 at 11:13:59 PM MST
Download EtreCheck from http://etresoft.com/etrecheck
Click the [Click for support] links for help with non-Apple products.
Click the [Click for details] links for more information about that line.
Hardware Information: ℹ️
    iMac (27-inch, Mid 2011) (Technical Specifications)
    iMac - model: iMac12,2
    1 3.1 GHz Intel Core i5 CPU: 4-core
    8 GB RAM Upgradeable
        BANK 0/DIMM0
            2 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok
        BANK 1/DIMM0
            2 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok
        BANK 0/DIMM1
            2 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok
        BANK 1/DIMM1
            2 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok
    Bluetooth: Old - Handoff/Airdrop2 not supported
    Wireless: en1: 802.11 a/b/g/n
Video Information: ℹ️
    AMD Radeon HD 6970M - VRAM: 1024 MB
        iMac 1920 x 1080
System Software: ℹ️
    OS X 10.10.2 (14C109) - Time since boot: 0:19:44
Disk Information: ℹ️
    ST31000528AS disk0 : (1 TB)
        EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB
        Macintosh HD (disk0s2) / : 924.35 GB (473.24 GB free) - 37 errors
        Recovery HD (disk0s3) <not mounted> [Recovery]: 650 MB
        BOOTCAMP (disk0s4) /Volumes/BOOTCAMP : 75.00 GB (9.09 GB free)
    OPTIARC DVD RW AD-5690H
USB Information: ℹ️
    NEC Corporation USB2.0 Hub Controller
        Burr-Brown from TI USB Audio CODEC
    Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver
    Apple Internal Memory Card Reader
    Apple Inc. FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)
    Apple, Inc. Keyboard Hub
        Apple Inc. Apple Keyboard
    HP Photosmart 6520 series
    Apple Inc. BRCM2046 Hub
        Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller
Firewire Information: ℹ️
    G-TECH OEM ATA Device 00 800mbit - 800mbit max
        EFI (disk1s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB
          (disk1s2) /Volumes/ : 2.00 TB (1.11 TB free)
Thunderbolt Information: ℹ️
    Apple Inc. thunderbolt_bus
Gatekeeper: ℹ️
    Mac App Store and identified developers
Kernel Extensions: ℹ️
        /Applications/Parallels Desktop.app
    [not loaded]    com.parallels.kext.hypervisor (10.0.1 27695 - SDK 10.7) [Click for support]
    [not loaded]    com.parallels.kext.netbridge (10.0.1 27695 - SDK 10.7) [Click for support]
    [not loaded]    com.parallels.kext.usbconnect (10.0.1 27695 - SDK 10.7) [Click for support]
    [not loaded]    com.parallels.kext.vnic (10.0.1 27695 - SDK 10.7) [Click for support]
        /Library/Application Support/Symantec/AntiVirus
    [loaded]    com.symantec.kext.SymAPComm (12.7f56 - SDK 10.6) [Click for support]
        /Library/Application Support/Symantec/Daemon/SymDaemon.bundle/Contents/PlugIns/FileSecurity.bundle/C ontents/Resources
    [not loaded]    com.symantec.kext.filesecurity (2.7.1f12 - SDK 10.6) [Click for support]
        /Library/Application Support/Symantec/Daemon/SymDaemon.bundle/Contents/PlugIns/SymFirewall.bundle/Co ntents/Resources
    [loaded]    com.symantec.kext.fw (5.4f4 - SDK 10.6) [Click for support]
        /Library/Extensions
    [loaded]    com.symantec.kext.internetSecurity (5.4f4 - SDK 10.8) [Click for support]
    [loaded]    com.symantec.kext.ips (3.9.2f1 - SDK 10.8) [Click for support]
    [loaded]    com.symantec.kext.pf (5.7.1f4 - SDK 10.8) [Click for support]
        /System/Library/Extensions
    [not loaded]    com.FTDI.driver.FTDIUSBSerialDriver (2.2.14) [Click for support]
    [not loaded]    com.bodymedia.codelessAB185.kext (1) [Click for support]
    [not loaded]    com.cisco.kext.acsock (1.1.0 - SDK 10.6) [Click for support]
    [loaded]    com.rim.driver.BlackBerryUSBDriverInt (0.0.68) [Click for support]
    [not loaded]    com.rim.driver.BlackBerryUSBDriverVSP (0.0.68) [Click for support]
    [not loaded]    com.waltop.iokit.driver.USBAtTablet (1.0.1) [Click for support]
        /Users/Shared/Greatdy/GreatdyAudioDeviceAppHelper.app
    [not loaded]    com.Greatdy.driver.SystemAudioCapture (1.0.0 - SDK 10.8) [Click for support]
Startup Items: ℹ️
    HyperPenTabletDriverStarter: Path: /Library/StartupItems/HyperPenTabletDriverStarter
    Startup items are obsolete in OS X Yosemite
Launch Agents: ℹ️
    [not loaded]    com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist [Click for support]
    [running]    com.adobe.AdobeCreativeCloud.plist [Click for support]
    [running]    com.canon.MFManager.plist [Click for support]
    [loaded]    com.cisco.anyconnect.gui.plist [Click for support]
    [loaded]    com.oracle.java.Java-Updater.plist [Click for support]
    [running]    com.penpad.penpadtablet.plist [Click for support]
    [running]    com.rim.BBAlbumArtCacher.plist [Click for support]
    [running]    com.rim.BBLaunchAgent.plist [Click for support]
    [failed]    com.symantec.errorreporter-periodicagent.plist [Click for support]
    [loaded]    com.symantec.nis.application.plist [Click for support]
    [running]    com.symantec.uiagent.application.plist [Click for support]
Launch Daemons: ℹ️
    [running]    com.adobe.adobeupdatedaemon.plist [Click for support]
    [loaded]    com.adobe.fpsaud.plist [Click for support]
    [loaded]    com.adobe.SwitchBoard.plist [Click for support]
    [running]    com.cisco.anyconnect.vpnagentd.plist [Click for support]
    [loaded]    com.microsoft.office.licensing.helper.plist [Click for support]
    [loaded]    com.oracle.java.Helper-Tool.plist [Click for support]
    [running]    com.rim.BBDaemon.plist [Click for support]
    [running]    com.symantec.deepsight-extractor.plist [Click for support]
    [loaded]    com.symantec.errorreporter-periodic.plist [Click for support]
    [loaded]    com.symantec.liveupdate.daemon.ondemand.plist [Click for support]
    [loaded]    com.symantec.liveupdate.daemon.plist [Click for support]
    [not loaded]    com.symantec.nav.migrateqtf.plist [Click for support]
    [running]    com.symantec.sharedsettings.plist [Click for support]
    [running]    com.symantec.symdaemon.plist [Click for support]
User Launch Agents: ℹ️
    [loaded]    com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist [Click for support]
    [loaded]    com.adobe.ARM.[...].plist [Click for support]
    [loaded]    com.google.keystone.agent.plist [Click for support]
User Login Items: ℹ️
    iTunesHelper    UNKNOWN Hidden (missing value)
    Dropbox    Application (/Applications/Dropbox.app)
    Adobe Creative Cloud Connection    UNKNOWN (missing value)
    BodyMedia SYNC    Application (/Applications/BodyMedia SYNC.app)
    BlackBerry Device Manager    Application Hidden (/Library/Application Support/BlackBerry/BlackBerry Device Manager.app)
Internet Plug-ins: ℹ️
    Default Browser: Version: 600 - SDK 10.10
    AdobeExManDetect: Version: AdobeExManDetect 1.1.0.0 - SDK 10.7 [Click for support]
    Flip4Mac WMV Plugin: Version: 2.4.2.4 [Click for support]
    SlingPlayer: Version: Unknown - SDK 10.8 [Click for support]
    AdobeAAMDetect: Version: AdobeAAMDetect 2.0.0.0 - SDK 10.7 [Click for support]
    AdobePDFViewerNPAPI: Version: 10.1.13 [Click for support]
    FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 16.0.0.305 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]
    Silverlight: Version: 5.1.10411.0 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]
    Flash Player: Version: 16.0.0.305 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]
    iPhotoPhotocast: Version: 7.0 - SDK 10.8
    QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.7.3
    SharePointBrowserPlugin: Version: 14.4.8 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]
    AdobePDFViewer: Version: 10.1.13 [Click for support]
    CANONiMAGEGATEWAYDL: Version: 3.2.0.1 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]
    GarminGpsControl: Version: 4.0.1.0 Release - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]
    NortonInternetSecurityBF: Version: 1.11.0 - SDK 10.6 [Click for support]
    JavaAppletPlugin: Version: Java 7 Update 67 Check version
User internet Plug-ins: ℹ️
    Google Earth Web Plug-in: Version: 7.1 [Click for support]
Safari Extensions: ℹ️
    Open in Internet Explorer
    iMedia Converter Deluxe
    Norton Internet Security
3rd Party Preference Panes: ℹ️
    BodyMedia SYNC [Click for support]
    Flash Player [Click for support]
    Flip4Mac WMV [Click for support]
    huey [Click for support]
    Java [Click for support]
    Norton\nQuickMenu [Click for support]
Time Machine: ℹ️
    Skip System Files: NO
    Mobile backups: OFF
    Auto backup: YES
    Volumes being backed up:
        Macintosh HD: Disk size: 924.35 GB Disk used: 451.11 GB
    Destinations:
          [Local]
        Total size: 2.00 TB
        Total number of backups: 197
        Oldest backup: 2011-09-25 00:07:10 +0000
        Last backup: 2015-03-07 18:00:12 +0000
        Size of backup disk: Adequate
            Backup size 2.00 TB > (Disk used 451.11 GB X 3)
Top Processes by CPU: ℹ️
        11%    SymDaemon
         2%    WindowServer
         2%    com.hp.devicemonitor
         0%    AppleSpell
         0%    fontd
Top Processes by Memory: ℹ️
    309 MB    SymDaemon
    249 MB    mds_stores
    129 MB    Finder
    112 MB    com.apple.WebKit.Plugin.64
    103 MB    Creative Cloud
Virtual Memory Information: ℹ️
    4.18 GB    Free RAM
    2.63 GB    Active RAM
    630 MB    Inactive RAM
    1.14 GB    Wired RAM
    2.40 GB    Page-ins
    0 B    Page-outs
Diagnostics Information: ℹ️
    Mar 7, 2015, 10:49:28 PM    Self test - passed
    Mar 7, 2015, 12:04:21 PM    /Users/[redacted]/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/com.apple.WebKit.Plugin.64_201 5-03-07-120421_[redacted].crash
    Mar 6, 2015, 03:03:37 PM    /Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/LiveUpdateDaemon_2015-03-06-150337_[redacted].c pu_resource.diag [Click for details]
Can anyone help?

When you see a beachball cursor or the slowness is especially bad, note the exact time: hour, minute, second.
These instructions must be carried out as an administrator. If you have only one user account, you are the administrator.
Launch the Console application in any of the following ways:
☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)
☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.
☞ Open LaunchPad and start typing the name.
The title of the Console window should be All Messages. If it isn't, select
          SYSTEM LOG QUERIES ▹ All Messages
from the log list on the left. If you don't see that list, select
          View ▹ Show Log List
from the menu bar at the top of the screen.
Each message in the log begins with the date and time when it was entered. Scroll back to the time you noted above.
Select the messages entered from then until the end of the episode, or until they start to repeat, whichever comes first.
Copy the messages to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C. Paste into a reply to this message by pressing command-V.
The log contains a vast amount of information, almost all of it useless for solving any particular problem. When posting a log extract, be selective. A few dozen lines are almost always more than enough.
Please don't indiscriminately dump thousands of lines from the log into this discussion.
Please don't post screenshots of log messages—post the text.
Some private information, such as your name, may appear in the log. Anonymize before posting.

I get the spinning wheel of death every time I try to open the desktop

How can I fix the spinning wheel of death when trying to open the desktop /screensaver icon in system preferences?

Welcome to the Apple Support Communities
First, open Disk Utility, select Macintosh HD in the sidebar and repair permissions.
If it doesn't work, open Finder, select Go menu > Go to Folder, type ~/Library/Preferences, delete "com.apple.desktop.plist" and "com.apple.systempreferences.plist" and restart

Macbook Pro 13-inch Late 2011 with constant Spinning Wheel of Death (SWOD)

Hi Guys!
I really have a problem with the Spinning Wheel of Death and slow performance all the time. It suddently started after upgrading to OS X Mavericks.
These are the things i've tried so far:
- Boot up in Safe Mode and Internet Recovery Mode to repair disc permissions and disc = No Errors found at all
- Used SMARTreporter but everything returned as OK
- Installed 16GB of ram installed
- Looked in Activity Monitor, but everything appears to be okay with both RAM, CPU and HD
- Boot with Apple Hardware Test = Everything OK
- Booted up in Internet Recovery and erased the entire HD, clean installed OS X Lion (the OS i bought the Macbook Pro with)
First i thought it was a problem with my HD or my RAM. But everything is returning the OK result. I really hope some of you out there can help me, cause right now its realy hard to use it at the University. It looks like its a software problem, but i can't figure it out.
Made a test in EtreCheck and these are the results from it:
Hardware Information:
MacBook Pro (13-inch, Late 2011)
MacBook Pro - model: MacBookPro8,1
1 2.8 GHz Intel Core i7 CPU: 2 cores
16 GB RAM
Video Information:
Intel HD Graphics 3000 - VRAM: 512 MB
System Software:
Mac OS X 10.7.5 (11G63) - Uptime: 0 days 0:44:46
Disk Information:
TOSHIBA MK7559GSXF disk0 : (750,16 GB)
disk0s1 (disk0s1) <not mounted>: 209,7 MB
Macintosh HD (disk0s2) / [Startup]: 749,3 GB (712,02 GB free)
Recovery HD (disk0s3) <not mounted>: 650 MB
OPTIARC DVD RW AD-5970H
USB Information:
Apple Inc. FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)
Apple Inc. Apple Internal Keyboard / Trackpad
Apple Inc. BRCM2070 Hub
Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller
Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver
FireWire Information:
Thunderbolt Information:
Apple, Inc. MacBook Pro
Launch Daemons:
[System] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist 3rd-Party support link
[System] com.microsoft.office.licensing.helper.plist 3rd-Party support link
[System] com.oracle.java.Helper-Tool.plist 3rd-Party support link
Launch Agents:
[System] com.oracle.java.Java-Updater.plist 3rd-Party support link
User Launch Agents:
[not loaded] com.apple.CSConfigDotMacCert-[...]@me.com-SharedServices.Agent.plist
[not loaded] com.spotify.webhelper.plist 3rd-Party support link
[not loaded] com.valvesoftware.steamclean.plist 3rd-Party support link
User Login Items:
iTunesHelper
Dropbox
SMARTReporter
Internet Plug-ins:
FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 12.0.0.70 - SDK 10.6 3rd-Party support link
QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.7.1
AdobePDFViewerNPAPI: Version: 11.0.0 - SDK 10.6 3rd-Party support link
Flash Player: Version: 12.0.0.70 - SDK 10.6 3rd-Party support link
AdobePDFViewer: Version: 11.0.0 - SDK 10.6 3rd-Party support link
SharePointBrowserPlugin: Version: 14.1.0 3rd-Party support link
JavaAppletPlugin: Version: Java 7 Update 51 3rd-Party support link
Audio Plug-ins:
iSightAudio: Version: 7.7.1 - SDK 10.7
iTunes Plug-ins:
Quartz Composer Visualizer: Version: 1.3 - SDK 10.7
3rd Party Preference Panes:
Flash Player 3rd-Party support link
Java 3rd-Party support link
Old Applications:
None
Time Machine:
Time Machine not configured!
Top Processes by CPU:
      3% WindowServer
      1% EtreCheck
      1% activitymonitord
      1% Microsoft Word
      1% Activity Monitor
Top Processes by Memory:
115 MB WebProcess
82 MB Microsoft Word
66 MB Safari
49 MB WindowServer
49 MB Finder
Virtual Memory Information:
13.50 GB Free RAM
873 MB Active RAM
234 MB Inactive RAM
1.42 GB Wired RAM
336 MB Page-ins
0 B Page-outs

Please read this whole message before doing anything.
This procedure is a test, not a solution. Don’t be disappointed when you find that nothing has changed after you complete it.
Step 1
The purpose of this step is to determine whether the problem is localized to your user account.
Enable guest logins* and log in as Guest. Don't use the Safari-only “Guest User” login created by “Find My Mac.”
While logged in as Guest, you won’t have access to any of your personal files or settings. Applications will behave as if you were running them for the first time. Don’t be alarmed by this; it’s normal. If you need any passwords or other personal data in order to complete the test, memorize, print, or write them down before you begin.
Test while logged in as Guest. Same problem?
After testing, log out of the guest account and, in your own account, disable it if you wish. Any files you created in the guest account will be deleted automatically when you log out of it.
*Note: If you’ve activated “Find My Mac” or FileVault, then you can’t enable the Guest account. The “Guest User” login created by “Find My Mac” is not the same. Create a new account in which to test, and delete it, including its home folder, after testing.
Step 2
The purpose of this step is to determine whether the problem is caused by third-party system modifications that load automatically at startup or login, by a peripheral device, by a font conflict, or by corruption of the file system or of certain system caches.
Disconnect all wired peripherals except those needed for the test, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards, if applicable. Start up in safe mode and log in to the account with the problem. You must hold down the shift key twice: once when you boot, and again when you log in.
Note: If FileVault is enabled, or if a firmware password is set, or if the boot volume is a Fusion Drive or a software RAID, you can’t do this. Ask for further instructions.
Safe mode is much slower to boot and run than normal, with limited graphics performance, and some things won’t work at all, including sound output and Wi-Fi on certain models. The next normal boot may also be somewhat slow.
The login screen appears even if you usually log in automatically. You must know your login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin.
Test while in safe mode. It will be slow, but there should be no beachballing. Same problem?
After testing, reboot as usual (not in safe mode) and verify that you still have the problem. Post the results of Steps 1 and 2.

The Spinning Wheel of Death

For the past couple of months I have been having a problem of the spinning wheel spinning and spinning and spinning, taking seemingly forever to upload a new screen in Safari or a new application from the HD.
I did read several of the posts on the 30+ page discussion regarding freezing of machines after the latest large update of Snow Leopard. Although there seems to be a few times per week such freezing does occur, this is fairly infrequent when compared to the 95% of activity that is falling victim to the Spinning Wheel of Death. I have loved the Apple OS from the moment I began using it 5 or so years ago and this is really the very first time I've had such a frustrating issue with an Apple product (I haven't even experienced the antenna issue with my iPhone 4).
At work I have to use a PC and if this were a PC, I'd do something like check for malware to see if that was slowing the process down. I've done that on my MacBook Pro with the Mac-compatible equivalent to the Malwarebytes program I have at work, but still I get the Spinning Wheel of Death. I've even dumped some recent applications that I downloaded to see if they might have been the cause. Nope.
I don't know how to check which programs are running in the background, so that has not yet been done.If I did, I'd obviously turn off some of those I don't need to start up at login.
Does anyone have a "for Dummies" explanation of what other things I might do to attempt to remedy this situation? It shouldn't take 2-5 minutes for a web page to download or an application to begin.
Thanks in advance.

Gr8ful -
The link baltwo linked is a great one.
I have a couple questions for you, OK?
1. What are you using to check for "malware?"
2. Have you ever checked your Font Book Application in your Applications folder
for duplicates or corrupt fonts? That would be something I would check.
You can open up "Activity Monitor" in your Applications > Utilities folder.
Leave it open on your desktop, and select "All proceesses" rather than "My processes."
Have a look and monitor what kicks in when the beachball appears.
For browser slowness:
Are you emptying your Safari Cache & History lists (assuming you're using Safari as your browser).
Message was edited by: ~Bee

Can't quit spinning wheel of death in FCP 6

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