Lots of spinning beach balls

Hello,
I have a Mac mini G4 (see specs in signature) and it worked fine a for a while until at one point a month or two ago, there was something wrong with the file directory or something so I had to do a complete zero erase and install. It worked fine for a while, but lately everything I do has been causing me to see more and more of the dreaded spinning beach ball. For example, clicking on "log in" on the apple discussion page brought about the spinning beach ball. Opening a new window can sometimes bring a spinning beach ball. Even in iChat it will randomly show me the spinning beach ball. iTunes as well has been giving me plenty of grief so much that I can't even listen to music on my computer because it will freeze and the seconds in the song will stop moving and then it plays for a bit and then stops again. I don't know what's wrong with my computer. In the Activity Manager it says I have 660 MB free memory and I have a 94% idle CPU. It's not dusty and it doesn't feel hot, in the iStat Pro widget it says the HD is at 119 degrees Fahrenheit. What the heck is wrong with my computer? It is really frustrating to not be able to even play an MP3 on my computer or have Safari freeze just because I opened a new window. The strange thing is that it always comes back, as in, when it freezes, I just have to wait a little bit and then it starts working again. So far I have tried repairing the disk permissions, repairing the disk, running "sudo periodic daily weekly monthly" and even running AppleJack in "deep clean" mode. Please, any help would be vastly appreciated.
P.S. As I was writing this, I got the beach ball twice.
Message was edited by: el pinguino

There are a number of possible issues that could cause this other than the ones you appear to have attempted to deal with so far.
The most obvious is an issue with Fonts - Macs are sensitive to font conflicts in particular, though some fonts cause problems even with no conflicts. Open Font Book and get it to check and resolve conflicts, then go through the font families and turn off what you absolutely don't need (even if only to run the system for a day or so to see if it helps - they can be turned on again when needed).
Next obvious is prebinding, though with a newly reinstalled system that shouldn't be a problem. Try to update prebinding anyway, just to rule that out.
Also ensure that permissions are repaired and remove all caches. Applejack does this, though personally I prefer YASU. After that is done, then use Disk Utility to check the boot drive (you'll need to boot from another MacOS volume such as the original install disk to effect repairs if needed).
After that, it's possible the issue is a damaged property list file, so grab a copy of Preferential Treatment and scan both user and system levels. Delete anything it flags as a problem.
Lastly (for now at least), create a new user on the system and log into that to see if that user suffers the same issues.

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As an experiment, I would see if using something like the OpenDNS or Google DNS servers has any effect. Often times while doing networking things, there are name lookups and if the DNS servers are slow, or unresponsive, you can see network delays.
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Using iPhoto Library Manager to Rebuild Your iPhoto Library
1 -Download iPhoto Library Manager and launch.
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Dear all
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My MBP is real slow, lots of spinning beach ball. Why?

I took it to the genius bar on Michigan Avenue in Chicago, but a sharp young man there didn't help.
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Please read this whole message before doing anything.
This procedure is a diagnostic test. It won’t solve your problem. Don’t be disappointed when you find that nothing has changed after you complete it.
Third-party system modifications are a common cause of usability problems. By a “system modification,” I mean software that affects the operation of other software -- potentially for the worse. The following procedure will help identify which such modifications you've installed. Don’t be alarmed by the complexity of these instructions -- they’re easy to carry out and won’t change anything on your Mac.
These steps are to be taken while booted in “normal” mode, not in safe mode. If you’re now running in safe mode, reboot as usual before continuing.
Below are several lines of text in monospaced type, which are UNIX shell commands. They’re harmless, but they must be entered exactly as given in order to work. If you have doubts about the safety of running these commands, search this site for other discussions in which they’ve been used without any report of ill effects.
Some of the commands will line-wrap or scroll in your browser, but each one is really just a single line, all of which must be selected. You can accomplish this easily by triple-clicking anywhere in the line. The whole line will highlight, and you can then either copy or drag it. The headings “Step 1” and so on are not part of the commands.
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Step 2
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Step 3
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Too Much Fan / Too much spinning Beach ball

Hi: My 10.4 iMac Desktop (with max 2 Gg SDRAM, and 50 Gig HD space still available) seems to be overworking, or something.
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Hello,
You might want to check the drive for errors... you will need your system restore disk.
Testing and repairing a disk or volume
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Close the files and quit the applications on the disk that you want to repair.
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Macbook pro has slowed considerably and spinning beach ball appears lots

My Macbook pro has slowed considerably and spinning beach ball appears lots recently.
After I installed 10.5.7 it started happening. When I open anything including system prefs and apple apps the ball appears. I'm on 10.5.8 and it seems to be either as slow or slower. Startup is a bit faster now, but it'll go to the beach ball before I even do anything remotely intensive on the system.
My computer is almost 3 years old but I don't install any weird software on it and have 30% of my system disk free. I'm an audio guy and use logic, pro tools and generally keep my computer clean.
I've tried starting another user account to check if its my original user that has the issue, but thats just as slow too.
Please help...
Thanks
Oh yeah, I repaired disk permissions too but it hasn't seemed to have changed anything

Thanks for the reply Dale.
I have just tried that and Disk Utility said my MAc HD appears to be ok....????
So I don't really understand what else I can do...
I tried using Onyx a couple of months ago but it seemed to make things worse and more temperamental.
If there is a next level of solutions I could try it would be much appreciated.
This is what appears when I verify or repair the permissions... I doesn't change if I repair them though.....
Verify permissions for “Macintosh HD”
Reading permissions database.
Reading the permissions database can take several minutes.
ACL found but not expected on "private/var/root/Library/Preferences".
ACL found but not expected on "private/var/root/Library".
ACL found but not expected on "private/var/root".
Permissions differ on "System/Library/CoreServices/AirPort Base Station Agent.app/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrw-r--r-- .
Permissions differ on "Applications/Utilities/AirPort Utility.app/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-rw-r-- , they are lrw-rw-r-- .
Permissions differ on "Library/Application Support/ProApps/Internal Plug-Ins/BrowserKit/iLife.bkplugin/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-rw-r-- , they are lrw-rw-r-- .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/BrowserKit.framework/Versions/A/CodeResources ", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrw-r--r-- .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/CoreServices/Front Row.app/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrw-r--r-- .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/CoreServices/Front Row.app/Contents/PlugIns/DVD.frappliance/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrw-r--r-- .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/CoreServices/Front Row.app/Contents/PlugIns/FRSettings.frappliance/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrw-r--r-- .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/CoreServices/Front Row.app/Contents/PlugIns/FRSources.frappliance/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrw-r--r-- .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/CoreServices/Front Row.app/Contents/PlugIns/Movies.frappliance/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrw-r--r-- .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/CoreServices/Front Row.app/Contents/PlugIns/Music.frappliance/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrw-r--r-- .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/CoreServices/Front Row.app/Contents/PlugIns/Photos.frappliance/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrw-r--r-- .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/CoreServices/Front Row.app/Contents/PlugIns/Podcasts.frappliance/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrw-r--r-- .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/CoreServices/Front Row.app/Contents/PlugIns/TV.frappliance/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrw-r--r-- .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/BackRow.framework/Versions/A/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrw-r--r-- .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/ProKit.framework/Versions/A/Resources/Leopard Panels.bundle/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrw-r--r-- .
Permissions differ on "usr/lib/ruby", should be lrwxr-xr-x , they are drwxr-xr-x .
Permissions differ on "Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-rw-r-- , they are lrw-rw-r-- .
Permissions differ on "Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/Frameworks/InternetUtilities.bundle/Contents/ CodeResources", should be -rw-rw-r-- , they are lrw-rw-r-- .
Permissions differ on "Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/Resources/iTunesHelper.app/Contents/CodeResou rces", should be -rw-rw-r-- , they are lrw-rw-r-- .
ACL found but not expected on "Applications/TextEdit.app".
Permissions differ on "System/Library/CoreServices/Menu Extras/RemoteDesktop.menu/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrw-r--r-- .
ACL found but not expected on "Applications/Time Machine.app".
Permissions verification complete
Thanks for your help
Owen

When I try to open pages 09 all i get is spinning beach ball. I have a lot of quotes i need to access but cannot. HELP!!!!!!

when I try to open pages 09 all i get is spinning beach ball. I have a lot of quotes i need to access but cannot. HELP!!!!!!
It has been fine up until this morning. Its stressing me out now as i may haveto retype loads.

Hi fruhulda, I am currently running 10.9.1
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Thankys for your reply by the way.

Lots of Freezes and Spinning Beach Balls

Just recently my PowerBook G4 12" 1.42 began acting up. I can barely do anything without getting a screen freeze or spinning beach ball. I can't open folders, click or scroll, copy or paste, or almost anything without a very very long wait, up to several minutes of SWOD. Sometimes the screen won't do anything except move the mouse cursor.
I tried Disk Utility Repair Permissions, and it got hung up for about an hour and then the computer became unresponsive, and I had to shut down by holding the power button. I tried resetting PRAM with no luck.
I noticed the problem after the latest software update about 4 days ago. Up till then, all my software was updated pretty recently, within a few weeks.
Thanks for any ideas.

1. you have a 12" PB g4, which has been around since 10.2 or 10.3 Since then, how have you upgraded your OS? Was it an update, archive & install, or erase & install? if all your updates have been upgrades, it may be time to wipe your hard drive and start fresh. If there was any corruption with previous versions of OS X, they will be there when you upgrade.
From time to time, I completely erase my hard drive and reinstall everything. yes, it's a pain to do but i know that it will keep my computer running smoothly.
2. Your directory might be screwed up. You can try to fix it by rebooting your computer and when it's rebooting, hold down the Apple key (command) and the "S" key (command + S), which will boot you into Single User Mode. Type in "fsck -fy" (without quotes) at the prompt. This runs a file system check. If your directory is out of whack, this can fix it. You may have to run it a few times until it no longer reports any errors with the directory.
3. If your directory is really screwed up, I would suggest you buy Disk Warrior.
It sounds like your OS may be corrupted or your directory is screwed up.
Other things to check is to see how much available space is on your hard drive. If it's less than 2 gigs, this could explain why you are having problems.
hope this helps.

Spinning beach ball for 45-60 seconds, then fine

For several months now, I've had the spinning beach ball issue on my Macbook Pro. Within the first 5 minutes after boot up, the spinning beach ball will occur, seemingly at random (no specific app or action), for 45-60 seconds. While this happens, the system becomes completely unresponsive. But after this occurrence within the first five minutes after startup, it never happens again and everything is fine - until I reboot of course.
I am running Snow Leopard and this problem was happening before I installed Snow Leopard, so that's not it. But one thing I did do, which I am semi-convinced is the culprit, is I replaced my hard drive with a Seagate 500 mb Momentus drive. The actual model # is SEAST9500420AS. I don't know for sure, but that's around the time this issue first started. I know there is/was a spinning beach ball problem with the newer Macbook Pros and they were attributing it to the hard drive which just so happens to be the same hard drive I now have in my Macbook Pro. There was recently an EFI update that seemed to fix the problem for the newer models, but mine is the first generation right when they went to Intel chips (bought mine in April, 2006). Problem is, if it is my drive, this new EFI update that fixes the issue on the new models won't install on mine.
I also did a verify disk and repair disk permissions, but that was no help. Another thing I found going through the discussion groups was that the problem could happen because both the Macbook Pro and the Seagate drive have anti-shock technology that could conflict with one another. So if you disabled the anti-shock on the Macbook Pro, it might solve the problem as it seemed to for some folks out there. But I did that and it didn't help either.
I'm thinking it's my hard drive, but don't know how to fix it. But it could be something I haven't looked at yet or thought of. I've been trying everything the last several months with no luck and it's been driving me batty! What's really strange is it only happens once and always within the first 5 minutes after start up. Anybody have any suggestions? Thanks.

I just finished doing lots of different tests to try to solve my problem. Didn't resolve it, but I did manage to eliminate some things and narrow it down further.
First I removed all my login items and restarted my computer. That didn't fix the problem.
So then I thought it might have something to do with Safari since that's one of the first things I open up when I start my computer and there are numerous reports in the discussions of spinning beach balls with Safari 4.0.3 which I have. So I purposely did not open Safari after startup. Problem still happened.
So then I thought maybe it has something to do with my internet connection. So I disconnected my internet connection and rebooted. Then I only opened programs that don't use online access. I leisurely opened up a program, did a few things in it, closed it, and then did the same thing with another program. Did some things with Finder. Purposely did not rush things. Waited 4-5 seconds after every operation's completion before executing another task. Never had more than one program open at any given time to eliminate any issue with two many resources open. You guessed it - the problem STILL happened. Not that it matters, but it happened when I hit Command-I on my hard drive icon to get the info pane. A fairly innocuous task. Froze up with the spinning beach ball for at least 45-50 seconds. Tried clicking a few other things while this was happening, but nothing. Once it freed up, a few things I clicked on previously suddenly became active and everything was fine again. Tried Command-I for a lot of different things with no problem. Response was instantaneous.
It pretty much happens 3-4 minutes into a session and then never happens again. And I think my test here eliminated several possibilities. Very frustrating. I hope this helps someone come up with a possible solution. Thanks.

Spinning Beach Ball of Death (Mainly from idle)

Hey folks..
This might be a long one, so please bare with me !
After about 3 fabulous faultless years of using my Macbook Pro, recently I've had lots of issues with the dreaded spinning beach ball of death !
I wish I could say I was able to narrow it down to one application or one specific event, but sadly it's proving to not be that easy!
Recently, the SBBOD has appeared MOSTLY when the macbook is sitting there idle. I tried all the suggestions I could find on the forums - ie not putting the HDD to sleep, etc etc.
What generally happens, is I come back to the computer - and try to open an application (doesn't matter which one) and it bounces in the dock, and then the SBBOD appears, I can usually get to try and open other apps as this is happening, but in 20 seconds or so - everything is frozen except the mouse. I have tried leaving it for 5 mins, 10mins 2 hours, but in the end the only option is to manually turn off and swtich it back on. I thought it might have been just my user, but I tested when leaving it idle when other users logged on, and in the end - the same SBBOD
This started happening about 3 weeks ago, when I was on Leopard (not snow).
I tried to make sure the HDD was ok - so I install the SmartReporter app to monitor it - and nothing is pointing towards a HDD failure? SMART status is always showing ok.
In the end, I backed up and formatted the HDD. I bought a copy of Snow Leopard and did a total fresh install. I didn't migrate any applications, just user data and re-install all Applications etc.
I have Clean My Mac installed and MainMenu which runs all the repair permissions, and I keep it really clean and efficient since the fresh install - but still, the SBBOD is coming whenever I have the machine idle. I tried also, to install the smcFanControl to cool the CPU incase, it was over heating and then failing??
So, in conclusion (thanks for reading this far !!) I really don't know what else to do?
Seeing as it happened to all users logged in, I can assume it's not user specific?
Meaning it could very likely actually be a HDD issue?
Are there any good free diagnostic tools to see if it is a HDD issue?
I'm almost tempted to buy a new HDD, and install that and not use the Migration Assistant to bring files across, but to just manually bring my information and documents.. thus creating the user from scratch? Are there any opinions on the Samsung SpinPoint M7's ?
Honestly - I'm at a loss here, I can't see what else I can do?
It's a Macbook Pro MA609LL from 2007 3Gb RAM, with a Samsung 500GB HDD (added way back in Nov 2008)
Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
CIAO!
Alessandro

I would try running the extended version of your Apple Hardware Test.
It's not perfect but may flag something.
DALE

Spinning beach ball FFv21, mac os 10.6.8, seizes control of my computer every 10 seconds - Im going mad!!

Duplicate see [/questions/960928]
Im going insane with the spinning beachball on mac when using Firefox v21.
It happens several times per minute with something as simple as choosing the next field on a page or even scrolling down the page using the scroller on the right hand of the page.
Im on a laptop which has os 10.6.8 installed and the laptop has 8gig of ram and a 2.8ghz intel core 2 duo processor.
On previous versions of Firefox I used to get "unresponsive script" warnings with the option to stop it. These warnings would pop up and never give the option to "always stop an unresponsive script AND never take total control of my computer trying to get the script to respond"
There is no option to block the script on the site its coming from.
I did have a block script plug in but no sites work properly if java script isnt enabled.
With Firefox21 I dont get these pop up warnings any more.
I have a lot of tabs open and when the spinning beach ball happens too often I quit firefox and open it again. It remembers my tabs but doesnt load till I click on the tab.
Despite this Firefox will start stalling and showing the beachball spinning only after a few new pages are opened.
It is enfuriating and I dont consider the software to be working properly.
Im wondering has something gottten corrupted in the System Library when firefox installs or if there is a compatability problem with versions of Firefox, my OS10.6.8, Java, Flash?
I can only look at one tab at a time - I WOULD LOVE IF THERE WAS AN OPTION TO
"NOT GIVE ANY RESOURCES TO OTHER TABS WHICH ARENT BEING VIEWED"
I used to use a plug in called Pause All Tabs which was brilliant and gave me back control of my computer. I cant get it for FF21
So what can I do? Use Chrome instead?

Locking as duplicate. Please see and continue with [/questions/960928]

Why can't I download PDF files, and why does the "spinning beach ball" keep showing up?

I have a late 2008 iMac, 3.06 GHz Core 2 Duo, 4 GB 800 MHz DDR2 SDRAM, 500 Gig Hardrive, and I'm using OS X 10.6.8. In addition, there are three external drives - 750 G Maxtor, 1T Maxtor, and 1T LaCie for Time Machine. There are only 20 Gigs left of space on the internal hard drive. The two problems I continue to have are that PDF files are not visible when I click on the download link, and I keep seeing the "spinning beach ball" when I'm trying to work with photos in iPhoto '09 or Lightroom 4.1. Sometimes it seems like the system is waiting for the 750 G external drive to activate before the beach ball disappears. Can anyone tell me what's going on?

There are only 20 Gigs left of space on the internal hard drive.
That'll slow you down a bit.
See if disconnecting the LaCie helps.
See how many of these you can answer...
See if the Disk is issuing any S.M.A.R.T errors in Disk Utility...
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH7029
Open Activity Monitor in Applications>Utilities, select All Processes & sort on CPU%, any indications there?
How much RAM & free space do you have also, click on the Memory & Disk Usage Tabs.
Open Console in Utilities & see if there are any clues or repeating messages when this happens.
In the Memory tab, are there a lot of Pageouts?

Lots of spinning beach balls

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