charlyw
Level 1 (0 points)

Q: My imac won't load properly and gets the spinning wheel for everything!? Help!

HI everyone,

 

hope hope someone will be able to help.

 

My imac freezed up the other day for no apparent reason. I couldn't do anything apart from move the mouse. So had to shut dow with the power button.

 

When it restarted I was able to log in as usual to the user that I normally use. Yet when I went to click on anything I get the spinning wheel of death! I've rebooted in safe mode but this didn't make a difference. I can't even run disk utility to check if there is an issue with the drive!

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

 

thanks charlotte

Mac OS X (10.5.8), also own a ibook g4

Posted on Aug 17, 2014 10:17 AM

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charlyw

Q: My imac won't load properly and gets the spinning wheel for everything!? Help!

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  • Helpful answers

  • by den.thed,Helpful

    den.thed den.thed Aug 17, 2014 10:48 AM in response to charlyw
    Level 7 (27,686 points)
    Aug 17, 2014 10:48 AM in response to charlyw

    Sounds like maybe the Hard Drive is failing or has failed.

     

    1. Start from your Mac OS X Install disc: Insert the installation disc, then restart the computer while holding the C key.

    2. When your computer finishes starting up from the disc, choose Disk Utility from the Installer menu. (In Mac OS X 10.4 or later, you must select your language first.) 
Important: Do not click Continue in the first screen of the Installer. If you do, you must restart from the disc again to access Disk Utility.

    3. Click the First Aid tab.

    4. Click the disclosure triangle to the left of the hard drive icon to display the names of your hard disk volumes and partitions.

    5. Select your Mac OS X volume.

    6. Click Repair. Disk Utility checks and repairs the disk.

     

    If you can not see the Mac OS X volume (Macintosh HD) in Disk Utility while started up form the Install Disc, then you will need to make an appointment at your local Apple Store or AASP and have them help.

     

    If you have a good backup in place, then you can easily restore the new Hard Drive from backup. If not, then depending on what is wrong, you may or may not be able to recover your user data from a bad Hard Drive.

  • by charlyw,

    charlyw charlyw Aug 17, 2014 11:05 AM in response to den.thed
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Aug 17, 2014 11:05 AM in response to den.thed

    Hi,

     

    thanks for for your help.

     

    i have found my install discs But when I put the disk in the drive and start up with c down. There's is a lot of noise from the drive and then it spits the disc out. It then just continues to start up normally to the login screen. I don't get the option to choose disk utility!

  • by den.thed,

    den.thed den.thed Aug 17, 2014 11:53 AM in response to charlyw
    Level 7 (27,686 points)
    Aug 17, 2014 11:53 AM in response to charlyw

    1. Check to make sure that you are using the original Disc that came with that Mac.

    see > Mac OS X versions (builds) for computers

     

    2. Make sure that the Install Disc is clean.

    see > http://how-to-clean-dvd-or-cd-disc.html

     

    3. Clean you SuperDrive with a Lens cleaning disc.

    example > http://Memorex-CD-DVD-Player-Laser-Lens-Cleaner

     

    Try starting up from the original Install Disc again.

     

    If that does not help, then really your only hope is to make a service appointment.