What does the spinning pinwheel mean?

Question

Level 1

4 points

What does the spinning pinwheel mean?

Where can I get a general description of what the spinning pinwheel may mean? I've been on MAC for about a year and just started seeing it once in a while for seconds at a time, usually at system startup.

Thanks so much

MacBook, Mac OS X (10.4.10), The Mac is my internet machine - a 98SE computer is where I work

Posted on Jan 14, 2009 8:38 PM

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Answer 1

Ferd II

Level 10

104,203 points

Jan 14, 2009 8:42 PM in response to Cleote

Cleote,

Read: The Spinning Beach Ball of Death, by Dr. Smoke for a thorough explanation.

;~)

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Answer 2

Limnos

Level 10

411,031 points

Jan 14, 2009 8:53 PM in response to Cleote

It took a lot of searching for me to find this myself. Basically BootX is loading the kernel and device drivers. Was that the answer for which you were looking? 🙂

[Mac OS X Startup Sequence|http://www.peachpit.com/guides/content.aspx?g=mac&seqNum=59]

[Lesson 13. Startup Sequence|http://my.safaribooksonline.com/0321335473/ch13#X2ludGVybmFsX1NlY3Rpb2 5Db250ZW50P3htbGlkPTAzMjEzMzU0NzMvY2gxM2xldjFzZWMy]

[The Boot Process|http://developer.apple.com/documentation/MacOSX/Conceptual/BPSystemStar tup/Articles/BootProcess.html]

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Answer 3

Cleote Author

Level 1

4 points

Jan 14, 2009 9:11 PM in response to Limnos

Yes and no - I'm going to look at the information on all the links suggested but my basically naive quest is - does the pinwheel necessarily mean caution/problem/breakdown?

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Answer 4

Limnos

Level 10

411,031 points

Jan 14, 2009 9:23 PM in response to Cleote

No, it just means, "I'm thinking." If it does it for too long then you have to decide if it is still innocently thinking, or is trying to solve the question as to which came first, the chicken or the egg and won't talk to you until it has decided.

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Answer 5

Cleote Author

Level 1

4 points

Jan 14, 2009 9:34 PM in response to Limnos

Thank you Ferd II and Limnos - most appreciative - questions answered.

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