Beach Ball!

My Mac seems to be running slow, taking longer to load, compose emails, etc. And I get the dreaded beach ball every time I try to do anything. How do I start a clean up to improve performance?


MacBook Pro 13″, macOS 13.6

Posted on Oct 29, 2023 8:42 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Oct 30, 2023 3:13 AM

Try and boot the Mac in the safe mode to see if the issues persist


If they do not persist in the safe mode, it is caused by an external piece of software, you might want to evaluate the software installed to your mac


Start up your Mac with Apple silicon in safe mode

  1. On your Mac, choose Apple menu  > Shut Down.
  2. Wait for your Mac to shut down completely. A Mac is completely shut down when the screen is black and any lights (including in the Touch Bar) are off.
  3. Press and hold the power button on your Mac until “Loading startup options” appears.
  4. Select a volume.
  5. Press and hold the Shift key, then click Continue in Safe Mode.
  6. The computer restarts automatically. When the login window appears, you should see “Safe Boot” in the menu bar.

Start up your Intel-based Mac in safe mode

  1. Turn on or restart your Mac, then immediately press and hold the Shift key until you see the login window.
  2. Log in to your Mac.
  3. You might be asked to log in again.
  4. On either the first or second login window, you should see “Safe Boot” in the menu bar.


I reccommend against the install of any cleanup software, this kind of software usually does nothing more then slowing down your Mac even more.

1 reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Oct 30, 2023 3:13 AM in response to clillig

Try and boot the Mac in the safe mode to see if the issues persist


If they do not persist in the safe mode, it is caused by an external piece of software, you might want to evaluate the software installed to your mac


Start up your Mac with Apple silicon in safe mode

  1. On your Mac, choose Apple menu  > Shut Down.
  2. Wait for your Mac to shut down completely. A Mac is completely shut down when the screen is black and any lights (including in the Touch Bar) are off.
  3. Press and hold the power button on your Mac until “Loading startup options” appears.
  4. Select a volume.
  5. Press and hold the Shift key, then click Continue in Safe Mode.
  6. The computer restarts automatically. When the login window appears, you should see “Safe Boot” in the menu bar.

Start up your Intel-based Mac in safe mode

  1. Turn on or restart your Mac, then immediately press and hold the Shift key until you see the login window.
  2. Log in to your Mac.
  3. You might be asked to log in again.
  4. On either the first or second login window, you should see “Safe Boot” in the menu bar.


I reccommend against the install of any cleanup software, this kind of software usually does nothing more then slowing down your Mac even more.

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