Q: OS X Lion freezes at login screen + App Store is slow

Aha. Well now it makes more sense- I was puzzled as to why you would be fine with 10.7.1 and the rest of us aren't . I actually got in touch with a very good Sr. Support Rep at Apple and I've been working with him over the past couple days to get a better picture of the problem. I ran through about 20 consecutive boots or so and discovered a pattern where you will only get the lock-up/beachball after a previous *successful* (non-crashed/clean boot) session, which explains why you sometimes won't see it and are able to log-in normally.

The problem though is his engineers that he has direct contact with blamed the hardware. We both agreed that it can't be the hardware if *all of us* are having this problem with the mid-2010 Macbook Pros. So last night we left off with him planning on tracking down a mid-2010 Macbook Pro so that he can produce it internally. Internal support staff has wayyy more credibility than us on the forums. Hopefully he'll be able to find one and reproduce the issue.

Another glimmer of hope: he did mention that there is a *known* issue of getting a black and unresponsive screen after waking from sleep- hopefully it's related (power saving) and they kill two birds with one stone.

I'll keep you guys posted if/when I hear anything else.

I just gave this a try myself, but after a couple of reboots the freezes continued.  Are you sure this wasn't just a random thing?

As it stands, only disabling AGS or using automatic logins seems to be the most effective workarounds.

I have the same issue. I have tried everything from the simple "restore from a time machine back up" to an install from snow leopard. I have a MacBook Pro 6,2 (Mid 2010) and as I can see it's common to mid 2010 macbooks.

I found a solution for this problem but it's not the proper one. I just turned off the automatic login. (System Preferences -> Login Options -> select "off" from the "Automatic Login" field)

I assume this is a software related problem...

the correct path is System Preferences -> Login Options -> select your account name from the "Automatic Login" field.

One more right here! I have the Mid 2010 MBP and I'm also experiencing the same problem. It's just so frustrating everytime I switch it on then the color wheel goes spinning forever. Help us all, Apple!

For those who have the mid-2010 MBP, what type of hard drives do you have?  I'm wondering if that's the common denominator specific to us who have this MBP model.

I'm in the same boat - but can confirm it's not hard drive related - I have tried with my stock 500 gig apple drive as well as a seagate - both have the same problem.  Would really like Apple to fix such a huge problem - as an IT professional it pains me to keep automatic login enabled.  So **** insecure!

Everything worked fine in the last beta build - only in the GM and release did this start happening.

This isn't limited to MBP's but also occurs on iMac - or it does mine!

I'm replying my own post just to inform that I have re-enable the AGS and still have no freezes.

So, FOR ME (maybe it was luck, maybe it makes sense), the way to solve the problem was:

1 - Disable AGS while I was having those freezes in Lion

2 - Install Lion from the scratch (Clean Install, formatting hard disk, no updates)

3 - Install everything I need

4 - Re-enable AGS (but I have to say I did it after some time (two or three weeks of use).

Now my MBP works good. No freezes at all, EXCEPT in the App Store, that still is slow as **** and sometimes I have to force it to quit.

I don't have automatic login, and don't have any problems returning from screen saver or sleep (occasions where it used to freeze).

I hope other people also have the same 'luck'.

That's not a fix though.  This is something apple needs to address.  The consumer shouldn't have to jump through hoops to fix this.  Customers shouldn't have to disable/reenable graphics switching because Apple's OS isn't working properly with their own hardware.  It's unacceptable.

Totally agree. Especially because the average apple user doesn't even know what is to 'format' a computer.

Purchased iMac i7 3 weeks ago. Lion OS X installed.  No issues connecting via bluetooth. As most members I too have a password protected login.  After 3 weeks I went to bed last night placing iMac on sleep mode.  Woke up this morning & it was froze with Chrome opened.  Tried restarting 10 times and turning on/off mouse and keyboard.  Some instances it froze on spinning wheel other times it opens to login screen but no way for me to select and enter my password.  I even connected another wireless mouse/USB drive and will not read it either. I am dead in the water with several video projects to edit.

I would love to click the AGS but cannot reach the system preferences!

Apple do your thing and kindly fix this before my business goes in the toilet. Thx

Any problem related to an iMac or Mac Pro (Desktop) is NOT related to the problem we Macbook Pro Mid-2010 users are having. There is no automatic graphics switching in Desktop systems because there is only one GPU in those systems.

This sounds more like a hard drive crash than anything else.  I hope you made a ecent backup of your data. Your iMac is only three weeks old and on full warranty.  Just call in or make an appointment at the Genius Bar at the Apple store and they will replace your hard drive for free. 

Yea, I have 6TB hardrive that backs up daily but my 27" is a beast & the closest genius bar to me os 2 hours away.  I was able to get a USB mouse connected and login as Admin but every system preference utility I select just has a spinning color wheel and will not load.  I know its under warranty but was hoping for a fix instead of reboot or hauling all the way to closest bar. Worst comes to worst that's where I'll end up, thanks!