Spinning beach ball.

Question

Level 1

40 points

Spinning beach ball.

I have an issue that I'm hoping I can get some help with. In a nutshell I have an iMac (3.06 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo) and I'm getting the spinning ball with alarming regularity. I've had the harddrive bumped up from 1 - 2TB and I have 4GB of ram going. I seem to get it when switching between programs, opening tabs in Chrome or Safari, when i type in addresses to those browsers, when it starts up... most of the time in fact. A lot of applications stall when closing (Photoshop CS6 takes about 10-15 seconds to close) and, often, when I switch between progs I have that odd issue when the top-bar shows the app is active but the app (mail, safari etc) is still hidden behind the one I'm switching from.

I don't really want to rebuild but I think I may have to. Is there any other way around this?

I have 940gb of my 2 TB free so I'm nowhere near capacity in terms of usage.

iMac, Mac OS X (10.7)

Posted on Jun 22, 2013 1:31 AM

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Answer 1

AnaMusic

Level 9

57,562 points

Jun 22, 2013 1:35 AM in response to BenfromHove

BenfromHove wrote:

... I have 4GB of ram ...

Would suggest at least 8 GB of RAM...

You can use this Link to check which RAM is suitable for your Mac...

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/apple/memory/

It is Important to get the Correct and Matching RAM

That site also has videos on how to Install RAM should you need it....

BenfromHove wrote:

... I'm getting the spinning ball with alarming regularity. ...

Have you had a look here > http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/sbbod.html

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Answer 2

BenfromHove Author

Level 1

40 points

Jun 22, 2013 3:20 AM in response to AnaMusic

So that should resolve it yeah? Can I even put 8gb in my iMac? I thought they had a maximum?

I have 4 GB 800 MHz DDR2 SDRAM which I believe is the correct kind. (I'm UK based too I should say.)

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Answer 3

MichelPM

Level 10

80,968 points

Jun 22, 2013 11:46 AM in response to BenfromHove

Your iMac model is a 2008 iMac.

You can install a total of 6 GBs of RAM. (1) 2 GB module and (1) 4 GB module.

Since you are in the U.K., you can order correct and reliable Mac RAM from online Mac RAM source Crucial Memory.

Good Luck!

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Answer 4

MichelPM

Level 10

80,968 points

Jun 22, 2013 11:48 AM in response to BenfromHove

Even with 6 GBs of RAM, I would cut back on how many extra applications you have running in the background while working in another application.

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Answer 5

Old Toad

Level 10

207,439 points

Jun 22, 2013 12:14 PM in response to BenfromHove

Go to http://curcial.com and use the Curcual Memory Scanner Tool which will scan you iMac and show you what type of memory modules to buy and how much you can add to your particular model.

Crucial is very well respected as a memory supplier.

OT

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Answer 6

BenfromHove Author

Level 1

40 points

Jun 23, 2013 1:29 AM in response to Old Toad

Hmmm... According to Crucial's scanner I have the correct RAM & the maximum amount (4GB). Using Activity Monitor I can't see any background apps running that are using any more than 4% of my CPU and I only have a couple open. I often have to have both Photoshop & Illustrator running as I'm a designer and switch between both.

I should say that I get the beachball pretty much from start-up whilst opening only minor apps like Mail or Safari.

Would a clean rebuild help in any way?

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Answer 7

MichelPM

Level 10

80,968 points

Jun 23, 2013 6:15 PM in response to BenfromHove

OWC(macsales.com) has tested and confirmed that your 2008 model can take 6 GB of RAM.

You can replace one of the 2 Gb RAM modules in your iMac with a 4 Gb module.

At the time, in 2008, 4 GB RAM modules didn't exist, as yet.

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other%20World%20Computing/6400DDR2S6GP/

If you can't get the proper spec'd 4 GB RAM module from Crucial memory, OWC has international shipping and can ship you a proper spec'd 4 GB RAM module.

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