Brand new MacBook Pro frozen on spinning wheel

Update --- I contacted the support line about the spinning wheel timing during setup and they advised no need to be concerned this is normal due to system configurations (regardless if you click "skip" or "not now"). I requested feedback be submitted advising there should be some notification advising wait time, hold while processing, etc...something to notify the new owner there is no need to be concerned. I hope this helps the next person.

Thanks for bringing it up!

I was planning to restart it before I found your post!

Everything works now like a charm, after 30 min of spinning wheel.

Same thing happened to me with a brand-new MacBook Pro that I just received less than an hour ago. So glad to have found this thread on the forums because I was convinced that my hard drive crashed or something else had happened. I love Apple and the Mac but I haveinstalled new operating systems on dozens of computers over the years, and have never seen such a terrible interface gaffe. A spinning wheel with no visual user feedback violates all best practices of ui design.

I have now installed a few Macsbook Air, iMac, MacBook Pro for a company. The first ones I didn't think much of the spinning wheel. I just thought it was an error and would just reboot the computer and start over. The account was already created, but I still went thru the wizard for a new Mac and deleted the old user afterwards. This time the user was created instantly and logged in. Same thing on the next one. Rebooted when the spinning wheel came up. The third one was left unattended for a while and was finished when I came back. So now I knew that the user would eventually log in. For me it takes about 15-20min just when I coninue from the "Create new user" screen. All new Macs I have installed after this have had the same problem.

No filevault is activated and the delay is only when creating the first user only.

Just irritating, and it doesn't "feel like Apple" if you know what I mean. Glad to hear I am not the only one thou.

Allan, your comment is completely ignorant!

"Of course that is going to take time. What did you expect that it would be able to do all of that processing in no time?"

I agree with all the other commenters that it is ridiculous, to keep a brand new user who just spent $1000+ on a brand new computer waiting for 40 minutes WITHOUT telling what's going on. I have an IT degree from '92, and the PROGRESS BAR was already invented back then! (By the way, as soon as I turn the computer on, it uses a progress bar to show it's not dead.) OR, they could have added a simple text comment that THIS CAN TAKE UP TO AN HOUR. The cost would have been? Nothing!

Apple is famous for its user friendliness. If they try to create stuff that my Mom can use, they should tell her how to use it. Saying something like "what did you expect" is UNACCEPTABLE!

I'm have the same experience right now with a new MBPro15" which is why I looked to see who else had the problem.

Apple needs to include a warning at the FileVault step of the setup. Had I known about this delay, I would have skipped this part and done it later - the encryption can be done at any time. In fact, I believe that encryption done later takes place in the background (doing it at setup time clearly is not a background process).

This is definitely not an indication of the computer's normal performance. It's more like going to the dentist - if the dentist tells you it will hurt, you can prepare yourself for it (or leave :-) but if you're not told, it will be an unpleasant surprise indeed.

After setting up about 24 mac minis the past few weeks, most have the spinning wheel for 30 minutes or so when setting up the initial account. Nothing to do with vault. The sad thing is, when the account sets up in seconds, I am shocked. I guess I have been conditioned.

This is such an inexcusably bad user experience.

Same here. Just got a new Macbook 12" and the beachball has been spinning for 20 minutes even though I did not enable FileVault. I agree that this is a very bad user experience. What is it doing I would like to know?

I am facing the same problem. The screen is stuck in the FileVault page. I had UNCHECKED the Turn on Filevault option. it's been 15 mins and still spinning. Not cool Apple. you guys were famous for easy and quick setup of devices - this is a major regression from that principle.

Same issue with my new retina Macbook Pro. I am coming from a Windows laptop, which never gave me any issues. This is disheartening ... going on 25 min now.

edit: and like that, it finished! :-)

I Took some comfort that others were experiencing the 'wheel spin' for about 40 minutes. However, my new MacBook Air has now been stuck with the dreaded spinning for over an hour. Any suggestions as what to do would be greatly appreciated. I am new to Apple and have always used Windows. Thanks.

Yes, indeed, so excited about my new machine, then worried with the ball spinning so long. This page has helped me immensely!!! Odd that Apple did not realize a warning was needed that it would take a long time. Not all of us are super knowledgable about how these processes work, and the excitement of a new machine is dampened by this **** ball spinning. I waited a week to set it up after I bought it because I knew I needed a long time to get it going, so I am glad I did not try to do this when I was really busy.

Antiicapointment.

I returned the MacBook Pro once I realized that the resolution tops out at 1600x1050. That is not what I expected from the Retina specs. I am using a new Windows laptop with a 1920x1080 IPS dispaly and I have to say it is terrific.