Linelle Lane

Q: Spinning ball no matter what I do

I have a 2011 iMac still using Snow Leopard. I realize it's an old OS but I only use it for writing projects and will eventually replace it one day. It has been fine with zero problems, until now. I was out of town for a week and it was powered off. I turned it back on yesterday. Boots up fine, desktop looks normal. No matter what I try to do--backup via Time Machine, get email, anything!--the spinning ball appears and I'm frozen. I have to hold down the power switch to get it to stop. The only thing that has worked is Disk Utility > Verify Disk, which reported Zero Problems. Well, something ain't right. I have booted with the DVD and still the spinning ball.

 

The spinning ball doesn't appear until I click on something, anything.

 

I'm reluctant to pay for a possible repair, because in the long run I'd be better off buying a new iMac. I'd prefer to get this one operational again myself and get a little more mileage out of it.

 

Any suggestions? I mostly work with my 2015 MacBook Pro and the iMac's latest backup is December 2015. I wouldn't be losing much if I could restore everything from that point.

Posted on Feb 9, 2016 7:33 AM

Close

Q: Spinning ball no matter what I do

  • All replies
  • Helpful answers

  • by Nubz N.,

    Nubz N. Nubz N. Feb 10, 2016 11:57 AM in response to Linelle Lane
    Community Hosts
    Feb 10, 2016 11:57 AM in response to Linelle Lane

    Hello Linelle Lane,

     

    That must have been quite the surprise to have it behaving fine before you left and with no changes it now gives the wait cursor for almost anything.  I say anything as Disk Utility seems to work fine.

     

    First try booting to safe mode.

    Try safe mode if your Mac doesn't finish starting up - Apple Support

    Starting your Mac in safe mode does the following:

    • Verifies your startup disk, and attempts to repair directory issues if needed
    • Loads only required kernel extensions
    • Prevents Startup Items and Login Items from opening automatically
    • Disables user-installed fonts 
    • Deletes font caches, Kernel cache and other system cache files

    Together, these changes can help resolve or isolate issues related to your startup disk. 

    Starting up in safe mode

    Follow these steps to start up into safe mode.

    1. Start or restart your Mac. 
    2. Immediately after you hear the startup sound, press and hold the Shift key.
    3. Release the Shift key when you see the Apple logo appear on the screen.

    After the Apple logo appears, it might take longer than usual to reach the login screen or your desktop. This is because your Mac performs a directory check of your startup disk as part of safe mode.

    To leave safe mode, restart your computer without pressing any keys during startup.

    Beyond that, please check out these articles.

    Using Apple Hardware Test - Apple Support

    Isolating issues in Mac OS X - Apple Support

    Mac OS X: How to troubleshoot a software issue - Apple Support

     

    Please let us know how it goes.

  • by Linelle Lane,

    Linelle Lane Linelle Lane Feb 10, 2016 2:34 PM in response to Nubz N.
    Level 1 (109 points)
    Feb 10, 2016 2:34 PM in response to Nubz N.

    Hi Nubz N. Thanks for your reply. So, this is getting curiouser and curiouser.

     

    When I have the spinning ball, I'm connected to my wifi network. I'm able to verify that before the ball takes over.

     

    I have started in Safe Mode twice. All appears to be going smoothly until it tells me I'm not connected to the Internet. [I verified with my other devices that my wifi is up and running.] It runs me through diagnostics and then lo and behold it says no Airport card detected. It's not even a choice in the diagnostics section. No spinning ball appeared, but without the internet, life isn't worth living.

     

    I restarted normally and verified that I was indeed connected to my wifi network. And then the spinning ball took over and nothing works.

     

    Linelle

  • by Nubz N.,

    Nubz N. Nubz N. Feb 11, 2016 6:39 AM in response to Linelle Lane
    Community Hosts
    Feb 11, 2016 6:39 AM in response to Linelle Lane

    Hi Linelle,

     

    So this sounds like you get the spinning wait cursor when connected to Wi-Fi.

     

    Does it work okay with Wi-Fi disabled and connected with Ethernet?

    How to troubleshoot Wi-Fi connectivity in OS X Lion or earlier - Apple Support

    4. Try connecting to your router through Ethernet, if your Mac has Ethernet. Connect an Ethernet cable directly to your Wi-Fi router from your computer.

    (of course there are other troubleshooting steps in that article too :-)

     

    If it looks like hardware you may want to get the iMac checked out.

    https://locate.apple.com

  • by Linelle Lane,

    Linelle Lane Linelle Lane Feb 11, 2016 1:24 PM in response to Nubz N.
    Level 1 (109 points)
    Feb 11, 2016 1:24 PM in response to Nubz N.

    Hi Nubz N.

     

    No luck with the Ethernet cable. The only difference is when I booted in Safe Mode I didn't get the warning that no Airport card was detected. No response trying to launch MS Word or Chrome. I know my Airport card is there and working (even if the darn computer isn't).

     

    I tried resetting the PRAM, with no improvement.

     

    Read somewhere to hold down the power button 10 seconds on rebooting. No luck there either.

     

    At this point, I'm resigned to buying a new iMac. I have money in the budget and I'm tired of futzing with this thing. By the time I fetch its box down from the attic and schlep it into my local Apple Store, and then pay $xxx (assuming it can be fixed), I could be getting on with life with a retina display and an OS more current than Snow Leopard.

     

    I sincerely appreciate the time you've taken to troubleshoot this with me, but I think I'm about ready to kick this Mac to the curb.

  • by Klaus1,

    Klaus1 Klaus1 Feb 11, 2016 4:29 PM in response to Linelle Lane
    Level 8 (48,821 points)
    Feb 11, 2016 4:29 PM in response to Linelle Lane

    Useful article here on the causes of the Spinning Beach Ball and how to troubleshoot it:

     

    http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9177479/Troubleshoot_the_spinning_beach_b all?taxonomyId=89&pageNumber=1

     

    and also this:

     

    http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/sbbod.html

  • by Linelle Lane,

    Linelle Lane Linelle Lane Feb 11, 2016 4:54 PM in response to Klaus1
    Level 1 (109 points)
    Feb 11, 2016 4:54 PM in response to Klaus1

    Hi Klaus1, thanks for your suggestions.

     

    Sigh. I have enough disk space. I'm not multitasking, just trying to do one thing, anything.

     

    One day everything was fine. Shut it down while I went out of town for a week. Came home, and the Spinning Beach Ball.

     

    I'm not really sure what starting in Safe Mode was supposed to accomplish. It actually added a problem that didn't exist with the Spinning Ball, that of saying I had no Airport card. When I got around that by connecting to my router via Ethernet, still nothing worked.

     

    If I just walk away from the Spinning Ball, eventually the computer will go black and appear dead, although I can hear a faint purr.

     

    Until this happened I actually thought I was done with desktop computers, since I have an iPad, 6s Plus and 2015 MacBook Pro. But I realized I like a dedicated desktop machine in my office with a screen larger than 13 inches. Oh, the attachments we form.

  • by Eric Root,

    Eric Root Eric Root Feb 12, 2016 7:51 AM in response to Linelle Lane
    Level 9 (70,042 points)
    iTunes
    Feb 12, 2016 7:51 AM in response to Linelle Lane

    Try downloading and running the 10.6.8 combo update. Sometimes that will repair corrupt files.

     

    10.6.8 Combo Updater


    Also try another user. Create the user and then boot into new account.


    Do a backup, using either Time Machine or a cloning program, to ensure files/data can be recovered. Two backups are better than one.

     

    Try setting up another admin user account to see if the same problem continues. If Back-to-My Mac is selected in System Preferences, the Guest account will not work. The intent is to see if it is specific to one account or a system wide problem. This account can be deleted later.

     

    Isolating an issue by using another user account

  • by Linelle Lane,

    Linelle Lane Linelle Lane Feb 12, 2016 8:05 AM in response to Eric Root
    Level 1 (109 points)
    Feb 12, 2016 8:05 AM in response to Eric Root

    Hi Eric. The problem is, I can't do anything. I can't go online to download the 10.6.8 combo update. Rebooting via the various methods will give me my familiar Desktop with all icons displayed as if nothing is wrong. If I click on an app in the Dock, e.g., Word, the icon depresses and nothing happens. Sometimes I can get into Settings. Then the Spinning Ball.

     

    I will try creating another user. I'm the only one on this machine. I'm about ready to drop-kick this machine.

     

    BTW, why do I have to log into this discussion every time I come here? Is it because I'm coming in through an email link?

  • by Linelle Lane,

    Linelle Lane Linelle Lane Feb 12, 2016 3:27 PM in response to Linelle Lane
    Level 1 (109 points)
    Feb 12, 2016 3:27 PM in response to Linelle Lane

    I rebooted into Safe Mode (where it says I have no Airport card) and created a new user. Then I restarted the computer and logged in as the new user and my Airport card and internet connection reappeared. I clicked on Safari and actually connected to the Apple website (default). I thought, yeehaw, I'm back. But no. The Spinning Ball appeared after about 10 seconds and I had to hold down the power button until it shut down.

  • by Eric Root,

    Eric Root Eric Root Feb 13, 2016 7:49 AM in response to Linelle Lane
    Level 9 (70,042 points)
    iTunes
    Feb 13, 2016 7:49 AM in response to Linelle Lane

    Do a backup if possible,  preferable 2 separate ones on 2 drives. Boot off the DVD and run Disk Utility Verify/Repair Disk and Repair Permissions until you get no errors.  Reformat the drive using Disk Utility/Erase Mac OS Extended (Journaled), then click the Option button and select GUID. Then re-install the OS.

     

    When you reboot, use Setup Assistant to restore your data.

     

    Use the link above to update to 10.6.8.