You can make a difference in the Apple Support Community!

When you sign up with your Apple Account, you can provide valuable feedback to other community members by upvoting helpful replies and User Tips.

Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

spinning beach ball almost constantly

I get a spinning beach ball on my iMac no matter what I am doing, safari, firegfox, messages, app store,

pages, etc...


How can I get it to stop? Its on all the time and takes forever sometimes for it to stop for at least a minute or two.

iMac 21.5″, macOS 10.15

Posted on Aug 7, 2021 6:23 AM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Aug 7, 2021 6:32 AM

Hello, newtapple.


• If rebooting your Mac doesn’t fix things, see if the problem still happens in Safe mode (hold the shift key down at startup). It can take much longer to safe boot (10 min) so be patient.

How to use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support 


Safe mode forces the OS to clear certain caches and logs and do other miscellaneous housekeeping. It's non-destructive to user data so is safe to do. Very often certain weird software behavior is corrected by simply logging in this way as a troubleshooting method. When you're in safe boot, the machine will not be at its best performance, especially with graphics, but that's normal.


Does the problem persist while in Safe mode?

Exit safe mode by restarting your Mac normally and re-evaluate the issue again.


• If a safe boot doesn't seem to resolve the problem, you should run an EtreCheck evaluation of your Mac. EtreCheck is a diagnostic app that gathers and reports important information about your Macintosh. It is very highly regarded and meant to be used with Apple Support Communities to help others help you troubleshoot and resolve your Mac problems.


Please navigate to EtreCheck.com and download the free version of EtreCheck. Once you’ve run the app and created your report please post it with your reply to this message. 


You must upload the full report. For instructions on how to attach your EtreCheck report to your reply, please click  How to use Add Text when posting…


We can use the EtreCheck report to look for the more obvious things that may be causing your problem and advise how to correct them.

2 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Aug 7, 2021 6:32 AM in response to newtapple

Hello, newtapple.


• If rebooting your Mac doesn’t fix things, see if the problem still happens in Safe mode (hold the shift key down at startup). It can take much longer to safe boot (10 min) so be patient.

How to use safe mode on your Mac - Apple Support 


Safe mode forces the OS to clear certain caches and logs and do other miscellaneous housekeeping. It's non-destructive to user data so is safe to do. Very often certain weird software behavior is corrected by simply logging in this way as a troubleshooting method. When you're in safe boot, the machine will not be at its best performance, especially with graphics, but that's normal.


Does the problem persist while in Safe mode?

Exit safe mode by restarting your Mac normally and re-evaluate the issue again.


• If a safe boot doesn't seem to resolve the problem, you should run an EtreCheck evaluation of your Mac. EtreCheck is a diagnostic app that gathers and reports important information about your Macintosh. It is very highly regarded and meant to be used with Apple Support Communities to help others help you troubleshoot and resolve your Mac problems.


Please navigate to EtreCheck.com and download the free version of EtreCheck. Once you’ve run the app and created your report please post it with your reply to this message. 


You must upload the full report. For instructions on how to attach your EtreCheck report to your reply, please click  How to use Add Text when posting…


We can use the EtreCheck report to look for the more obvious things that may be causing your problem and advise how to correct them.

Aug 7, 2021 8:56 AM in response to newtapple

Welcome to the Apple Support Communities.


I believe we need to proceed with an EtreCheck report. EtreCheck is a useful App to diagnose and identify issues, both hardware and software. It is trusted by many users. Please follow the steps outlined below:


  1. Navigate to: https://etrecheck.com and get the free version of EtreCheckPro.
  2. Download it. It is a free and trusted app. It is often recommended here on Apple Support Communities. 
  3. Open EtreCheck, and before running the report, be sure to check “Allow full Drive Access” at the bottom of the EtreCheckPro window.
  4. Run the report, and put it in a post, as seen here: https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-250000211. We will then examine the report for issues in your Mac.


Jack

spinning beach ball almost constantly

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.