Mac freezes with spinning mouse icon when using Terminal or text editor

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Mac freezes with spinning mouse icon when using Terminal or text editor

Hello,

I have the following apps running: Chrome browser, calculator, BBEdit (a text editor), and Terminal.

During normal course of use, noticed mostly while interacting specifically with either Terminal or BBEdit, the computer will stop, with the spinning mouse icon as though it's thinking about something. Anything I'm typing doesn't show up on the screen, and I can't switch windows or apps, but the cursor will move on the screen if I move my mouse. If I press the power button for a second or so, it unhangs the screen and takes me to the login screen briefly, but as soon as I let go of the power button it goes back to what I was in the middle of. Anything I had typed while the computer was hanging appears on the screen.

I wasn't concerned about this at first, since pressing the power button fixes the issue, but it's been getting more frequent.

Thanks for your help!

Posted on Nov 30, 2025 11:05 AM

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Answer 1

Nov 30, 2025 11:15 AM in response to Eidolonkami

try Quit-ing Chrome, the biggest resource hog in the Mac world that is not obvious malware.

If that works, consider getting away from Chrome entirely:

Chrome is particularly resource-intensive because it installs Google which renders your Mac a full time information-harvesting and -uploading "bot" for Google's purposes. Those processes can't be turned off or disabled, even if you quit the Chrome browser. Even without knowing what else is installed on that Mac it is all but assured a multitude of Google's automatically updating virus-like processes are causing your Mac to work overtime.

Get rid of it. No one needs Chrome.

—senior contributor John Galt

Follow these removal instructions.

https://support.google.com/chrome/answer/95319?hl=en&co=GENIE.Platform%3DDesktop#zippy=%2Cmac

More supporting evidence:

https://chromeisbad.com/

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