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tpicco · Feb 4, 2005, 06:37 AM

I have an 80gb G4 iMac... and I have filled about 60gb worth of hard drive... and lately that damn multi-colored spinnng "wait" wheel keeps popping up... Sometimes when the Mail program is "updating the index" or "compacting messages," that wheel spins eternally (ok... 45 seconds? Sometimes almost 90 seconds)... but it keeps popping up other times too... I have been working lately with Quark 6.1, Photoshop CS, Acrobat 6 all open at the same time... but it also spins "wait" when most of the apps are closed too...

WHY is this happening? It didn't happen the first twelve months I owned this iMac. Is the hard drive too full? What can I do to change this? It's embarrasing when I have a graphic design client sitting here with me and we have to stare at the wall for 45 seconds to a minutes while I wait for my "fast" iMac to process.

What do I need to do? Is there anything I can do?

.................................................. ........
System version : Mac OS X 10.2.8 (6R73)
Machine speed : 1.0 Ghz
Bus speed : 167 MHz
Number of processors : 1L2 cache size : 256K
Machine model : PowerMac6,1 (version = 3.3)
Boot ROM info : 4.6.8f4
Memory Overview:
Location Type Size
DIMM0/J22 DDR SDRAM 512 MB
DIMM1/J20 DDR SDRAM 256 M

iLikebeer · Feb 4, 2005, 07:15 AM

1) do a happy dance
2) uninstall internet explorer
3) get a smaller sig, that should help a lot
4) do a search for recommended maintenance, like "repair permissions", do all the stuff they recommend
5) upgrade to 10.3, my iMac is only an 800, I used to get the beachball of death all the time, but not really any more. I almost filled the drive on several occasions, but finally started deleting all the shareware and extra videos on here that I have backed up or don't need. Incidentally, I haven't ever done any maintenance on this machine EVER, and it seems faster than when I got it in April '02.

tpicco · Feb 4, 2005, 07:26 AM

1) I like to dance... good suggestion
2) rarely use IE, prefer Firefox or even Safari... but OK, I'll dump it...
3) don't have a big sig
4) ok
5) I bought 10.3 about a month ago, but as I am in the middle of a big design job, I'm afraid of f'ing things up... I'm probably being an idiot...

iLikebeer · Feb 4, 2005, 08:04 AM

lol, sorry, I thought those specs were your sig.

But yeah, I want my money back for 10.2. That OS made me start using my rev A much, much more. That damn beachball was everywhere. I almost got a shuttle PC, in fact my parents told me to put one on their credit card, but I decided I could wait and see if things didn't get better. They have. 10.3 is unreal, amazing how much better it is for me.

IMO, I'd say back up everything you need and upgrade. From comments here though, I'd say your other option is to try maintenance stuff and that could very possibly work.

tpicco · Feb 4, 2005, 08:32 AM

ok... now I reveal my ignorance... when you say >>>do a search for recommended maintenance, like "repair permissions", do all the stuff they recommend<<< where am I to search? Apple's web site?

blips · Feb 4, 2005, 09:12 AM

To repair disk permissions:

Open your Application folder
Then open your Utilities folder
Launch the Disk Utility application
On the left side you will see your hard drive and the name of your hard drive under it. Click on the name of your hard drive.
Click the First Aid tab.
Click the "Repair Permissions" button.

When you are done with that, if anyone hasn't recommended it

, upgrade to 10.3

tpicco · Feb 4, 2005, 09:42 AM

Thaaaaank you... Yeah... I got 10.3... I'll upgrade this weekend...

Zubir · Feb 4, 2005, 10:03 PM

Here's a cool program that does most of the maintenance for you:

http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/11582

Also, index your drive about once a month. Do the following:

1) Right (control) click your hardrive.
2) Click "Get info."
3) Click "Content index."
4) Click "Index now."
5) Go to bed. With 60gb, it's going to take awhile.

Cadaver · Feb 5, 2005, 08:20 AM

Originally posted by tpicco:
Thaaaaank you... Yeah... I got 10.3... I'll upgrade this weekend...

If you're in the middle of a big project, and you're determined to upgrade the OS, make sure you back up everything.

Eriamjh · Feb 5, 2005, 01:58 PM

Isn't the spinning wheel of death an indicator that you need more ram?

Andrew Stephens · Feb 5, 2005, 02:14 PM

My wife is using a 12"pb and even though she's not a big computer buff is always commenting on the spinning beach ball. It drives her mad.

Her 'book is running 10.3.7 with 768 Mb RAM, its a rev B. She writes so only uses Word and Safari. The whole machine feels like a total slug. When I use it after my 1.33 15" I want to chuck it out the window! My 'book has good days and bad days. Some days are real beachball days and then the next day it flies.

I must say in general I take people who post that there mac never crashes, runs smoothly all the time etc with a pincjh of salt. After owning over 20 macs in the last 10 years I can safely say that they ALL crash etc. Even running 10.xx we get 2/3 daysw at best between a major crash on any of ur macs!

hadocon · Feb 5, 2005, 02:51 PM

Originally posted by Andrew Stephens:
Even running 10.xx we get 2/3 daysw at best between a major crash on any of ur macs!

Man, that sux. I routinely have uptimes in the order of weeks on my Powerbook which is running 10.3.7 I am a CS/Film student so I spend most of my time developing, editing, surfing, etc...