Ticket Options
Question Profile
| DATE | Nov 28, 2007 |
| TICKET | #335152 |
| STATUS | Closed |
| SUBJECT | BEACHBALLS!!!! |
| CAT | Computers, Operating Systems, Applications or Connected Devices |
| TYPE | Operating System Features, Bugs and Problems |
| DESC | Apple |
| DESC | 10.1.X |
| PLATFORM | Apple Macintosh (PowerPC G3,G4,G5) |
| MODEL | not sure |
| PROC | don't know |
| RAM | no idea |
| DRIVE | ????? |
| NAME | meg |
| USERNAME | moccmonet |
| TECHNICAL | Beginner |
| ISSUE | Just Started Looking |
Question Details
TICKET ARCHIVE -> BEACHBALLS!!!!
moccmonet - Nov 28, 2007 - 1:21 pm
Hi I am by no means very computer savvy....but I am not an idiot and can read simple instruction. Can anybody tell me how to stop these blasted beachballs..? They are more frequent each day. My computer is running quite slowly and I don't know if there is a quick fix I may try ??? Thanks so much.
Stuartpau - Nov 28, 2007 - 9:30 pm
HI I don't know how much, I am going to be able to help you with this,as most of it is going to be up to you.
As you may be aware, the Beachballs are an indication that the computer is busy and there are many causes for this. Usually the system's resources are being pushed to the limit.
SO first of al I will need some information from you, on how much RAM you have, how large your HD is and how full it is.
Also of importance is exactly which version of the OS you are using.
This is just for starters.
To determine your RAM, go to the Apple Menu item and pull down to about this Mac, this info on the first page is of real value, especially the button lower down that says more info.
Press that button and if you can save the results from that application by saving the results, as a text file, send it to me at stuarta@macosx.com, I will at least have a better idea of how much your computer's resources are being used.
If you are running OS X 10.1, you are definitely running an old OS, and therefore there is a good chance that your HD is really fragmented (Your files are in pieces all over your HD, a normal thing to happen, especially with no obvious way to de-fragment your files, built in to the system.) and that a lot of the system Caches are full and need to be emptied.
It is really essential to know which PowerMac you have as that will also determine what can be done at a hardware level to improve things.
That info should be in the report generated by the more info button that simply launches the application System Profiler.
A couple of tools you are probably going to need are a spare Firewire 400 HD that can be used to back up all your Data and Diskwarrior, the version that is appropriate for your OS, as each Diskwarrior application is pretty much dependent on the OS it was written for.
Of real importance is determining what you use the machine for, as it is no use expecting to get killer performance out of a Powermac G3 with 256K RAM and a 40Gig HD, if you are tring to do large scale image editing Music or 3D Modeling.
If you can fill me in on what you are planning on using the system for, and also if you are willing to update some aspects of it, I am sure we can get some more speed out of it.
By the way one big speed killer in the early versions of OS X was having your Idisk (If you have one) mounted on your desktop, that would really slow you almost to a standstill.
As long as you are not crashing all the time, and are managing to get your work done, abeit very slowly, then I think you have a workable system here.
Stuart
As you may be aware, the Beachballs are an indication that the computer is busy and there are many causes for this. Usually the system's resources are being pushed to the limit.
SO first of al I will need some information from you, on how much RAM you have, how large your HD is and how full it is.
Also of importance is exactly which version of the OS you are using.
This is just for starters.
To determine your RAM, go to the Apple Menu item and pull down to about this Mac, this info on the first page is of real value, especially the button lower down that says more info.
Press that button and if you can save the results from that application by saving the results, as a text file, send it to me at stuarta@macosx.com, I will at least have a better idea of how much your computer's resources are being used.
If you are running OS X 10.1, you are definitely running an old OS, and therefore there is a good chance that your HD is really fragmented (Your files are in pieces all over your HD, a normal thing to happen, especially with no obvious way to de-fragment your files, built in to the system.) and that a lot of the system Caches are full and need to be emptied.
It is really essential to know which PowerMac you have as that will also determine what can be done at a hardware level to improve things.
That info should be in the report generated by the more info button that simply launches the application System Profiler.
A couple of tools you are probably going to need are a spare Firewire 400 HD that can be used to back up all your Data and Diskwarrior, the version that is appropriate for your OS, as each Diskwarrior application is pretty much dependent on the OS it was written for.
Of real importance is determining what you use the machine for, as it is no use expecting to get killer performance out of a Powermac G3 with 256K RAM and a 40Gig HD, if you are tring to do large scale image editing Music or 3D Modeling.
If you can fill me in on what you are planning on using the system for, and also if you are willing to update some aspects of it, I am sure we can get some more speed out of it.
By the way one big speed killer in the early versions of OS X was having your Idisk (If you have one) mounted on your desktop, that would really slow you almost to a standstill.
As long as you are not crashing all the time, and are managing to get your work done, abeit very slowly, then I think you have a workable system here.
Stuart
IF THIS IS YOUR QUESTION AND YOU WISH TO RESPOND, LOGIN HERE FIRST.
