Is your Mac feeling sluggish with the dreaded spinning beach ball appearing constantly? Here's how to speed things up.

Symptoms

  • Spinning rainbow beach ball appears frequently

  • Apps take a long time to open or switch

  • System feels unresponsive during normal tasks

Step-by-Step Resolution

1. Quit Unused Apps

  1. Right-click any app icon in the Dock

  2. Choose Quit

  3. For unresponsive apps, press Command+Option+Esc

  4. Select the app and click Force Quit

2. Restart Your Mac

  1. Click Apple menu > Restart

  2. Restarting every few days can clear many performance issues

  3. Wait 2-3 minutes after restart before opening demanding apps

3. Check Activity Monitor

  1. Press Command+Space, type "Activity Monitor", and open it

  2. On the CPU tab, sort by % CPU

  3. Look for processes using very high percentages

  4. If you recognize a non-system app using a lot of CPU, select it and click the Stop (X) button

4. Check Memory and Disk Usage

  1. In Activity Monitor, open the Memory tab

  2. Ensure Memory Pressure is not constantly red

  3. Go to Apple menu > About This Mac > More Info > Storage

  4. If your disk is nearly full, delete unneeded files or move them to external storage

5. Update macOS and Apps

  1. Go to System Settings > General > Software Update

  2. Apply all available updates

  3. Update App Store apps via App Store > Updates


Beach ball still appearing? There may be deeper storage, memory, or hardware issues. Our team can perform a structured Mac health check and tune-up.

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