New 2012 mini, spinning wheel

[jimmy83]

Ive got the base spec, slowly coming to terms with it all after switching from Win7.

I tend to use it with Lightroom, but I think LR is causing quite a few 'spinning wheels' on the Mac. Which last for a few seconds, I was hoping switching to Mac I wouldnt get these window types issues

oh well, but at the moment Iam running a cracked version and before you say it ive got a legit copy ordered! Could this be the cause?

[benwiggy]

How much RAM do you have? Open Activity Monitor in the Utilities folder, and click on the System Memory tab.
4 Gb should be alright for most purposes, though it's now becoming a bare minimum. OS X will try to use as much RAM as you have, so using it all is not in itself a bad thing.
However, if your computer needs more memory than it has, it will "swap" out memory to disk. You can see the "Swap Used" value. With a 5400 rpm disk, this can take a second or two when the memory is recalled from the disk.

You can also see in the main window if any process is hogging the CPU (sort by CPU%) -- though I would be surprised on a brand new mini.

I would definitely recommend putting 16 Gb of RAM in it. It's cheap, and easy to install.

[dasx]

Yeah. For intensive LR use I'd suggest more RAM too. The system's gotta be swapping for sure.

Also, a SSD would help immensely.

[MrXiro]

I am having this issue too but I have the i7 Mid Mac Mini...

I'm not sure what the heck it could be. But I'll get pinwheels just using chrome, firefox or iTunes. (I thought it was flash at first so I deleted it but I'm still getting the pinwheel)

I've resorted to closing everything else when I edit video in FCPX and it still hangs sometimes and pinwheels and I need to wait about 15-30 seconds for the pinwheel to go away. It "could" be the real time rendering in FCPX but other than that I have no clue.

I can't figure out what it is, as there is no excessive CPU usage noted in the Activity Monitor when it hangs. It just DOES it.

I'm at 16gb RAM too with a Crucial SSD and a secondary 1TB HDD installed.

Does it matter which slot we have the SSD and the HDD installed to?

[benwiggy]

Originally Posted by MrXiro

I am having this issue too but I have the i7 Mid Mac Mini...

Spinning wheels are a symptom of some problem, but it's not necessarily the same problem as the OP has.
"The spinning wait cursor is displayed automatically by the window server when an application cannot handle all of the events it receives. If an application does not respond for about 2 to 4 seconds, the spinning wait cursor appears."
You should also look at the log messages left in the Console utility. If there are any relevant messages at the time of spinning, then that will be a start.

Obviously, real-time rendering in FCPX is going to test the mini, but if you say there's still plenty of CPU spare, I'm not sure.

[dasx]

Originally Posted by MrXiro

I am having this issue too but I have the i7 Mid Mac Mini...

I'm not sure what the heck it could be. But I'll get pinwheels just using chrome, firefox or iTunes. (I thought it was flash at first so I deleted it but I'm still getting the pinwheel)

I've resorted to closing everything else when I edit video in FCPX and it still hangs sometimes and pinwheels and I need to wait about 15-30 seconds for the pinwheel to go away. It "could" be the real time rendering in FCPX but other than that I have no clue.

I can't figure out what it is, as there is no excessive CPU usage noted in the Activity Monitor when it hangs. It just DOES it.

I'm at 16gb RAM too with a Crucial SSD and a secondary 1TB HDD installed.

Does it matter which slot we have the SSD and the HDD installed to?

Try repairing permissions. If it doesn't help, then install OSX in an external drive and see if the problem goes away. If it does, start installing your software until you can reproduce it.

You'll have to use the internet recovery partition in order to make a clean install as the image available in the App Store isn't compatible yet. (AFAIK, they might've updated it already)

[7enderbender]

Originally Posted by jimmy83

Ive got the base spec, slowly coming to terms with it all after switching from Win7.

I tend to use it with Lightroom, but I think LR is causing quite a few 'spinning wheels' on the Mac. Which last for a few seconds, I was hoping switching to Mac I wouldnt get these window types issues

oh well, but at the moment Iam running a cracked version and before you say it ive got a legit copy ordered! Could this be the cause?

LR4? That could be the issue. Tons of people are having speed issues with Lightroom 4. For comparison: I'm on LR3 and on an old XP Thinkpad laptop with 4GB and 7 year old CPU and it works like a charm. Adobe messed that one up which is bad for people who need the new RAW engine for the latest camera bodies. If you're camera is compatible then trying to find LR3 may be worth it. I'm not going to "upgrade" any time soon though this is a problem since I only have a Win version of CS5 and Adobe will only let me cross-grade to CS6 which has the same RAW engine as LR4 which makes things a bit messy potentially.

That being said: yes, you're stolen copy might be the issue also especially if you can't get the latest updates that way. Looks like Adobe has tried to improve upon some of the issues with their latest updates but I'm not sure. You can always download a full version for a few weeks of testing and see if that makes a difference - and then just go ahead and pay the 80 bucks or so. LR is actually pretty good value compared to some of the other Adobe stuff (once it works as designed...).

[MrXiro]

Originally Posted by dasx

Try repairing permissions. If it doesn't help, then install OSX in an external drive and see if the problem goes away. If it does, start installing your software until you can reproduce it.

You'll have to use the internet recovery partition in order to make a clean install as the image available in the App Store isn't compatible yet. (AFAIK, they might've updated it already)

I'm in the middle of cutting a short film right now, otherwise I would. I wanted to do it before but I didn't want to go through the 3 hour process of downloading and installing everything all over again. I had this problem before and did a fresh install but then I imported all my settings and apps from the previous set up that was pin wheeling so I think the issue followed it.

I've tried repairing the permissions a few times First was a few months ago when the problem first occurred and there was a few issues. Then about 2-3 weeks ago I tried again because I was still getting the Pin wheel. There was nothing to repair this time.

I'll try a fresh install once my film is done. I can deal with the freezing for now. It just sucks that this is a new computer with an SSD. Should not have issues like this.

[dasx]

Originally Posted by MrXiro

I'm in the middle of cutting a short film right now, otherwise I would. I wanted to do it before but I didn't want to go through the 3 hour process of downloading and installing everything all over again. I had this problem before and did a fresh install but then I imported all my settings and apps from the previous set up that was pin wheeling so I think the issue followed it.

I've tried repairing the permissions a few times First was a few months ago when the problem first occurred and there was a few issues. Then about 2-3 weeks ago I tried again because I was still getting the Pin wheel. There was nothing to repair this time.

I'll try a fresh install once my film is done. I can deal with the freezing for now. It just sucks that this is a new computer with an SSD. Should not have issues like this.

That's why I mentioned the option of making a clean install in an external HDD. That way you won't lose anything on your internal and will be able to boot as normal as soon as you're done testing the OS in the external.

[jimmy83]

Still having issues

Yes iam on the base model mini with 4GB RAM I will upgrade to 16GB hopefully next month.

Iam using Lightoom 4, ive just brought a brand new copy all legit. I think its a little quicker-but not much if anything

At present with Chrome/iTunes/LR/Mail open activity monitor system memory reads:

Free: 52MB
Wired: 1.34GB
Active: 1.34GB
Inactive: 1.26GB
Used: 3.98GB

[philipma1957]

look at my system memory on a 2012 i7 2.3 16gb ram.

page ins 420 mb
page out 0
swap 0 this means i never was short ram a single time.

from boot to now in my case 30 hours .

if I boot again page ins goes to 0 along with the other counters.

my current breakdown is 11.55gb free out of 16.0gb.

so i don't need more ram and since I am maxed it is good I do not need more.

the op is at 3.98 gb out of 4.0gb as he reports for a current view he needs more ram.

[Ultimacn]

Originally Posted by jimmy83

Ive got the base spec, slowly coming to terms with it all after switching from Win7.

I tend to use it with Lightroom, but I think LR is causing quite a few 'spinning wheels' on the Mac. Which last for a few seconds, I was hoping switching to Mac I wouldnt get these window types issues

oh well, but at the moment Iam running a cracked version and before you say it ive got a legit copy ordered! Could this be the cause?

I have the base model too and experienced performance issues initially and spinning wheels. What I found out though was it was being caused by Photo Stream. I'd imported 120GB of photos into iPhoto and it was uploading all of them thereby using loads of RAM and CPU. After a few days it settled down and all is well now. Worth speaking to AppleCare, I found them a great help especially as I've just moved from Win 7 too.

[jamin100]

if you go to terminal and use the purge command then it will free most of your inactive RAM and might help.

I have the 2.3 i7 mini with 16GB RAM and often find that i only have 200mb RAM left when running a few VM's (usually 3) safari with a few tabs open (maybe 3/4), 2 RDP sessions, iTunes playing songs and the kindle app.

My VMs are set to only use 6GB RAM between them (1 @ 3GB / 2 @ 1.5GB)

I sometimes find that I can have up to 10GB inactive memory and a purge sorts it out.

[jimmy83]

Do you guys think its down to lack of RAM in my mini?

[philipma1957]

Originally Posted by jimmy83

Do you guys think its down to lack of RAM in my mini?

Does the sun set in the west and rise in the east? The answer is yes. you need more ram. 4gb ram is not going to cut it for your needs. I can't be any clearer then this answer. I have my own saying :

"Don't be stupid cheap" i.e. Penney wise pound foolish.

Buy some ram. Buy it from a company that allows returns put the ram in and see if it helps. Go to your activity monitor and check results.

[jimmy83]

Originally Posted by philipma1957

Does the sun set in the west and rise in the east? The answer is yes. you need more ram. 4gb ram is not going to cut it for your needs. I can't be any clearer then this answer. I have my own saying :

"Don't be stupid cheap" i.e. Penney wise pound foolish.

Buy some ram. Buy it from a company that allows returns put the ram in and see if it helps. Go to your activity monitor and check results.

Thanks, would this be suitable?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-GeIL-1...-/120991927244

[53x12]

Originally Posted by jimmy83

Thanks, would this be suitable?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NEW-GeIL-1...-/120991927244

I have no personal experience with that RAM but the specs are the correct specs. Give it a try.

[Mojo1]

Originally Posted by MrXiro

I've tried repairing the permissions a few times First was a few months ago when the problem first occurred and there was a few issues. Then about 2-3 weeks ago I tried again because I was still getting the Pin wheel. There was nothing to repair this time.

1. More RAM. LR uses RAM to render images. 4GB RAM is just enough for the basics...

2. Get an 8GB USB stick and use it to create a bootable Mountain Lion install disk the next time you download ML. Instructions are available on this forum and elsewhere. (I purchased an 8GB stick yesterday for this purpose...)

3. I have read myriad reports regarding problems with pirated Adobe software; avoid it.

4. Instead of doing another fresh install and moving everything over from the old installation consider reinstalling your apps. You already tried it and the problem persisted; there are times when it is advantageous to start fresh. Migration Assistant works very well but if I have an older Mac or one with problems I start over, installing only the stuff that I actually use.

[philipma1957]

the Geil should work I have used it. I think 6 good sticks and a pair that had 1 bad stick. so 7 of 8. IIRC maybe 9 of 10

I returned the bad pair and the replacement was good.

[MrXiro]

Originally Posted by Mojo1

1. More RAM. LR uses RAM to render images. 4GB RAM is just enough for the basics...

2. Get an 8GB USB stick and use it to create a bootable Mountain Lion install disk the next time you download ML. Instructions are available on this forum and elsewhere. (I purchased an 8GB stick yesterday for this purpose...)

3. I have read myriad reports regarding problems with pirated Adobe software; avoid it.

4. Instead of doing another fresh install and moving everything over from the old installation consider reinstalling your apps. You already tried it and the problem persisted; there are times when it is advantageous to start fresh. Migration Assistant works very well but if I have an older Mac or one with problems I start over, installing only the stuff that I actually use.

I'm not sure if your comments are directed to me or the OP...

1. I have 16gb of RAM and I don't use Lightroom.
2. I think I will do that since I have restored so often.
3. It might be my pirated Photoshop... my previous gen iMac pinwheeled a lot.
4. I think I will just start over next the next time I restore.

[Mojo1]

Originally Posted by MrXiro

I'm not sure if your comments are directed to me or the OP...

My suggestions were for you; I quoted you at the top of my post...

I've seen some very strange problems that can be attributed to pirated Adobe software. I assume that they are caused by Adobe's anti-pirating measures.

I wish that Adobe would make it easier for registered licensees. I understand the need to protect its software but complying with Adobe's requirements can be onerous...

[MrXiro]

Originally Posted by Mojo1

My suggestions were for you; I quoted you at the top of my post...

I've seen some very strange problems that can be attributed to pirated Adobe software. I assume that they are caused by Adobe's anti-pirating measures.

I wish that Adobe would make it easier for registered licensees. I understand the need to protect its software but complying with Adobe's requirements can be onerous...

Ah ok. I always had 16gb of RAM (stated in my first post) and I don't use light room so I really wasn't sure you were writing to me. I think the OP talked about Lightroom and only used 4gb.

Damn about the adobe software issue...

I seem to get the biggest problems when running flash websites or iTunes. I get some issues running FCPX too. It just hangs for 20 seconds and then it's fine.

[Mojo1]

I got your post and the OP mixed-up so I missed your reference to having 16GB RAM. Sorry 'bout that!

I never get spinning wheels on my i7 Mini unless an app requires a force quit. Flash, YouTube and the like run just fine.

Try using Activity Monitor to see what is happening when the spinning wheel shows up.

[btdpi007]

I just wanted to add that I recently upgraded from a 2009 iMac to late 2012 Mac Mini and was expecting this thing to fly and it was dog slow. I diagnosed my problem with using the migration assistant, which I had initially preformed. I formated and loaded OSX and go the speeds I was expecting/ hoping to get. The mini flies compared to my old set-up. Additionally, I just dropped 16GB of RAM and really enjoy the experience.