iMac frozen, strange cursor.

Kenapple30 said:

Please help
What is this---the little arrow curser with mini page behind it. Moves with mouse but computer totally frozen
Im 71 and all this on an iphone. Fingers too big for phone keyboard please help me get my imac back

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Did you try restarting the computer to see if that works? If you hold the power button down for ~10 seconds, it'll force the computer to shut down. After that, turn it back on, and you'll probably be golden.

Good luck!

Man, I forgot what that is but it has happened to me... esc? Is it an accessibility cursor that you have turned on by hitting something?

We don't know what machine you have or what OS X version. I realize it's hard to type on an iPhone (I have the same problem), but the info might help.

If it's a newer machine, I'd try to take it to an Apple store if there's one nearby.

If it's an older machine, well... get your OS X Install Disk, put it in the optical drive, and boot from it while holding down the "D" key. That should start up the Apple Hardware Test which could well tell you something.

How does one run the Apple Hardware Test on a newer (no OS disc) machine?


Your problem sounds very similar to one I and a number of others have encountered, but my problem is specific to certain 2007 and 2008 iMacs with ATI video cards. Does yours happen to fall in that category?

It could well be the graphics card, but I'm guessing that it could instead be the logic board or a memory problem. I wouldn't just replace the graphics card without more evidence that it's the problem.