New macbook pro and the rainbow pinwheel

cymrugirl

Thanks for all the info. I will definitely be upgrading the memory - just been a bit slow getting round to it.
I'll probably give apple mail another go at some point...when I get a bit more used to the apps. Just easing myself into it at the moment
I'm hoping the prices of SSD will come down a bit and install one of those. The prices at the moment are a bit eye watering.

It happened again just now with just the browser running. I checked spotlight and it wasn't indexing. No MobileMe either. Will go and try what everyone has recommended so thanks for the quick replies everyone. Much appreciated. :T

Marty_J

I guess it wouldn't hurt for you to repair your disk permissions.

Go to the Disk Utility; the easiest way is to just type it into Spotlight, but you can go the long way and go to Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility.

Then, select your hard drive, and click the Repair Disk Permissions button:



Once you're done, restart and see if anything improves.

cymrugirl

Thanks Marty - I'va actually just done that this second. I've reset the PRAM as well and for good measure, booted into safe mode and then restarted normally. Hope that isn't going too OTT!

BikerEd

4GB will virtually eliminate these problems. Check upgrade costs at Crucial.

Firefox on Mac has more leaks than the MP's expenses office, so it is worth checking with Activity Monitor how much memory it is consuming. Over time you will notice it grow and grow. If it gets over 500MB (which it will, depending on which extensions you have installed) then consider restarting Firefox.

Leopard

Hmm. I was thinking that, too.

Indeed, I was going to suggest closing both Firefox and Thunderbird, re-booting, and then browsing for a while with Safari just to see if that cured the problem.

My own experience with Firefox for Mac has been such that I wouldn't want to run it for long on a ProBook with just 2 GB of RAM - such is its leakage.

(That said, however, last weekend I had four Spaces open in OS X on my Wind for two hours, with Safari, Firefox, Camino and Opera all running simultaneously, and Mail open in a fifth Space without problem - and my Wind's got only 2 GB of RAM...)

But isofa swears by Firefox for Mac and I wouldn't normally question his advice. So, I refrained from advancing the idea to the OP, myself.

You're right, though; it's certainly worth trying.


I'd like to add that I've found you own advice in this forum consistently sound and helpful. Many thanks.

And thanks to Marty J, too. I've been trying out Adblock for Safari this week, on his recommendation. No hitches at all (but I do wonder what brilliant deals I might have missed out on, ad-wise!). Doh - you can't have that one both ways, can you? :wall:

cymrugirl

The problem happens with both safari and firefox but I do notice firefox does tend to grow. Still prefer it over safari though

I tried apple mail last night and got rid of thunderbird but noticed when typing new mails...it's a lot slower to respond. It takes a few seconds to catch up with my typing - I'll type away but the screen sort of freezes for a few seconds and then the writing appears. I'm guessing that isn't normal behaviour though? It's also a lot slower sending mail. Thunderbird is instantaneous but I have to wait a bit longer on apple mail. Any ideas?

Beachball came up after having run the maintenance scripts, resetting the PRAM, repairing the disk permissions etc. Guess next I'll have to try it with more memory and see if that fixes the problems. Many thanks everyone.

macman

I agree with the suggestions to up the RAM to 4GB. Given what your MBP has cost you, it's a small investment to make.

cymrugirl

yeah - £25 isn't a lot....just a bit worried from reading on the apple forum about people with similar problems who have either stock or upgraded their memory/disks and having problems with freezes because of the 1.7 firmware update. Bit of a letdown but still hasn't put me off apple. Even with these problems I still might get an imac next.

macman

It's a no-brainer. £25 is less than 3% of what you paid for the MBP.

Marty_J

I'm not so sure about upgrading the RAM; even on 2 GB, a brand new MacBook Pro should still be pretty snappy. It shouldn't be beachballing every few seconds and it should be able to keep up with someone typing. Installing more RAM would only make a difference if you were consistently maxing out your available RAM. If you're only using 1 GB of it, you aren't going to see any difference between 2 GB and 4 GB. You can install all the RAM you want, but if it's not being used, it's not going to do anything.

MacBook Pros aren't cheap, and having problems with it after only a week isn't really acceptable. One pays more for an Apple because of its build quality (among other things), so it should meet those expectations. I'm typing this on a three year old iMac, which is a lot slower than your new MacBook Pro. I'm using 2 GB of RAM, which is the maximum supported, and it never beachballs. It has no problem keeping up with typing or running Safari, Mail, iTunes and Photoshop, all at the same time. Switching between them is instantaneous, as is sending emails in Apple Mail.

Do you have an Apple Store nearby? If so, I would take it there and show them your problem. Your new Mac should be a joy to use, not a pain. It's more than likely something very simple such as a bad stick of RAM that they need to swap out, but don't put up with it. Apple have excellent customer service; make use of it!