Mac Color Wheel, What is it?

Users who have switched to a Mac device recently might be wondering what is this Rainbow (Color) Wheel that appears on their screens from time to time. Well, the official name of this system indicator is Spinning Wait Cursor and it signifies that the resources of the Mac have been overwhelmed currently, and cannot handle all active tasks. Usually, the system sorts itself out in just a couple of seconds and the color wheel disappears. However, sometimes users may wait for multiple minutes with no change in sight - the wheel just keeps spinning and spinning. Usually, the cause is a frozen or unresponsive application but it also can be a general issue with the system.

Stopping an unresponsive application and dealing with the Mac color wheel

If the color wheel has emerged as a result of an unresponsive application, then it can be easily dealt with. Simply Force Quit the application. 

1. Go to the Apple menu.
2. Select 'Force Quit.'
3. Select the frozen app from the list.
4. Click 'Force Quit.'

Keep in mind that this might be a temporary solution, especially if the application freezes every time you wish to launch it. If that is the case, consider uninstalling the application and then proceeding to perform a fresh install. 

Reasons leading to the Mac becoming unresponsive

To check if the issue doesn't lie with the Mac system itself, you may need to check several different potential causes. A helpful tool in this process is going to be the Activity Monitor. To open it go to your Applications folder, then the 'Utilities' subfolder, and locate Activity Monitor.

1. High CPU usag

Once inside the Activity Monitor, take a look at the CPU load table. If it stays above 50% even with few active applications consistently, it may be a signal that either the CPU is failing, or it is simply too weak to support the current needs of the system. A possible way to mitigate the situation is to limit the number of running applications to only the bare minimum. 

2. Insufficient RAM

Apart from the CPU, users also may want to keep an eye on their RAM. Go to the Memory tab in the Activity Monitor and look at the Memory pressure table. If the graph is in the red, even when only a couple of applications are being used currently, then you've found the likely cause of the unresponsiveness. A possible solution could be to install more RAM.

3. Low disk space

Another reason for the Color Wheel be low, might be free space on the startup disk. If this is the case, you can dedicate some of your time to clean up the drive from any unnecessary large files or applications that you no longer need manually. You also can delete any junk or residual files that might have stockpiled on the system.