Although the current app or document you may have been working on will be temporarily disabled, you may still be able to switch to another and work on that. However, when the Mac hits a severe snag (if you are doing TOO MUCH), the spinning ball will appear and stay there. Usually, this lasts for just a few seconds at most, and then the ball gradually goes away, and then the standard cursor pointer reappears when the task is finished.

This means that the computer is processing a particularly tricky task. When your Mac is busy, it can be normal to see the “ spinning ball” cursor from time to time arise. Here’s How to Unfreeze Word on Mac Without Losing Work. So to help you out and to keep you from smashing your laptop, we have created this article to help you learn how to unfreeze your mac if this ever happens. We know how frustrating it can be to have to get to work but have the spinning ball of death come on the screen, KILLING YOUR TIME AND PROGRESS. There are several reasons for Mac freeze-ups, and they can vary from device to device. When the “ Spinning Ball of Death” appears, you’re stuck, and that sucks.

A frozen Apple iMac or MacBook can be a significant nuisance.

My imac keeps freezing spinning wheel