If you are running too many things at once, your Mac may run out of virtual memory, causing it to put one or more of the currently running apps on hold until some memory gets freed up.

If the app in question keeps triggering this problem in the future, you can try reinstalling it or simply not using it anymore. In such cases, simply restarting or force-quitting the app should get the job done. Oftentimes, a single app that has experienced an error could be the reason for the spinning wheel’s appearance. This is one of the most typical causes of this problem. Possible reasons for the Spinning Wheel to show up on your Mac A problem with a particular app In the lines below, we will try to go over the main causes for the Spinning Wheel of Death (this is how most users refer to it) to keep replacing your regular cursor and what actions you can perform to alleviate or fully resolve the problem. In other instances, however, especially if you keep seeing the wheel appear on your screen, there could be an issue that’s more difficult to fix. Oftentimes, the fix to this issue is trivial and involves reducing the current workload of the machine.

If the wheel stays on the screen for a while and doesn’t go away on its own, it’s likely that one or more of the apps that are currently open have frozen and become unresponsive. However, if the spinning wheel keeps appearing and/or if it stays on your screen for a longer period of time, then this might indicate that there’s a more serious problem with the computer that requires your attention. In such cases, there’s usually no need to do anything about it. Typically, you would only see the wheel for a second or two until your Mac solves the issue and goes back to normal. The dreaded spinning wheel on Mac computers is basically your Mac’s way of telling you that the system is taking longer than normal to load something and that there might be some kind of problem with it. The default arrow cursor transforms into the spinning wheel on Mac machines when the computer is stuck trying to load something The Spinning Wheel on Mac computers is a variant of the regular arrow cursor that’s shaped like a rainbow-colored circle that spins.

Freeing up virtual memory and resetting NVRAM/PRAM.

Possible reasons for the Spinning Wheel to show up on your Mac.

Outlook for mac spinning wheel of death