airport locking up

[weilanddavid]

Having trouble with my mac mini. As soon as I boot it up, it is sluggish. Placing the mouse over the airport symbol shows it perpetually spinning (ignores my clicks, needless to say). For now I'd be happy with being able to just turn it off (use internet on a different computer). I've tried a few other methods. Trying to open network in system preferences. Locks up. Tried opening internet connect form applications. Locks up. Tried opening airport setup assistant. Locks up. And these are annoying lock-ups. Ignores my force quit requests. Must unplug to reboot. Even if I just reboot and try to ignore the problem, the computer runs very slowly. Hard to ignore. Any way to kill the airport? I guess I would also like to having it work again of course. But for now, just getting it turned off would be nice. Many thanks for any suggestions.
David W

 

[mad jew]

If you boot into Safe Mode by holding SHIFT at startup, does it behave normally?

 

[weilanddavid]

Doesn't reboot in safe mode. If I hold down the SHIFT key while rebooting it stays on the first screen (just an apple and a spinner) perpetually (perpetually =5 min.). Tried it twice and then tried it normally. Rebooted. But, of course, with the same old problem.

 

[weilanddavid]

another clue:
tried sending a file via bluetooth to bad computer. bluetooth locked up. didn't realize there was a connection between bluetooth and airport.
some sort of phobia of the outside world?

 

[mad jew]

Safe Mode can sometimes take a little while because it also verifies your hard drive's file system. The fact it's hanging for a little while might mean there's a problem with the file system, which might even be related to your current troubles. Try booting from the OSX discs and use Disk Utility to verify and possibly repair your drive. Remember to keep everything backed up, just in case.