Mouse works but computer isn't responding

[mcr29]

I hope I got this in the right place since a few different forums might have been applicable. I have an iMac, 21", it's about 14 months old, I've done all the updates it told me to but I can't remember what version I have and I can't find out.

A few times it has frozen where the mouse works but nothing else happens, you can't click on anything, but it usually goes away w/ a restart. But now it's not going away. I was just browsing the web, and it froze. I was playing a video on youtube, and the video continued to play until it was over but nothing would happen when I clicked on the close buttons or any other buttons. I couldn't do a force quit becuase nothing is responding. But the mouse is moving. I have restarted and even unplugged 4 times now, and it's still happening. Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

 

[ewilson6]

is your mouse plugged into a hub or the keyboard?

--Eric

 

[Nero Wolfe]

I hope I got this in the right place since a few different forums might have been applicable. I have an iMac, 21", it's about 14 months old, I've done all the updates it told me to but I can't remember what version I have and I can't find out.

A few times it has frozen where the mouse works but nothing else happens, you can't click on anything, but it usually goes away w/ a restart. But now it's not going away. I was just browsing the web, and it froze. I was playing a video on youtube, and the video continued to play until it was over but nothing would happen when I clicked on the close buttons or any other buttons. I couldn't do a force quit becuase nothing is responding. But the mouse is moving. I have restarted and even unplugged 4 times now, and it's still happening. Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

If it's a wireless mouse, turn it off then back on (the mouse that is) that usually clears it up for me. If that doesn't work, put the iMac to sleep using the power button, give it a few seconds then wake it. I've found that a lot of 'light freezes' or odd unresponsiveness can be cured by this method.

 

[mcr29]

It's is a wireless mouse, and I did try to turn it off and back on, and I took the batteries out and that didn't work. However I was able to fix it finally by using the keyboard to do the force quit, I only knew how to do it with the mouse but once I found the keyboard code for it, and force quit every application that was running, THEN restarted it, then it fixed. I would have thought unplugging the whole thing in the first place was the same as a force quit but I guess not.

Is it normal for the mouse to take about 10 minutes to start working after it's turned on (like I change the batteries or shut it off and then on, and it does not respond for about 10 minutes, happens every time.)

Too bad I can't find a forum like this for my cell phone, cause it likes to give me crap too! Thanks for the help.

 

[trig]

force quit

I am a new mac user and am experiencing the same thing with my 24" imac. I was on the internet and it just froze up. I turned it off and back on again and it booted up fine but nothing works except the mouse. I can highlight over stuff but nothing will run. What is the keyboard code for a force quit.

Thanks,
trig

 

[hologram]

What is the keyboard code for a force quit.

Thanks,
trig

Command+Option+Escape

then you can use the arrow and return keys to choose what to quit. You might try relaunching the finder this way the next time it freezes, and see if this helps get things going without a restart.