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I'm running Ubuntu 13.04, and the problem is that sometimes the mouse pointer icon is stuck with the busy cursor (I can move it) or spinning wait. When this happens, if mouse cursor is on any window titles, The Unity Launcher and Panel, the cursor becomes busy. After a while, the problem simply goes.

I can't send a screenshot because it doesn't show up in the screenshot.

I face this problem when try to run some applications:

  • Ubuntu one
  • gksudo nautilus

Hardware Specifications:

  • Seagate Barracude 3.5" 7200RPM HDD
  • MSI Z77A-G43
  • Kingston HyperX 1600MHz DDR3 RAM 4GB
  • Core i5-2500k
  • My computer uses the Intel HD 3000 that is on i5-2500k

I don't use any other driver than the one that comes with Ubuntu 13.04

Here is a video that you can see the problem produced: https://www.dropbox.com/s/61rzeutdogog821/out-2.ogv

I can say that there is not considerable change regarding the consumption of system resources while the cursor is spinning.

Hckr
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    I've been experiencing this problem from the very early versions of Ubuntu, as well. Never questioned it though. Good question +1. – hytromo Aug 15 '13 at 16:45
  • can you post your pc specs? Specifically CPU, RAM, HDD/SSD type, Video card. If you are on laptop make/model. – Cubiq Aug 20 '13 at 15:00
  • My question has been edited, added hardware specifications @Cubiq – Hckr Aug 20 '13 at 16:12
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    Added a video of the problem – Hckr Aug 20 '13 at 16:40
  • I have experience the same problem. but my problem solved by change a mouse. sorry, but really fixed. – scalopus Aug 20 '13 at 16:54
  • The problem is reproduced even without a mouse. – Hckr Aug 20 '13 at 17:54
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    I have exactly the same issue and I don't think it's performance related as it happens with very simple apps like gedit without opening any documents. Also the wait cursor disappears quickly as you switch focus to another app or it can stay for a long time if you just let it be like Hckr showed in the video. – Vitaly Sep 10 '13 at 23:11
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    Same problem. On 18.04 and on a fresh install of 19.04. This is just nuts. And yes it's not performance related. I also think it triggers way more often than otherwise when using Nautilus (default file manager). – Display Name Sep 01 '19 at 21:47
  • Also, clicking on the top status bar (where time and other small icons are) makes it normal again, but having to click it so often is frustrating. – Display Name Sep 01 '19 at 21:49
  • SIX LONG YEARS have passed since this problem has been reported and the very same issue is present in the current version of Ubuntu (19.10) under GNOME Shell......... this is ridiculous. – barotto Oct 28 '19 at 18:57

3 Answers3

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This is definitely a problem I've noticed as well. I have a very fast computer with an SSD and no CPU was being used by the process giving the cursor. An empty gedit window would show the dang thing.

In fact this problem drove me so crazy, I decided to go with the "hackish" solution - get rid of the "thinking" cursor. I never needed it anyways.

The way to get rid of the "thinking" cursor without breaking anything is to simply replace it with the normal cursor image.

If you're using the default cursor theme DMZ-White, simply open a terminal (Ctrl-Alt-T) and run these commands:

cd /usr/share/icons/DMZ-White/cursors
sudo mv watch watch.old
sudo ln -s left_ptr watch
nohup unity --replace &
exit

Restart if the problem still occurs.

Now, this doesn't technically fix the problem, but it definitely hides it out of annoyance.

Kupiakos
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    Thank you, this is "useful" but not the answer that I want. I use this to get rid of the problem, unless there is another solution. – Hckr Aug 21 '13 at 06:57
  • I agree it's a serious problem and this is not the right solution. I suppose a bug report should be filed if more than one person is having it. I thought it was just my computer. – Kupiakos Aug 22 '13 at 15:57
  • As I have researched, there are some other users who faces this problem, solving that by using your method. They say spining wait shows up %90 wrongly. I think it is gonna get better on Ubuntu 13.10 with Mir/Xmir. – Hckr Aug 22 '13 at 16:07
  • As I was trying @Kupiakos workaround I realized that the wait cursor that's displayed is not the same as defined by the cursor theme. This make me wonder if the problem has something to do with the way the cursor animation is handled. – Vitaly Sep 11 '13 at 20:08
  • With my particular cursor theme (lubuntu18.04), I also had to do the same for ; "left_ptr_watch" as well as "watch". – Humpity Apr 05 '20 at 17:56
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That's a very difficult question to answer. Excluding hardware malfunctions (especially hard drives) the following is what I experienced in these years of Ubuntu.

At each release Ubuntu tends to be slightly more demanding HW-wise. It happens that a video card driver or xorg update make the OS snappier but in the long run you always need a more powerful rig.

This is normal because hardware keeps evolving and so does Ubuntu. You can't release today an OS that works equally well on modern and 10yo PCs.

So if you are low spec'ed especially in RAM and CPU power, you might want not to update to the latest bleeding edge version, or you may want to switch to a less demanding distribution like lubuntu.

If you have less than 2GB of ram, that would be the first thing to upgrade. I noticed that for a standard office use you barely notice any difference between 4gb or 8gb, but if you have less than 2GB you risk to use too much disk swap (which may cause the infamous spinning wheel).

Unfortunately I noticed that Ubuntu and Gnome in general are not as snappy as they used to be even on super powered PCs. I had a latest model i7 with 16gb and nvidia card, but sometimes the system was lagging anyway (even on barebone distros like Arch).

The only solution I could find (without switching to a different windows manager) was to install an SSD. That's the best update you can do to your PC. Even a very small SSD just for the / partition (while data might be stored on regular HDD) makes a big (big) difference.

Also switching to a different file browser might help you out in some situations where the culprit is Nautilus, but the best is to switch to SSD.

You may try to sooth the symptoms by removing background processes, for example you can try to remove zeitgeist, but at the end the less painful solution seems to be an SSD.

Cubiq
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have what I think is a similar issue: Seems Canonical waits a full 15 to 20 minutes after the system is booted and a browser has been opened, and then they do something which takes control of the HD and keeps it perpetually Busy., So much so that I can't actually access any functioning of the OS. It must be a nice OS.. Too bad they occupy it to such an extent that it cannot be used when they are .

Mokie
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