I downloaded a program, and to run it without the CD I need to somehow use a file that came with the download, but I have no idea how to open the file and apply it to the program. It’s a .app.sit file and when I double click on it it opens in text edit and is just a bunch of gobbledigook, funny characters and stuff.

1. Nonetheless, I don't know what you have been doing wrong with your '7th gen i7' setup, but my SSD-equipped Mac mini G4 1.5GHz with Mac OS 9.2.2 decompressed the original '.toast.sit' file with StuffIt Expander 7.0.3 in precisely only 2 minutes and 58 seconds.
2. UPDATE, new version: some funny tech videos? Some more educational tech videos?

PCMag's Lead Software Analyst Michael Muchmore lays out the evolution of OS X in his piece, Mac OS X Turns 20: A Look Back at the Operating System That Helped Save Apple. Here, I want to focus on.

Anyone know what I’m talking about or what I need to do? Sorry for the vagueness, I’m really not very tech savvy.

13 Answers

.sit is less compressed than a .sitx. .sit is pretty much the mac version of .rar or .zip

You can do it with The Unarchiver. It’s free with no hassles and does the job. Stuffit, the free version is supposedly “free” but they want your credit card info even to get the free version and that’s kind of messed up.

Thanks guys, I downloaded stuffit without adding any credit card info, so I used that and it turned it into just .app so I can open it buuuuut… it still doesn’t work with the program I downloaded. It says it cannot find the required resource and to reinstall the original program. I did that, but then the same thing came up when I opened the .app file. So the actual program still won’t open without a CD. Any ideas?

@shrubbery Any ideas???? Really, try The Unarchiver. Did you even try it, darling????? I downloaded it today because I had some .sit files I needed to open. It worked; that’s all I can say. Right now I have a Mac mini running OS 10.6.6. and The Unarchiver worked fine. I haven’t used Stuffit for a while. How did you get it downloaded? I am usually so good about that kind of thing and I couldn’t see how to get around their nonsense.

Here, you can download if from Apple’s website if that makes you feel better.

You’re trying to open a .sit file right?

I just tried Unarchiver. It did exactly the same thing as Stuffit except that nothing happens when I double click on it, whereas I actually get the message saying it cannot find the required resource after I double click on the one I got out of Stuffit.

Did you try right clicking on the .sit file and the “open with” option? That’s how I always do it. It worked fine for me. What is the exact name of the file you are trying to extract? File name and extension… I want it all, don’t hold anything back. :-)

Edit: And are you sure it did nothing? Did you reload the directory in the finder? It’s somewhere, maybe. Did you get an error message with the Unarchiver or did it just seem like nothing happened? I do that all the time and then find that I’ve got like five copies of a file because I thought nothing had happened. :-)

@shrubbery That kind of defeats the purpose of private messaging someone. Now we all know.

@XOIIO But you don’t know the deep dark private secrets that @shrubbery revealed to me in her “private message” and I will never, ever, ever, tell. :-)

Nothing uses .sit anymore. It was a Pre OS X thing. It is possible what you are trying to download is a Classic app and those are no longer supported in OS X 10.4 and above.

Okay I finally got everything to work with a combination of Stuffit and Pseudo. Thanks so much for your help guys.

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You can call it ‘spinning wheel,’ you can call it ‘beach ball,’ you can call it ‘wheel of death’ or any other way you like. The thing is, whatever you name it, the result will be the same – a slower MacBook Pro or Air, iMac or Mac mini. A spinning wait cursor (an official name) can easily drive most of the users mad. Instead of breaking your Apple computer against the wall in rage, try to find out the main cause of the problem without losing your temper and then solve it ASAP.

For starters, we’ll remind that spinning wheel stands for an app trying to cope with more operations than it can at a time. It usually happens to different browsers like Safari, Google Chrome, or Mozilla. It is not necessarily the fault of weak/slow Internet connection.

If you’re lucky, you will observe the beachball for a minute or just several seconds. In other situations, it may show up over and over again. Sometimes, it gets endless so that a Mac owner has nothing else to do except for force quitting the hung app or restarting the device. Of course, the entire data is lost this way. That is why a spinning wheel is also dangerous in addition to being matchlessly irritating. In any case, a beach ball on your screen means that the software is closing the processing tasks to free up space and memory for the new commands. When the application becomes fully unresponsive, it hangs, making the user worried or sleepy. It depends on how urgent the tasks are.

Both Apple native utilities and third-party cleaners provide Mac maintenance. Basically, keeping your Mac clean and healthy is the only sure-fire way to get rid of the Spinning Beach Ball of Death (SBBOD). Many Mac owners treat it as the cause of some larger problem. But it is not actually true. The beach ball is a symptom of the “disease,” and you should know the primary cause(s) to fix it properly and on time.

Purchasing a new machine is the measure of last resort. A user may need it once the processor is dead, but it’s not the case with the beach ball.

There are plenty of reasons why Mac slows down, and its owner starts seeing the annoying spinning wheel of death on its screen – e.g., a huge number of startup items, resource-hungry apps running in the background or filled hard drive. Of course, some users can spend some money on new RAM or SSD, but what about people who do not want to start with extra expenses?

In the next section, take a closer look at the possible ways to fix problems associated with the beach ball.

First and Foremost Steps to Get Rid of the Spinning Color Wheel Issue

Are you stuck on Apple logo and spinning wheel? Both Mac OS X and macOS can experience problems associated with the rainbow-colored pinwheel/circle. Below you can find a list of the possible ways to fix problems that could lead to the never-ending turning spinning beach ball on your screen.

Method #1: Uninstall useless apps and extensions

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You can do that by simply dragging and dropping them to Trash. Preferably, you also should clear out app-related stuff that may stay on your Mac even after you remove unneeded software. Usually, it lurks in the Library folder and contains the name or the acronym of the app or its developer in the title.

To speed up the process, you can make use of specially designed cleaning apps that will do the job in your place.

Method #2: Free up some disk space

Many ways to free up the disk space on Mac exist. With the help of Activity Monitor, search for the largest and outdated files on your Apple computer. You may also look for the duplicates with the help of the third-party cleaner of your choice. Other types of junk include temporary files, login items, startup items, cache, cookies, downloads, etc.

Method #3: Re-index Spotlight

Spotlight is something that allows searching for the files you store on your Mac. The utility creates and maintains the index. Sometimes, it appears to be corrupted. Thus, take the recommended steps to fix it:

• Select Apple menu and go to System Preferences. There you will find Spotlight.
• Pick the Privacy tab.
• Drag the target item you wish to index once more to the locations list that Spotlight cannot research. An alternative is to select a plus button and pick the desired folder/disk.
• From this list, pick the folder/disk you have added recently. After that, push the minus button to replace it.
• Shut down System Preferences. The spotlight will re-index the contents of the folder/disk.

Setting up a third-party cleaner might be an excellent solution for those who do not possess enough skills and experience to erase useless files or choose extra RAM/SSD/HDD. Working with utilities like Terminal may be risky for the newbies, so it is better to decide on the special cleaning tool.

However, if you decide to buy extra RAM, be ready that only advanced users can install it properly. Otherwise, you’d better contact an Apple Store or an authorized service center to have RAM installed.

As far as Safari is the most popular browser among Mac owners being set by default, it would be useful to dedicate a separate block to solving the problem with its spinning wheel. After the upgrade to macOS Sierra or High Sierra, you may notice that the browser is hanging up too often. There is nothing left except for the Force Quit option.

Force Quit is not the best decision as the browser may finally fail. A smarter way out is to follow this step-by-step instruction for Mac users to test Safari’s work and fix the issue.

1. Start with erasing caches.

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• Shut down all windows and stop the apps.
• Push the Option key and pick Go in the Finder application.
• From the drop-down menu, choose Library. Go to Library → Caches →apple.Safari
• Right-click the com.apple.Safari and choose Move to Trash.
• Shut down the windows. Restart Safari.

2. Eliminate com.apple.Safari.plist.

• Start with the backup with the help of TimeMachine, iCloud, or other available options.
• Pick Empty Trash.
• Stop all apps.
• Push the Option button and select Go in Finder window.
• Pick Library form the offered menu.
• Move this way: Library → Preferences →apple.Safari.plist
• Right-click and choose Move to Trash.
• Reboot the computer and restart the target browser. Pick Start Using Safari link.

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3. In case this method proves ineffective, restore com.apple.Safari.plist from Trash. To do so, take the following steps:

• Right-click the Trash icon in the Dock. Choose Open.
• Right-click the com.apple.Safari.plist and pick Put Back.
• Select Replace.
• In case your preferred browser rejects loading a page/website or its items are not available, read Apple’s troubleshooting guides for Safari here and here.

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We hope, this article will help you resolve your issues, and you will be seeing the rainbow-colored ball on a sunny beach but not on the screen of your Mac!