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My Mac mini running OS X 10.4.11 seems to have developed a System problem. I am getting the spinning rainbow disc not just in Applications but also in the Finder. Everything very slow and sometimes there is no response to keyboard or mouse-clicks. There is a constant 'busy noise' from the Mac even with no Applications running except the Finder. Often no response to command+opt+esc or command+tab+Q. Oh yes, and a weird thing-when I am force-quitting all of a sudden iTunes opens. I only use iTunes to play cd's and haven't done any downloading to iTunes.
I have done a Safe Boot followed by Disk Utilities--Repair Permissions. I have also run Repair permissions from the Install cd. No idea what to do next -do hope someone is around who can help!

Can you provide a little more detail.

Is there a disc in the drive? It maybe that a disc is scratched and the system is having a hard time reading it (I've had that happen a couple of times).

What applications are installed? Is there a hack software installed that could be causing problems?

There's no disc in the drive.
As far as I know there is nothing that would cause problems. I only download applications designed for Mac. I do have Microsoft Office for Mac (registered) that I installed from a new cd and that is my only non-Mac software. I'm not sure what hack software is but I don't have any applications installed that are not registered. I do have some Mac apps that are Freeware or Shareware downloaded from good sites such as versiontracker.

Hack software is software that hacks the system to get it to do something that was not there in the first place for example theme software or apps like Onyx or QuickSilver.

When Leopard first came out people who had old versions of Application Enhancer sent their machines into Blue Screen Of Death because of the way the software interacted with the system.

If there's no disc in the drive then there's a few things it could be.

1). For some reason the motherboard can't communicate to the CPU fan properly and as such won't shut down or there is something blocking the vent for the CPU fan causing the machine to not be able to cool down properly and thus the fan goes hardcore trying in vain to cool things down. Check to see if there is anything obstructing the machine near the exhaust ports, if so remove obstruction. If not it might be a good idea to take the machine in for a check up as if problem occurs you could fry your machine.

2). Something has become corrupted on your system and the machine needs a full rebuild.

3). Hard drive has become corrupted and needs replacing in which case 2 is a gimme.

re 1. the Mac mini is very small and has nothing around or on top of it so I don't think it could be over-heating. I did install Qucksilver recently but didn't like it so have trashed it. is it enough just to drag the icon to the trash or does one need an uninstall program?
re 2 & 3. Scary thought as the mac is only 18 months old and I guess those issues would not be covered by the Extended Applecare Warranty?

Moving an app to the trash in most cases is alright but what you tend to find is that by doing so you leave behind settings etc. Unfortunately Apple still hasn't provided an uninstaller but have no fear there are some cool apps to do this for you.

The one I use the most is a little app called AppDelete (http://reggie.ashworth.googlepages.com/appdelete). Simply install this then any app you want to get rid of you just drop the application onto the AppDelete icon and it moves everything to the trash, even if the app is in a folder.

It maybe that in moving Quicksilver into the trash there might be a startup app that is looking for the main app that's causing the problem. I haven't really used QuickSilver so I don't really know. Try reinstalling QuickSilver and see if that works and if the problem disappears get AppDelete and then use that to uninstall QuickSilver (the QuickSilver installer might even have an uninstaller if it's using Vise installer - it's in the drop down where it says "Easy Install" )

Thanks -that is all very helpful and i will work on the Quicksilver issue next.
In the meantime I have been to Home-Library-Preferences and dragged the preferences folder on to the desktop. Have also copied it to an external flash drive just to be on the safe side. Now I'm back to default prefs and have set up a few email accounts to go on with. The good news is...everything is working fine and the HD has dropped that horrible continuous background noise. So the problem must be in one of my preference files. What a relief! I'll do the Quicksilver thing and then try the original preferences again and see what happens. I'll post my results here later. Thanks so much for your help.

Wow -I love that little app AppDelete!
The system problem seems to be resolved since I created a new preferences folder and i think the problem was to do with GoogleHosted mail which I had only just installed before this problem occurred.
There is one puzzle remaining, though.Since I created a new keychain this window has appeared and I don't know how to respond. (see attachment)

That's a certificate for secure sites.

This happens often either because the site hasn't renewed their certificate or because the certificate hasn't been configured properly.

If you know the certificate is definitely from Google then click the "Always trust these certificates" and click "Continue" and it won't ask you for permission again.

How do I know if the certificate is definitely from google?