Index: src/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/master/HMaster.java =================================================================== --- src/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/master/HMaster.java (revision 956181) +++ src/java/org/apache/hadoop/hbase/master/HMaster.java (working copy) @@ -467,16 +467,15 @@ private boolean processToDoQueue() { RegionServerOperation op = null; - // block until the root region is online - if (regionManager.getRootRegionLocation() != null) { - // We can't process server shutdowns unless the root region is online - op = delayedToDoQueue.poll(); + // If nothing on the todoQueue, go to the delay queue. + if (toDoQueue.isEmpty()) { + op = delayedToDoQueue.poll(threadWakeFrequency / 10, TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS); } // if there aren't any todo items in the queue, sleep for a bit. if (op == null ) { try { - op = toDoQueue.poll(threadWakeFrequency, TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS); + op = toDoQueue.poll(threadWakeFrequency / 10, TimeUnit.MILLISECONDS); } catch (InterruptedException e) { // continue }