Imac has white screen and spinning wheel and will not boot up---after lion install

imac has white screen and spinning wheel and will not boot up---after lion install

Please read Gray screen appears during startup.

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  • IMac has gray screen with spinning wheel, but cannot login

    After power failure last night, iMac has gray screen with spinning wheel when turned on, but does not go to login screen.

    Having the same problem myself. iMac locked up and I had to hold the power button to turn it off. Ended up with the apple logo screen and spinning wheel. I tried the disk repair and got the same message as yourself, in that it couldn't repair it.
    I linked up an external hard drive and installed OSX on it and booted from it. I was able to recover some files, but most I couldn't. I'm currently giving it a one pass erase in the hope (long shot) that a complete pass through the hard drive will show up any faults. Has anyone had this problem and been able to continue using the same hard drive? I really don't relish the thought of having to send it off to be replaced :-/
    Assuming that the erase goes well I plan to put OSX back onto it and then run disk utility from directly on the drive and see if any faults show up. I'm kicking myself for not taking advantage of TimeMachine, but we live and learn.

  • MBP white screen w/ swirl...will not boot

    hello all,
    huge problem i'm having. i am using a 2yo MBP with OSX 10.4.11. i am not sure what processor it has but it's definitely an Intel and i have never upgraded the RAM.
    the laptop is company owned however, the company stopped supporting Mac around the time i started the job and when i've had trouble with it in the past, IT didn't want to bother with it at all. so getting discs to re-install software might be a HUGE problem.
    my problem: last night i did an update to Java, Quicktime, iTunes and the Security update. everything went well but it said there was a problem doing the Security update and that something was placed in the trash. in any event i restarted the computer and when it restarted all i got was the white screen w/ Apple logo and the loading circle status bar (swirl thing). i let it sit for a good 40min and nothing happened.
    this morning i took my fiance's install DVD (as she owns a same year 17" MBP using 10.4) and booted the computer from that. i ran Repair Disc on the drive and it passed. there were no errors or repairs to be made.
    so now, it's sitting there with the same white screen, etc, not booting/loading at all. i haven't the slightest idea as to what to do. now, if i had the Adobe CS suite discs, i'd just do a clean install but i do not have those available and as stated above, it would be a problem trying to get them.
    will an Archive & Install help do the trick? any suggestions will be helpful and appreciated.
    thanx and sorry this is so long, just wanted to be as detailed as possible.

    well... what i meant was: i'd totally wipe the computer, re-install OSX and then re-install the Adobe Suite, Quark, MS Office, etc etc. but i don't have any of the software discs here. i just have the two discs that were provided with my fiance's MBP. i didn't realize though the licensing violation and that could be an issue given it's a company computer. all of the software discs are in Cali, i'm in NJ and my IT could care less about the laptop even though i do use it. for instance, my power cord sparked and burnt out and they were resistant on getting me a replacement until my manager forced them too. they don't take kindly to Macs in my office, haha.
    as an update though... i tried starting in safemode, nothing. i tried starting is single-user mode, couldn't type anything out. i'm about to try verbose mode and see if i can do /sbin/fsck -fy.
    i appreciate your comments, might you have any other suggestions as to what i can do?

  • My imac has a gray screen and spinning wheel and will not start up

    my imac has a gray screen with a spinning wheel but will not start what does this mean?

    Probably a damaged or failed HD. Please read Gray screen appears during startup on how to troubleshoot and what to do.

  • Intel OS X 10.7 iMac has white screen and three-alarm sound, won't start up

    Intel OS X 10.7 iMac has white screen and three-alarm sound, won't start up

    The 3 beeps during start-up are telling you that the RAM is bad.
    If you can access the RAM modules, you may try taking them out and putting them back in, perhaps it's only bad contacts.
    If that doesn't help, you'll need new RAM module(s).

  • My imac has white screen and does't open

    my imac has white screen and does't open

    Great to hear Joe, thanks!
    ML has several improvements & only 42 steps backwards, compared to Lion's 3 steps forwards & 169 steps backwards!

  • HT1455 Did the lastest Apple update and now my Mac has gray screen with spinning gear and a status bar goes to half then turns computer off....help?

    Did the lastest Apple update and now my Mac has gray screen with spinning gear and a status bar goes to half then turns computer off....help?

    Thanks for your help.
    Same thing happen when I hold the button, it idle for a while and then turn off by itself. Any more suggestions?
    I got the disc..

  • Help need my mac pro for school..it has Grey screen..spinning wheel...repaid disk ok...repair disk permission all repaired but one warning...

    Help need my mac pro for school..it has Grey screen..spinning wheel...
    I think I have  mountain lion OS X....I have done I think almost every suggestion I've seen in discussion boards.
    Boot in recovery repaired disk...ok...repair disk permission...all repaired but one warning...I've tried to reinstall lion (without losing data) and it Got all the way to one minute to be done and then the time change back two hours and kept doing this all night long.  I haven't done a back up due to no external for time machine.
    I hope someone can please help me I've been going crazy for a week now trying to figure this out.  I use my computer for school and I'm currently very behind from in my school work  thank you
    Also I've checked my available space  424.91 free of 750 gigs....disk is verified

    Welcome to the Apple Support Communities
    Try holding the Shift key while your Mac is starting to start into safe mode. Then, after starting in safe mode, open Finder, select Go menu (on the menu bar) > Go to Folder, and type /Library/StartupItems. Then, empty this folder and restart the Mac.
    If your Mac starts after doing this, it was a problem with a third-party app that starts automatically when you turn on the computer. It won't start automatically anymore after doing that

  • Mac pro running OS 10.5.8 won't boot. Apple logo and spinning wheel shows then Apple logo turns into Forbidden signage while spinning wheel continue. It happenened right after I installed a firmware. Had to restart.Please help. What can I do?

    Mac pro running OS 10.5.8 won't boot. Apple logo and spinning wheel shows then Apple logo turns into Forbidden signage while spinning wheel continue. It happenened right after I installed a firmware. Had to restart.Please help. What can I do?

    Work through the suggestions in this article:
    Mac OS X: Gray screen appears during startup

  • Need to erase hard drive and reinstall system on iMac but have misplaced original install disks. Tried to use a my copy of Snow lepord 10.6 from my Mac pro but will not boot. Can original install disks be replaced. Thanks

    Need to erase hard drive and reinstall system on iMac but have misplaced original install disks. Tried to use a my copy of Snow lepord 10.6 from my Mac Pro but will not boot. Can original install disks be replaced. Thanks

    Yes the original Install Discs can be replaced for a nominal fee. Call AppleCare, you will need a credit card and the serial number of the machine. You can use the AppleCare Contact Info for the phone number on your part of the planet.

  • I interrupted a software update and my macbook pro will not boot. I have tried to reboot using the startup disc, I have tried to verify the disc, and repair the disc. It tells me I need to erase and reformat the hard drive then reinstall the operating sys

    I interrupted a software update and my macbook pro will not boot. I have tried to reboot using the startup disc, I have tried to verify the disc, and repair the disc. It tells me I need to erase and reformat the hard drive then reinstall the operating system. I do not have a back up of all my applications, my garageband music and other things. I also do not have time capsule set up on this machine, but I do have a 2 TB time capsule.
    Is there anyway to back up this corrupted drive so I can restore my applications later?

    There's an old saying.  If you don't have a backup disc, then there must be nothing important to backup.  That's just lesson #1.  Lesson #2 is to never interrupt a software update.  Not a good thing.
    OK, I'm sure you know this.  It just upsets me to read your story, knowing you have a lot of important stuff on your hard drive, and didn't use time machine.
    You're pretty much in a bad place.  My only hope for you is to boot to your Installation Disc, then using disk utility see if you can save the internal hard drive (by fixing what can be fixed).  You might be able to see your user folder and some of your apps.  I wouldn't even consider copying the library, because who knows what's been corrupted in there.
    Good luck.

  • Got a iMac upon start up it has white screen with apple logo and loading wheel spinning forever under it, does anybody know how to fix this?

    PLEASE HELP!!!!!! EMERGENCY Upon start up normal start up noise occurs, then after white screen with Grey Apple logo, and a spinning loading wheel under it (thee repetitive lines NOT rainbow one) ?!? then thats as far as it goes it stays on that screen forever will not boot up.  Any info on how to possibly fix? I've tried several of the Start up shortcuts , it wont even start up in Safe Mode . My fiance' is crushed she is a writer and EVERYTHING SHE HAS WORKED ON is somewhere on that hard drive. Any thoughts, i'm open to any and all LOGICAL responses, thank you very much for ya'lls time ........Its just heartbreaking to see my iMac in this vegistated coma,The whole reason i bought a mac was cause I love them I have Apple EVERYTHING, so once again please help.

    Try this: Switch off your iMac wait 10-15 seconds hold down the Option Key (alt) key then press the power botton but keep the option key down. This should show all the available options to boot from. I trust you have a full backup, Good luck.

  • My mac book pro does not boot up correctly anymore after doing some updates. I did have my ipod charging to my mac book. I ran the simple updates and never go to the maverick update and now my computer will not boot correctly. Help!

    Please help my computer is not repsonding after doing some simple updates. I follow the instructions and which is simply click for the update to take place. I did what I was instructed to do. I did not do the new update for the Mavericks yet. I just did simple updates. The computer shutted down and restarted but would never get pass the grey screen with the spinning wheel and the booting bar that would not go past a certain point befor shutting off again. The computer is practically brand new. I purchased the computer from best by 2012 and the warrenty just ended the past October. I hardly use the computer maybe 4 times since I have had it because I have another main computer that I uses. However, I don't want to do a hard rest becuase I do have the entire adobe suits software that I paid for and don't want to loose. I have an appointment with apple today to see what they say but I hope that my computer that I hardly every use is not defected after doing a updated pushed by Apple. Any thoughts or suggestions???? Thanks in advance Apple Family :-)

    Well, I was at Apple for sometime on that day. I got a Genius that did not want to work. She basically jumped to the money to tell me that my hard drive was no good and that I was out of warranty (October 2013). I began to explain to her that I had only used the computer 5 times and that I don't use this computer as my main computer because I also have a Toshiba that is less expensive that I have had for several years and not one issue out of it. The rep told me that I could by a new hard drive for $161.00 and that I would loose all of my software and photos that I have on this computer. However, I told her that it's bazaar that it happens right after my warranty goes out and had I used it more often when in warranty before October then I would have been covered. Keeping in mind that I would still be very disappointed with the product because I would loose all of my information and it would not make sense to me why the hard drive fails on a very gently used computer. So I asked for a manager and it took her some time to get one. In the mean time I watched how the other Geniuses interacted with the other customers and seen that they were very engaging with convo and very help. I guess I just I got another lemon when I got my rep. When the manager finally came. I went from A-Z with the issues and that I felt that something could or should be done because the rep said that she did tests on my machine and it read to her that my hard drive was bad and there was nothing that could be done. I explained that I was not looking forward to paying for services to have my new computer repaired. The manager offered to give me 25% off the cost but I still didn't feel that it was effective. After he left and the rep wrote the notes in the system, I told her that I didn't think that all options had been exhausted and that there was something else that could be done. I told her to erase the machine and see if the updates could be installed and if the system would continue to do the same thing. The rep was hesitant and said that I would loose everything which we already know that we were at conclusion from the beginning. She assured me that I would happen again and that I would need a new hard drive. I just told her to erase the machine and get me another manager because I was just getting tired of her unhelpfulness and negative perspective. The new manager came and was very pleasant and I explained everything once again from A-Z. I informed him that I had the machine erased and that I need his help with options because I don't feel that the rep or the last manager was resourceful or helpful. He apologies for the actions of the reps and proceed to tell me that they will run all the updates in the store and that if it booted correctly that I should continue to use the machine with out adding the adobe software back on just incase that it crashes again and I'm out of money once again. However, if it does happen again and it is a hard drive issues that he would work with me to resolve the issues. As my computer went through the process of rebooting from out of the box stage another rep approached me because he could tell that I was upset and not happy. I told he what had happen and he said I think I can help you a little more. He said that I just want to run further testing on you computer for different components to make sure that everything would work properly and pin point any issues. I was delighted with that option. Anything would help at this time especially someone who is willing to help. The first test that he ran was to for the hard drive and he said that since it failed the test the first time could be because the software update glitch and did update correctly which would make the test faulty and be negative. As I sit with finger crossed the test came back as a pass test that my hard drive was not the issue and that the update was the cause and that I did not have to buy a new hard drive. I was happy that the computer was ok but I lost information. All of the updates were done in the store and everything works fine now. If I was not persistent about my gut feeling then I would had left out thinking that I had to pay for a new hard drive that I really didn't needed. Now I can invest that money in a external hard drive to start backing up my information. Lesson learned by I'm still on the fence about things but I hope all is well. I really went through a lot. No help or no service was not an option that I was taken.  I hope that it helps.

  • I accidentally deleted a system file and my macbook pro will not boot

    i accidentally deleted some files and i am guessing now that they were system files. now my macbook pro will not boot. i need help please

    What OS version are you on? You're not running iOS 6.1.2 on it.
    If you're on 10.7 or 10.8, try the recovery option:
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4718

  • 20" Imac has white screen and freezes at start-up

    my 20" imac will not start....help...All I get is a white screen and tone at start-up then it stays white. I tried hooking up a bootable firewire drive and pressing the alt/option key at start up nothing. I also tried the command/option/p/r at start up, it will reboot to the same screen. I also tried running the hardware diagnostics at start-up...no response. Computer was purchased on Nov .4 2007, warrenty just expired.
    Help......Please....

    I had the exact same problem today. My iMac 20" (iMac 8,1) would't boot any more, staying stuck on a white screen immediately after the normal start-up chime. Nothing worked (no safe mode, no DVD boot, no disk selection icon when starting with alt pressed, no Apple hardware test, no parameter RAM reset, power management chip reset had no effect, no verbose mode, not even open firmware).
    I browsed the forums, but what I found didn't help, so I was about to stop trying and have it fixed by Apple. But my son told me he had noticed that after "a long time" (he's 4...), a folder with a flashing ? would appear. I figured that wouldn't happen in case of a severe hardware failure, so I tried one last thing: I hooked up an old PowerBook in target disk mode via Firewire and restarted the iMac. I tried several times (with and without alt pressed), but nothing happened (when pressing alt, a functional mouse pointer would appear, though).
    Then I restarted a last time and left the iMac sit there on its white screen for about 20 minutes... and that's when the miracle happened: it finally booted off the target-disk mode PowerBook's system!
    I ran Disk Utility, which saw the iMac internal HD as disk2s0 (or something like that), and launched the disk repair process. After about three error-ridden verify-repair cycles, the green ok message finally appeared and the volume mounted as if nothing had happened. I rebooted off the internal disk without a glitch, and I still have to find damaged or lost files.
    I guess I was lucky that my HD problem was benign enough to be cured by Disk Utility. But even if that had not been the case, at least I'd have known that the HD failed, and maybe I could have saved some files using recovery software. Whatever the case, if you've got an external bootable drive, it's definitely worth trying before handing your iMac over for (usually horribly expensive) repairs.
    Good luck!

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