Macbook won't boot past white screen

My girlfirend's 2009 macbook aluminum unibody ((Leopard 10.5.x) is having a problem booting up. Initially I ran Onyx on it and it said it needed a disk repair. I ran a quick hardware test and it came back ok. I ran Disk Utility off of the cd and it said the repair failed. I believe the message was "invalid node, repair or verify failed." I tried it 3 times. When I went to quit disk utility and restart, it stayed on the white screen with the spinning wheel for a few minutes then the screen went blank. I tried to restart several times, always the same. I have tried resetting PRAM. I tried starting in Safe Mode but it wouldn't. I finally went to reinstall the OS but when it gets to the screen where I have to choose a drive, there is no drive in the screen to select. I don't have Disk Warrior, so can't try that. I'm thinking to remove the hard drive and get the data off of it onto my computer, then to erase her drive and start from scratch. Does anyone have another idea before I go through this?Thanks for the help.

If your OS X installer disc is no longer usable then you can arrange to purchase a replacement by calling AppleCare Customer Service.
Have you tried reformatting the hard drive? If may not require replacement unless the drive has truly failed.
Extended Hard Drive Preparation
1. Boot from your OS X Installer Disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu.
2. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Note the SMART status of the drive in DU's status area. If it does not say "Verified" then the drive is failing or has failed and will need replacing. SMART info will not be reported on external drives. Otherwise, click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
3. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID (for Intel Macs) or APM (for PPC Macs) then click on the OK button. Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed.
4. Select the volume you just created (this is the sub-entry under the drive entry) from the left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
5. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, check the button for Zero Data and click on OK to return to the Erase window.
6. Click on the Erase button. The format process can take up to several hours depending upon the drive size.

Similar Messages

Macbook won't boot past gray screen.

Macbook will not boot past the gray screen with the Apple logo. I tried booting in Safe Mode... tried booting to the Leopard install DVD (can hear it spin)... tried resetting the PRAM... all to no avail (hangs on the gray Apple screen... no progress indicator). I am able to connect to the hard drive via Firewire from my MacPro no problem. Just to make sure, I also tried swapping the hard drive for the original hard drive that it came with (upgraded hard drive 2 yrs ago) but it did not make a difference, still did not boot.
Not sure what else to try, any suggestions?

Thanks for all the replies. I do think it is probably the logic board. Unfortunately the nearest Apple store is about 3.5 hours away from me and from what I've read online the price to put a new logic board in by them is around $700... that's about $300 shy of a NEW 13" Macbook! I am finding used or new logic boards for sale online for around $350 to $450.
The reason it seems that it is the logic board is like I previously said in the opening thread that it would not boot to two different hard drives that I put in the Macbook, nor would it boot to the install disc that I put in the Superdrive.... "tried booting in Safe Mode... tried booting to the Leopard install DVD (can hear it spin)... tried resetting the PRAM". Being able to connect to the Macbook's hard drive from a MacPro via a Firewire gives me reason to believe the hard drives are not the problem.
Now I guess I'll have to make a decision as to whether or not to shell out cash during this weak economy for a new Macbook or scrounge for components for a 4yr old laptop.
Any final last words for me?

IBook G4 won't boot past white screen gray apple.

I'm having problems with my iBook G4 booting up. It won't get past the white screen with gray Apple and clock thing turning. I successfully hooked the iBook to my G4 tower via firewire and can get files off of it as well as run a series of TechTool Pro tests and repair procedures. However, I still have the same startup problem. It never gets past the white screen with gray apple. It's stuck there with the clock continually turning. Is there anything else I could try before getting everything off and wiping the drive clean and starting over? I don't know if it's a hardware or software issue at this point. Thanks for any help you could suggest.
LW

You should at the very least backup your Home folder from it before attempting this, but it appears to be time for a relatively painless Archive & Install, which gives you a new/old OS, but can preserve all your files, pics, music, settings, etc., as long as you have plenty of free disk space and no Disk corruption, and is relatively quick & painless...
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107120

Macbook won't load past white screen, tried everything.

Hi all,
I've tried everything I've come across to get my Macbook running again. Tried booting into safe mode, didnt work, tried fixing using fsck in single-user mode, fsck said it worked but still wouldn't boot! Even tried verbose mode but came across disk0s2 I/O error.
Can anyone help me out, it loads up to the white screen with the grey apple logo and the loading wheel goes round and round but goes no where.
Working on Mac OS X but forget exactly which one.

Hi, I had a similar problem a couple of years ago, the problem ended up being my hard drive had crashed on my macbook. You should take it to your nearest Genius Bar, they will check and see if thats the problem for free, fixing however if it is that can get expensive, of course thats according to a very poor college student, It was about 220 or so. but if you do find out its the HDD you could always just go buy one and instal it yourself, I hear it not that hard to do acutally. Good luck!

IMac won't boot past white screen, now has partial pixelation?

I have just tried to restart my 2011 iMac and it has become stuck on the initial white screen (before the grey spinning gear) prior to the reboot it had being running fine for about 4 hours.
I initially thought that it may be trying to boot from the scratched PS2 game I had in the drive (was experimenting with PCSX2 before the reboot) I have tried every button combination I can find to eject the disk or boot into a different OS, I have also tried resetting the SMC and PRAM (I didn't get the 2nd beep) but to no avail. I have also taken out the extra 4gb of memory I installed to go back to the stock 4gb and swapped the stock 4gb for the new RAM but this hasn't helped either.
I have also noticed there is a small line of pixelation at the bottom of the screen, the high of it varies but it is usually around 4 pixels high, some of them are random colours but most of them are black, does this mean the graphics card has gone?

Reinstalling Lion/Mountain Lion Without Erasing the Drive
Boot to the Recovery HD: Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the menu screen appears. Alternatively, restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears. Select the Recovery HD and click on the downward pointing arrow button.
Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions: Upon startup select Disk Utility from the main menu. Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions as follows.
When the recovery menu appears select Disk Utility. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the main menu.
Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion: Select Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion and click on the Continue button.
Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet if possible because it is three times faster than wireless.

System Won't Boot Past White Screen With Apple Logo

I have a Power Mac G5 tower that someone gave me. No hard drive.
I placed a NEW hard drive in and installed 10.4 onto it. When I finished I turned OFF the machine. When I now try and turn the machine ON, it will freeze-up during boot up at the white screen with the Apple logo. The little spinning ring/dial doesn't come up.
The system is:
Power Mac G5 (June 2004)
Model ID: PowerMac7,3
dual 2.5GHz
512MB RAM (2x256MB)
Using the Boot-up in Detailed SAFE Mode I was given the info below. Any help is greatly appreciated.
using 1310 buffer headers and 1310 cluster IO buffer headers
kld(): Undefined symbols:
ZN11IOPCIBridge18compareAddressCellEmPmS0
kldload_frommemory() failed for module com.apple.driver.AppleMacRiscPCI
Failed to load extension com.apple.driver.AppleMacRiscPCI.
Couldn't alloc class "AppleMacRiscPCI"
kld(): Underfined Symbols:
ZN11IOPCIBridge18compareAddressCellEmPmS0
kldload_frommemory() failed for module com.apple.driver.AppleMacRiscPCI
Failed to laod extension com.apple.driver.AppleMacRiscPCI.
Couldn't alloc class "AppleMacRiscAGP"
kld(): Undefined symbols:
ZN11IOPCIBridge18compareAddressCellEmPmS0
kldload_frommemory() failed for module com.apple.driver.AppleMacRiscPCI
Failed to load extension com.apple.driver.AppleMacRiscPCI.
Couldn't alloc class "AppleMacRiscHT"
kld(): Undefined symbols:
ZN11IOPCIBridge18compareAddressCellEmPmS0
kldload_frommemory() failed for module com.apple.driver.AppleMacRiscPCI
Failed to load extension com.apple.driver.AppleMacRiscPCI.
Couldn't alloc class "AppleMacRiscDART"
ApplePlatformExpert::getGMTTimeOfDay can not provide time of day RTC did not show up

Does it boot into any of these modes?
Target mode...
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1661
Does it boot to Single User Mode, CMD+s keys at bootup, if so try...
/sbin/fsck -fy
Repeat until it shows no errors fixed.
(Space between fsck AND -fy important).
Resolve startup issues and perform disk maintenance with Disk Utility and fsck...
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106214
We might get clues with verbose mode...
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1492

My Mac won't boot past white screen and startup keys won't work

Hello. I have an iMac not sure what year.
So about a year ago it froze and wouldn't restart, so I neglected it for a year. Now that this my only fixable Mac I have been researching to fix it. I was able to boot into safe mode about a week ago for a little bit but then it froze again. Ever since then none of the startup keys work, even resetting the PRAM, I heard the second ding and then it just brings up the cursor on the white screen with no disk options.
I have an external disk drive connected to the USB I'd like to boot my Mountain Lion from but since the start up keys don't work I don't know how to do that.
Any help would be incredible, I do not care about saving anything from the computer I just want it to work. I hate dealing with the "geniuses" so that's not an option.
Thanks

When you hear the startup tone hold down the Option key and you should be able to boot into the Recovery Partition if you have Lion, Mt. Lion or Mavericks on the internal HD. If even the Option key does not work then your keyboard may have dead batteries or be defective and in need of replacement.
If you have ML on the EHD as a bootable clone then you should be able to boot from it.
My best guess is you have a failed HD though, my advice is to take it in for professional diagnosis to your local Apple Store or AASP and get a quote on what is wrong then decide how you want to proceed.

IMac won't boot past White Screen

Yesterday I turned on my computer and I got stuck at the white screen with the spinning dial and the apple logo. I tried to run disk utility and restore my Mac HD, it says there were problems with it, but when I tried to repair it said it cannot fix them. I then tried to re-install Snow Leopard but when I try to re-install it, no disks appear for me to install it on.
I am not sure where to go from here.

Sounds like a HD crash, run Apple Hardware Test in EXTENDED MODE at least 3x in succession. If errors appear as I suspect, your next stop is the Apple Store or AASP. If you have been backing up this will be a minor inconvenience, if you have not been backing up then well this will be a painful lesson on why backup is absolutely critical.

Macbook won't boot past grey screen with Apple logo and spinning wheel.

For some reason, after about 1 year and 10 months of owning my Macbook, it decided this morning not to load past the grey screen with the Apple logo and spinning cog/wheel.
I used it for a couple of hours beforehand, and it was working fine. Software Update prompted me of about about 4 or 5 updates; I can't remember exactly what was downloaded, but I think there was a Security Update and iTunes among them. I restarted, left it to install with no errors, but when I logged in, Safari and iTunes were running incredibly slowly. I also noticed that the volume keys weren't responding, as well as the power key to bring up the "Sleep, Restart, Shutdown, etc" dialog box. I forced shutdown, hoping a restart would solve my problem, and that's when my troubles started. I originally just left it, but after about an hour the wretched thing was still spinning.
So far, I have done a number of troubleshooting tips on a variety of websites. I have tried taking the battery out and holding down power for 5 seconds, resetting the PRAM with option, cmd, p & r, and holding down power until the sleep light flashes rapidly and the computer lets out a large "BOOOP".
I have booted off my Leopard install disk with both option and c, repaired the hard drive a number of times, with there being no errors whatsoever. I have tried repairing permissions, but everything seems to freeze up, except the mouse.
For some reason my computer will not boot into safe mode, either, and holding cmd & s at startup doesn't get me to the stage where I can enter commands with the keyboard.
Unfortunately, because of my puny 60GB hard drive, I only have 1GB of free space left and cannot reinstall Leopard without wiping my hard drive.
I would greatly appreciate it if anyone could assist me with this unfortunate dilemma. It's such a shame that my computer has been fantastic for so long and now decides to play up. (Maybe it's just Apple trying to get me to buy a new 2.4Ghz aluminium Macbook sooner than I was planning...)
Thanks very much.

Hi ds,
Sorry to hear you're having such trouble!
Unfortunately, the best thing you can do at this point is reinstall Leopard (and then attempt to install the combo updater, too). If you don't have a backup of your machine, you could boot it into Target Disk Mode (by holding down T at startup) and then attach it via FireWire to another computer to salvage your files.
I recently had to repair a machine with this exact same problem, and after messing around with that for several hours, I'd have to say that I think that an Erase and Install is the way to go. If you then migrate over your user data and start having troubles, you at least know where the problem lies. I suspect, though, that having a clean machine with all of the new updates applied will be the end of the issue.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. There are a few other things you could try first; you could, for example, manually download the relevant combo updater from Apple's website and attempt to install it to your damaged machine while it's in Target Disk Mode. If you have a copy of Disk Warrior, that too is certainly worth a shot (and in some cases may be the saving grace). In my experience, though, a failure of this magnitude isn't easy to resolve.
Hope that helps.
—Hazy

MacBook won't boot past grey screen

Today I was using my MacBook 2008 aluminum, and I ran out of battery so the system shut down the computer to save the files. I plugged in my computer to start it up but the screen turned grey for a while. I shut down my computer and turned it on and it started up to the grey login screen but it won't let me boot passed it. I have tried to get passed it in safemode but it did not work. I have tried to repair my hard drive and my permissions and reinstall osx lion but it didnt work. Can any one help?
Thanks!

Work through this knowledge base article about Mac OS X stuck at the gray screen during startup and see if it helps.

My iMac won't boot past grey screen and it didn't come with a os x disk

My iMac won't boot past grey screen with apple. I've tried booting in safemode but that didn't help and my iMac didn't come with a os x disk.

Take each of these steps that you haven't already tried. Stop when the problem is resolved.
Step 1
The first step in dealing with a startup failure is to secure the data. If you want to preserve the contents of the startup drive, and you don't already have at least one current backup, you must try to back up now, before you do anything else. It may or may not be possible. If you don't care about the data that has changed since the last backup, you can skip this step.
There are several ways to back up a Mac that is unable to start. You need an external hard drive to hold the backup data.
a. Start up from the Recovery partition, or from a local Time Machine backup volume (option key at startup.) When the OS X Utilities screen appears, launch Disk Utility and follow the instructions in this support article, under “Instructions for backing up to an external hard disk via Disk Utility.”
b. If you have access to a working Mac, and both it and the non-working Mac have FireWire or Thunderbolt ports, start the non-working Mac in target disk mode. Use the working Mac to copy the data to another drive. This technique won't work with USB, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth.
c. If the internal drive of the non-working Mac is user-replaceable, remove it and mount it in an external enclosure or drive dock. Use another Mac to copy the data.
Step 2
If the startup process stops at a blank gray screen with no Apple logo or spinning "daisy wheel," then the startup volume may be full. If you had previously seen warnings of low disk space, this is almost certainly the case. You might be able to start up in safe mode even though you can't start up normally. Otherwise, start up from an external drive, or else use either of the techniques in Steps 1b and 1c to mount the internal drive and delete some files. According to Apple documentation, you need at least 9 GB of available space on the startup volume (as shown in the Finder Info window) for normal operation.
Step 3
Sometimes a startup failure can be resolved by resetting the NVRAM.
Step 4
If you use a wireless keyboard, trackpad, or mouse, replace or recharge the batteries. The battery level shown in the Bluetooth menu item may not be accurate.
Step 5
If there's a built-in optical drive, a disc may be stuck in it. Follow these instructions to eject it.
Step 6
Press and hold the power button until the power shuts off. Disconnect all wired peripherals except those needed to start up, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards. Use a different keyboard and/or mouse, if those devices are wired. If you can start up now, one of the devices you disconnected, or a combination of them, is causing the problem. Finding out which one is a process of elimination.
Step 7
If you've started from an external storage device, make sure that the internal startup volume is selected in the Startup Disk pane of System Preferences.
Start up in safe mode. Note: If FileVault is enabled, or if a firmware password is set, or if the startup volume is a Fusion Drive or a software RAID, you can’t do this. Post for further instructions.
Safe mode is much slower to start and run than normal, and some things won’t work at all, including wireless networking on certain Macs.
The login screen appears even if you usually log in automatically. You must know the login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin.
When you start up in safe mode, it's normal to see a dark gray progress bar on a light gray background. If the progress bar gets stuck for more than a few minutes, or if the system shuts down automatically while the progress bar is displayed, the startup volume is corrupt and the drive is probably malfunctioning. In that case, go to Step 10. If you ever have another problem with the drive, replace it immediately.
If you can start and log in in safe mode, empty the Trash, and then open the Finder Info window on the startup volume ("Macintosh HD," unless you gave it a different name.) Check that you have at least 9 GB of available space, as shown in the window. If you don't, copy as many files as necessary to another volume (not another folder on the same volume) and delete the originals. Deletion isn't complete until you empty the Trash again. Do this until the available space is more than 9 GB. Then restart as usual (i.e., not in safe mode.)
If the startup process hangs again, the problem is likely caused by a third-party system modification that you installed. Post for further instructions.
Step 8
Launch Disk Utility in Recovery mode (see Step 1.) Select the startup volume, then run Repair Disk. If any problems are found, repeat until clear. If Disk Utility reports that the volume can't be repaired, the drive has malfunctioned and should be replaced. You might choose to tolerate one such malfunction in the life of the drive. In that case, erase the volume and restore from a backup. If the same thing ever happens again, replace the drive immediately.
This is one of the rare situations in which you should also run Repair Permissions, ignoring the false warnings it may produce. Look for the line "Permissions repair complete" at the end of the output. Then restart as usual.
Step 9
Reinstall the OS. If the Mac was upgraded from an older version of OS X, you’ll need the Apple ID and password you used to upgrade.
Step 10
Do as in Step 9, but this time erase the startup volume in Disk Utility before installing. The system should automatically restart into the Setup Assistant. Follow the prompts to transfer the data from a Time Machine or other backup.
Step 11
This step applies only to models that have a logic-board ("PRAM") battery: all Mac Pro's and some others (not current models.) Both desktop and portable Macs used to have such a battery. The logic-board battery, if there is one, is separate from the main battery of a portable. A dead logic-board battery can cause a startup failure. Typically the failure will be preceded by loss of the settings for the startup disk and system clock. See the user manual for replacement instructions. You may have to take the machine to a service provider to have the battery replaced.
Step 12
If you get this far, you're probably dealing with a hardware fault. Make a "Genius" appointment at an Apple Store, or go to another authorized service provider.

Oh, shoot! My MacBook won't boot! Silver screen is all I see!

Oh, shoot! My MacBook won't boot! Silver screen is all I see

Try a PRAM reset:
Shut down your Mac.
Locate the following keys on the keyboard: Command (⌘), Option, P, and R. You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously in step 4.
Turn on the computer.
Press and hold the Command-Option-P-R keys before the gray screen appears.
Hold the keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the startup sound for the second time.
Release the keys.
Any unusual noises coming from it?

Macbook 2,1 can't boot past white screen

I was restarting my computer to clear out the memory and whatnot and now the computer won't boot past the white screen. Unfortunately I have a DVD in its drive and can't get that out. I've resetted the PRAM, held down the option key, and even tried to boot from an external. I have taken it to the genius bar today and they said the hard drive was failing. I put the original hard drive back into the computer and still get the same thing. The drive that was in it is now in an external case and works with my Linux computer. Unfortunately, I can't access the files with my old Mac G4 since the Macbook had Lion installed on it, and all music, iPhone apps are associated with the newer system.
Is there anything else I can try? Will I need to have a new motherboard installed?
Thanks.
BTW, don't worry, I am saving to buy a new Mac as soon as I can.

Trackpad button does nothing
Option key does nothing
PRAM resetting at least reboots the computer
Startup chime - normal
Shift key - nothing
If removing the internal drive and booting from an external would do anything I'd certainly try that.
Since the computer is 6 years old, ironic since I'm typing this on my old G4 tower, it will be replaced with a Mini since I no longer have a need for a laptop. It's also out of warranty and will probably not be worth the cost to get it fixed.
The geniuses at the Apple store suggested I buy a new hard drive and that would solve my problems. I highly doubt it since I've put another drive in and it's doing the same thing.

My MacBook won't boot past the grey screen.. help!

Today I was having a problem with Safari. For some reason, it kept restarting. This annoyed me, so I restarted my MacBook. Unfortunately, it won't boot past the grey screen, with the thing spinning in the middle. I've been into disk utility and it says my HDD is fine. I restarted from this, and yet it still won't boot. Can anyone suggest what's wrong/what to do?
Thanks in advance

Retrieving data using Target Disk Mode:
1) Shut down both computers
2) Connect the two computers using a Firewire cable
3) Start up the working computer.
4) Once the working computer is ready, startup your MacBook with the T key held down.
5) Your MacBook's hard drive should appear as an external hard drive on the working Mac. Drag & drop any files you want to save.
~Lyssa

Macbook won't boot past main apple screen

I was using my computer this morning (13" black Macbook that I've had since December) and it was working fine until I closed it to go get something to eat.
When I got back and opened the lid again, the screen was black, as if it was off, but I could make out the outline of the Apple logo in the centre. So I turned it off, gave it some time and turned it back on. Now it won't boot past the main Apple screen, where the little timer thing spins and spins and spins while apparently nothing else happens.
I left it alone for a couple of hours, thinking maybe it was overheated, but that didn't make a difference. I tried taking the battery out and restarting it, but that didn't work either. I called Apple, but my parents opted for Future Shop's warranty instead of Applecare, so they told me to search the website as "the issue is well-documented," since I have no tech support with them.
I've searched around to see where this is posted or if it's been answered a billion times before, but it's 35C in here, and my rage/frustration are ruining my ability to be rational, haha.
Anyone experienced this before / is there a resolution that doesn't involve me being without my computer (which is like sweet, sweet crack to me) for an undisclosed amount of time?
Thanks in advance,
Emy
Oh, and I'm not sure about the operating system version beyond that it's OSX and I regularly install whatever updates they tell me to.

Maybe Disk Utility can repair the disk this way:
-Search your installation DVD's.
-Insert the disc 1 and sthut down your Mac
-Start your Mac again while holding down the C key
-Now your Mac should boot from the CD, this can take some time.
-After a while you will see a installation screen where you can chose a language.
-Chose English and continue.
-Then click some time's next and agree with the "Software Agreement".
-Open Disk Utility. Top menu bar --> Utilities --> Open Disk Utility.
-Select your hard disk in the list of disks and volumes on the left side
-Go to the First Aid (tab somewhere on the right).
-Click the button to verify the permissions.
-Then Click the button to repair the permissions.
-Click the button to verify the disk.
-Then Click the button to repair the disk.
-Exit the Disk Utility

Macbook won't boot past white screen

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