My iMac will not boot up. it brings up a black screen with a cursor

all of a sudden my imac will not boot up. it brings up the grey page with the apple, then instead of going to the login, it goes to a blank black page. The cursor moves with the mouse, but that is it

First carefully read and then methodically follow Apple's troubleshooting steps in Gray screen appears during startup

Similar Messages

My 2011 IMac will not boot up past the White apple logo screen with the whirly circle

My 2011 IMac will not boot up past the White apple logo screen with the whirly circle. I have tried various commands but to no avail. does anybody have any advice?

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.” The article refers to starting up from a DVD, but the procedure in Recovery mode is the same. You don't need a DVD if you're running OS X 10.7 or later.
b. If Step 1a fails because of disk errors, and no other Mac is available, then you may be able to salvage some of your files by copying them in the Finder. If you already have an external drive with OS X installed, start up from it. Otherwise, if you have Internet access, follow the instructions on this page to prepare the external drive and install OS X on it. You'll use the Recovery installer, rather than downloading it from the App Store.
c. 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.
d. 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 the technique in Step 1b, 1c, or 1d 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 11. 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
If the startup device is an aftermarket SSD, it may need a firmware update and/or a forced "garbage collection." Instructions for doing this with a Crucial-branded SSD were posted here. Some of those instructions may apply to other brands of SSD, but you should check with the vendor's tech support.
Step 10
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 11
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 12
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 13
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.

My Toshiba sattllite radius 11 L15W-B1303 will not start up I just have a black screen with a cursor

This thread has been moved to another message board. Click the link to jump to its new location.

Which model MacBook Pro (e.g., 15" late 2011)?
Clinton

IMac will not boot up, all I get is white screen help

MY iMac will not boot up, all I get is white screen?
what do I need to do to start machine please?

Start with a google search for white screen site:apple.com and peruse the many hits.

My operating system will not boot up and I have a black screen

My laptop just went black as if it was in stnd by mode yet now will not boot up. It gets to the wirl of the fans and the cd drive turning but that is it. I m running the BIOS Test and nothing is showing up. the screen is black with a single dash flashing. can someone help me please as my tech is not that good

Hi @RK3
Welcome to the HP Forums!
It is a great place to find answers and information!
For you to have the best experience in the HP forum I would like to direct your attention to the HP Forums Guide Learn How to Post and More
I understand that your display just went black. If you restart the display remains black with a blinking cursor, but with no error messages. You do hear the fan and hard drive spin up.
Here are two links to assist you with this difficulty.
Troubleshooting problems with notebook displays (Windows 8, Windows 7)
Troubleshooting Black Screen Displays with No Error Messages During Startup or Boot
Best of Luck!
Sparkles1
I work on behalf of HP
Please click “Accept as Solution ” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution.
Click the “Kudos, Thumbs Up" on the bottom right to say “Thanks” for helping!

After wiping phone to sell phone will not turn on, it stays on a black screen with apple logo.after forced reboot, it goes to same exact screen. any ideas?

my brothers girlfriend gave me her old iPhone. the last thing she did to the working phone was to wipe it to erase all her private info. however instad of booting up like normal, all i get is a black screen with apple logo. ive forced a reboot and it goes to same screen. sometimes it will turn off and reboot by itself, and occasionally it wil give a low battery icon, and it will show it charging for a few min then go back to black screen with Appple logo. any ideas anyone?

Try to charge it for about 10min using th adapter, then connect to your computer in recovery mode, explained here: iOS: Unable to restore

IMac will not boot, hard drive file problem? Can't install OS in 2nd part.

The iMac will not boot. The Apple displays on the screen, the cursor spins for awhile, and then it loops into a reboot effort.
Last night, I was doing a lot of custom file sharing settings using the include enclosed folders option at the bottom of the Get Info window.
Question 1: Could that file sharing process have messed things up?
In an effort to get things going........ A few weeks back, I used Disk Utility to create a 2nd partition, with the intent of installing Ubuntu Linux there. I never attempted the install, as far as I can remember, while playing with the Ubuntu Live CD. So, I thought I would install 10.5.6 from the CD in the 2nd partition. But I get an error message that says "The installer could not create the folder "/Volumes/Ubuntu 9.10/BaseSystem.pkg.161nDNDdQ.""
Question 2: I also shared that partition, could that have caused the OS install failure?
Question 3: If I understand the book correctly, I can try to install the OS from the CD on the 1st partition, and not lose my data, correct? Unfortunately, I don't have any backup for the data, as I don't own any drives large enough yet to accommodate the data on the drive.
Question 4: Anyone have any other thoughts as to what ent wrong?

Hi, Grant.
Sometimes, it just pays to think on a problem. I awoke thinking, if it will boot the OS X install CD, it ought to boot my Ubuntu Live CD. And then, maybe I can change permissions on the first partition. As soon as I thought that, it occurred to me, if the problems are with the permissions, what if I used the OS X disk, and erased (formatted) the Ubuntu partition. That should set all the permissions on that partition back to default. Would OS X install then to the Ubuntu partition?
You better believe it did!! I'm typing this from the Mac after updating my 10.5.6 to 10.5.8 in the 2nd partition, and I'm booting from the 2nd partition.
I then did as you suggested, and from the Mac, I repaired the permissions to the first partition. But, the result was the same, there are a few permissions that do not match, and Disk Utility cannot, does not, or will not correct them.
I'm currently downloading the 10.5.8 combo update .dmg file. My thought is to burn that to a disk, and then install it over the version in partition 1. And trust that the current installation on partition 1 does not have any cross linked files that will destroy some data.
I do have some old ATA IDE drives I can hook externally to the Mac, and copy some of the information I have from the Mac to those drives before doing the 10.5.8 install.
Can you think of a better solution?

Black screen with no cursor after installing Windows 7 through Boot Camp on Retina MBP

Hey all.
So, I have a Retina Macbook Pro (15", late 2013). A couple weeks ago I tried to install Windows 7 on it through Boot Camp.
After some struggles with trying to repair my disk with Disk Utility and having to recover the system etc, I finally managed to actually install Windows 7. However, after the installing was ready, when Windows was supposed to boot, it just gave me a black screen with no cursor. I really had no idea what to do there, I tried to do some research from google but only found answers regarding a black screen with a cursor DURING the installation. However, I managed to launch Windows in safe mode. I deleted graphics drivers that bootcamp assistant had installed, and then it worked and I got to boot Windows succesfully.
However, as probably all of you know, you can't do much without those drivers. Games, videos, overall performance of the system is kinda horrible.
After that, I wiped the whole system, Mac and Windows, and reinstalled Mac. During the Windows installation I was running on Mavericks, now I've got Yosemite. I might try installing Windows again next week, does anyone have any clue why the black screen happened? What could I have done wrong? And the most important question in my mind, in case that happens, is there any way to install the graphics drivers manually from somewhere? After I uninstalled 'em earlier, I tried to find them manually, but couldn't find any.
Thanks!

Yes, that's exactly what was the problem in the first place, I had a USB3 device. Switched to USB2 device and the installation progress started flawlessly.
The later part I didn't quite get. What are those installation methods, how could they cause the problem there? I had no problems during the installation, but after installation when launching Windows I had the black screen, and that I suppose was GPU drivers problem if I'm not totally wrong? I could hear the basic Windows system beeps etc when I tried clicking everywhere (had no cursor either, just clicking randomly), so the system was running there, but just didn't draw the picture at all.

Intel iMac will not boot past gray screen

Intel iMac will not boot past gray screen
my system:
new (month old) 24" intel imac, 2.8 ghz, 4 gb ram.
running: leopard (upgraded from tiger, which was pre-installed at purchase), installed 10.5.1 update right before this huge problem occurred.
install discs on-hand: two-disc tiget set, single leopard upgrade disc.
what led to this:
i wanted to install windows using bootcamp on a 50 gb partition.
at this point i was running leopard 10.5
i followed all bootcamp instructions, printing out the guide, as well. once i got into the windows setup, i was prompted to choose a partition to install windows. unlike the bootcamp guide, which showed three partitions, one clearly labeled "bootcamp", i saw only one partition. not wanting to risk writing over my mac partition, i quit the setup and rebooted the mac os. after some googling around, i looked for firmware updates (didn't need any), and then software updates. i decided to try updating to 10.5.1.
i then ran through boot camp again, deleting my previous windows partition, creating a new one, and moving forward as before. once again, i was only shown one partition to choose from in the windows setup. i exited the setup again to reboot through the mac os, but this time, i was only given a blank gray screen.
here's what i have tried so far:
booting from a CD, holding down the C or D keys: no response (in fact, i have to restart the computer holding down the mouse button to be able to eject the CD)
booting with option key held down: gray screen
booting with option key held down with external bootable firewire drive attached: the firewire drive appears as a boot icon, and i can click on it within a five second window, but then the screen freezes after that time period, and nothing changes
booting into target mode while attached to another mac: gray screen (no firewire icon, and drive never shows up on other mac)
resetting NVRAM: i'm able to hear the boot chimes, but no difference in performance. gray screen every time
Safe boot: nothing but a gray screen
Verbose mode: gray screen
Single user mode: gray screen
Single user mode with firewire drive attached: occasionally (not every time), i am able to get the white on black terminal to show up. from here, i'm able to run fsck, but it appears to only be checking the firewire drive. i have tried several times to boot from here, and once it took me to a blue screen with movable arrow cursor, but it never went beyond this.
is there anything else left to try before taking it to apple?
any help would be greatly appreciated.
thanks,
Casey Burns
Casey Burns Illustration and Design
http://CaseyBurns.com

I'd call Apple support at this point. You'll need
to put this issue on the record.
Call U.S. iPod and Mac technical support: 1-800-APL-CARE (1-800-275-2273)
The wait may be long for an agent to come on the line
so expect that and have some other stuff to do in the meantime.
If you have the applecare protection plan, I'd ask about "onsite"
service.
I like your work ! Good luck !
Slim
Message was edited by: slimpikkunz

Sometimes iMac will not boot up

hey guys i have been having this on going problem for about a week now. Ok so here's what's happening, this usually happens at night. It seems that my iMac will not boot up, I have my computer put to sleep when I go to sleep and I can wake it up again in the morning. Now when I go out in the evening today for example, I just got home, woke my computer up and everything seemed fine. After a little bit my computer froze so, I restarted it and it will not boot up it would get stuck on the gray screen, sometimes the apple and the spinning thing under it (not the beach ball one) would show up and sometimes I would have just a grey screen. Over the past week I've tried the following:
Reset the Pram
Booted up from the installation cd.
Removed all the cords waited for a couple min. then tried again
Eventually I can boot up, However I am very concerned to what the problem might be.
O yea I also ran a permission repair
One final thing if knows how to protect macs with an anti virus or something similar, it would really help me out.
Thanks

Hi Karim
The symptoms you describe could be caused by bad RAM.
Follow this link to learn about testing memory.
With your iMac you should have received an Apple Hardware Test CD, if not it's included on the Installation DVD (it would state that written somewhere on the DVD). There's also a RAM test included, but it isn't as dependable as memtest (mentioned in the link above) in my experience.
Follow this link to learn how to start the Apple Hardware Test.
Kind regards
--greg

IMac will not boot up when printer is plugged in USB

After buying my new iMac (with Tiger) I successfully transfered everything from my old iMac (with Panther) and all was well.
The problem is that when my printer (Canon Pixma MP130) is plugged in on start up, the iMac will not boot up (no gears turning on the white/grey screen). When I unplug the printer from the USB and start it up, it works fine. Its not a super big deal because I can just plug the printer in when I need it. But why does it do this?
I foound on the internet someone else who had the same issues. It was suggested to him to search the printer manufacturers website for updated drivers. I did this, installed them etc..... still no luck.
I am without any mac guru's here in Yellowknife......help!
Angie

Hello there,
I hope it is OK to recycle this old thread.  I did not want to create a new one since I am experiencing the exact same issue as the original poster *flying girl* as well as other posters in the following threads:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=4190807
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=3950255
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=4201169
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=4490899&#4490899
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=4470944
I have two Macs, a PowerBook G4 and an Intel iMac 20" (Aluminum)--please refer to my signature or profile for the specs of these machines.  Of course, I got the PowerBook before I got the iMac.  I am running the latest version of the Canon MP130 drivers, printer drivers version 4.8.3 and scanner drivers version 12.11.0, on both machines.
When I turn on my PowerBook with the Canon PIXMA MP130 multifunction turned ON and connected via USB to the PowerBook, the PowerBook boots up just fine.  I have even experimented with both a USB hub and a direct connection to the Canon MP130, and the PowerBook boots fine in both instances.
However, when I turn on my iMac with the Canon MP130 turned ON and connected via USB to the iMac, the startup tone plays, and then the iMac hangs at the blue/gray solid screen--it does not even show the Apple logo or the spokes--that is, until I turn the Canon MP130 OFF.  When I turn it off, the Apple logo appears, the spokes move, and my iMac boots up just fine.  And as long as the MP130 is OFF, I can boot the iMac fine from scratch too.
I tried starting in verbose mode (⌘V) and single-user mode (⌘S), and the gray/blue screen still appears after the startup tone plays; again, if I turn the Canon MP130 OFF, the rest of the boot sequence resumes as normal, and only then do I get to see the descriptive text for those startup modes.  But the text goes by so fast that I miss most of it--I did manage to catch something that said something like "get full config descriptor = NULL," but I am not sure if that was the exact wording.  I would need a good camcorder or even just a digital camera or another device to capture exactly what the screen says in verbose mode.  If I had those options, I would post pictures here.
I was thinking about contacting Canon, but since the issue happens on one Mac only, I figured they would tell me that it is a problem with my Mac.  So hopefully posting the information here is OK.
Another key feature is that the Canon MP130 has a built-in card reader.  I made sure that my Startup Disk preferences were set to boot from the system drive, and they still are.  And I have reset the SMC and PRAM on the iMac.
I would like to mention the following link:
http://www.ehmac.ca/anything-mac/50389-intel-imac-wont-boot-when-canon-printer-p lugged.html
If you go to page 2 on that above thread, it shows one user who allegedly physically disconnected the card reader connection from the inside of the Canon MP130 (I would NOT recommend that myself).  I just wonder if there is a more feasible resolution to this issue.
Does anyone else experience the same issue with other printers or multifunctions?  Also, why does the issue occur only on my Intel iMac 20" (aluminum), and NOT on my PowerBook G4?
Please let us know about your experience as it seems many of us are at a loss for a solution.
Thank you very much for your help; we await!  :)
Cya!
\m/ Mad Metal Mage \m/

My iMac will not boot through Snow Leopard but will boot through Windows OS

My 2010 iMac will not boot in Snow Leopard, only Windows. Have tried reinstalling Snow leopard a few times and works only for a couple of minutes before freezing and doesnt reboot. Windows works perfect. Snow leopard just doesnt want to boot up past the Apple Logo. It was working fine one day and the next day it froze up and was able to reboot back into Snow Leopard but kept freezing. Now it doesnt load at all into Mac OS.
Brian

Possible scenarios:
1: The 10.6.3 SL retail disk is bad, it happens.
2: Your not using the 10.6.3 SL retail disk but one from another machine which doesn't have the drivers for that machine.
3: Your optical drive is funky or some other hardware issues.
4: Your trying to install 10.6 onto a PowerPC based Mac, no can do.
5: Your not using a wired keyboard for boot key commands, have some other hardware conflicts.
Possible solutions.
1: Copy the SL 10.6.3 disk using Disk Utility to another DVD, the error checking may resolve the original disk's issue.
http://www.brokenhomeboy.co.uk/pierow/blog/2011/10/make-a-bootable-backup-snow-l eopard-install-disc/
2: Make a SL bootable USB
http://www.maciverse.com/install-os-x-snow-leopard-from-usb-flash-drive.html
3: Call Apple for a new 10.6.3 disk (and make copies for backup before Apple discontinues selling it)
If your upgrading to 10.6 to get to 10.6.8 to upgrade to 10.7, be warned of this:
1: Your 10.5 software will not work in 10.7, no more Rosetta or PPC based code.
2: Your hardware will not qualify if it's a 32 bit Intel Core Duo, also you may experience slowdowns in performance over 10.6 (10.6 is the fastest OS X version for Intel Macs) in older Intel hardware (I suggest Early 2011 Mac's and later only for Lion)
3: Mountain Lion 10.8 is reportingly coming out this summer and will not run on a lot of older Intel based Mac's because of heftier graphics requirements.
4: 10.6 has the widest range of current avaialble software and drivers for third party hardware.
My advice, stick with 10.6.8 and stay there, buy a new Mountain Lion machine after this summer. Skip Lion completely.

My iMac will not boot past the logo and spinning gear

My iMac will not boot past the logo and spinning gear (After a Rogue Amoeba update). I can't access the recovery disk I made on a flash drive. (Am I doing it correctly? - Hold down option while switching on? It just stays on the logo). What (if anything) can I do please?

If you installed Lion onto your machine, it should have created a Recovery HD (hidden from view, but visible in Disk Utility with its Debug menu enabled, under Show all Partitions).
That article states:
Note: In order to create an external Lion Recovery using the Lion Recovery Assistant, the Mac must have an existing Recovery HD.
Would I see the recovery menu (by holding down option on power up)
Yes.
if there was no recovery disc connected do you think?
Shouldn't matter, since your int HD is always connected.

IMac will not boot up. Need to transfer data iMac (2006) iMac (2009)

I have an iMac (built/sold late 2006 -400 Firewire) and an iMac (built/sold late 2009 - 800 Firewire).
I have connected computers with a 400 to 800 Firewire cable.
The old iMac will not boot to desktop. It was suggested to hold down the "T" key and then power up the iMac. This was done and the old iMac shows a "Y" shaped icon that appears to be a Firewire icon. The old iMac does not show up on the desktop of the new iMac.
I would like to transfer data from the old iMac to the newer one. Suggestions ?
Thanks.
old iMac OS 10.4.xx
new iMac OS 10.9.2

She's holding T down on the old computer.
Which is the way it has to be done. The old computer's hard drive will mount on the new computer.
To use FireWire target disk mode
Make sure that the target computer is turned off.
If you are using an Apple portable computer such as a PowerBook or MacBook as the target computer, plug in its AC power adapter.
Use a FireWire cable to connect the target computer to a host computer. The host computer can be powered on.
Start up the target computer and immediately press and hold down the T key until the FireWire icon appears. The hard disk of the target computer should become available to the host computer and will likely appear on desktop. (If the target computer is running Mac OS X v10.4 Tiger, you can also open System Preferences, choose Startup Disk, and click Target Disk Mode. Restart the computer and it will start up in Target Disk Mode.)
When you are finished copying files, locate the target computer's hard disk icon on the desktop of the host computer and drag it to the Trash or choose Eject (or Put Away) from the File menu.
Press the target computer's power button to turn it off.
Unplug the FireWire cable.
(my emphasis).
Excerpt from: http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1661
The terms are Target and Host. The old iMac is the Target, the new one is the Host.

My imac will not boot up, any answers?

My imac will not boot up.
It froze so I turned it off. Now it won't boot up at all.
Any ideas

Thanks for your help.
i don't know how to do a hardware Test when it won't boot up.
I tried to boot it from the original disc but it wouldn't recognise the hard drive at all
Ditto from backup Hard drive.
Any ideas??

My iMac will not boot up. it brings up a black screen with a cursor

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for