Boots to gray screen with apple logo and no spinning wheel

For some reason, all my programs that were open (Safari, iTunes) were not responding and the spinning color wheel appeared. I simply pressed down on my power button to reset my laptop.
Soon after my laptop booted to a gray screen with the apple logo. There was no spinning wheel. I did here the chime noise and my screen remains like this as we speak.
I tried to use my install CD but nothing changes on my screen.
Please advise.

Uh-oh, that's not good. What exactly did you do when you put your install CD in? Did you make sure to hold down the "C" key on the keyboard to startup from it?
From there, you can try Disk Utility to see if the hard drive needs to be repaired.
MAKE SURE YOU DON'T USE TECHTOOL DELUXE that came with AppleCare if you have it. There is a glitch--I learned the hard way... had a kernel panic on my PowerMac G4 last week and the drive went from bad to worse... it's here on the Apple forums somewhere--that causes the directory on the affected volume to go unreadable.
Using DiskWarrior won't help either.
If Apple's Disk Utility can't help you, I recommend backing up your data (if you can see it with another Mac under Target Disk Mode--hold down the "T" key on the keyboard and startup while connected to another Mac via FireWire--take your files off that way) and then using Data Rescue II.
It saved my behind. TechTool Deluxe ruined my drive, DiskWarrior couldn't help, but Data Rescue II did. Best $99 I ever spent! It's at the Apple Store, or available online.
That is, if it comes to all of this. Try restarting from your installation CD (restore disc) if you haven't done so already, and use Disk Utility to see what it reports. If it says repair, do so. Apple's Disk Utility won't ruin it... only TechTool Deluxe (from the AppleCare package).

Similar Messages

I have a MacBook Pro 2008 with 17 inch screen. Experiencing a lock up when turning on power to boot up. While booting up it goes to gray screen with Apple logo and disc spinning icon running and doesn't go to my desktop. Any solutions to the problem?

I have an early 2009 17 inch MacBook Pro that just went on the fritz. When turning on the power it will go into boot up mode to the gray screen with the apple logo, then the disc icon will be running and will continue running, not allowing to proceed to my desk top screen. It's pretty much locked up at this point where I have to do a forced shut down by holding down the power button. I've tried everything that I know of such as taking battery out and pressing power button for 5 seconds and then reinstalling battery. I've cleaned inside of computer with compressed air duster in can as well as other key commands for resets. I've read that this is a common problem with the earlier MacBook Pros. Is this a problem that I can fix or does it have to be taken in for service? Any solutions to the problem would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

This could be a software/state problem or a hardware problem. Here are steps to resolve the former.
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2570
https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-5282

MacBook will not start. I have restarted with original CD. I have used Utilities and "no problem" with hard drive. I have reset PRAM. I have tried safe boot. Nothing is work. Gray screen with Apple logo and rotating wheel. Thanks for any suggestions!

MacBook will not start. I have restarted with original CD. I have used Utilities and "no problem" with hard drive. I have reset PRAM. I have tried safe boot. Nothing is work. Gray screen with Apple logo and rotating wheel. Thanks for any suggestions!

Snow Leopard is a Mac OS X version. You say that it's the version you have in your Mac (10.6.8). Do a back up of your files, format the hard drive (using Disk Utility) and reinstall again

IMac G5 boots to gray screen with Apple logo only

iMac G5 boots to gray screen with apple logo only.
What I've tried:
Won't boot to safe mode.
Reset PRAM several times.
Won't boot to install disk with "C" depressed at startup.
Will boot to screen showing HD and arrow buttons when "alt" depressed at startup. But clicking HD icon and proceed arrow just goes back to the gray screen with apple logo. Note the HD icon has a blue "x" symbol.
With install disc in, will boot with "alt" depressed at startup to three icons, HD, install disc, and apple hardware test. Both HD and install disc icons have the blue "x" symbol and won't run. BUT the apple hardware test icon doesn't have a blue "x" and runs. Extended test says all hardware OK.
Finally, startup in single user mode with "apple-s" depressed goes to a non-gui white text (UNIX core?) which gives blocks of repetitive text starting "unresolved kernal trap (cpu0)...(lots of date)...latest crash.....backtrace:" My rough guide to the Mac gives me text to enter at that point but I can't input to the screen.
That's where I'm stuck.

You're encountering a kernel panic.
[I got a black screen telling me I had to reboot in many languages, what was it?|http://www.dslreports.com/faq/4970] Also has detailed description of what happens during a KP.
[Apple docs: What's a kernel panic? (Mac OS X)|http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106227]
[Topic : kmosx: Kernel Panics? Don't panic too !|http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=121923]
[X-Lab: Resolving Kernel Panics|http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/kernelpanics.html]
[Tutorial: Avoiding and eliminating Kernel panics|http://www.macfixit.com/article.php?story=20060911080447777]
[Tutorial: An introduction to reading Mac OS X crash reports|http://www.macfixit.com/article.php?story=20060309075929717]
[12-Step Program to Isolate Freezes and/or Kernel Panics|http://macosg.com/group/viewtopic.php?t=800]
[Texas Mac Man's post on kernel panics|http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1723768&tstart=0]
These are often attributed to hardware problems though they can also be due to corruption of software. Since you're also encountering it with your DVD I'd tend more towards the former. Your computer seems to be passing the early stage POST tests for RAM. Apple Hardware Test also seems to be passing but [X-Lab: The Apple Hardware Test|http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/aht.html] document recommends using this in loop mode to test for intermittent problems.
Sometimes the crash logs (all the error messages you are seeing) contain information about the problem, but there's an art to reading those.

White screen with apple logo and rotating pin wheel. Carried to Peach Mac store and it worked perfect. Now it is doing it again.

White screen with Apple logo and rotating pin wheel. Carried unit to Peach Mac and it worked perfect there. Justed started doing this again. Any help?

Have a look at > Mac OS X: Gray screen appears during startup

Electric went out my computer is just showing gray screen with apple logo and wont start up

my mac mini is just showing gray screen with apple logo on it i cant get into it

Mac OS X: Gray screen appears during startup

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 Pro won't boot past grey screen with Apple logo and then shuts off

This is a long story...
This morning, I would turn it on and it'd go to the grey screen with the Apple logo for a few seconds and then go to the icon that is a circle with a line through it. After reading online, I was able to boot it up in Safe Mode. I messed around a little bit in system preferences thinking I could fix it on my own, not really knowing what I was doing (I'm a *******). I went to Startup Disk in Preferences. I chose the MAC OS X, xxxx and then clicked the lock to prevent further changes and then clicked restart.
Now when I turn on the macbook, it goes to the grey screen with the Apple logo for at least two-three minutes and then just shuts off. Won't boot into Safe Mode now. Please help. I already tried the Command-Option-P-R keys trick like five times.

If you have a full retail DVD for 10.6 you can boot from that by holding the C key during startup...but you will then be in install mode if that is what you want to do. At least go ahead and see if it will boot ok from the 10.6 disk and then you can decide what you want to do further.
Apple does not have 10.5 for sale anymore from what some other users have said on here so if you want to go that route you will have to find a copy for sale such as from eBay or one of the Mac resellers.
Before taking the machine to someone, try booting from 10.6 and see if that works...that way you can narrow down problems the machine may be having.

Gray screen with Apple logo and spinning gear appears during startup

I followed the steps outlined in order in Apple Support by disconnecting all peripheral devices, performing a safe boot, and resetting the NVRAM / PRAM. Nothing changed - the gray screen still appeared when restarting the computer. Next I tried bringing up the Mac OS X Install disc using Disk Utility. I was able to get into Disk Utility but it would not allow me to click "Repair Disk" for the hard drive. I could only select "Verify Disk". So I did that then and the results in red were as follows:
-Invalid node structure
-The volume Macintosh HD needs to be repaiired.
Error: Filesystem verify or repair failed.
So this is where I'm at, unsure as exactly how to proceed from here. Any suggestions or advice would be greatly appreciated! Thank you.

Well I tried entering in (after the "umount/dev/") disk0s1, disk0, disk1, disk2 etc. all to no avail. So I'm just recopying below exactly what shows up on screen in the Terminal once I enter "df" so that maybe you can better detect that way what my volume should be. Thanks David!
-bash-3.2# df
Filesystem 512-blocks Used Available Capacity Mounted on
/dev/disk1s3 15513624 15414064 0 100% /
devfs 217 217 0 100% /dev
fdesc 2 2 0 100% /dev
/dev/disk2 934 12 876 2% /Volumes
/dev/disk3 934 124 764 14% /private/var/tmp
/dev/disk4 190 22 160 13% /private/var/run
/dev/disk5 190 4 178 3% /Library/Preferences

TS1541 a blue screen appears after a gray screen with the logo and the spinning gear

start up problem...a blue screen appears after the gray screen and the spinning gear

Try using Disk Utility to do a Disk Repair, as shown in this link, while booted up on your install disk. You could have some directory corruption. Let us know what errors Disk Repair reports and if DU was able to repair them. This could just be a start in repairs and you may need a better utility to finish the job.
Then Repair Permissions.
No need to report any Permissions errors........we all get them.
 DALE

Imac wont boot - i get a white screen with apple logo, and it loads to about 10%, then screen goes black

imac wont boot - i get a white screen with apple logo, and it loads to about 10%, then screen goes black

Hey there mtriest,
It sounds like you are unable to boot the iMac successfully as it keeps shutting down when you try to boot. I suggest the troubleshooting from the following article named:
Mac OS X: Gray screen appears during startup
http://support.apple.com/kb/ts2570
Disconnect, test peripheral devices and network cables
Note: "Peripheral devices" refers to external devices other than what came with your Mac, such as hard drives, printers, or hubs that you connect via a USB or FireWire cable.
Shut down your Mac. If necessary, hold your Mac's power button for several seconds to force it to power down.
Disconnect all peripheral devices such as external hard drives or printers (leave only the display, a keyboard, and mouse connected).
Disconnect any Ethernet cables.
Start up your Mac.
If you can start up this way, one or more of your peripheral devices (or installed software related to the device) is probably causing the gray screen issue. Connect one device, then restart your Mac to test for the issue. Repeat the process until you locate the device at issue. Make sure the device is powered if it needs to be to operate correctly. Check with the manufacturer of the device for support or possible software driver or firmware updates that may be available for the device. Try a different cable with the device if possible (such as a different USB or FireWire cable).
Note: If you have multiple peripheral devices and the issue only occurs when they are all connected, but not when each device is the only peripheral connected, see the Additional Information section below.
If you are using a desktop Mac with a third-party keyboard and/or mouse device, and the issue still occurs, try starting up with an Apple keyboard and mouse connected instead. Try starting with no keyboard and mouse connected, then connect them after start up. Also, try a different USB port on your Mac.
If the gray screen issue persists with no devices connected, go to the next section (with the peripherals still disconnected).
Perform a Safe BootSimply performing a Safe Boot may resolve this issue.
Shut down your Mac. If necessary, hold your Mac's power button for several seconds to force it to power down.
Start your Mac, then immediately hold the Shift key. This performs a Safe Boot. Advanced tip: If you want to see the status of a Safe Boot as it progresses, you can hold Shift-Command-V during start up (instead of just Shift).
Note: A Safe Boot takes longer than a typical start up because it includes a disk check and other operations.
If your Mac starts up as expected, immediately try restarting.
If the Safe Boot does not work, or the restart after a successful Safe Boot does not work, go to the next section.
There is additional information in the article with further troubleshooting if needed.
Thank you for using Apple Support Communities.
Cheers,
Sterling

Won't turn on white screen with apple logo and spinning disc

Mac book air won't boot up just has a white screen with apple logo and spinning disc have tried all the startup multiple key pushes , I think

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 boot failure is to secure your 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 your last backup, you can skip this step.
There are several ways to back up a Mac that is unable to boot. You need an external hard drive to hold the backup data.
a. Boot into 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, boot 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. The easiest way to deal with the problem is to boot from an external drive, or else to 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 boot 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 boot, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards. Use a different keyboard and/or mouse, if those devices are wired. If you can boot 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 booted from an external storage device, make sure that your internal boot volume is selected in the Startup Disk pane of System Preferences.
Boot in safe mode. Note: If FileVault is enabled, or if a firmware password is set, or if the boot volume is a software RAID, you can’t do this. Post for further instructions.
Safe mode is much slower to boot 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 your login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin.
When you boot 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, your boot volume is corrupt and the drive is probably malfunctioning. In that case, go to Step 6.
If you can boot and log in now, empty the Trash, and then open the Finder Info window on your boot 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 reboot as usual (i.e., not in safe mode.)
If the boot 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 your 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 reboot as usual.
Step 9
Reinstall the OS. If your Mac was upgraded from an older version of OS X, you’ll need the Apple ID and password you used to upgrade.
Step 10
Repeat Step 9, but this time erase the boot volume in Disk Utility before installing. The system should automatically reboot into the Setup Assistant. Follow the prompts to transfer your 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 boot 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.

When turning on my mac book pro it displays a screen with apple logo and begins loading a loading bar, after this continues to show loading circle however has been like this all day still no different. Tried turning it on and off however still same!

When turning on my mac book pro it displays a screen with apple logo and begins loading a loading bar, after this continues to show loading circle however has been like this all day still no different. Tried turning it on and off however still same!

... then run Disk Utility, Repair Disk.
Also:
Resolve startup issues and perform disk maintenance with Disk ...
Mac troubleshooting FAQ: start-up woes
How To Fix Common Mac Startup Problems
Mac Stalls on Gray Screen at Startup - Troubleshooting Mac Startup ...

TS2570 Mac will not start up after software up date, just screen with Apple logo and spinning icon?

Mac will not start up after software up date, just screen with Apple logo and spinning icon? I have tried safe start up, unplugged all other cables, no luck?

How to Perform an Archive and Install
An Archive and Install will NOT erase your hard drive, but you must have sufficient free space for a second OS X installation which could be from 3-9 GBs depending upon the version of OS X and selected installation options. The free space requirement is over and above normal free space requirements which should be at least 6-10 GBs. Read all the linked references carefully before proceeding.
1. Be sure to use Disk Utility first to repair the disk before performing the Archive and Install.
Repairing the Hard Drive and Permissions
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 Installer menu (Utilities menu for Tiger, Leopard or Snow Leopard.) 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 installer. Now restart normally.
If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior and/or Tech Tool Pro to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X.
2. Do not proceed with an Archive and Install if DU reports errors it cannot fix. In that case use Disk Warrior and/or TechTool Pro to repair the hard drive. If neither can repair the drive, then you will have to erase the drive and reinstall from scratch.
3. Boot from your OS X Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When you reach the screen to select a destination drive click once on the destination drive then click on the Option button. Select the Archive and Install option. You have an option to preserve users and network preferences. Only select this option if you are sure you have no corrupted files in your user accounts. Otherwise leave this option unchecked. Click on the OK button and continue with the OS X Installation.
4. Upon completion of the Archive and Install you will have a Previous System Folder in the root directory. You should retain the PSF until you are sure you do not need to manually transfer any items from the PSF to your newly installed system.
5. After moving any items you want to keep from the PSF you should delete it. You can back it up if you prefer, but you must delete it from the hard drive.
6. You can now download a Combo Updater directly from Apple's download site to update your new system to the desired version as well as install any security or other updates. You can also do this using Software Update.

Macbook Pro (2011) froze while working, forced shut down, now won't turn on. Grey screen with apple logo and spinning wheel for hours. Help?

Macbook Pro (2011) froze while working, forced shut down, now won't turn on. Grey screen with apple logo and spinning wheel for hours. Help?
Unfortunately do not know the operating system since I never updated anything and I can't get in to it.
Thanks for your assistance.

If you want to preserve the data on the boot drive, and it's not already backed up, 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, you can skip this step.
There are several ways to back up a Mac that is not fully functional. You need an external hard drive to hold the backup data.
1. Boot from the Recovery partition or from a local Time Machine backup volume (option key at startup.) Launch Disk Utility and follow the instructions in this support article, under “Instructions for backing up to an external hard disk via Disk Utility.”
2. If you have access to a working Mac, and both it and the non-working Mac have FireWire or Thunderbolt ports, boot 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.
3. 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.

Boots to gray screen with apple logo and no spinning wheel

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