Can't get past startup

I experienced a hard crash after installing some new internet software (Hermstedt DSL) and now I can't get past the startup screen. I tried a safe startup, repaired disk permissions via Disk Utility and did a Diskwarrior session to sort the directory if that was affected (it wasn't), but the problem persists. I also did a hardware test which stated nothing wrong.
Does anyone have any ideas as to what I could do next? Any help hugely appreciated.

Answering my own question just in case it helps anyone:
I started up in 'safe' mode and deleted everything to do with the software. Everything starts up fine.

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Can't get past startup grey screen or progress bar.

Running late 2011 Mac Book Pro. Recently added a SSD which runs software and the HDD for user data. All was running fine with data migration etc. Running Yosemite all updated. 16GB Ram.
Was using photoshop and it grey screened. Have tried lots of different things-
Won't boot in safe mode or verbose mode.
Ran fsck -fy in single user mode.
Changed RAM and ports.
Won't boot from the HDD which still has the operating system or from OSX Install which is on an external drive.
Ran a recovery boot up with download from Apple.
Ran a hardware test (extended and normal) with no errors.
Cleared PRAM and SCM.
Won't give me the option to boot from time machine back up.
Tried to to boot from recovery partition.
Would not mount as an external drive but could only daisy chain through another hard drive so not sure if it doesn't mount or wouldn't when daisy-chained.
None of this has worked and leads to either a grey screen or progress bar stopping halfway.
Unable to get an appointment at the Genius Bar and don't want to take it to a premium reseller as would rather Apple look at it first.
I know it must be a hardware issue but don't know what hardware!
HELP!

Rwilliamt wrote:
Running late 2011 Mac Book Pro. Recently added a SSD which runs software and the HDD for user data. All was running fine with data migration etc. Running Yosemite all updated. 16GB Ram.
Was using photoshop and it grey screened. Have tried lots of different things-
Won't boot in safe mode or verbose mode.
Ran fsck -fy in single user mode.
Changed RAM and ports.
Won't boot from the HDD which still has the operating system or from OSX Install which is on an external drive.
Ran a recovery boot up with download from Apple.
Ran a hardware test (extended and normal) with no errors.
Cleared PRAM and SCM.
Won't give me the option to boot from time machine back up.
Tried to to boot from recovery partition.
Would not mount as an external drive but could only daisy chain through another hard drive so not sure if it doesn't mount or wouldn't when daisy-chained.
None of this has worked and leads to either a grey screen or progress bar stopping halfway.
Unable to get an appointment at the Genius Bar and don't want to take it to a premium reseller as would rather Apple look at it first.
I know it must be a hardware issue but don't know what hardware!
HELP!
Time Machine is not a bootable copy - that is normal.
Apple hardware test can miss issues, see if it can run in loop mode (cmd+L) if you want to try to provoke an error - sometimes they appear to be temperature related, so start cold & allow it to warm up.
I'm unclear on the external disks & bootable OS's you tried, try to check that these disks also boot another Mac. A 10.10 installer on a USB stick should work on other Macs, but occasionally they can fail to support booting so you need to rule that out if you have other USB sticks.
I think an Apple store would be a good idea, it seems like the Mac is failing to boot from any OS's on different media, normally indicating a fatal flaw on the mac itself.
Also see if it fits into any of these…
https://www.apple.com/support/exchange_repair/

I installed Lion OS, after restart it gives the startup screen with my user id but no window for password entry, no matter what I do I can't get past the opening screen.

I installed Lion OS, after restart it gives the startup screen with my user id but no window for password entry, no matter what I do I can't get past the opening screen.

MacBook Pro
MacBook Pro Apple Support
Apple Support Lion
Lion Mac OS X Communities

I have a white screen with the apple logo upon startup. Then the wheel turns and the screen is white. Can't get past it.

I have a white screen with the apple logo upon startup. Then the wheel turns and the screen is white. Can't get past it.

Boot with your install disc, launch Disk Utility, and repair the boot volume.

HT2452 White screen at startup and stays?? How can I get past this?

White screen at startup and stays?? How can I get past this?

Safe Boot is perfoming a disk integrity check and repair process which may take a long time. Let it complete, though if the startup disk requires repair to begin with, it is likely already in a failed state.
If the Mac eventually starts, take that opportunity to back up your important data if you have not already done so. It may be your last.

Can't get past PMU, can't even get to a grey screen

I have a Power Mac G4 Sawtooth. I recently upgraded to a Mac Pro and transferred all my data from the G4. Have 2 drives in the G4 and had some problems using Migration Assistant (wouldn't see primary drive, only secondary drive.) I read that having the drives set to cable select was the problem so I opened up the G4 and unplugged the secondary drive and set the jumper cable on the primary drive to master and this worked.
After transferring my data, I set the drives from my G4 back to their original jumper settings, and with the door open, powered up the G4. Everything worked fine. So I screwed the drive tray back into place and closed the door. Went to power on, got power, but this time only a black screen on my monitor. Can't even get to a grey screen.
I've tried everything, including testing the battery (it was fine) and going the through the steps of pressing the PMU button. I've also tested the monitor and the monitor cable. Tried re-seating the RAM, too. I'm not hearing any sound from the hard drive and I can't even get the computer to startup from G4 DVD. My understanding is that after power up, everything goes through the PMU. It then releases and says startup the keyboard, monitor, hard drive, etc. If this is wrong, let me know. So if I can't get past the PMU, does this mean my motherboard is fried?
-Daryl

Hi, Daryl -
If you moved the G4 around to make room for the new machine, that could have jarred the processor loose. It's not unusual for that to happen to an older machine, though it usually happens to RAM or cables, not to the processor.
Years of heating and cooling can loosen a connection and cause some oxidation of the contacts; subsequent moving of the machine, coupled with just a bit of thumping or torquing of the chassis, can cause the connection to fail. Reseating the connection not only makes it secure again, it usually wipes the oxidation off of the contacts.

I can't get past white screen when starting up, any ideas?

I Can't get past white screen when starting up, any ideas

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2570 Mac OS X: Gray screen appears during startup
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Help, I can't get past a blank blue screen.

I'm not quite sure what went wrong. For some reason I seemed to lock up this morning, colored disc kept spinning. I shut her down after about 10 minutes of no results and now with booting back up I reach a blue screen and can't get past this. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated!

You're a bit short on details to be very helpful. What were you doing prior to this happening; did you install something, were you reading email, did you click on or delete some file without knowing what it was for? Be specific.
That said, you can try starting up in Safe Mode.
1 Be sure the computer is shut down.
2 Press the power button.
3 Immediately after you hear the startup tone, press and hold the Shift key.
Tip: The Shift key should be held as soon as possible after the startup tone but not before.
4 Release the Shift key when you see the gray Apple and progress indicator (looks like a spinning gear).
During the startup in Mac OS X 10.2 through 10.3.9, you will see "Safe Boot" on the Mac OS X startup screen.
During the startup in Mac OS X 10.4 or later, you will see "Safe Boot" on the login window, which appears even if you normally log in automatically.
To leave Safe Mode in any version of Mac OS X, restart the computer normally, without holding any keys during startup.
If you still have this problem when you're in Safe Mode, then something more serious is likely going on, but we'll need details to try to solve it.
Mulder

IMac won't get past startup screen, no matter what. Pls help?

I just inherited a mid-2010 iMac from a friend. It hadn't been used for months, and now when it is started up, it won't get past startup screen. It shows the 'slot' looking image on the bottom of the white loadup screen, then it's just the apple symbol and the whirly thing going around forever. I've had it going for over half an hour at one point, and nothing changes. I have tried all the different reboot key combos, such as C with a startup disk in it, D for hardware test, command S for safe mode, etc. The only thing which makes any difference at all is using the T key at startup, when I do get the three-pronged white symbol floating around screen.
It is a 21 inch with 500gig, and I believe it's running Snow Leopard. They never had a problem with it before, but now after the months of disuse, it is doing this. Please, can anyone help? Thanks!

I'm not sure if a dead PRAM battery would give you these symptoms, but one possibility is that if the computer was off wall power for months, the PRAM battery, a small coin cell battery that controls certain functions, may be drained and dead.
But, in any case, try an SMC Reset. You must follow the timing for this exactly.
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht3964
And then a PRAM Reset.
Hold down Option-Cmd-P-R together at the startup chime, listen for two more chimes, total three, then release all the keys to finish booting.
You might also try a Safe Boot by holding down Shift at the startup chime. (Cmd-S isn't for Safe Boot, it's single user mode.) Give it much longer to boot than usual, but if it doesn't finish in perhaps 5 or 10 minutes, then you'll have to give up on that.

Can't get past login screen following software update

I've been using Leopard on my Mini for months quite happily and when last night the Apple software update window popped up I let it install as I have always done without a problem.
My machine re-booted, went through installing the two updates and when it had finished re-booted again. Problem is I can't get past the login screen, the process goes like this...
Switch on --> Grey screen with apple logo and swirly --> Wallpaper appears --> login window --> enter password --> login window says 'logging in' and dissapears --> Blue screen appears --> login window appears again.
I've tried a safe-mode boot (hold down shift at boot) - no difference. I've tried single user mode (cmd + S) - no difference. I've even tried booting from the leopard install DVD (hold down C at boot) but my mac just ignores all this and goes through the process outlined above.
Any ideas?
Thanks

Are you using a wireless keyboard? Those commands may not work if the operating system loads before the keyboard driver.
If you have a wired keyboard, try holding down the option key at startup to show all the bootable drives, including the install disk. Then after booting from the install disk use Disk Utilities from the Utilities menu to do a Repair Disk and Repair Permissions.
If you can boot into Safe-Mode, 10.5.6 is supposed to clear up some known issues after a reboot. See this MacWorld article:
http://www.macworld.com/article/137764/2008/12/osx1056_bugsandfixes.html?lsrc=mw week

My computer beeps when I turn it on . I have tried to reset pram but can't get past the beeps.

My computer beeps when I turn it on . I have tried to reset pram but can't get past the beeps.

The beeps (or flashes) are usually an indication that there is no working RAM. This article gives some examples, but the concept applies widely across many Mac models.
iMac (Mid 2007) and later models: About startup tones

Can't get past Darwin console

I just installed some Quicktime add-ons, and I restarted my Mac. It goes to a Darwin console, I can log in to the console, if I exit, it takes me back onto the startup user menu, and if I select my user account, I'm right back into Darwin, being prompted to login.
I've never used Darwin. How can I get past this console and onto my graphic interface/desktop?

Andy
The first thing to do is to look at your logs, to see the cause of being unable to start up. But rather than point you at some other threads, let's do it from scratch here. You may want to print this post out, preferably in a largish mono-spaced font.
Since you are able to log in at the prompt, this simplifies things. After logging in, let's look at the system log—type carefully, spaces and punctuation are important:
tail -20 /var/log/system.logThis command combination looks at the last 20 lines of your log which should be enough.
Look especially for messages saying something like "login authorization failed", "exiting to console" or something similar. Copy the lines above that and post them here. If you don't see this specific message, post some of the lines at the end of the log.
We'll take it from there when I see your output.

My MacBook Air can't get past the gray screen with the apple logo. What's the fix?

My MacBook Air can't get past the gray screen with the Apple logo, so I can't login. Does anyone know the fix for this?

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 Recovery by holding down the key combination command-R at the startup chime, or from a local Time Machine backup volume (option key at startup.) Release the keys when you see a gray screen with a spinning dial. When the OS X Utilities screen appears, launch Disk Utility and follow the instructions in the support article linked below, under “Instructions for backing up to an external hard disk via Disk Utility.”
How to back up and restore your files
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 by holding down the key combination command-T at the startup chime. Connect the two Macs with a FireWire or Thunderbolt cable. The internal drive of the machine running in target mode will mount as an external drive on the other machine. Copy the data to another drive. This technique won't work with USB, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth.
How to use and troubleshoot FireWire target disk mode
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
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.
Before reconnecting an external storage device, make sure that your internal boot volume is selected in the Startup Disk pane of System Preferences.
Step 3
Boot in safe mode.* The instructions provided by Apple are as follows:
Shut down your computer, wait 30 seconds, and then hold down the shift key while pressing the power button.
When you see the gray Apple logo, release the shift key.
If you are prompted to log in, type your password, and then hold down the shift key again as you click Log in.
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.
*Note: If FileVault is enabled, or if a firmware password is set, or if the boot volume is a software RAID, you can’t boot in safe mode. Post for further instructions.
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 damaged and the drive is probably malfunctioning. In that case, go to step 5.
If you can boot and log in now, 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 4
Sometimes a boot failure can be resolved by resetting the NVRAM.
Step 5
Launch Disk Utility in Recovery mode (see above for instructions.) 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 produces. Look for the line "Permissions repaired successfully" at the end of the output. Then reboot as usual.
Step 6
Boot into Recovery again. When the OS X Utilities screen appears, follow the prompts to 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.
Note: You need an always-on Ethernet or Wi-Fi connection to the Internet to use Recovery. It won’t work with USB or PPPoE modems, or with proxy servers, or with networks that require a certificate for authentication.
Step 7
Repeat step 6, 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 backup.
Step 8
If you get this far, you're probably dealing with a hardware fault. Make a "Genius" appointment at an Apple Store to have the machine tested.

Can't get past white loading a screen after restoring from time machine backup

I am aware there are others threads of my problem however they date back years ago and after trying their solutions it still does not work.
After using Time Machine to restore my hard drive from a backup, I can't get past the white loading screen with apple logo after system restart during restore process. Ive gone into disk utility and repaired hard drive - it's fine. So I know this is a software glitch. I've also tried resetting SMC & PRAM (whatever those mean). No success and i cannot get past the white loading screen.
I'm running Mavericks (latest) on a late 2009 iMac. Thank you!

If you don't already have a current backup, back up all data, then reinstall the OS.* You don't need to erase the startup volume, and you won't need the backup unless something goes wrong. If the system was upgraded from an older version of OS X, you may need the Apple ID and password you used.
If you use FileVault 2, then before running the Installer you must launch Disk Utility and select the icon of the FileVault startup volume ("Macintosh HD," unless you gave it a different name.) It will be nested below another icon with the same name. Click the Unlock button in the toolbar and enter your login password when prompted. Then quit Disk Utility to be returned to the main Recovery screen.
There are ways to back up a computer that isn't fully functional. Ask if you need guidance.
If you installed the Java runtime distributed by Apple and still need it, you'll have to reinstall it. The same goes for Xcode. All other data will be preserved.
*The linked support article refers to OS X 10.9 ("Mavericks"), but the procedure is the same for OS X 10.7 ("Lion") and later.

TS3048 what if keyboard won't link up and you can"t get past the grey start screen?

Problem with wifi keyboard: not being discovered by the mac. new batteries tried. just tested o iPad and it is fine (what i am typing on for this Q).
Can't get past grey startup screen. :(

Is this a bluetooth keyborad or WiFi? Take a look at this link, http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1809

Can't get past startup

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