Comp won't get past startup

My comp won't get past the startup page without haveing the "you need to restart" popup show up.Someone please help me!

I assume you are getting a Kernal Panic. KPs are usually associated with a hardware problem. Look at these links.
What's a "kernel panic"? (Mac OS X)
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106227
Mac OS X Kernel Panic FAQ
http://www.macmaps.com/kernelpanic.html
Mac OS X Kernel Panic FAQ
http://www.index-site.com/kernelpanic.html
Resolving Kernel Panics
http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/kernelpanics.html
Cheers, Tom

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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.

Won't get past startup screen

I have a MBP with a busted Optical drive (it never worked) and warrenty is void.
I have never reinstalled my system but now would be a good time becuase
My computer when starting up now cannot get past the first Grey Apple logo
and shows the wheel (not rainbow other one) spinning for hours on end.
What should I do?
I think i'm going to try to rescue my files by connecting through firewire
from another computer I got it into firewire mode.
But I dunno what I should do to actually FIX the computer?
Any ideas?

I'll let u know now that my next intent is to give it to a tech to see if he can dl the data from the disk and if not to just replace he optical drive and then try to startup from the system install disk then if not that then use unix prompt to connect to disk and dl files . I'm sure it possible to do these things. The probl is with bad blocks of data on the disk that has curropted essential information that is used in the startup and running of os x. If I were u I would reconnect the cd drive and try booting from ur system disks.=)
Message was edited by: JupiterSpaceport

Graphite iMac Won't Get Past Startup

I recently inherited a Graphite 600mhz iMac with 1gig of RAM and a 40gb HDD from my Television productions class. I used an iPod ripping program called iPod Access to load about 10gigs of music to the computer. I also installed a few programs like VLC and WMP. The computer was running a little slow after these installs and transfers, so I figured I'd restart. I did, and the computer made it to the gray Mac loading screen, where the little wheel revolved and revolved. As of now, the computer will not get past this point after many attempts. Is the HD shot? No hardware has been changed. Could it have something to do with my iPod?

Can you start from a Bootable CD? Hopefully, you inherited the 10.3 disks, or a copy of a 9.2.1 disk along with the iMac.
I'm guessing that the disk is full and the Mac has lost track of some important startup file. OSX writes a lot of files to the disk in the course of operation that are invisible but take up space. If you don't do regular house cleaning you loose a whole lot of space over time.
Some music import proceedures make two copies of each file, and that adds to the problem.
I'm guessing. At any rate, you are going to need a bootable CD to trouble shoot this situation.
David

Macbook won't get past startup screen?

I dropped my macbook, approximately from a 3/4 meter height. It beeped 1-5 times (i think)? Then froze. I Turned it off, then switched it back on, and it went through the usual startup phase, except it wont go past the loading screen and won't boot up in single user mode, help me please?

You may have damaged the disk when you dropped it. Here are some steps to diagnose that and possibly repair the filesystem. (It may be some other problem but this is a good place to start.)
Reset SMC:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964
Boot in OS X Recovery Mode overview.
    http://www.apple.com/osx/recovery/
   If it boots in standard recovery mode then
   at least part of your internal disk is working.
   If it boots in network recovery mode then your internal disk may be damaged
   but the rest of you Mac may be healthy.
While in Recovery Mode check the S.M.A.R.T. disk status, try to repair the system disk (Macintosh HD).
If that does not fix the problem then reïnstall OS X.
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/5477875?tstart=0

Elite pavilion m9040n won't get past startup screen

For the past few weeks, my computer has been unable to load past the initial startup screen( blue hp screen) . The screen goes to a black screen with a blinking cursor and then after hearing what sounds like a click and a loading sound it restarts over and over. After several attempts running startup repairs , I am able to get to the hone screen however it freezes every few minutes or so. I'm inclined to think this may be a hdd issue because I have been receiving the black screen message : A disk read error has occurred. Press ctrl+alt+delete to restart.
I should add that I haven't changed any hardware or software prior to this problem.
Any help would be appreciated

Sosa70 wrote: For the past few weeks, my computer has been unable to load past the initial startup screen( blue hp screen) . The screen goes to a black screen with a blinking cursor and then after hearing what sounds like a click and a loading sound it restarts over and over. After several attempts running startup repairs , I am able to get to the hone screen however it freezes every few minutes or so. I'm inclined to think this may be a hdd issue because I have been receiving the black screen message : A disk read error has occurred. Press ctrl+alt+delete to restart. I should add that I haven't changed any hardware or software prior to this problem. Any help would be appreciated
Hello Sosa70, When the system completes the POST (Pre Operating System Test) successfully, it turns control of the system over to the operating system, and you would see the black screen with the blinking white cursor.
Sometimes when the operating system has become corrupted, it cannot boot into the Windows desktop.
It is also possible that the hard drive itself has become faulty. Since you mentioned you performed the hardware test and found no errors, you may just have a corrupted operating system.
Please click the White Kudos star on the left, to say thanks.
Please mark Accept As Solution if it solves your problem.

Help! Computer won't get past startup.

Hi! I'm having trouble with my G4 since yesterday. I bought a new battery and installed it on friday. The computer worked fine until yesterday when it suddenly restarted but it never got past the startup screen (apple logo). I tried repairing the disk but it said it couldn't finish repair.
I tried booting in safe mode to save some files before I erased everything from the hard drive but it just didn't respond. It remained stuck in the startup screen.
Any suggestions?
Thanks
Ana

Ana:
Welcome to Apple Discussions.
First, if you do not have a good backup and you have access to a Mac that supports Firewire, try backing up via Firewire Target Disk Mode
Next,try resetting the PRAM:
1. Shut down the computer.
2. Locate the following keys on the keyboard: Command, Option, P, and R. You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously in step 4.
3. Turn on the computer.
4. Press and hold the Command-Option-P-R keys. You must press this key combination before the gray screen appears.
5. Hold the keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the startup sound for the second time.
6. Release the keys and allow to boot.
Third, boot from your install disk,
Go to Utilities menu
Launch Disk Utility
Select HDD (manufacturer ID) in sidebar
Select First Aid in main pane
Repair Disk Permissions.
If you are able to do that, then Repair Disk:
(Check S.M.A.R.T Status of HDD at the bottom of right panel, and report)
Click Repair Disk on the bottom right.
If DU reports disk does not need repairs quit DU and restart.
If DU reports errors Repair again and again until DU reports disk is repaired.
If DU reports errors it cannot repair you will need to use a utility like Tech Tool Pro or Disk Warrior
Please let me know if any of these worked for you.
Good luck.
cornelius

Pavilion p6-2117 won't get past the splash screen with a parallel card installed.

Pavilion p6-2117c won't get past the splash screen with a pci express parallel card installed. I take the card out and the machine works just fine. The screen says press "esc" for startup menu but nothing happens.
This question was solved.
View Solution.

Take a careful look at the slot and see if any of the pins are broken or smashed to the bottom of the slot. Do you have another pci slot to try or just the one?
Reminder: Please select the "Accept as Solution" button on the post that best answers your question. Also, you may click on the white star in the "Kudos" button for any helpful post to give that person a quick thanks. These feedback tools help keep our community active, so you receive better answers faster.

L305d-s5934 Won't get past "please wait screen"

My l305d-s5934 started ranodmly shutting off recently. It is only a year and a half old so I figured it was getting too hot. About a week and a half ago it started getting stuck at the Windows "please wait" screen. I have been forced to power off with the power button. I tried startup repair and system restore. Now the only way I can boot completely is in safe mode. It won't get past that screen. When I try to restore now, it shuts off halfway through. Is this just the lifespan of this particular machine, or is there something I can do? Thanks for any help.

sounds like an OS issue to me..but have youu tried disabling all startup items, disconnect all usb devices and check it again. If there will be no changes then consider running an OS reinstall.
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the only easy day was yesterday.....
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My macbook air won't get past the white apple screen. I've tried power cycling the batter but won't help

my macbook air won't get past the white apple screen. I've tried power cycling the batter but won't help

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 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 husband(less technologically inclined than I am), decided to delete programs from our iMac, now it has a grey screen and won't get past it. If I insert the Application Install DVD, to repair the disk, will I loose all my pictures and music?

My husband(less technologically inclined than I am), decided to delete programs from our iMac, he turned it off and now it has a grey screen and won't get past it. It won't start in safe mode and when I If I insert the Application Install DVD, to repair the disk, will I loose all my pictures and music?

With a corrupt disk, the install procedure is most likely going to fail.
How old it the disk?
You might be able to reformat it to fix the problem. Of course that means you lose all of your data.
The other alternative is to get a new disk drive and put that in your Mac and install OS X
Then put the old disk drive in an enclosure and see what can be recovered from it.
Allan

MacBook 2010 won't get past loading screen

Hi everyone. I don't live anywhere near an apple store so am hoping I can get some help here. My MacBook won't get past the initial White loading screen with the grey apple logo. A loading bar (which I've never seen before) comes up, loads about 1/5 of the way, disappears, comes back empty, does the same thing then my laptop turns off. About two weeks ago the battery stopped working without being plugged in and each time I turned it on it had reset the date to 01/01/2001. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Welcome to the Apple Support Communities
The hard drive is damaged. Insert the Mac OS X DVD, press C key when your Mac starts, go to Utilities > Disk Utility and repair the drive. If it doesn't work, take the Mac to an Apple Store.
If you haven't made a backup, download DiskWarrior

My eyeTV Hybrid won't get past the 'connect to your mac' stage. anyone know whats wrong?

My eyeTV Hybrid won't get past the 'connect to your mac' stage. anyone know whats wrong?

Forgot to put its not recognising the fact thats its plugged in during set-up. But if put it in before i've even started set-up it starts on its own. so my mac know's its there. so confused

My emac won't get past the grey screen with spinning indicator

before i went to bed last nite it was fine. when i woke up i click on the screen and got the little rainbow ball. that lasted for about 5-10 minutes so i had to push the button. when i try to turn it on now it gets to the grey screen with the spinning indicator but won't get past that. any help would be appreciated

An Archive and Install will preserve you user settings and data. You will need a minimum of 5 GB free on the hard drive to perform an A&I; you can reduce the space required by about 1 GB by selecting the option to install language support only for the language you use (assuming you don't need multiple languages).
However, after seeing your other post (BTW, it'll be easier to keep track if relted issues are in the same thread), you do not want to try an A&I if Disk Utility is reporting anything about 'could not be repaired'. Doing so will would ensure problems down the road, if it worked at all. It's possible for one disk problem to mask another. Whenever Disk Utility (or any other repair utility) reports making repairs, it's good practice to repeat the repair until it reports no problems found or it becomes clear it cannot repair the disk.
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Computer won't get past the blue screen...

During class today I decide to install new updates to my computer, but class ended before everything had downloaded so I just closed the screen thinking nothing of it. Now my computer won't get past the blue screen and it just keeps reloading and reloading. Help?

You must have damaged your OS installation by putting the machine to sleep at the wrong moment. To fix that, you need to reinstall, but first you need to back up your data, if you haven't already done so. Have you?

Comp won't get past startup

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