Computer wont boot

no changes, computer wont boot. See apple and chime, and never makes it further. Happened once, did disk utility and it has catalog is bad.... decided to do an erase / install of leopard. a few days later it did it again. So this time I ran disk utility from the install disc, and it says the catalog is messed up again. zeroed out the hard drive first. then did another install of leopard. installed all my software again, iwork, ilife, etc. Turned on the computer a week later... SAME THING AGAIN. This is ridiculous. Why does this keep happening? What can I do?

the "catalog" essentially always resides in the same area of the hard drive (at the front). It is placed
there by the OS for quick access since the leading edge area of the drive transfers data the quickest.
Most likely your drive has some bad and/or marginal sectors giving you problems in the beginning
section of your disk. In other words, your hard drive is slowly "going away".
Check your drives S.M.A.R.T. (drive) status
http://tips4mac.blogspot.com/2007/10/smart-status.html
http://www.corecode.at/smartreporter/
http://www.bluewordslive.com/2008/06/smart-status-on-osx.html
Kj

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How do I reinstall OS X when computer wont boot up, or accept "C" command on start up.

I am missing some system files and my macbook pro wont boot up. I would reinstall OS X but it will not recognize the "C" command being held on start up, and I cannot figure out how to do it from Single User Mode. I am not worried about losing any files on the hard drive. How can I reinstall OS X?

If you cannot boot up using the disc that originally came with your computer, its possible the discs are damaged, dirty or your drive needs cleaning. You can use a drive cleaner for that.
eplacement System Discs can be obtained from Apple's Customer Support - US (800) 767-2775 for a nominal fee. You'll need to have the model and serial number of your Mac available.
If you're not in the US, you may need to go through the regional Apple Store that serves your location to find the contact number - http://store.apple.com/Catalog/US/Images/intlstoreroutingpage.html

My computer wont boot up, my computer wont boot up

I turned my laptop on and it wont boot up at all, I hear the start up noise and then it just sticks on the load up screen with the apple logo and the spinning wheel underneath and nothing else. I tried to boot with cmd+v and shift + c and other various key combinations but nothing seems to work.Everything sounds okay with the hardware my computer is only about one year old so there shouldnt be too much wrong with it yet. I need my laptop for uni and cant get an appointment for another 4 days . can anyone help me at all??

Then try holding command-R at startup.
This should bring up Recovery_HD.
Disk Utility should be an option, select your Macinstosh_HD and ( Repair Disk )
my computer is only about one year old
If you have an Installer/Utilities DVD, and were running 10.6.8, you may need to use that instead.

Computer wont boot up past apple logo

my computer has recently stopped booting up and wont get past the gray apple logo screen unless its off for a while...however when it does it just freezes up and I start this process all over again...any suggestions?

Being that it is Lion, you have a Recovery HD that you boot into in order to run Disk Utility. Hold down cmd-r while restarting and it will boot into the Recovery HD. From there you can run Disk Utiility and repair the disk.
You should take it in to Apple again. The odds of you getting two bad drives are pretty slim and I would imagine something else is causing the problems and killing the drives. If you can make it through exams and still get it back to them under warranty, you might consider that. Make sure you point out that you had brought it in before and they replaced the drive. If this drive is also, bad, make sure they look for other problems such as the logic board.

HELP!! Computer wont boot and i have finals

When i turn on the computer (I have Leopard) i get a gray screen and a question mark. I really need it for finals - can anyone help...

You should try booting from the system disks by putting in Disk 1 and holding down the C key while booting. Once booted you should navigate to disk utility instead of reinstalling the software. The ? mark is a sure sign of disk failure or disk corruption - if you're lucky the start up files are just corrupted and you should be able to fix it by repairing the disk. Sometimes a utility like DiskWarrior can sort out the Directory problem and get you rebooting again. If the drive does not show when trying to repair this disk, your HD has failed and you will have to replace it. Good luck!

The computer wont boot from original boot disc

I replaced the dead hard drive with a new hard drive. I used a disc utility to format the drive. But the computer keeps on spitting out the dvd when I try to reinstall the OS from the original disc. And yes I'm holding down the "c" key.

So, to review and confirm the facts: You have a PB G4 667MHz DVI with a new, blank hard drive in it, and you need to install an OS on that drive. You have the PB's original model-specific OS 9.2.2 and 10.1.4 installer CD and its original Hardware Test CD, neither of which will boot it, and both of which are ejected from the drive when you try to do so. You also have your AppleCare Protection Plan/TechTool Deluxe CD, which does boot the Powerbook (yes?) — suggesting that the optical drive is functional, at least with that CD. You were also able to boot it from a PowerMac G4 CD (or is it a DVD?) to format the new hard drive, but you haven't yet said whether you are still able to boot to that disc (Can you?). [You probably can't install OS X from that disc, and you shouldn't even if you can, because the installation would be unreliable at best if it worked at all.] You've eliminated all external devices.
All correct so far? How about answers to those questions in italics?
Have you owned this Powerbook since it was new? Has its logic board ever been replaced, to your knowledge? The only cases I know of where a Powerbook has failed to work with the discs that came with it (and the discs and the optical drive were in good condition) have been ones in which the PB's original logic board had been replaced with a faster one, resulting in a machine configuration that the original installer disc(s) didn't recognize and wouldn't work with. But even then, I believe what happened was that the discs presented the "You can't install this software on this computer" standard error message after booting the computer — not that the discs were summarily ejected without booting it. So for the present, I'm stumped.
For whatever it's worth — maybe not much — my current theory is that you have a marginally or intermittently malfunctioning optical drive. But I'm going to try to call in some reinforcements for you and see whether someone else has a brighter idea.
Meanwhile, if you have the equipment and software to do so, you might try connecting the Powerbook to another FireWire-equipped Mac in FireWire Target Disk Mode, booting the other Mac to a retail OS X installer CD or DVD, and seeing whether you can then use that installer to put OS X onto your Powerbook's new hard drive. If it works, you'll have the Powerbook up and running afterward, but you may have the devil's own time getting other stuff installed on it or using its optical drive for any other tasks in normal, stand-alone working mode.

Computer wont boot after time machine restore

Hi Guys,
I did a time machine restore last night and after it completed and i did a restart the computer gets stuck on the gray screen. I waited like 2 hours and it still doesn't get past that screen. I have tried every boot shortcut including target mode, single user mode etc. One problem is that i have disabled sounds so i cant hear the chime therefore not knowing when to push and hold the "t" or "c" button.
Am i doing something wrong? when do i start holding c or t?
Even when i put the mac osx dvd in it won't even boot from that. also tried holding c and booting from the dvd and that doesn't work.
please help

Begin with the usual diagnostics in hopes of successfully booting your macbook. As Eric mentioned, have you tried booting with the Option key ?
If that fails, try the following, before forced to a re-install of the OS:
1: Boot up the machine via Safe Boot by holding the shift key. Since your volume is off, ideally you want to wait a second or two where the chime would come in. Note that if the safe boot is successful it will take some more time to boot as it checks for disk errors. Make sure and repair your permissions if you get through !
2: If that fails reset your PRAM, http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1379

My Computer wont Boot up!

SO I am getting the grey apple screen upon starting my computer, it begins to load and almost completes and it shuts off (screen black, power off). I have NOT backed up to time machine (i know, i know!). My main concern are my photos. I have tried disk utility (Macintosh HD - listed first) verify which leads to a prompt to repair which results in "Macintosh HD cannot be verified completely." The "Macintosh HD" is listed a second time under the first - this one does not allow me to repair disk and once I try to repair the first this disk becomes unmounted and appears to be "read-only." The computer will not start in safe mode (holding shift). I do not know what most of this really means and would love some help! How can I save my photos from being lost??

Startup Issues - Resolve
Startup Issues - Resolve (2)
Startup Issues - Resolve (3)
Startup - Gray, Blue or White screen at boot, w/spinner/progress bar
Startup - Gray Screen
If you can figure out which Macintosh HD is the real one, Disk Utility/Restore might allow you to copy the files to an external drive. Note it will reformat the drive, so remove all existing data.
Would you post a screen shot so people can see what you are seeing in Disk Utility? Make sure you cover any personal information using Preview. Post the screen shot in a Reply using the camera icon or you can drag the screen shot into a reply. Copy and paste doesn't work.
Screen shots

Computer wont boot after long power down z77a-g45

Hi experts !
I think i need some help. I own a z77-g45, bios 2.9 + Core I5 3570K +SSD 120 Go intel + ati 7950.
I received this MB one week ago. Since, i try to make it work, no trying OC.
I began with Win8. Installations seemed fine, but after some time letting computer power down, i alwas found myself facing OS unable to boot, even when using older restoration point.
So i decide to go with win7 64 bits.
Once again, all looked like running fine, till a long power down, after that, OS refused to boot, locked on screen with colored windows logo.
I can boot in safe mode. But still couldnt find a faulty service with msconfig a dichotomic way. Os went back during the process..
What i noticed, is that after a long power down, it seems to happen something in the Bios : when the computer starts, it shuts down after one second, and then restarts again. Like if some settings were changed automatically by the motherboard. But I didn't see what the changes are.
Does that inspire someone ?
Thanks
Nicolas

I saw a similar post, where the guy changed the on board lithium battery.
I did the same, and now everything looks fine.
I also did a dual boot install : w7 x64 and w8 x64. That allows me to have access to a boot menu with the ability to easily start w8 in safe mode if needed. I noticed it can help, cause sometimes, the integrated GPU (HD4000) has some side effects.

Help!. computer wont boot up, but power light shows up

hello. i have a dual 2.3 g5 power pc, i bought it about 6 months ago
long story short, my computer will not boot.
when i plug it in. the light will turn on as if it is in sleep mode. but will not glow bright to dim. it will only stay a constant bright light.the computer will not respond to holding down the power button to reset and everytime i plug it in. the light turn on by itself. i also hear no sounds coming from the computer.
what i have tried:
remove all but factory ram
unplug the computer for at least 5 mins
called tech support and they told me to "find the little gray button on the logic board and press it"
tried a different monitor
tried to boot by holding down "P" "R" "command" "option"
i have a deadline on tuesday which i have to meet. and i cant get it serviced in time. what to do... if anyone can help me. a warm thanks would go out.
thanks.
power pc g5 dual 2.3ghz Mac OS X (10.4.4)
power pc g5 dual 2.3ghz Mac OS X (10.4.2)

Sounds like you will need to take it in for repair. If resetting the PMU like Apple had you do didn't work, you may have a power supply and/or logic board problem.
Also, if you don't have AppleCare yet, I would suggest buying it before your one year warranty is up if you plan on keeping the computer for awhile.
-Bmer
Mac Owners Support Group
Join Us @ MacOSG.com
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K8N Neo2 Plat - computer wont boot. RMA?

as the title suggests, I have a K8N Neo2 Plat with an amd athlon 64 3800+ and 2x512mb OCZ PC3700EB Platinum ram. Everything has worked great for the past year. However this weekend when I came home from school my pc wouldn't boot up. I plugged in all the cables, turned on the PSU, and hit the power button and the fans spun for about half a second then nothing. I tried again several times and the fans didn't even spin. I tried several plugs in the house, still nothing. Thinking it was the PSU (Antec NeoPower480) I bought a new one today and tried that. Still nothing. I even tried shorting the power switch on the case in case it's stopped working. still nothing. I'm quite knowledgeable about computers so it's not a silly newbie mistake. A friend of mine who does computer repairs thinks it's the motherboard, and I agree.
I was going to try RMAing it - do you think I should, and is the process relatively easy/painless? (FYI I'm Canadian)

Strip it down to a basic setup, CPU, 1 stick of ram (try different ram) and graphic card. This is all you need to boot and get into BIO.
If you can get into BIO then add one device at a time until you find the faulty piece, if you are not able to get it to boot then pull the graphic card and try to boot, you should get some beeps, do the same with the ram. If you don't get any beeps then it is a good chance it is your MB.

Downloaded and installed Flash Bios and for some reason an error occured, not computer wont boot!

http://www.csd.toshiba.com/cgi-bin/tais/support/jsp/modelContent.jsp?ct=DL&os=&category=&moid=136412...
THeres what i downloaded, shortly after i tried to restart my comp but it was all frozen. I used the button to turn it off and when i turn it back on its all black. Nothing happens, it just sits there. What the ****? This is the biggest bull that has ever happened.
How can u download an update and now ur computer is useless? Any ideas? Thx.

I have a P105-S6024
I downloaded the Flash Bios
03-04-2009 BIOS
ACPI FLASH BIOS 4.70 for Satellite blah blah blah.
While it was working the install got frozen and my comp froze. So i turned it off with the button and it never came back on. Well the screen is black, the fan works, the icon that looks like a cake blinks and then turns off.
I dont understand. Toshiba said i might have to replace motherboard? WTF! Are you serious my computer was fine before this. I was just playing Killing Floor everything was going great and i decided to update some stuff. I really wish i didnt do this man, this is bull. I dont have the money to fix this right now if it is a motherboard problem.

Computer wont boot up

I open computer and a circle with a horizontal line appears.

Hello swatkat,
Welcome to the HP Forums! I hope you enjoy your experience!
I understand your computer will not start properly. I will do my best to assist you with this issue! To troubleshoot, please try the steps in this HP document: Computer Does not Start
This document contains steps such as resetting the notebook and more, corresponding to the exact symptoms. I believe this document will resolve the issue. If not, I would contact HP phone support for hardware assistance. You can utilize this website to learn how to contact HP appropriately, based on your region: Contact HP Worldwide
Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns. Thanks for bringing this issue to the HP Forums. Have a great day!
Mario
I worked on behalf of HP.

Friends computer wont boot

K9N2 Diamond the MS-7375
running an AMD Phenom 9950 proccessor
Kingston HyperX DDR2-1066 (PC2-8500) 240-pin dual-channel RAM, TWO 2GB sticks, 4GB total
Antec 1000W power supply FOUR 12v rails, 25 amps each
windows XP
He was online 1 or 2 weeks. Now his computer doesnt start. The LED light are 9, 13, and 15 are RED 12 is green and the other are off.
When he tries to turn it on it just sits there. Black screen. Please Help.

Take everything out of case. Try starting with barebone setup (just psu, cpu, 1 memstick, 1 vga and keyboard). If still no post try resetting cmos. Still no post try reseating cpu. Try reseating vga too. Still nothing try different cpu if possible (any AM2/AM2+ cpu would do). If also no help try different ram. If that doesn't help board's most likely faulty.
What kind of vga does he use? Vga's PCI-E power connector(s) connected to psu?

Computer wont boot up after format, please help.

Ok so I formatted my Hp Elite M9340f and now whenever I turn my PC on it just goes to PC repair and I have all these options and one of them is system recovery, but I cant use system recovery because it says that I need to choose an operating system now,and it says to insert a media disc or find an image of my operating system, so what do I do in this case to get my PC working again, and the other options don't work either, says the same thing " find your operating system" or something like that, please help.

Hi,
If you don't have recovery disks then try the below link:
HP Recovery Disks.
HP DV9700, t9300, Nvidia 8600, 4GB, Crucial C300 128GB SSD
HP Photosmart Premium C309G, HP Photosmart 6520
HP Touchpad, HP Chromebook 11
Custom i7-4770k,Z-87, 8GB, Vertex 3 SSD, Samsung EVO SSD, Corsair HX650,GTX 760
Custom i7-4790k,Z-97, 16GB, Vertex 3 SSD, Plextor M.2 SSD, Samsung EVO SSD, Corsair HX650, GTX 660TI
Windows 7/8 UEFI/Legacy mode, MBR/GPT

Computer wont boot

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