Computer wont go past grey apple startup screen with spinning gear help!!!!

Hey everyone Im hoping someone can help. I just did a software update download from Apple. It came back and said that not all of the items were installed and the computer needed to restart. I did the restart. Now it wont go past the grey apple screen with the spinning gear.
Any ideas anyone?
THanks

Hi Ghost516, and a warm welcome to the forums!
You have corruption on your Hard Drive, likely before the updates even.
"Try Disk Utility
1. Insert the Mac OS X Tiger Install disc that came with your computer, then restart the computer while holding the C key.
2. When your computer finishes starting up from the disc, choose Disk Utility from the Installer menu. (In Mac OS X 10.4 or later, you must select your language first.)
Important: Do not click Continue in the first screen of the Installer. If you do, you must restart from the disc again to access Disk Utility.
3. Click the First Aid tab.
4. Click the disclosure triangle to the left of the hard drive icon to display the names of your hard disk volumes and partitions.
5. Select your Mac OS X volume.
6. Click Repair. Disk Utility checks and repairs the disk."
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106214
Then Safe Boot , (holding Shift key down at bootup), run Disk Utility in Applications>Utilities, then highlight your drive, click on Repair Permissions, reboot when it finishes.
The usual reason why updates fail or mess things up, or things don't load/run, is if Permissions are not fixed before & after every update, with a reboot... you may get a partial update when the installer finds it doesn't have Permissions to change one obscure little part of the OS, leaving you with a mix of OS versions.
Some people get away without Repairing Permissions for years, some for only days.
If Permissions are wrong before applying an update, you could get mixed OS versions, if Directory is the slightest messed up, who knows!
If many Permission are repaired, or any Directory errors are found, you may need to re-apply some the latest/biggest updates again, or even do an A&I if you have enough free disk space.
The combo update for PowerPC-based Macs...
http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/macosx10411comboupdateppc.html
The combo update for Intel-based Macs...
http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/macosx10411comboupdateintel.html
Repair Permissions before & after re-install, then reboot again each time.
If all the above do not resolve the problem, then it's time for a relatively painless Archive & Install, which gives you a new/old OS, but can preserve all your files, pics, music, settings, etc., as long as you have plenty of free disk space, and don't have any Disk Directory problems...
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107120
Be sure to use Preserve Users & Settings.
I only use Software Update to see what is needed, then get them for real via...
http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/
That way I can wait a week or so, check the forums for potential problems, and get Permissions & such in order before installing.
If it appears to be time for An Archive & Install, which gives you a new OS, but can preserve all your files, pics, music, settings, etc., as long as you have plenty of free disk space...
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107120
Be sure to use Preserve Users & Settings.
If none ofthis works report back.

Similar Messages

HT1349 i upgraded to yosemite last week, now my computer wont start. it stops at white screen with apple logo. what do i do?

i upgraded to yosemite last week, now my computer wont start. it stops at white screen with apple logo. what do i do?

Take each of these steps that you haven't already tried. Stop when the problem is resolved.
To restart an unresponsive computer, press and hold the power button for a few seconds until the power shuts off, then release, wait a few more seconds, and press it again briefly.
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 a desktop Mac hangs at a plain gray screen with a movable cursor, the keyboard may not be recognized. Press and hold the button on the side of an Apple wireless keyboard to make it discoverable. If need be, replace or recharge the batteries. If you're using a USB keyboard connected to a hub, connect it to a built-in port.
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 in OS X 10.9 or earlier, 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.

STUMPED: iBook G4 powers up - Hangs at 'grey apple startup screen'

ok, I'm trying to help a friend with her iBook woes. Info you need to know:
She dropped it once, while the screen was open, hard disk potentially active. Yes, it has sudden motion sensor but I'm not sure if that matters.
She brought it to me because it was performing slowly, some apps were hanging at launch and the like. I started by starting it up and taking a look around. Sure seemed slow. I updated to 10.4.11 and some Java updates. I can't recall exactly but the computer ended up hanging at some point. Might have been during the end of the installation process. I restarted and finished the update process. All that was left to update was Java and it didn't require a restart. At some point thereafter the computer gave me the spinning beach ball and was hanging. We waited a while, then restarted. On restart, it just hung on the 'grey apple startup screen'. So we waited, maybe 10 minutes and I figured something was wrong.
I force shut down the iBook. I then set another iBook (iBook 2) next to it and started it up in Firewire disk mode. I then connected the two iBooks with a firewire cable and started iBook 1 while holding down [option] and chose the disk on iBook 2 as my startup disk.
This is where it gets interesting. I assume the problem is with mismatched or badly written info on the internal disk (iBook 1), OR the disk is physically damaged. I open up Disk Utility and attempt to verify the disk (iBook 1). I get an ERROR MESSAGE: Disk failed to unmount.
Ok, try again, oh, it works this time. D.U. finds a bunch of problems. I repair the disk, I repair disk permissions.
I restart.
Computer works fine for a while. Still running slow. We open iTunes and attach an iPod. somewhere in the syncing process the system hangs, iTunes hangs, the Finder hangs. We wait, and eventually, restart.
At this point, or even sooner I would have run Apple's Hardware test utility from the iBook restore DVD. Well, my friend has misplaced it, or its at home in another state. So i'm left to my own devices.
I have run disk utility from other disks several times. It finds not a single problem.
Computer hangs at startup as previously described.
I have reset the PMU. No difference.
I would, if I had possession of the iBook DVD, run the Hardware test and, after backing up the drive, erase it and re-install the OS.
ANY IDEAS? WORKAROUNDS???
THANKS!!!!!!!

Another way of repairing the hard drive is booting into Safe Mode. This takes quite awhile longer than a normal startup because it does a file check and repair of the hard disk.
You will see the normal desktop. Once completely started up in Safe Mode, restart normally, and go to Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility. Click on the top hard drive icon in the left sidebar and note the S.M.A.R.T. status at the bottom right of the pane. What does it say?
Select the named boot volume in the left sidebar ("Macintosh HD" unless you've renamed it). What is the hard drive capacity and how much space remains available on it? Repair permissions on it.
Maybe this will give us a clue as to what is wrong.

Mac Mini won't get past the apple startup screen

Hi,
Just returned from the long weekend and tried to boot up my mac mini. It seems it doesn't want to get past the apple startup screen and the icon on the bottom just keeps spinning.
Any ideas?
Thanks

can you boot into _*safe mode*_ ?
( *click on image to enlarge* )
JGG

Hey Guys i have a problem with my mac since last month and it wont boot up it freezes in a grey apple logo and and spinning gear any body know how to fix this?

Hey Guys i have a problem with my mac since last month and it wont boot up it freezes in a grey apple logo and and spinning gear any body know how to fix 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, 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 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.

Another iBook cannot get past the grey screen with spinning gear

I have read the other posts on iBooks not starting up. I too have used Onyx recently but this was to cure the problem of a freeze. Now start up cannot get past the grey screen. PRAM has been zapped and safe mode will not work. Worse, the CD drive will take CDs so cannot go back to start up disk.
Bizarrely, a visit to the Apple Store and the iBook started no problem. System was reinstalled using archive option and various health checks apparently showed no problems. But then got back home and again start up froze at grey screen with spinning gear. I have left it on this for over 15 minutes but to no avail. I have tried to connect to another ibook using T key to get target mode. I'm not sure if I am doing this right. I have started up working iBook plugged in the firewire to both machines and then started up ailing iBook holding down T key. 2nd iBook wont start at all.
Any suggestions?

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.
DiskWarrior has an excellent track record at repairing problems that Disk Utility cannot (especially Disk Utility versions prior to OS X 10.4.2).
If the drive cannot be repaired, you may be able to keep it by doing an erase install with the write zeros (one pass) option. That will update the hard drive firmware record of bad disk sectors to avoid using. If there are only a few bad sectors, that may let you keep using the hard drive for several more years. An erase install will do just that to your data, through. If you have access to another Mac with either a large amount of free disk space of a DVD burner, you can try using the other Mac as host and the eMac as target in FireWire target disk mode. You can run the host's copy of Disk Utility on the eMac hard drive, and hopefully be able to mount the emac HD so that you can back up the data in your Home directory.

HT1455 Did the lastest Apple update and now my Mac has gray screen with spinning gear and a status bar goes to half then turns computer off....help?

Did the lastest Apple update and now my Mac has gray screen with spinning gear and a status bar goes to half then turns computer off....help?

Thanks for your help.
Same thing happen when I hold the button, it idle for a while and then turn off by itself. Any more suggestions?
I got the disc..

Always Shuts down at gray screen with spinning gear

Hi All
I think this may be a serious problem
Macbook was working fine then during downloading an app I got a message 'do you want to shutdown' i clicked cancel but re appeared with same message.
I shut down macbook and restarted and booted up to grey screen with spinning gear then off, the whole macbook switched off. I tried to reboot but everytime it switched off at the same point.
I tried to boot from DVD install disk but done the same, tried booting into safe mode but shut off at about 25% on the loading bar. Have reset everything and tried again but still the same prob.
Replaced the hard drive with a spare which had windows 7 on, still didnt allow me to boot from dvd disk but it stopped at the message ' do you want to start windows in safe mode' along with all the other options. I left it at that screen for about 45 mins and the ,acbook never switched off. So i now figured I may have a bad DVD osx disk, A frien of mine has Mountain lion on usb stick, so i borrowed and booted from the usb, got to the screen with the spinning gear and then....it switched off.
Checked fan while booting and all seems fine.
So my question is why is it shutting down, also why does it not shutdown before the spinning gear screen. It cant be over heating as above i fitted a hdd with win7 on and left it at the prompt for 45 mins.
Many thanks for looking
laurie

Hi Nance,
Welcome to the Discussions.
Put Install Disc 1 in the drive and start while holding down the "c" key. Select Disk Utility from the Installer menu, click on the drive on the left and click on Repair Disk. If it reports errors and repairs, repeat the process until no errors are reported.
Post back the results and any unrepaired error messages.
John

I have an iMac G5 stuck on the gray screen with spinning gear. I woke up to it being stuck on a blue screen, then force quit and now it's stuck on gray with spinning gear.

I have an iMac G5 stuck on the gray screen with spinning gear. I woke up to it being stuck on a blue screen, then force quit and now it's stuck on gray with spinning gear. Please advise.

If you have a G5 then it's a PPC (Power PC) based iMac, this is an Intel iMac forum. Try the Gray screen appears during startup link for troubleshooting steps. I suspect the HD has crashed.

I updated my ipod touch with ios 6 and now it wont even go past the apple startup screen what happened?

Is my ipod broke if it wont go past the startup screen with the apple on it? It will not even connect to itunes or anything after the update to ios6

Connect to iTunes on the computer you usually Sync with and “ Restore “...
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1414
If necessary Place the Device into Recovery mode...
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1808

Grey Apple Start Screen with Grey 'bar' above, half thick, half thin

Hi
iMac G5 1.8 20" crashed, restarted holding power button.
Restarts with Grey Apple start screen and a 1/2 thick 1/2 thin bar above the Apple logo, fans on maximum, no further progress.
Any thoughts people ?
Thanks
Simon

HI Simon,
Have you tried booting from your install disk?
Insert the installer disk and Restart, holding down the "C" key until grey Apple appears.
Go to Installer menu (Panther and earlier) or Utilities menu (Tiger and later) and launch Disk Utility.
Select your HDD (manufacturer ID) in the left panel.
Select First Aid in the Main panel.
*(Check S.M.A.R.T Status of HDD at the bottom of right panel. It should say: Verified)*
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.
When you are finished with DU, from the Menu Bar, select Utilities/Startup Manager.
Select your start up disk and click Restart
If you cannot boot from your install disk, try booting in Safe Mode
Carolyn
Message was edited by: Carolyn Samit

Stuck at grey startup screen with spinning grey wheel

Software update wanted to install a new version of airport. Clicked ok and appeared to install. Restart then yielded grey startup screen and spinning wheel and it stays stuck there. Original MacBook Pro with 2Ghz Core Duo. Any ideas?

Hi, I have an i Mac but was having the same problem last week - getting stuck at the start up screen. I had no idea what to do but started a discussion and someone suggested the repair utility and it also told me everything was fine. Then she told me to do an Archive and Install and in the end that got everything working again. I don't know much about computers so I don't know if this will work for you, too, but it might be worth a shot. Here's the link to the discussion if you want to read everythign she told me: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1457827&tstart=0

Brand new MacBook Pro doesn't get past grey screen (with spinning gear)

Hello,
I'm a new Apple customer - I bought a new 15" MacBook Pro during the Black Friday sale last week. Since purchase, I've installed the software I needed (Office, CS4) and have used it to browse the web and write emails.
Today when I tried to use it, I simply got to the grey screen with the Apple logo on it and the spinning gear device underneath - got absolutely no further.
I have done the following (running from mains adaptor - but the battery indicator is reporting 7 lights anyhow):
1. Boot from the OSX Install Disc, and run the disc repair utility. It reported no problems found. Restarted... same problem.
2. Boot holding down SHIFT to go into safe mode. Underneath the spinning gears, a progress bar filled up to 100% and then disappeared; leaving the grey screen, logo, and spinning gears. Nothing further.
3. Boot holding Option, P, R as per the manual to reset the PRAM. According to the manual there should have been a chime/beep - there wasn't. It just sits on the grey screen, logo, spinning gears. Nothing further.
Right now I've got a £1300 MacBook Pro less than a week old and it appears to have just packed up.
Am I missing anything here, or should I just return it?
Thanks,
Chris

Definitely take it back!
My friend bought a new iMac from the Regents St. store a few weeks ago, just before the update to the new models came out, and after a week she couldn't get it to boot. I felt very embarrassed as I had persuaded to her to switch to Mac after years of PC woes, so a broken mac after a week didn't look do me any favours. The genius guys didn't mess around, they took back the dead one and gave her a new one, this time she got the new version, they also threw in iWork free as a good will gesture. New one is running fine.
If you haven't already got Applecare, I highly recommend buying it within the next 12 months. I have needed it on a couple of occasions after the standard warranty ran out and the tech support has been brilliant, got me working again no quibbles.

Grey and Blue Screens with Spinning Pinwheel

Mid 2009 Macbook Pro 13 inch with Mac OSX Snow Leopard installed. 2.26 GHZ 4 GB 160 GB Version 10.6.3
I got this dead Macbppk Pro from my daughter . I put in a new battery and re-installed Mac OSX Snow Leopard from the licesned disc she bought so I could get rid of all her files and have free space and to make the Macbook now mine with my passwords etc. I got free support from Apple on how to install the disc and overwrite everything that was on it.
Until now ... I get a Grey Screen with the Spinning Pinwheel for endless time.
So the I tired the Hold Alt/ Option + Command + holding the P and R buttons while starting it up and got a Blue Screen with the spinning Pinwheel.
Any Help on what to try next ?
I only use it about once a month because I have a desktop. Does using it only once a month harm anything ? Should I be doing anything to not have this problem with it ?
Or do I have to re-install the disc again and if so .... what would be the procedure to do so ( I forget )
Thanks Eric

Hi Eric,
Thanks for visiting Apple Support Communities.
If your MacBook Pro is only starting up to a blue screen with spinning pinwheel, reinstalling OS X may be necessary. I would recommend going through all of these steps first:
Restart the computer in safe mode. If the computer successfully starts up in safe mode, choose Apple menu > Restart to see whether the computer will restart normally.
Starting up in safe mode
If you see the login window prompting you for a user name and password, but starting up doesn't progress, you may have incompatible login items.
Eliminating incompatible login items
Repair your startup disk or disk permissions by starting up from your Mac OS X installation disc and using Disk Utility.
Repairing a disk
Back up your disk and then reinstall Mac OS X by starting up your computer with your Mac OS X installation disc.
Reinstalling Mac OS X
From:
Mac OS X 10.6: If you see a blue screen at startup
Best Regards,
Jeremy

Downloaded OSX Mountain Lion on MacBook now stuck on grey screen with spinning wheel HELP?!?!

Downloaded OSX Mountain Lion on MacBook now stuck on grey screen with spinning wheel. What can I do, will I loose everything on my laptop?

ashg23 wrote:
Thank you, I have restarted but it is still stuck at the grey page with the spinning wheel? Any idea?
Have you started up holding down Command + R and attempted to install again?
Pete

Computer wont go past grey apple startup screen with spinning gear help!!!!

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