Deleted everything on Mac, how do I get past the grey screen?

I tried to delete all my data on my old Mac so I could sell it on. I've obviously deleted something important as now when you turn on the computer all that comes up is a grey start up screen with a flashing no entry sign, apple icon and a file with a question mark. I'm not worried about data loss but is there a way I can gain access to the computer again?

It would appear that you deleted some or all of the operating system files. Boot your iMac from the installer disk that came with it (or a more recent retail copy of Mac OS X) and reinstall Mac OS X. I'd recommend running Disk Utility from the menu and erase the hard drive, using the Zero All Data option under Security Options before you reinstall to make sure your data isn't recoverable.
Regards.

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Rebooting old mac g5: Can't get past the grey screen.

This problem concerns an old mac g5 that I had replaced three years ago because it hadn't been working properly. I am getting it out because my son needs a computer and I was hoping that the thing would work for a little while.
I can't get past the grey apple screen. I have the installation disc in and restart while pressing the c. I just am not getting any further than that. The fans begin to sound like a jet taking off. I have tried resetting the pram while starting up, but that doesn't seem to be working either. I have heard about a hair dryer trick and don't really know what is supposed to get warmed up by that.
Does anyone have any suggestions?
Thanks.

No hair dryer. What you need to do is make sure the PRAM battery is new. It is a coin shaped battery on the logic board. Radio Shack sells them.
Option key booting sometimes works. You have to us a Mac OS X 10.5 or 10.4.6 retail disc, which are black with a white X logo, and do not say Update Dropin or OEM on them. If you have the original iMac G5 disc that's fine, but web browsing with older operating systems is not very friendly. Some of these machines were known to have leaky capacitors, and getting the power supply replaced on them now would be quite hard because of the age.
http://www.ifixit.com/ may be able to help if you suspect that.

Macbook pro will not shut down, how do I get past the grey screen freeze without a hard shutdown?

Recently upgraded from 17" Macbook Pro to 15" late 2013 Macbook Pro Retina. I have an intemittant problem, (that I also experienced with my 17" Macbook) where when I log out or try to shut down I get a grey screen, no cursor, no spinning beachball... no way to escape a blank grey screen. Seems to be happening more often.

Reset SMC.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964
Choose the method for:
"Resetting SMC on portables with a battery you should not remove on your own".

Upon start up I get a start up disk full message and to delete files, now I only get a a blue screen on start up. How to I get past the blue screen and how do I delete files?

Upon start up I get a "start up disk full message, delete files". Now on startup I only get a blue screen. How do I get past the blue screen and how do I delete files.

That;s really not enough free space... you can use a tools such as OmniDiskSweeper to find out where your large files reside and begin pruning (or copying to an external if they're files that you want to keep).
One thing is certain - if you're going to continue your current usage you're certainly going to need to install a larger boot drive.
Clinton

How can I get past the white screen?

When I start my iMac I see a message that my start up disk is full and that I need to delete files. After I type in my user name and password, all I see if a white screen. This problem started today. The error message about the start up disk started two days ago, and when I looked at the disk, I saw that over half of it has files described as "other". The hard drive is 250 GB. I have Time Machine backups but I don't know how to get to them to help me. So, I guess that I have two questions: how do I get past the white screen, and what are the files that are catogoraized as other? Thanks.

I did not put the OS info in my question because I am not sure what I have. I upgraded to Lion so that I could use the cloud between my devices, however I do not know the number.
Apple menu item->About this Mac and the version is listed there. Click on that and get the build number. Click again and get the machine's serial number.
I am stuck on the white screen. Any other advice?
Start with a google search for white screen mac. This one might do the trick: http://www.mac-forums.com/forums/apple-desktops/138137-imac-wont-get-passed-whit e-screen.html

My macbook pro wont get past the grey screen at startup. Help!!

After doing a run of the mill software update on my macbook pro (running snow leopard) it froze during the "moving items into place" stage. I forced a shut down and now it wont get past the grey screen with apple logo and spinning wheel. I have tried booting from the original DVD but it still freezes. When I boot it in verbose mode it seems to stop at "jnl: unknown-dev: update_fs_block: error reading fs block # 3597880! (ret 5)", the Apple AHCD Disk Queue manager :: set power state is timing out and there is a disk I/O error. I have tried to reset the power manager (not sure if it worked or not) and I have also tried clearing the PRAM (again, not sure of that worked). When I try to look at the hard drive using target mode on my imac the hard drive doesn't come up but the DVD does. I'm concerned that my hard drive is fried. Any suggestions?

It would help to state in your post which remedies you tried that didn't work.
Start here > OS X Lion: If you see a gray screen at startup
If nothing there helped, try Starting up in Safe Mode
Safe Mode deletes some system caches that may help.
A Safe Mode boot takes longer than a normal boot so be patient. Once you are in Safe Mode, click Restart from the Apple menu.
If a Safe Mode boot didn't work, since your Mac has OS X v10.7 installed, restart your Mac while holding down the Command + R keys so you can access OS X Recovery built in utilities. The startup disk may need repairing.
Tip: Hold down the Eject key while starting up your Mac to eject a disc.

My Mac Book will not go past the grey screen

I had my Mac Book Pro at a apple store and they had to reformat the hard driver. Now several weeks later I installed the 2012 turbo tax software and restarted the machine however now I cannot get past the grey screen.
What is wrong with this, they stated the reformat would solve the problem.
Need help

Which os version are you using and is it compatible with your os?
Mac OS X: Gray screen appears during startup

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.

Unable to restart my intel based iMac, I can't get past the grey screen

I shut down my imac and when I went to restart it, I can't get it to get past the grey screen. I can't even get to the apple screen. I have unplugged everything and nothing works. Help!!

See if this helps:
Gray screen appears during startup

When I start up my Mac it won't go past the grey screen. Any suggestions?

When I start up my MAC it won't go past the grey screen. Any suggestion?

Mac OS X: Gray screen appears during startup

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.
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.

How do I get past the login screen?

Hey all,
I just bought a nice new MacBook Pro 15" 2.66 GHz and am happy with it so far.
The problem is I had to buy it because my PowerBook G4 12" decided to die on me. It happened slowly over the course of a weekend. The PB started to get really slow, and I knew it wasn't because of the internet, just figured I had overloaded the hard drive. So I started to move files to an external hard drive. It was slow and every hour or so an application would freeze, and I couldn't force quit, so I would have to shut down. Eventually it got to the point that I wasn't even running other programs, just trying to transfer files, and I would get the swirly rainbow circle.
I transferred most of the files, except for my iTunes collection. I figured, no problem, I have my iPod.
I ordered the new computer, and have realized, that I can't transfer my iTunes collection through my iPod. And now, my PBG4 can turn on, and get me to the login screen looks like it's going to boot up, but goes right back to the login.
Is there anything I can do to bypass the login? I've tried to start it in safe mode, but the PB won't even get to the login screen after 30 minutes of waiting. I also tried holding shift while logging in, but no dice.
I have an ethernet cable, and know that if I can log on, I'd be able to move my info somehow, please help!
Thank you, Lindsey

artschic:
Welcome to Apple Discussions.
Congratulations on your new MacBook Pro. You'll love it.
In terms of your PowerBook G4, apparently your Hard Disk Drive has failed completely and I am not sure what else it wrong.
First, try this:
• Shut down the computer.
• Locate the following keys: Command, Option, P, and R. You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously later.
• Turn on the computer.
• Press and hold the Command + Option + P + R keys immediately after the startup chime.
• Hold keys down until you hear the startup chime for the third time.
• Release the keys and immediately hold down Shift key to start up in Safe Mode.
• Log in and empty Trash.
• Restart normally and log in.
If that does not work try Repair Disk
Insert 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 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, and report if it says anything but 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.
If DU reports errors it cannot repair you will need to use a utility like Tech Tool Pro or Disk Warrior
If still no dice, try the procedure outlined in the article Resolve startup issues and perform disk maintenance with Disk Utility and fsck.
cornelius

PowerBook G4 1.67GHz Won't Boot, Doesn't Get Past the Grey Screen

The other day I was attempting to Safe Boot, and during the grey screen with the rotating cog, I could hear the hard drive spin down, the the display would turn off. The computer worked fine for the next few days, and now when I attempt to boot it (with nothing in the disc drive as well), it does the same thing. It simply shuts down before getting to the "Log In" screen.
When I used the Tiger install disc (note that it was a Tiger disc that came with our iMac Core 2 Duo, my other disc is at my parents' house), and held the C key while booting, I experienced my first kernel panic. I restarted and ejected the disc, but the computer still won't boot. I tried resetting the PRAM by restarting and holding CommandOption+PR, and I've even let it cycle a few times with no luck. I also did what was suggested on an Apple support page, where I remove the AC adapter plug, remove the battery, hold the Power button for 5 seconds, re-insert the battery, reattach the AC adapter, and try starting that way, and that didn't work either.
I have no idea what the problem is, I've never had an issue with the computer before at all. Any suggestions?
(I tried posting this in the Tiger forums, but it was suggested that I post here instead)

Ah, I believe I do have the a TechTool CD that came with my old iBook, perhaps I'll give that a shot.
I first noticed the issue when trying to Safe Boot because I was attempting to install the Flash 9 player. Apparently many people are having issues with it, and it was suggested to me on the Adobe forums that I try installing it in Safe Mode (the install software hangs at "Items Remaining to be Installed: 4").
I'll bring my PowerBook to my parents' house this weekend and see if I can give it a shot with the correct disc. I'll try to post back here to let you know if it worked out!

My apple mac pro won't get past opening grey screen with revolving circle

when I turn on the apple mac there is the blue screen with apple logo and revolving circle - nothing else happens

Hi johnjak,
In order to troubleshoot this issue where your Mac Pro is getting stuck on a gray screen with a spinning gear, please follow the steps in the article linked to below.
Mac OS X: Gray screen appears during startup - Apple Support
Happy Holidays!
Alex H.;

How to i get past the settings screen when trying to view my photostream? I just get stuck on the iCloudPhotos Settings page and can to any further. Really annoying and i guess there is a simple answer to it? Can anyone tell me?

I can't view my photos on my TV using AppleTV. This is because when I get to the iCloud Photo Settings page and turn on My Photo Stream,there seems nowhere else to go to look at my photos. I guess there is a simple answer! Can anyone help.....please

artschic:
Welcome to Apple Discussions.
Congratulations on your new MacBook Pro. You'll love it.
In terms of your PowerBook G4, apparently your Hard Disk Drive has failed completely and I am not sure what else it wrong.
First, try this:
• Shut down the computer.
• Locate the following keys: Command, Option, P, and R. You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously later.
• Turn on the computer.
• Press and hold the Command + Option + P + R keys immediately after the startup chime.
• Hold keys down until you hear the startup chime for the third time.
• Release the keys and immediately hold down Shift key to start up in Safe Mode.
• Log in and empty Trash.
• Restart normally and log in.
If that does not work try Repair Disk
Insert 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 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, and report if it says anything but 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.
If DU reports errors it cannot repair you will need to use a utility like Tech Tool Pro or Disk Warrior
If still no dice, try the procedure outlined in the article Resolve startup issues and perform disk maintenance with Disk Utility and fsck.
cornelius

Deleted everything on Mac, how do I get past the grey screen?

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