Dreaded Apple logo and spinning circle.

I have the 20 inch I mac and I am running leopard. Last night although my mac is on a power bar we did have a few power surges. Now this morning all i get is the logo and spinning circle I have checked the ram it all seems good tried it without no luck. I have tried booting with the c key, then the shift, then tried to reset the NVRAM no such Luck i put in my leopard cd thought i could boot from it and no but now i can't get it out, even pressing the mouse and all that. Where should i go from here? Please help

HI,
See if you can boot in Safe Mode
What is Safe Mode
Resolve startup issues and perform disk maintenance with Disk Utility and fsck
Carolyn

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Apple logo and spinning circle only on startup - never loads

I foolishy changed permissions on the whole volume to try and give a new user Read&Write permissions to the whole volume and set it to propagate the new permissions down through the whole volume, and now when I power on my MacBook Pro, I see the Apple logo, a spinning wheel for a few minutes, and then it reboots itself, never loading the OS. I searched these forums and the internet for hours last night. It seems pretty clear from my research that I caused problems by changing permissions.
I can't boot into Safe mode.
I can boot into single user mode.
I can book to the install CD and run Disk Utilities.
I've tried Repair Disk and Repair Permissions from the Disk Utility several times. Verify Disk never finds any problems, but no matter how many times I run the Repair Permissions option, I still get a very long list of "ACL found but not expected on <filenames>. . .]"
I also found countless sites with instructions on running commands in single user mode:
mount -uw /
and then tried all of these suggestions-
chmod 775 /
chmod 1775 /
chmod o+r /
and a host of other variations
I do have BootCamp with Vista installed, and can boot into Vista with no problems, so it would seem the HDD itself is physically fine.
Any suggestions?
Snow Leopard is set to arrive before 3 pm today by FedEx. Would running the Snow Leopard upgrade from the boot CD correct any remaining permission issues when it over-writes what's currently there? If you're not sure, any ideas on how to proceed with fixing the current 10.5.8 installation?
Thanks in advance. I'm at my wits end, and very groggy from fighting this all night
Message was edited by: San Diego Darin

Actually, that wasn't the end of the log. My apologies.
There are quite a few errors.
Examples:
Could not connect to USB mux port 32498 for device 2: Permission denied
Dubious permissions on file (skipping): /Library/LaunchAgents
Dubious permissions on file (skipping): /System/Library/LaunchAgents
Dubious permissions on file (skipping): /etc/machinit_per_loginsession.d
SystemStarter 33: "/Library/StartupItems" failed sanity check: path was created after boot up
SystemStarter 33: "/System/Library/StartupItems" failed sanity check: path was created after boot up

Each time i press the power button i just have a blank white screen, and intermittent sounds/tone. No apple logo, or spinning circle.

Each time i press the power button i just have a blank white screen, and intermittent sounds/tone. No apple logo, or spinning circle.
I used to install the rEFIt to boot with win7. When I deleted win7, I didn't uninstall rEFIt. Nothing wrong with it. One day after I watched movie in full screen,I pressed esc to quit. Then I found the touchpad didn't work. I can't turn off air. I just pressed power button for a little while. It rebooted, then my nightmare just began...
I have tried everything, PRAM, command+R, literally everything. No change.
But when I plug a CD-ROM with USB, I can only here one BONG, just once, then white screen, Like waiting for something...
I took it to a service center in China, they told me the CPU had broken. SInce it's one month out of warranty, they wanted to charge me for like $250....
I really don't think that's CPU's problem. I checked the history, it seems like somebody else also had the problem before.
Can anyone give me some hints??? Thanks!!!!!! Or I have to take it back to America to check....

Impossible, there are zero, as in none, zip, nadda viruses for OS X. If you have viruses on it they are for MS Windows and will not affect OS X. I suspect the hard disk has crashed, if you have backup then it's not a big deal to have it changed, just take it into your local Apple Store or AASP for service. If you have not been backing it up you may be in for a painful lesson on why backup is critical.

Hi...m using a mac pro quad core.....its not booting up...i can only see the apple logo and a circle loading...could not get into the login screen

hi...m using a mac pro quad core.....its not booting up...i can only see the apple logo and a circle loading...could not get into the login screen...any suggestions please.....m in the middle of a project and now i have got this one
regards,
v.s.bharan

Welcome to Apple Discussions!
Do you keep your data backed up?
If not, you should always do so*:
http://www.macmaps.com/backup.html
You never know when a hard drive or a directory might go bad. Having a bootable clone is a must.
That link also shows you some tools you can use to recover data.
If you aren't backed up, try buying those tools first, before attempting to repair the directory.
Directory issues can be fixed with these tools*:
http://www.macmaps.com/directoryfaq.html

Mac Mini won't boot past Apple logo and spinning wheel

Hello,
I have a Mac mini (late 2009) running 10.8.2. Today, I tried to log into the computer. It accepted my username and password, but then the screen turned gray instead of logging in. I left it like that for about twenty minutes, then gave up on waiting and Ctrl-Command-Power rebooted it. It then wouldn't reboot: it gets to the Apple logo and spinning loading wheel, but won't go past there.
So I went into single-user mode and was able to access the HD fine. I ran a filesystems check using the recommended syntax (/sbin/fsck -fy, I think). It said that the volume looked okay, and that it had been modified. I took this as a good sign (that it had been repaired) and typed "reboot" to restart the machine. I held Command-Shift-V to perform a Verbose Safe Boot.
The computer makes no further progress after the following four lines:
vboxdrv: fAsync=0 offMin0x809 offMax=0x2bc3
VBoxDrv: version 3.2.12 r68302; IOCtl version 0x140001; IDC version 0x10000; dev major=34
VBoxFltDrv: version 3.2.12 r68302
VBoxAdpDrv: version 3.2.12 r68302
I'm assuming all the instances of "vbox" are in reference to Oracle's VirtualBox VM. I do have VirtualBox installed, but haven't used it in a while (months), so I don't see why it's suddenly causing a problem.
To clarify, the computer doesn't "hang" after these lines: I can still type text into the terminal. The entire log is being saved to /dev/console, so I could probably grab it from Single-User Mode if necessary.
Everything else seems to be working properly: even the wl0 drivers are loaded.
Does anyone have any suggestions about how to fix this, or at least disable VirtualBox so the computer can start?
Thanks!
WC

Cult of Mac post:
When the Apple Logo appears your Mac has found a valid system disk, and Mac OS X begins loading.
Apple Logo with Spinning Gear
Once the spinning gear appears the BSD kernel (Darwin) has assumed command and begins loading device drivers. Shortly thereafter it transfers command to the almighty (and controversial) launchd process. Such are the workings of UNIX.
What this means for us mortals is that when a Mac stalls at the Apple logo or the logo with a spinning gear, it probably has a corrupt Mac OS X installation. It may also be having trouble accessing an internal or external hardware component, but this is less-likely.
Rebooting your Mac in Safe Mode can sometimes get things working well-enough that a second, normal reboot then works normally Hold down the Shift key at startup to boot in Safe Mode. DiskWarrior is also worth a shot (this is by far my most used disk utility). If that doesn’t work, an Archive & Install may be needed.
Read more at http://www.cultofmac.com/50685/how-to-fix-common-mac-startup-problems-macrx/#CGI mG3jeGEBtysX1.99

Gray screen, apple logo and spinning gear hang at start up

after a lengthy round of "bejeweled", i let my imac fall into screen saver mode. when i tried to log back in, i tapped the mouse and the imac flashed as it does when actuated outside a dialogue without clicking the okay button, and immediately returned to screen saver. i then manually shut down and restarted to the gray screen, apple logo and spinning gear hang. i then inserted the leopard install dvd, manually shut down and restarted pressing the option key and selected the install disc. it booted as usual. i selected the language preferred, used the utility drop down menu and selected DU, then selected the hard drive and verify permissions to reveal a pop up "Error: The underlying task reported failure on exit. Permissions verification complete." i immediately selected repair disc, and breathed a sigh of relief with the notification "appears to be ok". then utilities/start up disc/macintosh hd/restart. still get the hang. i have repeated this process several times, also resetting the PRAM as well to the infinite hang. as a matter of fact, the gear has been spinning the entire time creating this post. needless to say, i am truly at a loss. SOS!!!!!!! Please!!!!! SEND LAWYERS, GUNS AND MONEY!!!!

i have perused some of the threads posted per this topic and decided to attempt an "archive and install." i also have a 620gig acomdata external drive with close to a carbon copy of my internal. a few short minutes into the install, the imac reveals a pop up stating it cannot install some files on the hard drive, contact the software manufacturer or restart and try to install again. the internal drive is a 160gig with only about 60gigs of room, so i tried to archive and install to the acomdata instead as it has 180 gig of free space. i get the exact same dialogue once again. restart and a third attempt only archive and install will not highlight, only first time and/or erase and install. further, start up disc shows only the install disc and network as choices. so i attempt first time install on both drives and get the same pop up message again. DU recognizes both drives although verify/repair permissions does not highlight, but not start up disc.
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thanks again in advance,
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Mac pro running OS 10.5.8 won't boot. Apple logo and spinning wheel shows then Apple logo turns into Forbidden signage while spinning wheel continue. It happenened right after I installed a firmware. Had to restart.Please help. What can I do?

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Work through the suggestions in this article:
Mac OS X: Gray screen appears during startup

Crashed drive with Grey Apple Screen and Spinning Circle!!

I need some help!!
My G5 desktop computer had Font error, and then it crashed. I pressed the power button to restart and it won’t booth up! All I get it the Grey Apple Screen and Spinning Circle with loud fan noise.
I’ve tried using the install CD to booth up to use the Disk Utility, but it won’t let me select the primary Seagate drive (I do see the drive name), therefore I can’t repair or do anything.
When I tried to re-install the OSX, the system won’t even see the primary drive to reinstall.
Is this drive dead? (I never had clicking noise before) or is the Drive corrupted? How do I fix this problem?
Can someone please help me?
Thank you

I’m not sure which button I pressed, but I was able to see my Hard Drive with OSX and OSX Disk, but when I clicked on the Hard Drive it just does the gray screen
So, I used the OSX install Disk to boot up to run the Disk Utility.
I can see the drive name, but when I click on the drive nothing happens. Verify and Repair buttons are grayed out.
I’ve tried the Safe mode but it won’t start up.
I never had Applejack installed on the hard Drive so I can’t test it that way either.
How can I save this hard drive?
Is there another way to repair this?
Thank you all for your help!

Hard Drive Crashed with Grey Apple Screen and Spinning Circle

I need some help!!
My G5 desktop computer had Font error, and then it crashed. I pressed the power button to restart and it won’t booth up! All I get it the Grey Apple Screen and Spinning Circle with loud fan noise.
I’ve tried using the install CD to booth up to use the Disk Utility, but it won’t let me select the primary Seagate drive (I do see the drive name), therefore I can’t repair or do anything.
When I tried to re-install the OSX, the system won’t even see the primary drive to reinstall.
Is this drive dead? (I never had clicking noise before) or is the Drive corrupted? How do I fix this problem?
Can someone please help me?
Thank you

Hi, it does seem like the HD is a goner.
For internal Storage options see this...
http://tinyurl.com/ygtbaan
For external get FW/800...
http://eshop.macsales.com/Search/Search.cfm?Ntt=firewire%20800
Once you get a new Drive installed...
If DiskWarrior can't fix it, you might try Data Rescue II...
http://www.alsoft.com/DiskWarrior/
http://www.prosofteng.com/products/data_rescue.php
(Has a Free Demo to see if it could or not, but you'll need another drive to recover to).
Or FileSalvage...
http://www.subrosasoft.com/OSXSoftware/index.php?%20mainpage=product_info&productsid=1
to recover what you can.

IPhone 4 can't turn on, stuck apple logo and loading circle

I have problem, I remove ultrasn0w from cydia and my iPhone 4 is frozen, I wait one, minute, two nothing and I turn off with home and power button, after that I can't turn on my iPhone 4, when I try turn on, apple logo stay two minute, after that show loading circle 30 secunds and automatic restart again show apple logo and loading circle, always show that. What I can do? Help me please I try just boot but unsuccessfully.

Since your phone is hacked, we can not help you here. You will need to use the forums at the Cydia site for assistance.

Just upgraded my iPad to IOS5 and when the download was completed, a window said that there was an error and it could not restore. Now I have a black screen with the Apple logo and the circle lines. None of the buttons respond. Help, please!!

Just upgraded my iPad to IOS5 and when the download was completed, a window said that there was an error and it could not restore. Now I have a black screen with the Apple logo and the circle lines. None of the buttons respond. Help, please!!

Reset the iPad by holding down on the sleep and home buttons at the same time for about 10-15 seconds until the Apple Logo appears - ignore the red slider - let go of the buttons. Maybe this will let the iPad reboot and then you may need to restore again but see if this helps to start the iPad first.

My macbook wont reboot apple logo and spinning wheel thats it.

I watched youtube videos and tried command r and now it keeps popping up you need to restart your computer. Everytime I restart it, it pops back up! HELP!!

Apple logo and spinning wheel is different than the need to restart your computer message.
See this Apple note on the spinning wheel at boot. If you are running OS X 10.7 or later, then rebooting with the command and r keys will get you into recovery mode, where you can use Disk Utility to repair the hard drive.
FYI, the need to restart your computer message in multiple languages is called a kernel panic, which is usually, but not always, caused by a hardware issue. If you have OS X 10.7 or later, you should be able to run the Apple hardware test. Prior to that, you need the disks that came with the system to run it. If you can run it, run the extended test when prompted, which can take over an hour to run.

MacBook Pro won't boot after trying to install 10.7.3 update. Start up stalls at Apple logo and spinning gear.

MacBook Pro won't boot after trying to install 10.7.3 update. Start up stalls at Apple logo and spinning gear. Computer won't even start in safe mode.

My daughter's MacBook Pro was doing exactly the same thing. I don't know if it had anything to do with the latest update. She called me about a week ago saying that her MacBook began running slower by the day . She then called me Friday and told me that it wouldn't get past the gray screen and the gear just kept on spinning. I did everything I could over the phone including Safe mode which it wouldn't go into and thought maybe it was the hard drive. She took it to the Apple store. Originally, they also thought it was the hard drive. It ended up being a corrupted operating system (Lion). Apple genius simply re-installed Lion and she's back up and running. Good thing she backed up right before it crapped out. She'll be restoring everything tonight. Don't know if re-installing Lion will help your situation, but it did the trick for my daughter.

TS3680 Getting grey Apple logo and progress circle upon startup after removing "Everyone" as rights to Local HD

Hello, I am having trouble starting my 21" iMac running Snow Leopard after I had shared the HD with my MB-Pro. I had removed the "everyone - Read Only" rights on the HD (on the iMac) and opened sharing so my MB could attach to it. Grey Apple Logo and progress circle upon startup now.
Can changing these rights cause the system to not boot? I can go into single user mode but I am not sure what to do then. Any suggestions would be much appreciated.

See section A1 of this user tip by Niel:
I accidentally set a disk's permissions to No Access

Please help me! MacBook Pro stuck on apple logo and spinning wheel

Hi I'm really desperate and need help! My MacBook just stopped loading and would stay on the gray screen with the apple logo and spinning wheel.
I have tried safe mode and it would load a little and stop and then the loading bar would be blank and it would stay like that forever!!
I also have tried doing the single user mode and when I type the fsck - fy it will do a couple more lines then it will say error like a hundred times :(
I did verbose mode and it would just give me stuff that I have no idea what it saying I left on verbose mode for like 5 hours and it would just give me lines of stuff I have no idea what it's saying!
I downloaded lion through apple store so I don't have the disk I only have my snow leopard disk
Please please someone tell me a solution it's my moms laptop and I don't want to get in trouble!

Reboot in recovery mode an possibly repair over the internet.
Command-R to the rescue.
Just hold down Command-R during startup and OS X Recovery springs into action. It lets you choose from common utilities: You can run Disk Utility to check or repair your hard drive, erase your hard drive and reinstall a fresh copy of OS X, or restore your Mac from a Time Machine backup. You can even use Safari to get help from Apple Support online. And if OS X Recovery encounters problems, it will automatically connect to Apple over the Internet.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4718

Dreaded Apple logo and spinning circle.

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