Freezing on boot; gets no further than grey Apple logo

My iMac has just had Snow Leopard put on it; this is my first experience of the software.
It won't boot now. It started playing up earlier on, I plugged an external hard drive in that I wanted to format, and Disk Utility wouldn't start up. I was also having trouble downloading Firefox, but I put that down to the USB Mobile Broadband device I'm currently having to use for internet connectivity.
So I rebooted the machine, and haven't been able to get it back on since. It gets no further than the grey Apple logo and spinning circle loading icon.
Running in Verbose mode, the bit it gets stuck on is this:
Warning - com.apple.driver.InternalModemSupport declares no kernel dependencies; using com.apple.kernel.6.0
It gets no further. I am relatively new to Mac OS, is there a way I can edit the loading procedures, comment out this line and see if it gets any further?
No other boot-up options work. I don't have my install DVD here, but I can't boot from Diskwarrior (this is DW 10.4 though, don't imagine it would work); I can't boot in Safe Mode, or anything.
Help?

[Try this solution|http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2990]--a repair install of Sno. Just install Sno over Sno as though doing a simple upgrade installation. And, [here are some additional troubleshooting possibilities|http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2570]--some of which you already have done. Note that there is no such thing as an archive and install under Sno.

Similar Messages

Major Problem! Booting gets stuck on the grey Apple Logo Screen

HI All,
My iMac wont startup. It gets to the screen with the apple logo on it with the small dial spinning and thats it .... I left it for a bout 10 - 15 mins and thats as far as its got!
I'm running 10.5 with the 300 GB HD partitioned into 2 one for Mac and the other running windows through boot camp. I booted from 10.5 disk... went to Disk utility and repair It only shows the the one disk 300GB usually it wold show 3 the 300GB and the 2 partitions as a sub of this.
Another thing I'v noticed is that looking in the start up disk nothing appears in there apart from the CD.
SIf I just wanded to reinstall the OS doesn't even look as if thats a possibility.
OK... So I tried the same thing but booting from and older operating system disk 10.4. I disk repair the 2 partitions are there so I run the disk repair while repaiing it come up with 'Incorrect number of threads recorded'... continues throught the other things like checking multi linked files etc. gets to the end then repeats the reparing volume. It automatically did the for 3 times now and its finally finished says
Error: The underlying task reported failure on exit
1 HFS Volume Checked
1 volume could not be repaired because of an error
Repair attempted on 1 Volume
1 volume could no be repaired
.. looks obvious to me that there is a problem with the HD that it cant seem to fix.
Does anybody have any ideas what I may be able to do to try and fix this problem or does it sound like the HD is dead?
Thnaks
Wayne

Ive just restarted held down option and managed to boot in windows so I know that this part of the disk partition is running good.
However I tried the Install & Archive option on the Mac partition from the 10.4 System CD and it will only get as far as Varifying destination disk the progress bar move only a couple of mm and thats it.

My 2009 iMac gets stuck on the grey Apple logo when booting up. It boots correctly when in safe mode. I have tried erasing the HD and re-installing from a USB installer. It says the install is complete, but after restarting it gets stuck on the Apple log

My late 2009 27" iMac gets stuck on the grey Apple logo when booting up. It boots correctly when in safe mode. I have tried erasing the HD and re-installing from a USB installer. It says the install is complete, but after restarting it gets stuck on the Apple logo again. This could possibly be an HD failure, but then why does Safe Mode still work and the USB install not work? Any ideas?

1. This procedure is a diagnostic test. It changes nothing, for better or worse, and therefore will not, in itself, solve the problem. But with the aid of the test results, the solution may take a few minutes, instead of hours or days.
Don't be put off merely by the seeming complexity of these instructions. The process is much less complicated than the description. You do harder tasks with the computer all the time.
2. If you don't already have a current backup, back up all data before doing anything else. The backup is necessary on general principle, not because of anything in the test procedure. Backup is always a must, and when you're having any kind of trouble with the computer, you may be at higher than usual risk of losing data, whether you follow these instructions or not.
There are ways to back up a computer that isn't fully functional. Ask if you need guidance.
3. Below are instructions to run a UNIX shell script, a type of program. All it does is to collect information about the state of the computer. That information goes nowhere unless you choose to share it. However, you should be cautious about running any kind of program (not just a shell script) at the behest of a stranger. If you have doubts, search this site for other discussions in which this procedure has been followed without any report of ill effects. If you can't satisfy yourself that the instructions are safe, don't follow them. Ask for other options.
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4. You may have started the computer in "safe" mode. Preferably, these steps should be taken in “normal” mode, under the conditions in which the problem is reproduced. If the system is now in safe mode and works well enough in normal mode to run the test, restart as usual. If you can only test in safe mode, do that.
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PATH=/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/sbin:/usr/libexec;clear;cd;p=(Software Hardware Memory Diagnostics Power FireWire Thunderbolt USB Fonts 51 4 1000 25 5120 KiB/s 1024 85 \\b%% 20480 1 MB/s 25000 ports 'com.autodesk.AutoCad com.evenflow.dropbox com.google.GoogleDrive' DYLD_INSERT_LIBRARIES\ DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH -86 ` route -n get default|awk '/e:/{print $2}' ` 25 N\\/A down up 102400 25600 recvfrom sendto CFBundleIdentifier 25 25 25 1000 MB );N5=${#p[@]};p[N5]=` networksetup -listnetworkserviceorder|awk ' NR>1 { sub(/^$[0-9]+$ /,"");n=$0;getline;} $NF=="'${p[26]}')" { sub(/.$/,"",$NF);print n;exit;} ' `;f=('\n%s: %s\n' '\n%s\n\n%s\n' '\nRAM details\n%s\n' %s\ %s '%s\n\t(%s)\n' );S0() { echo ' { q=$NF+0;$NF="";u=$(NF-1);$(NF-1)="";gsub(/^ +| +$/,"");if(q>='${p[$1]}') printf("%s (UID %s) is using %s '${p[$2]}'",$0,u,q);} ';};s=(' /^ *$|CSConfigDot/d;s/^ */ /;s/[-0-9A-Fa-f]{22,}/UUID/g;s/(ochat)\.[^.]+(\..+)/\1\2/;/Shared/!s/\/Users\/[^/]+/~/g ' ' s/^ +//;5p;6p;8p;12p;' ' {sub(/^ +/,"")};NR==6;NR==13&&$2<'${p[10]} ' 1s/://;3,6d;/[my].+:/d;s/^ {4}//;H;${ g;s/\n$//;/s: [^EO]|x([^08]|02[^F]|8[^0])/p;} ' ' 5h;6{ H;g;/P/!p;} ' ' ($1~/^Cy/&&$3>'${p[11]}')||($1~/^Cond/&&$2!~/^N/) ' ' /:$/{ N;/:.+:/d;s/ *://;b0'$'\n'' };/^ *(V.+ [0N]|Man).+ /{ s/ 0x.... //;s/[()]//g;s/(.+: )(.+)/ (\2)/;H;};$b0'$'\n'' d;:0'$'\n'' x;s/\n\n//;/Apple[ ,]|Intel|SMSC/d;s/\n.*//;/\)$/p;' ' s/^.*C/C/;H;${ g;/No th|pms/!p;} ' '/= [^GO]/p' '{$1=""};1' ' /Of/!{ s/^.+is |\.//g;p;} ' ' $0&&!/ / { n++;print;} END { if(n<200) print "com.apple.";} ' ' $3~/[0-9]:[0-9]{2}$/ { gsub(/:[0-9:a-f]{14}/,"");} { print|"tail -n'${p[12]}'";} ' ' NR==2&&$4<='${p[13]}' { print $4;} ' ' END { $2/=256;if($2>='${p[15]}') print int($2) } ' ' NR!=13{next};{sub(/[+-]$/,"",$NF)};'"`S0 21 22`" 'NR!=2{next}'"`S0 37 17`" ' NR!=5||$8!~/[RW]/{next};{ $(NF-1)=$1;$NF=int($NF/10000000);for(i=1;i<=3;i++){$i="";$(NF-1-i)="";};};'"`S0 19 20`" 's:^:/:p' '/\.kext\/(Contents\/)?Info\.plist$/p' 's/^.{52}(.+) <.+/\1/p' ' /Launch[AD].+\.plist$/ { n++;print;} END { if(n<200) print "/System/";} ' '/\.xpc\/(Contents\/)?Info\.plist$/p' ' NR>1&&!/0x|\.[0-9]+$|com\.apple\.launchctl\.(Aqua|Background|System)$/ { print $3;} ' ' /\.(framew|lproj)|\):/d;/plist:|:.+(Mach|scrip)/s/:[^:]+//p ' '/root/p' ' !/\/Contents\/.+\/Contents|Applic|Autom|Frameworks/&&/Lib.+\/Info.plist$/ { n++;print;} END { if(n<1000) print "/System/";} ' '/^\/usr\/lib\/.+dylib$/p' ' /Temp|emac/d;/(etc|Preferences)\//s/^\.\/[^/]+//p;' ' /\/(Contents\/.+\/Contents|Frameworks)\/|\.wdgt\/.+\.([bw]|plu)/d;p;' 's/\/(Contents\/)?Info.plist$//;p' ' { gsub("^| ","||kMDItem'${p[35]}'=");sub("^.."," ") };1 ' p '{print $3"\t"$1}' 's/\'$'\t''.+//p' 's/1/On/p' '/Prox.+: [^0]/p' '$2>'${p[9]}'{$2=$2-1;print}' ' BEGIN { i="'${p[26]}'";M1='${p[16]}';M2='${p[18]}';M3='${p[31]}';M4='${p[32]}';} !/^A/ { next;} /%/ { getline;if($5<M1) a="user "$2"%, system "$4"%";} /disk0/&&$4>M2 { b=$3" ops/s, "$4" blocks/s";} $2==i { if(c) { d=$3+$4+$5+$6;next;};if($4>M3||$6>M4) c=int($4/1024)" in, "int($6/1024)" out";} END { if(a) print "CPU: "a;if(b) print "I/O: "b;if(c) print "Net: "c" (KiB/s)";if(d) print "Net errors: "d" packets/s";} ' ' /r\[0\] /&&$NF!~/^1(0|72\.(1[6-9]|2[0-9]|3[0-1])|92\.168)\./ { print $NF;exit;} ' ' !/^T/ { printf "(static)";exit;} ' '/apsd|OpenD/!s/:.+//p' ' (/k:/&&$3!~/(255\.){3}0/ )||(/v6:/&&$2!~/A/ ) ' ' $1~"lR"&&$2<='${p[25]}';$1~"li"&&$3!~"wpa2";' ' BEGIN { FS=":";} { n=split($3,a,".");sub(/_2[01].+/,"",$3);print $2" "$3" "a[n]" "$1;b=b$1;} END { if(b) print("\n\t* Code injection");} ' ' NR!=4{next} {$NF/=10240} '"`S0 27 14`" ' END { if($3~/[0-9]/)print$3;} ' ' BEGIN { L='${p[36]}';} !/^[[:space:]]*(#.*)?$/ { l++;if(l<=L) f=f"\n "$0;} END { F=FILENAME;if(!F) exit;if(!f) f="\n [N/A]";"file -b "F|getline T;if(T!~/^(AS.+ (En.+ )?text$|POSIX sh.+ text ex)/) F=F" ("T")";printf("\nContents of %s\n%s\n",F,f);if(l>L) printf("\n ...and %s more line(s)\n",l-L);} ' ' /^ +[NP].+ =/h;/^( +D.+[{]|[}])/{ g;s/.+= //p;};' ' /^ +B/{ s/.+= |(-[0-9]+)?\.s.+//g;p;} ' ' END{print NR} ' ' /id: N|te: Y/{i++} END{print i} ' ' / /{$0="'"${p[28]}"'"};1;' '/ en/!s/\.//p' ' NR!=13{next};{sub(/[+-M]$/,"",$NF)};'"`S0 39 40`" ' $10~/$L/&&$9!~"localhost" { sub(/.+:/,"",$9);print $1": "$9;} ' '/^ +r/s/.+"(.+)".+/\1/p' 's/(.+\.wdgt)\/(Contents\/)?Info\.plist$/\1/p' 's/^.+\/(.+)\.wdgt$/\1/p' 's/0/Off/p' );c1=(system_profiler pmset\ -g nvram fdesetup find syslog df vm_stat sar ps sudo\ crontab sudo\ iotop top pkgutil PlistBuddy whoami cksum kextstat launchctl sudo\ launchctl crontab 'sudo defaults read' stat lsbom mdfind ' for i in ${p[24]};do ${c1[18]} ${c2[27]} $i;done;' defaults\ read scutil sudo\ dtrace sudo\ profiles sed\ -En awk /S*/*/P*/*/*/C*/*/airport networksetup mdutil sudo\ lsof test );c2=(com.apple.loginwindow\ LoginHook '-c Print /L*/P*/loginw*' '-c Print L*/P*/*loginit*' '-c Print L*/Saf*/*/E*.plist' '~ $TMPDIR.. \( -flags +sappnd,schg,uappnd,uchg -o ! -user $UID -o ! -perm -600 $' '.??* -path .Trash -prune -o -type d -name *.app -print -prune' '-c Print\ :'${p[35]}' 2>&1' '-c Print\ :Label 2>&1|head -1' '{/,}L*/{Con,Pref}* -type f ! -size 0 -name *.plist -exec plutil -s {} \;' "-f'%N: %l' Desktop L*/Keyc*" therm sysload boot-args status " -F '\$Time \$Message' -k Sender kernel -k Message Req 'Beac|caug|dead[^bl]|FAIL|fail|GPU |hfs: Ru|inval|jnl:|last value [1-9]|n Cause: -|NVDA$|pagin|proc: t|Roamed|rror|ssert|Thrott|tim(ed? ?|ing )o|WARN' -k Message Rne 'Goog|ksadm|SMC:' -o -k Sender fseventsd -k Message Req 'SL' " '-du -n DEV -n EDEV 1 10' 'acrx -o comm,ruid,%cpu' '-t1 10 1' '-f -pfc /var/db/r*/com.apple.*.{BS,Bas,Es,OSXU,Rem,up}*.bom' '{/,}L*/Lo*/Diag* -type f -regex .\*[cgh] ! -name *ag \( -exec grep -lq "^Thread c" {} \; -exec printf \* \; -o -true $ -execdir stat -f:%Sc:%N -t%F {} \;|sort -t: -k2 |tail -n'${p[38]} '-L {/{S*/,},}L*/Lau* -type f' '-L /{S*/,}L*/StartupItems -type f -exec file {} +' '-L /S*/L*/{C*/Sec*A,E}* {/,}L*/{A*d,Ca*/*/Ex,Compon,Ex,In,iTu,Keyb,Mail/B,P*P,Qu*T,Scripti,Sec,Servi,Spo,Widg}* -type f -name Info.plist' '/usr/lib -type f -name *.dylib' `awk "${s[31]}"<<<${p[23]}` "/e*/{auto,{cron,fs}tab,hosts,{[lp],sy}*.conf,pam.d,ssh{,d}_config,*.local} {,/usr/local}/etc/periodic/*/* /L*/P*{,/*}/com.a*.{Bo,sec*.ap}*t .launchd.conf" list getenv /Library/Preferences/com.apple.alf\ globalstate --proxy '-n get default' -I --dns -getdnsservers\ "${p[N5]}" -getinfo\ "${p[N5]}" -P -m\ / '' -n1 '-R -l1 -n1 -o prt -stats command,uid,prt' '--regexp --only-files --files com.apple.pkg.*|sort|uniq' -kl -l -s\ / '-R -l1 -n1 -o mem -stats command,uid,mem' -i4TCP:0-1023 com.apple.dashboard\ layer-gadgets '-d /L*/Mana*/$USER&&echo On' '-app Safari WebKitDNSPrefetchingEnabled' );N1=${#c2[@]};for j in {0..8};do c2[N1+j]=SP${p[j]}DataType;done;N2=${#c2[@]};for j in 0 1;do c2[N2+j]="-n ' syscall::'${p[33+j]}':return { @out[execname,uid]=sum(arg0) } tick-10sec { trunc(@out,1);exit(0);} '";done;l=(Restricted\ files Hidden\ apps 'Elapsed time (s)' POST Battery Safari\ extensions Bad\ plists 'High file counts' User Heat System\ load boot\ args FileVault Diagnostic\ reports Log 'Free space (MiB)' 'Swap (MiB)' Activity 'CPU per process' Login\ hook 'I/O per process' Mach\ ports kexts Daemons Agents launchd Startup\ items Admin\ access Root\ access Bundles dylibs Apps Font\ issues Inserted\ dylibs Firewall Proxies DNS TCP/IP Wi-Fi Profiles Root\ crontab User\ crontab 'Global login items' 'User login items' Spotlight Memory Listeners Widgets Parental\ Controls Prefetching );N3=${#l[@]};for i in 0 1 2;do l[N3+i]=${p[5+i]};done;N4=${#l[@]};for j in 0 1;do l[N4+j]="Current ${p[29+j]}stream data";done;A0() { id -G|grep -qw 80;v[1]=$?;((v[1]==0))&&sudo true;v[2]=$?;v[3]=`date +%s`;clear >&-;date '+Start time: %T %D%n';};for i in 0 1;do eval ' A'$((1+i))'() { v=` eval "${c1[$1]} ${c2[$2]}"|'${c1[30+i]}' "${s[$3]}" `;[[ "$v" ]];};A'$((3+i))'() { v=` while read i;do [[ "$i" ]]&&eval "${c1[$1]} ${c2[$2]}" \"$i\"|'${c1[30+i]}' "${s[$3]}";done<<<"${v[$4]}" `;[[ "$v" ]];};A'$((5+i))'() { v=` while read i;do '${c1[30+i]}' "${s[$1]}" "$i";done<<<"${v[$2]}" `;[[ "$v" ]];};';done;A7(){ v=$((`date +%s`-v[3]));};B2(){ v[$1]="$v";};for i in 0 1;do eval ' B'$i'() { v=;((v['$((i+1))']==0))||{ v=No;false;};};B'$((3+i))'() { v[$2]=`'${c1[30+i]}' "${s[$3]}"<<<"${v[$1]}"`;} ';done;B5(){ v[$1]="${v[$1]}"$'\n'"${v[$2]}";};B6() { v=` paste -d: <(printf "${v[$1]}") <(printf "${v[$2]}")|awk -F: ' {printf("'"${f[$3]}"'",$1,$2)} ' `;};B7(){ v=`grep -Fv "${v[$1]}"<<<"$v"`;};C0(){ [[ "$v" ]]&&echo "$v";};C1() { [[ "$v" ]]&&printf "${f[$1]}" "${l[$2]}" "$v";};C2() { v=`echo $v`;[[ "$v" != 0 ]]&&C1 0 $1;};C3() { v=`sed -E "$s"<<<"$v"`&&C1 1 $1;};for i in 1 2;do for j in 2 3;do eval D$i$j'(){ A'$i' $1 $2 $3; C'$j' $4;};';done;done;{ A0;A2 0 $((N1+1)) 2;C0;A1 0 $N1 1;C0;B0;C2 27;B0&&! B1&&C2 28;D12 15 37 25 8;A1 0 $((N1+2)) 3;C0;D13 0 $((N1+3)) 4 3;D23 0 $((N1+4)) 5 4;for i in 0 1 2;do D13 0 $((N1+5+i)) 6 $((N3+i));done;D13 1 10 7 9;D13 1 11 8 10;D22 2 12 9 11;D12 3 13 10 12;D23 4 19 44 13;D23 5 14 12 14;D22 6 36 13 15;D22 7 37 14 16;D23 8 15 38 17;D22 9 16 16 18;B1&&{ D22 11 17 17 20;for i in 0 1;do D22 28 $((N2+i)) 45 $((N4+i));done;};D22 12 44 54 45;D22 12 39 15 21;A1 13 40 18;B2 4;B3 4 0 19;A3 14 6 32 0;B4 0 5 11;A1 17 41 20;B7 5;C3 22;B4 4 6 21;A3 14 7 32 6;B4 0 7 11;B3 4 0 22;A3 14 6 32 0;B4 0 8 11;B5 7 8;B1&&{ A2 19 26 23;B7 7;C3 23;};A2 18 26 23;B7 7;C3 24;A2 4 20 21;B7 6;B2 9;A4 14 7 52 9;B2 10;B6 9 10 4;C3 25;D13 4 21 24 26;B4 4 12 26;B3 4 13 27;A1 4 22 29;B7 12;B2 14;A4 14 6 52 14;B2 15;B6 14 15 4;B3 0 0 30;C3 29;A1 4 23 27;B7 13;C3 30;D13 24 24 32 31;D13 25 37 32 33;A1 23 18 28;B2 16;A2 16 25 33;B7 16;B3 0 0 34;B2 21;A6 47 21&&C0;B1&&{ D13 21 0 32 19;D13 10 42 32 40;D22 29 35 46 39;};D23 14 1 48 42;D12 34 43 53 44;D22 0 $((N1+8)) 51 32;D13 4 8 41 6;D12 26 28 35 34;D13 27 29 36 35;A2 27 32 39&&{ B2 19;A2 33 33 40;B2 20;B6 19 20 3;};C2 36;D23 33 34 42 37;B1&&D23 35 45 55 46;D23 32 31 43 38;D12 36 47 32 48;D13 20 42 32 41;D13 14 2 48 43;D13 4 5 32 1;D22 4 4 50 0;D13 14 3 49 5;D12 26 48 59 49;B3 4 22 57;A1 26 46 56;B7 22;B3 0 0 58;C3 47;D23 22 9 37 7;A7;C2 2;} 2>/dev/null|pbcopy;exit 2>&-
Copy the selected text to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C.
7. Launch the built-in Terminal application in any of the following ways:
☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)
☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.
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Click anywhere in the Terminal window and paste by pressing command-V. The text you pasted should vanish immediately. If it doesn't, press the return key.
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Copyright © 2014 by Linc Davis. As the sole author of this work, I reserve all rights to it except as provided in the Use Agreement for the Apple Support Communities website ("ASC"). Readers of ASC may copy it for their own personal use. Neither the whole nor any part may be redistributed.

TS2570 tried restart and hold c key, but still only getting white screen with grey apple logo and spinning loading icon, what do I do next?

nephew had mutliple tabs open and shut down the iMac by hitting the button on the back instead of closing everything corectly. Now the only screen i get is the white with apple logo and the loading circle icon. i have attempted restart and c key with disk in but cant even get a menu to come up. What can I attempt from home before having to haul this into the store?

wireless keyboard and mouse were working prior to safe mode attempt, i was able to eject disk. still waiting on the safe mode restart. I'm not sure what I should be looking for to confirm safe mode and what the screen should look like if successfully processing. it seems to be putting off a lot of heat. BRB
Message was edited by: FeydakeeeeenHelpMePlease

My laptop once turned on wont on any further than the apple logo

My laptop once turned on won't go any further than apple logo

Try starting your computer by holding down the command + R keys, then run disk utility on your hard drive. If you are running a version of Mac OS X 10.6 or lower you will need to try to start you MacBook with the original DVD. Take a look at this link, http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1782?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US

Sometimes iMac "stuck" at Grey Apple Logo during starting up...

Hello all.
I have this very intermittent problem with my iMac, it happens like here and there so I "don't really consider it now as a serious problem"...
My iMac has a FW800 external hard drive connected as a Time Machine drive, and two 7-port USB hubs connected (but not all ports are used up - namely iPhone, 3 iPods, printer, wacom tablet etc)
I have to stress I have not have any problem with this connection in my previous iMac model (all plastic white) and when I first got this iMac, until most recently.
*When I start up the iMac as usual, it will "get stuck" at the Grey Apple Logo screen*, I know that the mac has somehow "freeze" is because the animated scroll-wheel below the logo is not there (normally it will be there, "circulating")
The only option I have is to press the back Power button, *shut down the iMac and start up again, normally the 2nd start up will be fine.*
Anyone if you have any ideas or know what's going on, please let me know
Thanks and cheers

Sounds like some maintenance might be necessary (if it's not hardware related). Check out the xlab recommendations: http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/kernelpanics.html
My G5 iMac occasionally freaks out like that too, but I've done a complete erase and reinstall of the OS, so I think it's a hardware issue...possibly some weird RAM. You might do a test removing each stick and testing.

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.

Using Mac OSX Install Disc 1, I am not able to get any further than the Partition tab. It allows me to select my hard drive selection, but will not allow me to make any other selections. Does anyone know their way around this obstacle? Thanks!

Using Mac OSX Install Disc 1, I am not able to get any further than the Partition tab. It allows me to select my hard drive selection, but will not allow me to make any other selections such as options. Does anyone know their way around this obstacle? Am I doing anything wrong? Thanks

Hello, The Hatter, I read about the 'trick' of backing up, erasing, and restoring too, but I figured it would take longer than defragmenting the disk.
But the defragmentation process has just finished! so I'm gonna try to run Boot Camp again soon!
Thanks for your helpfulness, anyway.
And P.S. I didn't clone my system onto the external drive, I just inserted the Mac OS X Install CD, rebooted holding down the "C" key, and installed a fresh Snow Leopard system onto the predetermined partition. I will use that in cases of emergency, when my main/internal system becomes unusable.

I have replaced my ibook hard drive but when I start up I get a folder with a flashing question mark. I have tried installing the OSX disk using the "C" key but can't get any further than the flashing "?." What do I do? What is the problem?

I have replaced my ibook hard drive but when I start up I get a folder with a flashing question mark. I have tried installing the OSX disk using the "C" key but can't get any further than the flashing "?." What do I do? What is the problem?

Which iBook do you have?
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1772?viewlocale=en_US
Which version of the OS is installed, and which version are you trying to install?
You could try starting up with Startup Manager and see if it will allow you to select the OS X install disc as the startup disk. If so, maybe you can proceed from there. I would recommend repairing the hard drive first since you are evidently having a bit of a problem with it.

My iPhone shut down and factory reset itself for no reason, and now when I plug it into my computer or any power source, the apple shines but it doesn't get any further than that. How can I fix it?

My iPhone shut down and factory reset itself for no reason, and now when I plug it into my computer or any power source, the apple shines but it doesn't get any further than that. How can I fix it?

Try Here > http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1808
You may need to try this More than Once...
Be sure to Follow ALL the Steps...
But... if the Device has been Modified... this will Not necessarily work.

ITunes tells me there is an update (5.1) but it never gets any further than trying to connect to the iPad server. I've tried updating directly from my iPad and it too times out saying it cannot connect to any server. My regular Apple updates work fine.

iTunes tells me there is an iOS update (5.1) but it never gets any further than trying to connect to the iPad server. I've tried updating directly from my iPad and it too times out saying it cannot connect to any server. My regular Apple updates work fine.

I haven't updated yet. Apple's download servers have been too busy. Did you know you can update via wifi instead of connection to your computer?
Here's a description of the update. Not a lot of changes for iPad 1/2.
iOS 5.1 Software Update
http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1504
You can wait a while & update at your convenience.
 Cheers, Tom

G5 dual 2.7GHz refuses to get past the grey apple logo screen no matter what I do!

Hoping that someone might be able to help, as I think I have tried pretty much everything and I’m running out of ideas now!
It’s a G5 dual 2.7GHz that refuses to get past the grey apple logo screen no matter what I do!
everything passes the extended apple hardware test (2.5)
3GB of RAM (2x1GB brand new from crucial)
won’t start from a original OS 10.58 disk
passes disk utility when connected to another mac via FW target mode
nothing other than keyboard/monitor attached
all of this done; http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2570
tried alternative HDD’s without any joy
won’t safe boot
stays at the grey apple logo screen and the fans then start revving up excessively
Any other suggestions or advice very gratefully received!

BDAqua wrote:
Seems strange that it's trying to invoke "AppleIntelCPUPowerManagement" on a G5, but maybe it's all inclusive???
Though it exists on my Universal 10.5.8 Install, it does NOT appear to be a loaded extension....
/System/Library/Extensions/AppleIntelCPUPowerManagement.kext
BD, is that showing up in your PM's extensions folder? I wouldn't expect to see it loaded in a PM, but I wonder why the installer loads it unless the 10.5 installer loads a system that could boot an Intel, too, when it installs on a PM. (I read somewhere this weekend that an Intel will actually boot from an APM formatted disc as well as a GUID formatted disc) Curious.
I recall seeing yesterday or Saturday on one of the discussion threads someone having that extension show up in a verbose boot on a PM that was having problems booting into Leo. I think I advised trashing the kernel caches and touching Extensions in that one, but it is puzzling that it shows up here as well.
This is the other discussion: https://discussions.apple.com/message/15161427#15161427

MAC PRO FREEZES ON GREY APPLE LOGO START UP SCREEN.

My computer was acting funny for the last couple of weeks. It was slugish and slow to respond. When I was using it yesterday it froze up. I forced quit it and tried repeatedly to reboot. It makes the startup chime sound and gets to the grey apple logo screen then the spinning gear stops and it freezes.
My Specs:
2008 Mac Pro
OS X Lion 10.7.4
2 x 2.8 GHZ Quad-Core Intel Xeon
10 GB DDR2 Ram
NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GT 512MB
1) Tried starting from the Lion Recovery HD partition. Received the same result (freeze on grey logo).
2) Confirmed the OS Startup Drive works. I removed the OS Drive and tried it in a HD Dock on my Maybook Pro. The drive runs normally. I'm able to navigate and open files.
3) Tied starting from Lion Startup Thumb Drive. Received the same results (freeze on grey logo).
4) Confirmed the Lion Thumb Drive works. Booted Laptop from this same device with no problems.
Now I'm scared. I'm running out of ideas. I'm guessing it is probably something on the logicboard. Does anyone have any advice or suggestions to what it could be? Is there a way I can test the logicboard myself?
Thanks for any help in advance.

The array and the OS drive are not "linked."
Nor are the drives fixed to the drive bay order. One of the drives in the array is "master" that knows what is on each sybling by the ID of the drives.
Clone the OS and keep handy. Never a need to do an OS install.
Backup the array as often as needed so the data is current and have two sets there also, ie TimeMachine for hourly or something and cloned.
What does matter is the OS version the array was created with as there are changes even during the life of the OS like Lion and not usually backward - so an array created with Leo had to be recreated with Snow, and same with Lion, only Lion 10.7.0 and 10.7.4 one was buggy, the 2nd changed the rules for 32 vs 64-bit mode drivers.
Take away: keep the last OS around, hold back on updates, make sure that you keep 10.7.3 around after 10.7.4 is out and working.
You can boot off any drive, SSD or something else and still mount and access the array.

PowerPC Mac Mini gets stuck at grey apple logo screen, wont start

I have a bit of a problem and would appreciate some help, im not especially good at this stuff.
My Powerpc Mac Mini froze up recently, having left it on for a few days without shutting down/resetting. I impatiently turned it off with the power button at the back. When I turned it on again, it only got as far as the grey apple logo screen, it now refuses to go past this screen despite numerous power resets, and unplugging at the power.
I have reset the PMU and the PRAM as suggested by the troubleshooting, to no avail - the PRAM did work as it changed the resolution of the apple logo, but still got stuck at the grey startup screen. Its out of warranty so I have to pay for technical support. Can anyone help?
Message was edited by: misternuge

If you have the original install disk that came with your mini, the first thing to do is to insert that, and then boot the system holding the C key down. This should force it to boot from the install disk rather than the internal drive. The reason you want to do this is two-fold: firstly that if it boots OK that way, it shows the basic hardware is OK, and secondly, it's possible that the hard drive has developed errors (likely directory damage) and the tool to check for that and attempt to resolve it is on the install disk.
Once you've got the system booted to the install disk, exit the installer and run the Disk Utility application. That should display the internal drive (and the install disk) on the left. Select the internal drive and then click 'Repair Disk'. If no errors are found, the drive is fine and the problem lies elsewhere. If errors are reported and the disk is fixed, then you should be able to reboot normally afterwards. If errors are found and Disk Utility reports 'error on exit' not having fixed them, then run it again just to be sure, but otherwise it means the drive is damaged sufficiently that Disk Utility can't fix it. A third-party application such as Alsoft's DiskWarrior will then be needed if you want to try and fix the drive and recover data, or you can simply elect to do an erase and install, meaning the drive will be reformatted and a new copy of MacOS installed. Do not do this if you have data you need to get off the drive!!

Imac wont boot - i get a white screen with apple logo, and it loads to about 10%, then screen goes black

imac wont boot - i get a white screen with apple logo, and it loads to about 10%, then screen goes black

Hey there mtriest,
It sounds like you are unable to boot the iMac successfully as it keeps shutting down when you try to boot. I suggest the troubleshooting from the following article named:
Mac OS X: Gray screen appears during startup
http://support.apple.com/kb/ts2570
Disconnect, test peripheral devices and network cables
Note: "Peripheral devices" refers to external devices other than what came with your Mac, such as hard drives, printers, or hubs that you connect via a USB or FireWire cable.
Shut down your Mac. If necessary, hold your Mac's power button for several seconds to force it to power down.
Disconnect all peripheral devices such as external hard drives or printers (leave only the display, a keyboard, and mouse connected).
Disconnect any Ethernet cables.
Start up your Mac.
If you can start up this way, one or more of your peripheral devices (or installed software related to the device) is probably causing the gray screen issue. Connect one device, then restart your Mac to test for the issue. Repeat the process until you locate the device at issue. Make sure the device is powered if it needs to be to operate correctly. Check with the manufacturer of the device for support or possible software driver or firmware updates that may be available for the device. Try a different cable with the device if possible (such as a different USB or FireWire cable).
Note: If you have multiple peripheral devices and the issue only occurs when they are all connected, but not when each device is the only peripheral connected, see the Additional Information section below.
If you are using a desktop Mac with a third-party keyboard and/or mouse device, and the issue still occurs, try starting up with an Apple keyboard and mouse connected instead. Try starting with no keyboard and mouse connected, then connect them after start up. Also, try a different USB port on your Mac.
If the gray screen issue persists with no devices connected, go to the next section (with the peripherals still disconnected).
Perform a Safe BootSimply performing a Safe Boot may resolve this issue.
Shut down your Mac. If necessary, hold your Mac's power button for several seconds to force it to power down.
Start your Mac, then immediately hold the Shift key. This performs a Safe Boot. Advanced tip: If you want to see the status of a Safe Boot as it progresses, you can hold Shift-Command-V during start up (instead of just Shift).
Note: A Safe Boot takes longer than a typical start up because it includes a disk check and other operations.
If your Mac starts up as expected, immediately try restarting.
If the Safe Boot does not work, or the restart after a successful Safe Boot does not work, go to the next section.
There is additional information in the article with further troubleshooting if needed.
Thank you for using Apple Support Communities.
Cheers,
Sterling

Freezing on boot; gets no further than grey Apple logo

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