Getting Grey Screen with Apple..and progress bar..  This is what I get

Greetings all,
I desperately need help..My macbook pro was running slow, and so looking online I found something about resetting smc and pram. Well I did both and the computer booted up fine. Then on my next reboot the machine wouldn't start. I'm getting the grey screen with the apple. A progress bar shows for a second but then goes away. I'm not able to get into safemode. But I was able to run the disk utility program from the snow leopard cd. Basically tellls me that the keys are out of order and then says "Error: Disk Utility can`t repair this disk...disk, and restore your backed-up files." This has to be bad.. I don't have a backup.. but luckily most of my stuff was on my macmini (I just had a baby so I had alot of pictures)
Is my only option to erase? Right now the hard drive won't mount (atleast through the disk utility, since it can't repair it)
Please tell me I have other choices.

So you also have a Mac Mini? Then you might be able to retrieve files from the bad hard drive using FireWire Target Disk Mode:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1661
FWTDM will allow you to mount your Mac's hard drive on the Mini's desktop and it will be just like any external hard drive. You will be able to copy files from it.
Another option would be to remove the drive from your Mac and place it in an external enclosure, which would essentially turn it into an external drive. You would then install a brand new drive into your MBP.
It is possible that you could repair the drive with a stronger utility such as Disk Warrior. However, DW only repairs the complex software on your drive--it cannot repair a drive which is beginning to fail, which could well be the case with yours. You don't say exactly which MBP you have, but the average useful life of a laptop hard drive is 3-5 years, and many fail within the first year. Often the kind of problems you are seeing are due to a drive beginning to fail, so your first priority will be to get your data off of the drive.
Since you were also seeing slowness, I suspect that your hard drive is headed south. If so, there wouldn't be much point in reformatting. It would just destroy your data, and your drive may still not ever work properly again. You can get a new drive for less than the price of Disk Warrior, although it's possible that DW can fix the corruption on your drive, at least for a while.
Also, how full is your drive? If too full, that could be a contributing factor.
If you do decide to try Disk Warrior and succeed in getting up and running, you should run SMART Utility:
http://www.apple.com/downloads/macosx/systemdiskutilities/smartutility.html
You can download the demo and run it several times for free. It will give you a comprehensive view of the physical health of your hard drive.
What I would recommend is that you try FWTDM first and try to get everything off of the drive that you care about. If the drive is failing, it could fail completely at some point, so getting your stuff off of it is your most important priority.
If FWTDM doesn't work, then the next thing to do is to remove the drive and put it in an enclosure and see if it will mount that way.
The newer unibody Macs are designed so that you can replace the hard drive yourself. If you have an original MBP, you may want to get an AASP to install a new drive and give you the old one back in an enclosure. If you are under warranty, this won't void your warranty. If you are under warranty, Apple will replace a failed hard drive, but you won't get to keep the old one.
If you are out of warranty, you could consider replacing the drive yourself using the directions at ifixit.
Once you have gotten out of this fix, it's time to set up a backup strategy.
Good luck! Post back if you have further questions.

Similar Messages

  • Grey screen with apple and upate bar

    I am trying to turn on my apple and all it does is goes to grey screen with apple logo and a update bar under it, it acts like it is updating and then just shuts down after it finishes. I restart it and it does the same thing. HELP!!

    Hello rosavoyles,
    The article linked below provides information and troubleshooting steps that can help get your Mac to boot properly again.
    Mac OS X: Gray screen appears during startup
    http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2570
    Cheers,
    Allen

  • I have an iMac from 2008.  When I start I get gray screen with apple and turning gear. Next blue screen. Then light blue screen with turning gear. Back to blue screen.  Now just back and forth blue to light blur

    I have an iMac from 2008.  When I start I get gray screen with apple and turning gear. Next blue screen. Then light blue screen with turning gear. Back to blue screen.  Now just back and forth blue to light blur

    Reinstall OS X:
    Reinstall OS X without erasing the drive
    Do the following:
    1. Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions
    Boot from your Snow Leopard Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list.  In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive.  If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the installer.
    If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior and/or Tech Tool Pro to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X.
    2. Reinstall Snow Leopard
    If the drive is OK then quit DU and return to the installer.  Proceed with reinstalling OS X.  Note that the Snow Leopard installer will not erase your drive or disturb your files.  After installing a fresh copy of OS X the installer will move your Home folder, third-party applications, support items, and network preferences into the newly installed system.
    Download and install the Combo Updater for the version you prefer from support.apple.com/downloads/.
    Reinstalling Lion Without Erasing the Drive
    Boot to the Recovery HD: Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the menu screen appears. Alternatively, restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears. Select the Recovery HD and click on the downward pointing arrow button.
    Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions: Upon startup select Disk Utility from the main menu. Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions as follows.
    When the recovery menu appears select Disk Utility. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list.  In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive.  If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the main menu.
    Reinstall Lion: Select Reinstall Lion and click on the Continue button.
    Note: You can also re-download the Lion installer by opening the App Store application. Hold down the OPTION key and click on the Purchases icon in the toolbar. You should now see an active Install button to the right of your Lion purchase entry. There are situations in which this will not work. For example, if you are already booted into the Lion you originally purchased with your Apple ID or if an instance of the Lion installer is located anywhere on your computer.

  • Stuck with black screen with Apple and download bar approx 1 quarter done. Downloading Yosemite. It has completely stopped. I can't access anything. Please help

    Stuck with black screen with Apple and download bar approx 1 quarter done. Downloading Yosemite. It has completely stopped. I can't access anything. Please help

    You should really read the manual.
    "How do you restore from backup? "
    Restore.  When given the choice, choose to use backup.
    "And how can I check to see if the pics and videos are on my computer somewhere first??"
    They would only be where you put them.  What program did you use to import them?  Pics/vids taken with ipod are not part of the sync process at all.  You should be importing them just as you would with any digital camera.
    If you did not import them, then they are not on your computer.

  • Macbook Pro does not start. Grey screen with logo and status bar going on forever.

    I have a Macbook Pro, late 2010 running with OS Mavericks. Lately it became very slow but never had major issues like crashing. Lat night, I tried a hard restart because it was stuck and I cannot get it to restart ever since. I get sound and grey screen with logo. The status bar is going on forever but does not boot. Can anyone help, please?

    Try a safe boot:
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1564
    If no success, boot into recovery:
    http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1310
    Select the recovery partition and then from the 4 option menu select Disk Utility.
    Open Disk Utility>First Aid and run Verify and Repair.
    What are the results?
    Ciao.

  • MacBook Pro freezes at startup on grey screen with apple and spinner

    I was on Firefox and suddenly the screen froze. 10-15 minutes later i still couldn't do anything on it so i had to force power my laptop off by holding down the power button. Normally when I have this sort of issue, this will solve it. But when I try to turn my laptop back on it gets to the grey screen with the apple logo and little spinner thing and just stays on that screen forever. I'm not really sure what to do now. A couple articles suggested "reseting the PRAM" and I tried that but it didn't help. If you have any suggestions if really appreciate it. And I'm not really sure if i have everything backed up and I really don't want to lose all my pictures so if you could keep that in mind if you have any ideas I'd appreciate it. thanks!

    emeraldxx wrote:
    But when I try to turn my laptop back on it gets to the grey screen with the apple logo and little spinner thing and just stays on that screen forever.
    Could be problems with the boot drive, corrupted system and or a incompatible/old outdated third party kerenel extension file..
    Run through this list of fixes, it's systematically designed to narrown down your issue.
    ..Step by Step to fix your Mac

  • TS3824 imac g4 (2002) stuck on grey screen with apple and loading sign

    my apple imac g4 2002 wont load up it stays on the gray screen with apple on the front with loading sign underneath.  ive tried almost every way ive seen online to try to factory reset it but nothing works. i got it as a gift a few years back and really need it now. can someone help? please, thanks. Mark

    churpchurp22,
    You are posting on the wrong forum, this forum is for Intel based iMacs. A 2002 G4 would be a PowerPC machine, please post on the correct forum. My guess though is the HD has packed up and crashed. 

  • Froze on Blue Screen with Apple and loading bar

    My Ipod Touch was updated wtih new updates. It is now froze on a dark blue screen with an apple on it. Then a loading bar with nothing loading. I can't get it to turn off, or anything. Not sure what to do next.

    Welcome to the discussions,
    did you try to reset the ipod by holding the sleep and home button until the Apple logo comes up again? If this is not working, connect in recovery mode and restore.
    Recovery mode: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1808

  • Grey screen with apple and endless circle at startup...never going further

    I am hoping someone can help me figure out why my G3 won't go to the desktop page when I try to start it up. I downloaded some updates and then when I went to restart, I could only get the grey apple screen with the little circle going around and it stays that way for hours not going further. Nothing else appears on the screen. There is no message. Someone mentioned a "safe start". Would that be something to try? What could be wrong? Is the computer too old? Did it blow a fuse or something? Help! It was working fine earlier.

    You can try starting in safe mode (see directions below) but I am not optimistic. Should it indeed start up in Safe Mode then you might be able to re-install the package(s) safely 9again, see below) from there.
    Two things seemed to be solutions for Security Update 2008-008 problems from what I have read, and may also work with 2009-01.
    One is Archive and Install which will replace the corrupted system but then requires you reapply all your updates. Select the keep settings and preferences when doing A&I. Make sure you select that option when doing A&I if you want settings and preferences kept. Some third party applications may need reinstalling if they have special components.
    [Mac OS X: About the Archive and Install feature|http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1710?viewlocale=en_US]
    [X-Lab Archive and install|http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/archiveinstall.html]
    [Kappy's A&I instructions|http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1823034&tstart=0 ]
    [How to get files from a previous home directory after Archive and Install|http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107297]
    The other is to try to re-install the security update on the main drive while booted from a secondary drive or in Single User Mode. This could be from another Mac computer while your first one is in Target Disk Mode, perhaps a bootable backup drive, or possibly from your installer disc. Here's references for those methods:
    http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=8728797#8728797
    http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=8733921#8733921
    http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=8634535#8634535
    A version of this is to use Single User Mode and Terminal to re-install the update as in:
    http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=8991074#8991074
    Updating
    Certain steps appear to minimize the risk of an update producing problems.
    Number one is to make sure you have a clone backup of your computer in case you do need to back out of it again. This is the only guaranteed way of not having to worry about the results of an update.
    Some like to boot from their installer discs or an external backup and verify (and if necessary repair) their internal drives as well as drive permissions. This is done with Disk Utility. You can verify a drive while booted from the same drive but sometimes this produces spurious errors. Repairing a drive (if necessary) has to be done while booted from another disk. Permissions repair can, and is probably best, done when booted from your internal drive.
    [Resolve startup issues and perform disk maintenance with Disk Utility and fsck|http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106214]
    [Using Disk Utility in Mac OS X 10.4.3 or later|http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=302672]
    [Disk Utility's Repair Disk Permissions|http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=25751]
    You can also go to the step of booting into safe mode to do the install.
    [Mac OS X: Starting up in Safe Mode|http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107393]
    [What is Safe Boot, Safe Mode? (Mac OS X)|http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107392]
    [Safe Boot takes longer than normal startup|http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107394]
    I like to download the update onto my computer and install it from there rather than let Software Update do it. I know a few people who had problems with doing the update via software updater found a manual install to work.
    Repair permissions again afterward.
    It also helps to only install one update at a time and to run the computer for a while to make sure it is behaving well.
    The more cautious even like to unplug third party peripherals (see [comment by BDaqua|http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=9040746#9040746]).
    Almost all of the above steps (except backup) have been questioned as to necessity because probably many people have done successful updates without doing them. I say they can't hurt, they can very likely do good (especially if your computer isn't regularly maintained), so why not do them to be safe.
    [BDaqua's comments on updating problems|http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=8948595#8948595]
    [Baby Boomer's comments on updating problems|http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=9025760#9025760]

  • IMac G5 doesn't go past grey screen with apple and spinning gear

    I have an iMac G5 (Ambient Light Sensor) running Mac OS X 10.5.2 Leopard. Last night my computer froze while using QuickTime. I had to force shutdown the computer by holding the power button for 5 seconds after everything else failed.
    Now it won't start. I hear the chime, the apple logo on grey screen appears and I see the spinning gear. But it stays like that indefinitely. I can boot with the Leopard DVD with no problem. I verified/repaired the boot disk. I verified/repaired the permissions. Everything is super fine. Made sure the selected startup disk was the correct one. I can even start up in FireWire Target Mode. I've resetted the PRAM and the SMU. Starting in single user mode also works.
    How can I solve this startup issue. Are there things I could try before resorting to a archive install or clean install of Leopard. My HD is 232GB and I have 197GB of data.
    Thanks for the help.

    I opened the back cover according to the instuctions in the manual to check the internal battery (which is fine and strong according to my little battery tester). I followed the steps in the support article "iMac G5: Troubleshooting when your computer won't turn on". According to the LED, my power supply is fine. I turned on my computer with the back cover off using the internal power button. It turned on, chimed, did the usual SuperDrive sound and did a complete boot. I took a peek at the screen by lifting a corner cause it was laying face down on a soft towel on my bed. And I saw the user prompt asking me my password, and the galaxy theme desktop picture. So I turned this off and placed the cover back on. But it still won't start using the external power button. Thanks with all your help Miriam. I'm now gonna look for a solution with the external power button issue.

  • Grey screen with apple and spinning progress then shuts off

    how can i fix this?

    Reinstall Lion, Mountain Lion, or Mavericks without erasing drive
    Boot to the Recovery HD:
    Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the menu screen appears. Alternatively, restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears. Select the Recovery HD and click on the downward pointing arrow button.
    Repair
    When the recovery menu appears select Disk Utility. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list.  In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive.  If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported then click on the Repair Permissions button. When the process is completed, then quit DU and return to the main menu.
    Reinstall Lion, Mountain Lion, or Mavericks
    OS X Mavericks- Reinstall OS X
    OS X Mountain Lion- Reinstall OS X
    OS X Lion- Reinstall Mac OS X
         Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet
                     if possible because it is three times faster than wireless.

  • Can't get past grey screen with apple spinning wheel, had a loading bar for a few seconds?

    HElp, can not open my Mac. Stuck on grey screen with apple and spinning wheel?
    PReviously opened fine but I could not remember my password try a number of passwords.  I now know my password but when I turned it off and back on got this screen?

    THe command R took me to a dark scree with Mac OS X Utilities with 4 choices
    REstore From Time Machine Back Up
    REinstall Mac OS X
    GEt Help Online
    DIsk Utility
    HElp

  • My mac froze in an application so I shut it down by powering off with button, now when I try to turn it on I have a grey screen with Apple loge and the timer swirling but it doesn't get past this, please help!

    I Shut down my Mac by holding in the power button after my iMac froze and now when I try to turn it back it on all I get is the grey screen with Apple loge and the timer and doesn't get any further.  I have tried the diagnostic test but nothing was found.

    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.

  • My macbook pro is stuck on grey screen with apple symbol in center with the progress circle under it continusly spinning. After I had turned it on. Prior to turning it on I had to force close and shut down a few hours prior. Please Help?

    My macbook pro is stuck on grey screen with apple symbol in center with the progress circle under it continusly spinning. After I had turned it on. Prior to turning it on I had to force close and shut down a few hours prior. Please Help I have tried everything I know to do

    Unfortunately this means that there is a problem in the boot sector of your hard drive. It might be indicative of a fundamental corruption in the coding that allows your computer to boot your operating system from your hard drive. I had this problem twice and it resulted in me having to get a new hard drive and restore my data.
    In other words, your computer can't talk to your operating system so you can't access your data.
    Here is my advice: DON'T CALL APPLE TECH SUPPORT though they are kind and usually helpful it will take you an hour just to explain the situation and they will only tell you to do what I'm gonna say here.
    First: Shut down your computer completely
    Two: boot up while holding down the following keys: command, option, p, and r. The computer will reboot 3 times. This solution will likely fail so if you're frustrated skip to the next step.
    Three: Boot up while holding down the option key. Select recovery drive. Select your default language. Select disk utility, click on Macintosh HD, and select "verify and repair volume." Likely the verification will produce some line like "unused node not erased." Or something like that. If anything using the words "node structure" comes up, you need a new hard drive.
    If after verification and repairs you still can't boot I sincerely hope you have apple care because you will need a new hard drive. Set up an appointment to come in to the apple store, they will tell you to go and get data recovery, just ask them to give you the old hard drive. Unless you have an up to date backup in which case you can just restore from that. If you're lucky the only issue is with the boot sector which means that if you ask them to give you the old hard drive, you can buy an enclosure and you have effectively been given a free external hard drive. It still works to store data just not to load an operating system.
    If you have a back up drive bring it to the apple store and they'll do the whole thing right there, it should take around an hour and a half but may take longer.
    Hope this helps, it's annoying but it's your safest bet.
    All the best.

  • I have snow leopard installed as an OS.  When trying to reboot a MacBook Pro I am getting stuck on grey screen with apple logo and rotating symbol.  What can I do?

    I have snow leopard installed as an OS.  When trying to reboot a MacBook Pro I am getting stuck on grey screen with apple logo and rotating symbol.  What can I do?

    Maybe this might help.
    http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2570

Maybe you are looking for

  • Quick Question on Smartforms

    Hi Guys, Is there any way to insert check box in smartforms. or is there an ascii code. In this case it is to be inserted in between paragraph. thanks.

  • JMenuItem Problems ?

    hi,i got problems,i cannot view the JMenuItem ?what's wrong ? satu.java import java.awt.BorderLayout; import java.awt.event.WindowAdapter; import java.awt.event.WindowEvent; import javax.swing.JFrame; public class satu {       * @param args      publ

  • Experiencing "timed out" error when uploading podcast

    I am experiencing a "timed out" error when uploading a podcast to iTunes. Using PC. I've updated iTunes...

  • Writting java graphics and textual data from java application into MS word

    By using POI API, I could write textual data into MS word by using java application. Could any one help me out how to write Java graphics(i.e. Writting JPanel) and textual data(i.e.IOStream data) both into MS word document. Thank you for time spent.

  • Importing song files

    I was able to import Garageband 6.0 song files from my G4 laptop to itunes, but I was wondering if importing to the newest version of Garageband was at all possible?