Gray Screen Bootcache.playlist missing

I installed Mavericks on my early 2008 24" iMac, and now it got stuck on "grey screen of death" (after a month of use during wich it was working perfectly fine). When I launch it in verbose mode, I can see the following : "unable to open /var/db/bootcache.playlist 2 no such file or directory".
I reseted PRAM, repaired it in recovery mode (and repaired autorisation), safe boot isn't working, I re-installed Marvericks from the recovery mode but it didn't fix it. I tried to install from the OS 10.6 DVD but it didn't work either (I was unable to install it on Macintosh HD). I tried "fsck -fy" in single user mode, and it seemed that my HD was ok.
Is there anything I can do without erasing my hard drive ?
Thank you by advance.

That should work if you have another computer to hook it up to. Once you sort things out, you need to investigate backup strategies. Start with http://www.pondini.org/TM/Clones.html. I prefer bootable clones over Time Machine.

Similar Messages

BootCaches.playlist missing after update Mavericks

After updating my iMac (with OSX 10.8.5) to Mavericks, I only get a gray screen and logo. The verbose mode stops with message "/var/db/BootCaches.playlist 2:no such file or directory". I tried repair mode: repair disk and repair permissions, but I still get a gray screen.
What else can I do?

Thanks for your support Ari,
I tried every solution I could find on the internet: nothing helped. Then I tried every solution in your mentioned document: no working solution, but I used part of one of the solutions.
- I reinstalled a backup from my TimeCapsule.
- Download Mavericks: no installation
- I made a startup USBdrive with Mavericks
- Booted from USB
- Deleted everything of my startupdrive, and repartitioned.
- Installed a clean version of Mavericks
- and YES!! it started!!!
- I allowed it to migrate my stuff from my TimeCapsule
- and on reboot: I only had a "beautiful!?" gray screen and nothing else!
I was back where I started, but I thought there was one more solution:
- rebooted from USB-drive
- Deleted everything of my startupdrive, and repartitioned.
- Installed a clean version of Mavericks
- and YES!! it started!!!
- I did NOT migrate my stuff from my TimeCapsule
- I let it go untill I had a desktop
- I did a warm, and then a cold reboot, and a still came on the desktop
- then I migrated my stuff from TimeCapsule EXCEPT the "machine and networksettings".
And this did the trick for me: Mavericks still works, even after several reboots!
Thanks Ari

Mac won't boot up- Bootstrapper crashed, BootCache.playlist missing

For some reason, on my Mid-2009 MBP, after I installed Windows 7 via bootcamp utility, the mac would hang on the loading screen on booting up. I ran in verbose mode to troubleshoot, and found that the file BootCache.playlist was not found, and the bootstrapper had crashed. I experimented with putting in a BootCache.playlist manually, but on booting up, it would simply delete the file and continue hanging. I then reinstalled the OS, but to no avail. I'm not sure why this is happening or how I can fix it, does anybody know?

You may be right about that. I did not modify any partition sizes, but when installing Windows, it said that my partition needed to be converted to NTFS, which I did. Could this be an issue? If so, do you think I could use disk utility in recovery to remove the windows partition to fix the mac?

TS2570 On start up of my new iMac it locks on the grey screen with the apple logo and the progress wheel spins. Boot up in safe and this is where it stopped at "BootCacheControl: Unable to open /var/db/bootcache.playlist: 2 no such file or directory. "

On start up of my new iMac it locks on the grey screen with the apple logo and the progress wheel spins. Boot up in safe and this is where it stopped at "BootCacheControl: Unable to open /var/db/bootcache.playlist: 2 no such file or directory. "

Reinstalling MacOS does NOT fix the problem for me. I'm still searching a solution !
Bernard

Flashing Gray screen on my desktop and my dock is missing, whats happening?

Hi. I got this problem while ago, when I start it up and log in on my admin account I have this gray screen flashing on my desktop and my dock is missing. But I can still access almost everything but what the **** gray screen flashing is annoying and I dont know where my dock goes. Anyone knows what is happening on my laptop? Thanks.

Sounds like you have assistive services activated (There is a three finger short cut you may have in accidentally pressed)
Check Accessiblity in system preferences
under display make sure Grayscale is not checked
under audio make sure flash display is not checked
As for the dock make sure you haven't got it hidden by placing mouse pointer to each of the left/right and bottom screen edges
If not go to the following folder in finder.
Open Finder window and mouse and click to the Go menu to view list of actions. On your key board press the Option (alt) key and you see a extra action location added after Home - this is the hidden library folder in your Home directory
This contains all sorts of personal setting preferences
Now continue to hold down the option key and mouse click on the Library item to open the contents in the main finder window.
Within the window locate and open the folder - Preferences
Locate this file from within
com.apple.dock.plist
move this to the trash
Shut and restart your Mac
The default dock setting will appear - Empty trash
Tell us how it goes.

TS2570 Still cant access my computer, followed instructions to perform a safe boot and last line of script it shows: BootCacheControl: Unable to open /Var/db/BootCache.playlist:2 No such file or directory. Any idea?

Brand new Mac Book Pro
Purchased in Mexico's Department store Liverpool on June 20th 2012
Purchased Memory upgade to 8Gb, on june 27th, at Apple Store Memorial City, Houston
Upgraded memory from 4Gb to 8Gb on June 28th.
Tried to write on my external HD (previously written on a windows based PC) with no success.
Upon reccomendation from a Mac assistant, copied all my external HD contents into my Mac Hard drive.
Then formatted my external HD and copied back all my information to it.
deleted all the information from my MacBook Pro HD.
Attempted to repeat the same operation with another external HD, but got a message saying there was not enough epace on the computer HD (even though I have a 750Gb Hard Drive.
Looked in the trash bin and there it was, all the information previously deleted..
Could not empty the trash bin, although I got a message asking me to safely delete all the information from the trash bin,
Could not get enough space released, after several attpempts the trash bin was finally emptied.
All happy getting acquainted with my new MacBook Pro. Two days later, got a gray screen and not able to start the computer.
Looking in to Mac support I found article http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2570 and followed instructions to perform a safe boot:
"Perform a Safe Boot
Simply performing the 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.
The following is the script that appears on the screen upon safe boot. and halt after the last line.
AppleACPICPU:Processor Id=6 LocalAplicId=255 Disabled
AppleACPICPU:Processor Id=7 LocalAplicId=255 Disabled
AppleACPICPU:Processor Id=8 LocalAplicId=255 Disabled
calling mpo_policy_init for TMSafetyNet
Security policy loaded: Safety net for Time Machine (TMSafetyNet)
calling mpo_policy_init for Sandbox
Security policy loaded: Seatbelt sandbox policy (Sandbox)
calling mpo_policy_init for Quarantine
Security policy loaded: Quarantine Policy (Quarantine)
Copyright (c) 1982, 1986, 1989, 1991, 1993
        The Regents of the University of California. All Rights Reserved.
MAC Framework Succesfully initializad
using 16384 buffer headers and 10240 cluster IO buffer headers
IOAPIC: Version 0x20 Vextors 64:87
ACPI: System State [SO S3 S4 S5] (S3)
PFM64 (36cpu) 0xf10000000, 0xf0000000
Aplconsole relocated to 0xf1000000
PCI configuration changed (bridge=16 device=4 cardbus=0)
[ PCI configuration end, bridges 12 devices 16 ]
Firewire (OHCI) Lucent ID 5901 built-in now active, GUID 3c0754fffe9b2aa2; max speed s800.
Pthread support ABORTS when sync kernel primitives misused
com.apple.AppleFSCompressionTypeZlib kmod start
com.apple.AppleFSCompressionTypeDataless kmod start
com.apple.AppleFSCompressionTypeZlib load succeeded
com.apple.AppleFSCompressionTypeDateless load succeeded
AppleIntelCPUPowerManagementClient: ready
BTCOEXIST off
wl0: Broadcom BCM4331 802.11 Wireless controller
5.100.98.75
AppleUSBMultitouchDriver::checkStatus - received Status Packet, Payload 2: device was reinitializad
rooting via boot-uuid from /chosen: 6E918706-FC0D-37460-A3A0-6268A51DF93B
Waiting on <dict ID="0"><key><string ID="1">IOResources</string><key>IOResourceMatch</key><string ID="2">boot-uuid-media</string></dict>
Got boot device = IOService:/AppleACPIPlatformExpert/PCI0@0/AppleAPIPCI/SATA@1F,2/AppleIntelPchSe riesAHCI/PRT0@0/AOAHCIDevice@0/AppleAHCIDiskDriver/IOAHCIBlock
storageevice /IoBlockStorageDriver/TOSHIBA MK7559GSXF Media/IOGUIDPartit
BSD root: disk0s2, major 14, minor 2
Kernel is LP64
com.apple.launchd 1   com.apple.launchd 1   *** launchd[1] has started up. ***
com.apple.launchd 1   com.apple.launchd 1   *** Verbose boot, will log to /dev/console. ***
Running fsck on the boot volume...
** /dev/rdisk0s2 (NO WRITE)
** Root file system
   Executing FSCK_HFS (version diskdev_cmds-540.1~25).
BootCacheControl: UNable to open /Var/db/BootCache.playlist:2 No such file or directory
launchctl:Dubious permissions on file (skipping): /Library/LaunchDaemons
launchctl:Dubious permissions on file (skipping): /System/Library/LaunchDaemons
Any help or suggestions on what to do next would be welcomed.
I am in the middle of the Atlantick, stuck with a brand new, non working Apple MacBook Pro.
Best regards
Sergio Ramos

Reinstalling MacOS does NOT fix the problem for me. I'm still searching a solution !
Bernard

Help! /var/db/BootCaches.playlist 2:no such file or directory appeared; unable to start up

I use a MacBook Pro, Mid-2009 version.
My problem started when I tried tweaking some system files via Terminal when I could no longer use Candy Bar for Mavericks. I followed the instructions here http://idevicedailys.com/os-x/howto-use-candybar-os-x-mavericks/ I was quite successful but not all of my icons changed so I downloaded the 10.9 patch for Candybar. The fix did not work, so I tried using the sudo nano /System/Library/CoreServices/SystemVersion.plist command again. Afterwards, I tried opening Candybar, but it would no longer open. I then restarted my Macbook, but it would no longer load into the desktop. What happens is that after loading, the cursor would show up, the screen would blink, and then the loading icon (the gray rotating thing) would show up again, and then the cursor appears. This happens again and again. At some point, the loading icon would just freeze.
I tried rebooting to safe mode, but it will not work. /var/db/BootCaches.playlist 2 cannot be found I tried accessing Terminal through the Startup Disk screen (the one you get to when you press cmd + r during reboot) but the sudo nano commands won't work anymore. Also, instead of nano, what I see in my Terminal is 'bash'
Is there still hope for my mac?
Help is very much appreciated!

Do a backup. Boot to the Recovery Volume (command - R on a restart or hold down the option key during a restart and select Recovery Volume). Run Disk Utility Verify/Repair and Repair Permissions until you get no errors. Then reinstall the OS.
OS X Recovery
OS X Recovery (2)

Help: upon safe boot, got following message: BootCacheControl: Unable to open /Var/db/BootCache.playlist:2 No such file or directory

Mac Book Pro, late 2011. Purchased in a department store in Mexico.
Was running ok for several days after I purchased it.
Had some software installed and memory upgraded from 4 to 8Gb.
Suddenly at start up, got a gray screen with a spinning wheel and never boot.
Followed advise from http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2570 and performed a safe boot. (hold Shift-Command-V during startup instead of just Shift).
The boot sequence starts then stops and nothing happens. these are the last lines of the boot sequence.
BSD root: disk0s2, major 14, minor 2
Kernel is LP64
com.apple.launchd 1   com.apple.launchd 1   *** launchd[1] has started up. ***
com.apple.launchd 1   com.apple.launchd 1   *** Verbose boot, will log to /dev/console. ***
Running fsck on the boot volume...
** /dev/rdisk0s2 (NO WRITE)
** Root file system
   Executing FSCK_HFS (version diskdev_cmds-540.1~25).
BootCacheControl: Unable to open /Var/db/BootCache.playlist:2 No such file or directory
launchctl:Dubious permissions on file (skipping): /Library/LaunchDaemons
launchctl:Dubious permissions on file (skipping): /System/Library/LaunchDaemons
For what little experience I have on Unix systems, it has to do with the libraries which cannot be launched...
Any ideas, solutions, suggestions are welcomed.
Cheers.
Dipbaja

Boot into Recovery (command-R at startup), launch Disk Utility, select your startup volume, and run Repair Permissions. Then reboot as usual.

Please help, bootcache.playlist error, impossible to boot

Hi all,
My iMac (Intel, Mavericks) freezes during startup,(gray screen with the apple, and the spinning circle).
So, in order to find the origin of this blockage, I booted in "verbose" mode (cmd+v), and I found the following error:
BootCacheControl: could not unlink playlist /var/db/BootCache.playlist: Read-only file system
launch_msg("SetUserEnvironment"): Socket is not connected
launch_msg("SetUserEnvironment"): Socket is not connected
launch_msg(): Socket is not connected
I need expert help because I do not know what to do ...
Is it possible to reset this file ?
I hope someone can help me, thank you..!

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 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.”
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. Use the working Mac to copy the data to another drive. This technique won't work with USB, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth.
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
Sometimes a boot failure can be resolved by resetting the NVRAM.
Step 3
If you use a wireless keyboard, trackpad, or mouse, replace or recharge the batteries. The battery level shown in the Bluetooth menu item may not be accurate.
Step 4
If there's a built-in optical drive, a disc may be stuck in it. Follow these instructions to eject it.
Step 5
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.
If you've booted from an external storage device, make sure that your internal boot volume is selected in the Startup Disk pane of System Preferences.
Step 6
Boot in safe mode. Note: If FileVault is enabled, or if a firmware password is set, or if the boot volume is a software RAID, you can’t do this. Post for further instructions.
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.
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 corrupt and the drive is probably malfunctioning. In that case, go to Step 6.
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 7
Launch Disk Utility in Recovery mode (see Step 1.) 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 may produce. Look for the line "Permissions repair complete" at the end of the output. Then reboot as usual.
Step 8
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.
Step 9
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 Time Machine or other backup.
Step 10
This step applies only to older Macs (not current models) that have a logic-board ("PRAM") battery. 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 boot 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 11
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.

BootCacheControl: Unable to open /Var/db/BootCache.playlist:2 No such file or directory

Hi,
we are unable to boot our mac mini running the latest version of Mountain Lion (10.8.2); to try to fix we performed severals permision disk check using the recovery system (Restart your Mac and hold down the Command key and the R key [Command-R], and keep holding them until the Apple icon appears) as noted on http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4718.
The boot sequence starts then stops and nothing happens. these are the last lines of the boot sequence.
(... omissis ...)
Kernel is LP64
com.apple.launchd     1     com.apple.launchd     1     *** launchd[1] has started up. ***
com.apple.launchd     1     com.apple.launchd     1     *** Verbose boot, will log to /dev/console. ***
com.apple.launchd     1     com.apple.launchd     1     *** Shutdown loggin is enabled. ***
Running fsck on the boot volume...
** /dev/rdisk0s2 (NO WRITE)
** Root file system
   Executing FSCK_HFS (version diskdev_cmds-557-393).
FIPS USER Space POST: Integrity test success!
(... omissis ...)
FIPS USER Space POST Success!
BootCacheControl: Unable to open /Var/db/BootCache.playlist:2 No such file or directory
As usual, any ideas, solutions, suggestions are welcomed.
Thank you in advance for your help and support
-- federico

Boot into Recovery by holding down the key combination command-R at the startup chime. Release the keys when you see a gray screen with a spinning dial.
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.
When the OS X Utilities screen appears, follow the prompts to reinstall the OS. You don't need to erase the boot volume, and you won't need your backup unless something goes wrong. If your Mac was upgraded from an older version of OS X, you’ll need the Apple ID and password you used to upgrade, so make a note of those before you begin.

Question about the gray screen and wheel that keeps on spinning !

After an update (I now have Mavericks 10.9.3) Safari froze. I tryed starting it again, nothing.
I restarted my computer (imac early 2008) and got a gray screen,an apple logo and a spinning pin wheel!
I could get into Disk Utility to 'verify and repair', everything was apparently OK.
I saw a letter from a few years ago (where it was from, i can'nt remember) it suggested restarting with cammand+v
to show where the fault was, it then scolled down a lot of witten material and stoppe at :-    'Bootcachecontrol : unable
to open/var/db/Boot cache. Playlist :2 no such file or dirictory.     I have no idea what it means !
Can anybody help me ? I miss my Mac !
Best Wishes from Jonathan Sandberg.

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 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 you use a wireless keyboard, trackpad, or mouse, replace or recharge the batteries. The battery level shown in the Bluetooth menu item may not be accurate.
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, or if a firmware password is set, or if the startup volume is a Fusion Drive or 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.

Gray screen, spinning wheel and nothing else

Man if it ain't one thing its another lol. just recently bought a early 2009 Mac Pro with 12 GB memory, 4 hard drives (total 8TB) stock graphics board and one superdrive (stock) and one pioneer Blue ray drive installed, the system had been running fine until I rebooted last night. I had added the program pathfinder and it was running fine before rebooting so that is the only thing I can think of that I have added to the system since the last reboot. anyway now all i get is the gray screen with the apple in the center and the spinning wheel near the bottom of the screen. I even tried rebooting holding down the "shift" key and the only difference is I got a hollow bar centered near the bottom along with the apple and spinning wheel above it. it started filling in the center and then half way through it went away and once again I was where I was with all the other attempts to boot the system. Can someone give me an idea of what is causing the problem and some possible solutions.
Thank you
Ed

OK I've tried rebooting using the shift key, no luck same gray screen and spinning wheel
tried booting using the cmd+shift= V keys, nothing at all
then I tried cmd+shift= V to watch what was happening dfuring a safe reboot and it came to the line
unable to open: /var/db/bootcache.playlist: 2 no such file or directory
then nothing. I have also disconnected all usb externals while doing all this.
I'm beginning to think that the new (boot) hard drive is having an issue and am trying to figure out how to boot from an external back up of the boot drive.

/var/db/BootCaches.playlist 2:no such file or directory appeared after Mavericks update

Hi all,
I have tried to upgrade my iMac 2009 running 10.6.8, 3.06GHZ, 4GB ram machine and hit upon a grey load up screen and nothing more after the update. I have worked back through everything I could find in these forums as the bellow:
1. Completed all of the grey screen advice from Apple bar a full wipe and rebuild, but have left this as the last resort
2. Launched again from back up and reloaded Mavericks only to get the same problem
3. Tried to launch in Safe mode and the computer quits half way through the status bar and will not launch into Safe mode
4. Corrected all disk permissions in Disk Utility
5. Checked my EFI update and am running the latest version
6. Tried resetting the NVRAM but computer will not work from the keyboard shortcuts
7. Run Verbose mode where I could see the problem with loading Bootcache which produces the following script /var/db/BootCaches.playlist 2:no such file or directory
8. Created a carbon copy backup also and am now considering a full wipe
I have updated to Mac Book Airs in the last few weeks, and after the computer auto restarts the program then moves to a new processing screen where it finalises writing script, this point never happened on my iMac and after it restarted it just hung on the grey screen with the Apple logo. It is definitely in the Bootcache problem as this is one of te last processes and matches the amount of time the computer starts working before it heads into the grey hanging screen of death. This is definitely something that mavericks script alters, moves or deletes as I have seen this problem littered across the forums as well as the in ability for Safe mode now to work.
I am back up and running 10.6.8 at current and downloading a new version of Mavericks (more fool me). It could be a drive corruption but am unsure, but the computer s working well on 10.6.8 and has done for a very long time. Has anyone solved this yet, as t s driving me crazy!!!
Any Jedi's out there, I would be most indebted to you!
M-A

Hi all,
Well I thought I would re-post as have found a solution.
I created a bootable USB version of Mavericks using this article here which was very informative: http://www.techrepublic.com/blog/apple-in-the-enterprise/how-to-create-a-bootabl e-usb-to-install-os-x-mavericks/
I then rebooted via it, this again caused the grey screen of death as I thought it would, from reboot to reach this screen I held the Option Button. Before I did this I took a cloned copy of the hard drive and also backed-up again to Time Machine. Have over 470GB of music, photos and films, so yes was being a little over precautious.
I then rebooted and went into recovery mode (Cmd and R) and erased my hard drive.
I then rebooted once again but booted from my Mavericks USB version now with a clean hard drive, and set-up completed as expected with no problems. Its working beautifully at current but am yet to migrate files using the migration assistant, but once I have the new Mavericks version of my machine backed-up I will complete the migration, fingers crossed!
A few days of pain, but was a good learning experience. It was more difficult than it should be to created a bootable USB, but luckily I had another mac to work on and a decent back-up drive.
Hopefully helpful to others!
M-A

IMac 8.1 3.06 GHz w/6 MB Ram, Lion and dead HD? all I get is "Gray Screen w/wirlie gig" but now for a new twist a circle with a diagonal line, like don't go. Is this a DEAD HD?

          I have a iMac 8.1 3.06 GHz w/6 MB Ram, and was running Mac OS X 10.6.8. My 500 GB WD5000AAKS was about 90% full. I had an issue with the admin password, it would not accept any of my known passwords. I ran for a while on the fingerprint reader I had, we have two users on the machine in our home. I tried many attempts to fix this problem without success I came up with a plan. That plan was a new HD, used a 2TB Samsung. plan worked like a charm. Installed a 4 GB Ram Chip and the new Samsung, formatted it, loaded Snow Leopard, and loaded what was on my Time Machine backup all was good.
          This was early July, then Lion was available I was happy with what I had, I had 1.450 TB of free space. So, what the heck, lets spring for Lion, that even went well for a not even 2 weeks, enough that I had several Time Machine backups.
           Then monitor goes flash, flash then I try a re-boot same gray screen with whirlie gig that I had when the the HD in my MacBook Pro died. Put the old 500 GB WD back in and all was fine, ran for a day. It was OK except back to no password and full. Went down to my local computer shops here in Rayong Thailand and sprung for a New 2 TB WDXXX, put that in, used my Snow Leopard disk to format and load OS X 10.6.8. I though that all was good, the load from Time Machine was slow and the time remaining was changing all the time, took about 3 hrs for about 300 MB that where on the LaCie.
          Now I have a password issue, however it asks for a password reset that it will NOT take and I don’t even get that now. All I get is the infamous “Gray Screen w/wirlie gig” but now for a new twist a circle with a diagonal line, like don’t go. Is this a DEAD HD? I plan to re-install the old 500GB just to systems check and if all is well I will take the “NEW” 2 TB WD back for replacement. I am thinking that I should put the new HD in and format and load Snow Leopard then up date to Lion then do my Time Machine backup. The only problem is does the circle with the diagonal line mean something more? If so how does one recover Lion with no disk if that is what I need to do. Yes, I have tried control “R” on boot, nadda, no response, “mai dee” no good. Ideas, please.

I have an iMac 8, 1 that I upgraded Leopard to Snow Leopard. It was totally updated with the latest from Apple when I bought and tried installing Lion. The upgrade failed, shot my OS and I couldn't boot. Had the constant spinner on a grey screen.. did a format of the drive, hdd repair and everything came back clean... got back to Snow Leopard and all the updates on it again and then retried the Lion thing... same bs... dead duck. Crashed my system one too many times. I can't see where a few small changes, mostly app related can be classified as an OS upgrade and is not compatible with my iMac. I have the stuff running on my Mac Pro but have yet to notice anything impressive. I've always used F3 and really didn't require Mission Control. Just open you app folder for launch pad... duh? I use the hot corners anyhow. As far as Safari is concerned... as a power user, Apple missed the boat on that for me.. full screen etc.. Wow. I don't like the new Mail either..
As you can see/read, I'm less than impressed with this release from Apple but I own so many of their products that I will have to put up with it for now... somehow the MS logo should apply to this release Steve.

My Mac is producing gray screen at startup and crashes. I'm afraid that everything explode and disappear, and can no longer connect and work with my Mac. Can anyone help ?? Thank you.

My Mac is producing gray screen at startup and crashes. I'm afraid that everything explode and disappear, and can no longer connect and work with my Mac. Can anyone help ??
Thank you.
Problem description:
gray screen at startup and crashes
EtreCheck version: 2.1.1 (104)
Report generated 6 de dezembro de 2014 13:29:43 BRST
Hardware Information: ℹ️
MacBook Pro (15-inch, Early 2011) (Verified)
MacBook Pro - model: MacBookPro8,2
1 2.2 GHz Intel Core i7 CPU: 4-core
4 GB RAM
BANK 0/DIMM0
2 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok
BANK 1/DIMM0
2 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok
Bluetooth: Old - Handoff/Airdrop2 not supported
Wireless: en1: 802.11 a/b/g/n
Video Information: ℹ️
AMD Radeon HD 6750M - VRAM: 1024 MB
Color LCD 1440 x 900
Intel HD Graphics 3000 - VRAM: 384 MB
System Software: ℹ️
Mac OS X 10.6.8 (10K549) - Uptime: 0:31:56
Disk Information: ℹ️
TOSHIBA MK7559GSXF disk0 : (698,64 GB)
S.M.A.R.T. Status: Verified
- (disk0s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB
Macintosh HD (disk0s2) / : 749.81 GB (378.70 GB free)
MATSHITADVD-R   UJ-898
USB Information: ℹ️
Apple Inc. FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)
Apple Inc. Apple Internal Keyboard / Trackpad
Apple Inc. BRCM2070 Hub
Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller
Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver
Thunderbolt Information: ℹ️
Apple, Inc. MacBook Pro
Problem System Launch Daemons: ℹ️
[not loaded] org.samba.winbindd.plist [Support]
Launch Agents: ℹ️
[running] com.babylon.activation.plist [Support]
[loaded] com.divx.dms.agent.plist [Support]
[loaded] com.divx.update.agent.plist [Support]
[loaded] com.hp.help.tocgenerator.plist [Support]
Launch Daemons: ℹ️
[loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist [Support]
[loaded] com.microsoft.office.licensing.helper.plist [Support]
User Launch Agents: ℹ️
[loaded] com.adobe.ARM.[...].plist [Support]
[loaded] com.facebook.videochat.[redacted].plist [Support]
[loaded] com.google.keystone.agent.plist [Support]
[running] com.skype.c2c_service.plist [Support]
User Login Items: ℹ️
iTunesHelper UNKNOWNHidden (missing value)
FaceboxPro Aplicativo (/Applications/FaceboxPro.app)
Safari Aplicativo (/Applications/Safari.app)
Octoshape Aplicativo (/Users/[redacted]/Library/Octoshape/Octoshape.app)
uTorrent UNKNOWN (missing value)
Dropbox Aplicativo (/Applications/Dropbox.app)
Inkscape UNKNOWN (missing value)
RealPlayer Downloader Agent Aplicativo (/Users/[redacted]/Library/Application Support/RealNetworks/RealPlayer Downloader Agent.app)
HP Product Research Aplicativo (/Library/Application Support/Hewlett-Packard/Customer Participation/HP Product Research.app)
Internet Plug-ins: ℹ️
OVSHelper: Version: 1.1 [Support]
Google Earth Web Plug-in: Version: 7.1 [Support]
Flip4Mac WMV Plugin: Version: 2.4.4.2 [Support]
RealPlayer Plugin: Version: Unknown [Support]
AdobePDFViewerNPAPI: Version: 10.1.12 [Support]
FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 15.0.0.239 - SDK 10.6 [Support]
DivX Web Player: Version: 3.1.1.9 - SDK 10.6 [Support]
Silverlight: Version: 5.1.30514.0 - SDK 10.6 [Support]
Flash Player: Version: 15.0.0.239 - SDK 10.6 [Support]
QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.6.6
iPhotoPhotocast: Version: 7.0 - SDK 10.7
SharePointBrowserPlugin: Version: 14.1.2 [Support]
AdobePDFViewer: Version: 10.1.12 [Support]
JavaAppletPlugin: Version: 13.9.8 - SDK 10.6 Check version
User internet Plug-ins: ℹ️
npsf_uni: Version: sf 3.3.2.1 [Support]
OctoshapeWeb: Version: 1.0 - SDK 10.8 [Support]
Safari Extensions: ℹ️
Searchme Adware! [Remove]
Skype Click to Call
iSkyDeluxe
TED HTML5 video playe
Audio Plug-ins: ℹ️
iSightAudio: Version: 7.6.6
3rd Party Preference Panes: ℹ️
Flash Player [Support]
Flip4Mac WMV [Support]
Skype Click to Call [Support]
Tuxera NTFS [Support]
Time Machine: ℹ️
Time Machine information requires OS X 10.7 "Lion" or later.
Top Processes by CPU: ℹ️
      5% WindowServer
      4% DivXMediaServer
      1% fontd
      0% RealPlayer Downloader Agent
      0% WebProcess
Top Processes by Memory: ℹ️
296 MB WebProcess
202 MB FaceboxPro
185 MB Microsoft PowerPoint
163 MB Safari
137 MB Microsoft Word
Virtual Memory Information: ℹ️
843 MB Free RAM
1.76 GB Active RAM
706 MB Inactive RAM
978 MB Wired RAM
577 MB Page-ins
0 B Page-outs
Diagnostics Information: ℹ️
Dec 6, 2014, 12:58:24 PM Self test - passed
Dec 6, 2014, 12:23:11 PM Kernel_2014-12-06-122311_MacBook-Pro-de-...panic [Details]
Dec 6, 2014, 07:08:28 AM PluginProcess_2014-12-06-070828_MacBook-...crash
Dec 5, 2014, 05:24:39 PM WebProcess_2014-12-05-172439_MacBook-Pro...crash
Dec 5, 2014, 10:45:59 AM Kernel_2014-12-05-104559_MacBook-Pro-de-...panic [Details]
Dec 5, 2014, 10:18:14 AM Kernel_2014-12-05-101814_MacBook-Pro-de-...panic [Details]
Dec 3, 2014, 08:28:35 PM locationd_2014-12-03-202835_localhost.crash
Dec 5, 2014, 10:25:44 AM Kernel_2014-12-05-102544_MacBook-Pro-de-...panic [Details]

Startup - Gray, Blue or White screen at boot, w/spinner/progress bar
Startup Issues - Resolve
Startup Issues - Resolve (2)

Gray Screen Bootcache.playlist missing

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