Grey screen / apple logo / spinning gear

Hi problem as above....
Disconnected all items
Tried the install cd
Nothing
Computer sounds like it is trying to boot but won't
Tried to boot from disc
Currently using my touch to type this?
Help!
Alan (Ireland)

Edit: Oops. I just realized this post was 2 months old. I suspect you have moved on.
This sounds similar to a problem I was having this morning. It would be really useful if you could have a look at the system log (system.log) for any more clues. You can try to boot the machine into Single user mode to do this. I believe the key sequence during boot for this is to hold down the Command and S keys.
Once you find yourself at the "root" prompt, you should find the system.log at
/private/log/system.log
You can easily view the log without having to navigate from where you are with the following command:
cat /private/log/system.log | less
That vertical symbol before the "less" is the "pipe" symbol. You can see it on you backslash key.
Once the log comes up, you can navigate forward and backward through the log with the "F" and "B" keys. To exit, use the "Q" key.
The log can be confusing to read, but in my case I was able to see a section of errors that were repeating over and over.
In the end, for me, it turned out to be a permissions issue. Somehow, the root directory "/" had its permissions corrupted which made it so that one of the boot processes was unable to access a required file.
At this point I really don't want to give you a bunch of commands to try if you're not familiar with the system. I don't have enough information anyway. I'm just offering you another place to look for the problem. One thing that makes me think it's permissions related is that you said you can't reinstall the system. Neither could I, though I was attempting an archive and reinstall, not erase and reinstall. For the erase option, I wouldn't think permissions should come into play.
To reboot from the prompt, type: shutdown -r now
Good luck,
Kevin
Message was edited by: kpowick

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how did you get on did you sort it?would like to read some feedback on this subject thanks

Generally that indicates a serious problem with the hard drive.
Power down, hold alt key at power on, what shows as boot choices?
"Try Disk Utility
1. Insert the Mac OS X Install disc, then restart the computer while holding the C key.
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*Important: Do not click Continue in the first screen of the Installer. If you do, you must restart from the disc again to access Disk Utility.*
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5. Click Repair Disk, (not Repair Permissions). Disk Utility checks and repairs the disk."
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106214
Report what happens or doesn't please.

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Hi, I wonder if anyone can help me?
I have a MacBook pro snow leopard 10.6 It won't start up it freezes on the white/grey screen with the apple logo. I have tried it in safe mode it has the bar underneath as it loads up to half way it goes off & the spinning wheel just carries on spinning forever!
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If it won't boot off the disk with just the option/alt key held down, that means firmware has been wiped if all you see is a white screen.
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Need machine/operating system identification help?
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https://support.apple.com/kb/HT1159#MacBook_Pro   https://support.apple.com/kb/HT1349
https://support.apple.com/kb/HT1559   http://www.everymac.com/ultimate-mac-lookup/
If the computer just ignores the at boot key commands (without showing the firmware password request) especially if you boot to a white screen (no initial boot screen), it might be your EFI firmware stored in NVRAM memory has been wiped. EFI is like a powerful operating system type firmware that loads before OS X or Windows in Bootcamp loads, programs can be installed in EFI, even malicious ones. (why it's very important to trust the source of your instaled software)
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https://support.apple.com/kb/HT1237
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https://support.apple.com/kb/HT2213
..Step by Step to fix your Mac

TS3148 my mackbook air starts up with a persistent grey screen, apple logo and spinning gear

my mackbook air starts up with a persistent grey screen, apple logo and a spinning gear. It will not show the login window

Press and hold the power button down to force a hardware shutdown (emergency use only!)
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Emergency backup procedure
Drag and drop copy your users file folders (music, pictures, documents etc) to a regular external powered drive as soon as possible.
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Hi there. First time posting - usually either apple support website or previous threads solve the problem. Alas, not this time.
I have an intel imac - can't tell you much about the details as I can't get any info out of it. I installed snow leopard about a year ago - no issue since then other than occassionally the screen goes black but nothing major.
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Thanks in advance, hope you geniuses out there can help me out.
abcvic

Thanks for the reply.
I had tried to reboot with the original disc but it never worked. The imac just spits out the disc and eventually, I am back at the grey screen, apple logo and wheel spinning. I tried it one more time following your reply. Same outcome.
My instal disc 1 had the instruction re hardware test which I have also tried with no success. I can't remember if it came with a disc 2 though I seem to have a couple - I also have a macbook and that seems to be still alive even if it is slow.
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Any other suggestions welcomed or I am off to Apple tomorrow.

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IMac g5 stalls on grey apple logo spinning gear screen, help please.

I hope someone can help, please.
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Hi ds,
Sorry to hear you're having such trouble!
Unfortunately, the best thing you can do at this point is reinstall Leopard (and then attempt to install the combo updater, too). If you don't have a backup of your machine, you could boot it into Target Disk Mode (by holding down T at startup) and then attach it via FireWire to another computer to salvage your files.
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Spinning spokes, grey screen, apple logo

I know there are other posts on this but I have done what those suggested and I am getting weird results. This is a co-worker's computer. He ran software updates last night and then this morning he is stuck on this screen. This is what I have done:
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How can I re-start when stuck on apple logo/spinning gear page for HOURS???

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If you are uploading anything it should not affect your machine unless your computer coincidentally failed while doing so. I am going to assume you mean you downloaded 12 updates.
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Grey screen / apple logo / spinning gear

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