Grey Screen On Startup With 3 Flashing Indicator LED

I have a old MBP which unable to load to my bootcamp menu sometimes when i tried to hold the option button. Instead of loading to the startup disk menu, it gave me a grey screen with 3x flashing indicator LED. Any help appreciated.

Need details about your MBP so the knowledgeable users can help you. Please correct your current system info by supplying details about your computer & system in the +"My Settings"+ preferences located----->

Similar Messages

Grey screen on startup with folder and question mark

My computer was already running slow but after I downloaded, edited and burned a home movie to disk, my screen froze with the screen locked black. So I force shutdown my Mac holding the power button but when I booted back up the screen turned white and instead if the usual apple, a blinking folder with a question mark comes on. I read other discussions on it and tried the solutions and I've given up and want to reinstall with my install disks so i put install disk one in and try to erase and reinstall, it asks for a destination to install the software, but my "Macintosh HD" is not shown as an option to write to, only my partitoned portable hard drive. I have all my files on the hard drive backed up on time machine so I don't mind erasing and restarting.
Please help

Have you tried running repair disk from the install dvd. Follow the article below and see if that helps
http://support.apple.com/kb/ts1440

TS2570 Grey screen on startup...

I am using 2008 White Macbook with OSX lion running on it. Recently I tried to update the OS and then I started getting a folder with question mark on startup. After that I started getting a continuous grey screen on startup. I tried various options like command + option + P + Q, then Command + R, etc. but did not get any response. After that I pressed option key on startup then there was a response. A lock icon appeared on screen asking for a password. I tried the MacBook password and it is not taking that password as well. I tired all the passwords I remembered but nothing worked. My cd drive is not working and also I do not have original OS disks with me now. The apple service centre told that they can resolbe it as it is a vintage model. I called apple care but they are asking 29 $ for a call Which is ridiculou. Pl. help me

Does the lock screen look like the one on this page…
http://osxdaily.com/2014/01/06/set-firmware-password-mac/
That is an EFI password - it stops the firmware accepting ANY startup commands so you cannot boot from other media or use the startup keys to get into recovery mode, single user mode, target disk mode etc.
If you can't remember the password you will need to remove the battery & leave it unpowered for a few days. If you are lucky it will reset. If it doesn't reset you need to open the case & remove the internal clock battery. Not something anyone should do without the skills to work on electronics - take it to an Apple Store or an Apple approved service centre would be my advice.
It is also possible that you have Filevault password instead of an EFI password - did you need to enter a password after every reboot before the OS failed. This shouldn't be confused with a normal user account password.
If you have Filevault enabled you can still try booting into recovery mode, but you must enter the password to repair the boot disk.
The 'question mark folder' means it cannot find an OS that is bootable - it need to be repaired but you can't get to recovery mode without the EFI password - a catch 22 situation.
Since you have no install disks or other ways to boot it seems you are probably not going to be able to fix this. If you have another Mac you could try to download 10.7 & create a USB install disk & use that to try to repair the Mac, but it seems unlikely since it appears to have a firmware password.

I have a grey screen at startup and cannot go any farther.

Hello,
My problem is similar to other folks problems. At startup I first experienced a flashing file folder with a question mark. After I tried to shut down and reboot I experienced a grey screen. After another shutdown and reboot I experienced an apple symbol with a spinning sphere below. I rebooted again after several minutes of watching this and no action. Now, I just recieve a grey screen.
I have tried some of the support tips with no success. Can anyone assist in walking me through a sure fire method(s) of getting my macbookpro up and running again.
I'm running on snow leopard. Macbook pro circa 2006..
Thanks

Here's a great Apple doc. on the subject.
DALE

Mac mini and grey screen at startup

ok, so last night we come home and my mom tries to turn on her mac mini, but it just freezes on the grey screen in the startup process. i tried booting from the disk but it didnt work (no the disk is stuck in the drive cuz i cant start up the computer to eject it) i tried booting into a version of osx on my external hd by holding down option at startup, but nothing showed up not even the internal hd. none of the startup commands work (firewire target,single user,safe mode, holding mouse to eject cd) none of those worked, any ideas?

First off, why can't you insert the original install
DVD that came with your mini?
The drive won't take the disk at all. I tried other disks as well, and it won't take any of them in either. The drive is pretty much non-responsive.
Secondly, if you leave the mini on the grey screen,
what happens? Does it keep going however long you
leave it, or does it show a flashing questions mark
after maybe 15 minutes?
It remains on the gray screen for however long I leave it on.
Thirdly, since the mini was running for a couple of
days after the 10.4.8 update, the problem seems
unlikely to have been caused by that. What were you
doing the last time the mini was in use? How did you
shut it down?
Browsing the web, email, and listening to music for the most part. I put it to sleep for the night, and then when I came back the next day to activate it, it froze on me. Pointer wouldn't move, it was locked up. First time that has ever happened to me. After that I ended up turning it off by holding the power button down for five seconds. When I turned it back on, I got the gray screen.
Fourthly, what model of mac mini is it?
It's the original basic model. 1.25 G4 processor, 40 GB hard drive, and 256 MB RAM.
Mac Mini Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Grey screen every time with MBP Retina

Hi,
I got a strange behaviour of my MBP Retina. After upgrading to Mountain Lion it may not start. I have a grey screen, Safe Mode doesn't pass. Restore works, MBP boots OK then, can even restart and shutdown OK few times. But if the shut down period is long (more than 3-4h) I got a grey screen again.
I tried all the tricks with premissions restore, resetting PRAM, uninstalled Parallels and Little snitch, run Onyx for Mountai Lion and cleaned everything, everything from startup apps list. Nothing happens. I got a grey screen again, almost every day, then re-install the OS, and it works OK until next shutdown. SSD is OK, MBP has no hangs/freezes, works great after OSX reinstall, then again - grey screen. Verbose Mode hangs after a list of "FIPS USER Space Post" - all success, no mistakes. Before there is a message "Kernel is LP64", and the a string "/dev/rdisk0s2 (NO WRITE)"
Please, give some advise!

Sorry to bring this topic again, i have the same exact symptoms in here, and i suspect that its a third party aswell bugging me around doign this grey screens. ( had this for 3 days now after shutting down it gets back to grey screen but after i do a couple of stuff i can get it back to work. )
I already have the latest firmwares etc and updates i would say.
heres the etrecheck scan. ( ignore wow open )
Hardware Information:
    iMac (27-inch, Late 2012)
    iMac - model: iMac13,2
    1 2.9 GHz Intel Core i5 CPU: 4 cores
    16 GB RAM
Video Information:
    NVIDIA GeForce GTX 660M - VRAM: 512 MB
System Software:
    OS X 10.9.1 (13B42) - Uptime: 0 days 2:12:19
Disk Information:
    APPLE HDD WDC WD10EALX-408EA0 disk1 : (1 TB)
        EFI (disk1s1) <not mounted>: 209,7 MB
        disk1s2 (disk1s2) <not mounted>: 937,52 GB
        Recovery HD (disk1s3) <not mounted>: 650 MB
        BOOTCAMP (disk1s4) /Volumes/BOOTCAMP: 61,83 GB (16,99 GB free)
    APPLE SSD SM128E disk0 : (121,33 GB)
        EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted>: 209,7 MB
        disk0s2 (disk0s2) <not mounted>: 120,99 GB
        Boot OS X (disk0s3) <not mounted>: 134,2 MB
USB Information:
    Razer Razer Lachesis
    C-Media Electronics Inc.       USB PnP Sound Device
    Apple Inc. FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)
    Apple Inc. BRCM20702 Hub
        Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller
FireWire Information:
Thunderbolt Information:
    Apple Inc. thunderbolt_bus
Kernel Extensions:
    com.steelseries.BoardListener    (8.39 - SDK 10.6)
    com.tuxera.filesystems.tufsfs.fusefs_txantfs    (2012.4.17)
Problem System Launch Daemons:
Problem System Launch Agents:
Launch Daemons:
    [System]    at.obdev.littlesnitchd.plist 3rd-Party support link
    [System]    com.adobe.fpsaud.plist 3rd-Party support link
    [System]    com.adobe.SwitchBoard.plist 3rd-Party support link
    [System]    com.oracle.java.Helper-Tool.plist 3rd-Party support link
Launch Agents:
    [System]    at.obdev.LittleSnitchNetworkMonitor.plist 3rd-Party support link
    [System]    at.obdev.LittleSnitchUIAgent.plist 3rd-Party support link
    [System]    com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist 3rd-Party support link
    [System]    com.oracle.java.Java-Updater.plist 3rd-Party support link
User Launch Agents:
    [not loaded]    com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist 3rd-Party support link
    [not loaded]    com.google.keystone.agent.plist 3rd-Party support link
    [not loaded]    com.spotify.webhelper.plist 3rd-Party support link
    [not loaded]    com.valvesoftware.steamclean.plist 3rd-Party support link
User Login Items:
    None
Internet Plug-ins:
    FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 12.0.0.38 - SDK 10.6 3rd-Party support link
    AdobePDFViewer: Version: 10.1.1 3rd-Party support link
    Flash Player: Version: 12.0.0.38 - SDK 10.6 3rd-Party support link
    JavaAppletPlugin: Version: Java 7 Update 51 3rd-Party support link
    QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.7.3
    Default Browser: Version: 537 - SDK 10.9
Audio Plug-ins:
    BluetoothAudioPlugIn: Version: 1.0 - SDK 10.9
    AirPlay: Version: 1.9 - SDK 10.9
    AppleAVBAudio: Version: 2.0.0 - SDK 10.9
    iSightAudio: Version: 7.7.3 - SDK 10.9
3rd Party Preference Panes:
    Flash Player 3rd-Party support link
    Java 3rd-Party support link
Bad Fonts:
    None
Old Applications:
    Install Spotify:    Version: 1.0 - SDK 10.5 3rd-Party support link
        /Users/[redacted]/Downloads/Install Spotify.app
    SA Color Finesse 3 UI:    Version: 3.0.6(275) - SDK 10.5 3rd-Party support link
        /Applications/Adobe After Effects CS6/Plug-ins/Effects/Synthetic Aperture/(CF3 Support)/SA Color Finesse 3 UI.app
    dynamiclinkmanager:    Version: 6.0.0 - SDK 10.5 3rd-Party support link
        /Library/Application Support/Adobe/Common/dynamiclink/CS6/dynamiclinkmanager.app
    dynamiclinkmediaserver:    Version: 6.0.0 - SDK 10.5 3rd-Party support link
        /Library/Application Support/Adobe/Common/dynamiclinkmediaserver/1.0/dynamiclinkmediaserver.app
Time Machine:
    Time Machine not configured!
Top Processes by CPU:
       116%    installd
        38%    World of Warcraft
        10%    WindowServer
         7%    firefox
         3%    storeagent
Top Processes by Memory:
    1.28 GB    World of Warcraft
    770 MB    firefox
    239 MB    installd
    164 MB    mds_stores
    164 MB    com.apple.IconServicesAgent
Virtual Memory Information:
    4.18 GB    Free RAM
    5.21 GB    Active RAM
    5.03 GB    Inactive RAM
    1.58 GB    Wired RAM
    656 MB    Page-ins
    0 B    Page-outs

Trying to install snow leopard on my Macbook Pro. After already having problems with Grey screen, blinking file with a question mark, etc. Computer now says that one of the hard drives is failing.The "hitachi" drive says it's failing in disc utility.

o.k. So, I've been tinkering with several "self help" fixes for several days now with no positive results. I'll explain my initial problems and then end with my most current situation. In hopes that someone out there will have a good suggestion or possibly remedy for the issues i'm facing
First, my problem started after my wife played a game on my macbook pro and the computer froze. She went into a panic and decided to shut down via power button. When computer restarted she got the blinking file/grey screen and that problem continued for a couple of days before I began using steps from various support topics from apple concerning the grey screen/blinking file folder.
Ultimately, yesterday I decided to erase my Macintosh HD file as one tip suggested. Following the brief online and on screen (via the process) tips that were there. Once that was completed I attempted to reinstall snow leopard (my most current version on hand) into the pc.
At first, I thought this would work. It looked promising. But, after several hours the installation screen returned with failure. I attempted to repeat. And, even repair drives during this try and re-try process.
Now, today, one of the drives.. "hitachi..." states that it's failing and is in red letters with no ability to repair via the disc utility screen. The Macintosh HD drive shows that it's o.k. But, this drive is listed under the HItachi drive so I think that's where a problem might lay.
So, I guess my question really revolves around.. What if anything can I do to get the hitachi drive back up? (short of taking it to a repair facility and replacing.)
And, how on earth can i get my OSX back up to I have a laptop again.
Operating on a macbook pro here. It's my lifeline. Otherwise, I am using a Windows desktop that i'm not that fond of. lol
I'm trying to bring this 2006 laptop back to life. Trying to avoid a rather expensive repair or the purchase of a new laptop. Also expensive...
Any help would be appreciated.

Well, running on a 2006 model. I did not have a startup disc. Initially, it booted up on original software in 2006. Since then, I've upgraded to 10.6 via a box set. And, since then I think I popped it up to lion.
All I have on a disc is snow leopard. And, I can't get farther than the setup screen due to hard drive. I'm taking to a apple authorized repair store right now. We'll see what they tell me . I'm just going to weigh the cost of repair vs. buying new.
Another bad, stupid thing is I had no means of backing up my stuff. So, I might have lost things like music, vids, etc. we'll see if they can recover. If the cost is too much for repair I might just forget it and start over with a new system. Just not sure at this point.

OSX Lion, stuck on grey screen at startup w/ spinning gear.

i believe i have tried everything i could find, so any info is good.
about a week ago my 2009 macbook pro 15 inch stopped starting up, always going to a grey screen with the apple logo and spinning gear.
what i have done so far.
reset nvram
repair disk and disk permissions.
try startup with various combinations of periferials
i am obviously able to start into lion recovery, but my time machine backups are on the other side of the world.
when i do a safe boot if stops with two entrys of nstat_lookup_entry failed: 2
any help is much appreciated

You can do two things
1: Install Lion over itself via the Recovery, won't touch your files or most programs.
Any program has a kernel extension file in System/Library/Extensions folder, that will get kicked out. Thus those few programs won't work and require a reinstall of their software
2: Install Lion on a blank powered external Disk Utility > Erase with Zero + GUID OS X Extended Journaled formatted hard drive, hold the option key and boot from it, same named user, and then access your internal drive to recovery files, disconnect then do #1
 Cheat sheet to help diagnose and fix your Mac
https://discussions.apple.com/community/notebooks/macbook_pro?view=documents

Stuck on Grey Screen During Startup

I updated to Yosemite on Saturday and everything has been working fine, I have been able to shut down and startup as normal until today.
Last night I forced my Early 2011 MacBook Pro to shut down and today it will no longer get to the login screen.
I hear the chime, the Apple appears with the Yosemite status bar underneath, it takes a long time to get about halfway then both the Apple and status bar disappear leaving just a blank grey screen.
- I can get into Single User mode, using "fsck -fy" it reports that everything is OK.
- I can't get into Safe Mode.
- I have reset PRAM
- I have NOT reset SMC (is it worth a try?)
- I have a bootable Yosemite USB, holding option I can select that but instead of presenting the Utilities window it just brings up the Apple and status bar then grey screen. For some reason my WiFi network isn't in the list either. Also, the image of my hard drive that appears has a custom icon that I haven't used for at least 5 years, very odd indeed.
I'm at a loss, any help would be greatly appreciated.
NOTE
My left fan is faulty, I have ordered a new one online. I have been using SMCFanControl to monitor it, if the computer has been feeling hot I have been increasing the RPM for a minute to cool it just to be safe until the new fan arrives. Last night I increased the RPM and SMCFanControl became unresponsive which is why I forced the computer to shut down because I couldn't reduce the fan speed back to normal.

I am able to get into Internet Recovery Mode but eventually the globe disappears and it's right back to the Apple and status bar then grey screen again.
When holding Option only my hard drive shows, there is no recovery drive option.

Macbook Pro won't load past a grey screen on startup!

I apologise for what will most likely be an essay ahead.
I have a Macbook Pro (2.16ghz) that is just over three years old. It is running on Leopard with all the up to date patches / updates. Over the past week or so, it has been 'playing up' in the sense that the spinning loading icon would appear at random intervals and stay there for a good 20 to 30 seconds or so, not allowing me to do anything. If I would be listening to music, the music would pause and then come back on.
It would normally appear when something was trying to load. For example, the final straw was when I was using Adobe Bridge and it was taking an extremely long time to load up the photos I had imported and in the end I gave up. Speed has never been an issue before and my MBP has 2GB of RAM.
So I backed up what I needed and proceeded to do an 'Erase and Install(Leopard) format. Once formatted, the MBP booted up and I completed the registration, took my User picture blah blah etc. Once done, the MBP booted into OS X - this is where the problems occurred. The spinning loading icon appeared and after about 30 seconds or so, the Finder window / toolbar at the top disappeared, as did the Macintosh HD icon on the desktop. All I was left with was my wallpaper and Dock with icons in. However, if I clicked on any of the programs, nothing would happen.
Naturally, I tried restarting it and the same thing happened again. I figured that because my MBP was connected to a second Dual monitor, that this might have been the issue so I decided to boot from the OS X Leopard CD and do another 'Erase and Install'. I once again got past the registration screen, but this time, instead of booting into OS X my MBP stuck itself on a grey screen. It would not go any further.
I then decided that the spinning loading icon issue may be a RAM problem. When I first got my MBP, I upgraded the RAM so I knew how to take it out and replace it. So I tried taking out the RAM stick (1GB) I put in orignally and booting it with the original 1GB stick. The same problem occurred. I tried the other way round, putting in my 1GB RAM stick and taking the original out - nothing worked. I tried every possible combination, even swapping the sticks around.
Eventually my brother tells me he has some spare RAM which I also try and once again, this does not solve the issue. So I figure it cannot be a RAM problem.
So next I try booting from the OS X Disc on startup and run Disk Utility. I verify and repair the Mac HD which comes up fine. No errors, no issues, nothing.
I finally scour the internet for info on what could be the cause of the problem and the biggest suggestion seems to be formatting. So I once again try formatting my MBP for a third time - however this time, I get the original problem. It boots up into OS X but then the Finder toolbar and Mac HD icon disappear, leaving me with Dock and Wallpaper.
The final thing I try is resetting the MBPs PRAM on startup. This does not solve the issue.
So here I am. If you could be bothered to read all of that, well done haha I'm not sure if I could have.
If anyone has ANY suggestions or advice, please post!
I do not have Apple Care so if I was to take it to the local Genius bar, would they look at it for free and diagnose it? Or would that cost me? I have never had to take my MBP in before.
Thankyou again

I just skimmed over this because the post is like a small novel! lol Try a Apple Hardware Test. I think it's probably a bad logic board.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1509
Don't take it to a Genius Bar until you've done this, saves time and you might have a little more info to give them. Also that way you won't feel pressured into anything. It's out of warranty, so sometimes I've noticed they can be a little pushy especially on a very high dollar replacement such as a new logic board on an out of warranty item. Also the "enhanced diagnostic" is around $100, so you might have to at least fork over a hard earned Benjamin and not get anything fixed. And whatever you do, DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT tell them you upgraded the RAM yourself. If they are feeling in a good mood and decide to knock off any money or waive any sort of fees, this will kill it instantly. RAM is considered "user serviceable," but they normally try to plead "the part you installed is not Apple Authorized" or the "installation caused the issue and was not an ACHT." Put back in the original stick and leave it alone. Hope this helps you out!

G3 Beige: grey screen at startup; no icon; won't boot from CD

G3 Beige, OS 9.2; working perfectly for past year.
I was using a D-Link wired router, to this and my other Mac, G4 Graphite OS X Tiger.
Having just gotten a netbook, I installed a D-Link wireless router (DIR-615), and changed the ethernet cables for both (non-wireless) Macs over to the new router. (It had been configured for me by a Staples Associate where I bought it.)
The netbook and the Graphite G4 worked as they should, but upon restart, the G3 Beige not only wouldn’t boot, it didn’t even show a sad Mac or a question mark. It chimed, but only has a grey screen. Cursor works (& keyboard); nothing else.
I disconnected ethernet cable; same grey screen upon restart.
Won’t boot from Norton or Mac OS 9 CD, pressing “C” at startup.
Zapping pram didn’t help.
Shift during startup didn’t help.
Now what??
TIA.
PS: Meanwhile, I'm afraid to connect my emergency spare 7300 w/G3 upgrade & OS 9.1 to that router. Should I?

The next thing to try is re-seating the sound card. The backpanel is only well-supported on one side, and the sound card takes a beating in all the Beige G3s and similar Macs with tumble-open or lift open designs (but not the All-in-One). Jeff suggests you remove the exterior third screw \[and leave it out] and bend the top tab slightly before re-installing the two screws on the rail. This helps push the sound card back into the slot and keep it firmly seated.
Do you have any SCSI devices or SCSI cables connected? A dangling SCSI cable or a badly-terminated SCSI device can cause a Hang where you describe.

My macbook pro wont get past the grey screen at startup. Help!!

After doing a run of the mill software update on my macbook pro (running snow leopard) it froze during the "moving items into place" stage. I forced a shut down and now it wont get past the grey screen with apple logo and spinning wheel. I have tried booting from the original DVD but it still freezes. When I boot it in verbose mode it seems to stop at "jnl: unknown-dev: update_fs_block: error reading fs block # 3597880! (ret 5)", the Apple AHCD Disk Queue manager :: set power state is timing out and there is a disk I/O error. I have tried to reset the power manager (not sure if it worked or not) and I have also tried clearing the PRAM (again, not sure of that worked). When I try to look at the hard drive using target mode on my imac the hard drive doesn't come up but the DVD does. I'm concerned that my hard drive is fried. Any suggestions?

It would help to state in your post which remedies you tried that didn't work.
Start here > OS X Lion: If you see a gray screen at startup
If nothing there helped, try Starting up in Safe Mode
Safe Mode deletes some system caches that may help.
A Safe Mode boot takes longer than a normal boot so be patient. Once you are in Safe Mode, click Restart from the Apple menu.
If a Safe Mode boot didn't work, since your Mac has OS X v10.7 installed, restart your Mac while holding down the Command + R keys so you can access OS X Recovery built in utilities. The startup disk may need repairing.
Tip: Hold down the Eject key while starting up your Mac to eject a disc.

Powerbook freezes at grey screen on startup

I have a 3+ year old Powerbook running 10.4.9 that won't go past the grey apple screen on startup. It pretty much spins indefinitely. I thought it might be a failing hard drive, but I'm not sure after the tests I've done. The drive is 80GB (74.53 GB capacity), with 7.99 GB available space. The drive itself is not as old as the laptop; it was replaced by Apple about a year ago. I have tried the following (with restart attempts in between):
*Zap PRAM
*Reset PMU
*Start up in safe mode (works normally, as far as safe mode is concerned)
*Ran AHT, found bad RAM module, removed module, ran AHT twice and found no other errors
*Startup in single user mode, run fsck, volume "appears to be OK"
*Attach to another PPC 10.4 machine to try to do a backup of files (mounts, works for a while, then crashes the "target" machine (iMac G5 20" 10.4.9))
*Tried to backup to iMac w/drag and drop, migration assistant (both firewire) and via direct Ethernet connection. Always works for a bit then crashes, forcing a manual shut down of iMac
*Startup from external FW drive w/OS X, ran Disk Utility, no problems found on internal HD
*Startup in open firmware, reset NVRAM
*Ran DiskWarrior 4.0, rebuilt directory
*S.M.A.R.T. status is normal/verified
Any suggestions, ideas would be much appreciated. I am really at a loss and very much want to fix this. Thank you.
-Amy
1.25 GHz AlBook 15 Mac OS X (10.4.9) 1 GB RAM

The problem may be the hard drive is too full. We have found that you don't want your hard drive to be more than 85% full. At last count 8 GB of 80 GB is 90% full.

PB G4 OSX10.5 grey screen on startup/not recognize harddrive?

Powerbook G4 won't startup, stops at grey screen with folder alternating Finder icon/question mark.
Reseting PRAM has no effect.
When started in Safe mode, will go to two buttons, no drive icon.
When started in Safe mode with install DVD inserted, can get to Install screens.
Hardware tests (quick and long) show all okay.
When try to reinstall system, no icon for location to install to is shown.
Can put computer into Target mode, firewire icon appears on screen whether or not the install DVD is in. If install DVD is in, this will appear on second computer. If install DVD is not in, nothing appears on second computer.
History:
I purchased this unit preowned by single owner about a year ago with 10.5 installed. It has run well, almost exclusively Office 2004. Yesterday Entourage timed out Shut Down and would not allow Finder to be accessed by clicking on the desktop or Apple icon, so computer was shut down by press/holding power button.
Thank you for any assistance you can provide.
Troy.

if the drive is not visible at all in Disk Utility it's not a good sign.
sometimes the issue could be caused by drive cable connection or cable going bad, it's quite rare though
sometimes the drive may work when put into an external enclosure
DriveSavers is a well known recovery service, could be expensive:
http://www.drivesaversdatarecovery.com/

Empty grey screen on startup, no Apple logo

I have an iBook G4 late 2003 running OS 10.3.9- On startup all I get is an empty grey screen, no Apple logo, no whirling gear. I immediately zapped the PRAM and reset the PMU with no change: the empty grey screen remained. I then restarted pressing the option key and I got a circular arrow for restart and an arrow pointing to the right, but no icons above them, meaning neither the Macintosh Hard Disk or the Tech Tool eDrive partition was recognized. I then tried to start the computer from the installation disk. The first time, I got the Apple logo, but that was followed by a kernel panic. I tried restarting again from the installation disk and got the Apple logo and the whirling gear, but that went on spinning ad infinitum leading nowhere. I gave up and turned it off. I suspect my iBook is ready for a funeral of some sort. If there is any way to revive it, I would be grateful to hear how from someone more expert than myself.

Hello Ira,
Does your iBook still have the original hard drive? I only ask because I had similar problems recently with the original drive on my iBook G3. After much testing and then finally replacing the hard drive corrected the problem, not that your issue is necessarily the same.
Are you able to start it up in Target Disc Mode? If so. and you have another Firewire enabled Mac to connect to, you could run Disk Utility or DiskWarrior, if you have it, on that drive to evaluate it.
If your hard drive is at fault and the Startup Manager isn't letting you select the drive, I suspect that Target mode will not work either, but give it a try.
Someone else may have a different take on this, so stay tuned.
Randy

Grey Screen On Startup With 3 Flashing Indicator LED

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