Have a blank grey screen on start up?

Guys, Help I have a blank grey screen on start up?

See Here > http://support.apple.com/kb/ts2570

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Blank Grey Screen on start up cannot access MAC OSX frozen up

Blank grey screen on start up Cannot get into the Mac osx side, even if I do not hold down the option key it goes to the Windows side but key boad / mouse does not work. I want to get into the mac side so I can delete the windows partition. HELP PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

See Here > http://support.apple.com/kb/ts2570

Blank grey screen on start up.

I have an iMac that all of a sudden would not start up and it would give me a blank white screen. I took this into the shop to get looked at and the technician suspects a faulty graphics card. I went out and purchased a new iMac 5K retina display and transferred all of my hard drive to it. I used the new computer all night with no problems but this morning my new computer is doing the same blank screen syndrome as my old one. The only thing I can think of that is causing this is my virus protection software does a nightly scan and this is somehow setting off the blank screen. I've gone through all of the steps listed for dealing with blank screens and none of them worked. How can I disable the virus protection software to see if this is the problem? My new retina iMac has no disk drive.

Hi
There's no need to hold down the option key. Assuming you can boot normally in OSX launch the BootCamp Assistant in the Utilities folder. Click the option to 'Create or remove a Windows Partition'.
This will completely remove the Windows partition. If you have any data that's important to you I'd suggest you back it up first.
Tony

20" imac won't start up-flashes between blank grey screen and black screen

20" imac
2GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
Was running system 10.5.8 just fine. Worked great.
But then I wanted to give the imac to a relative. And so, I tried to boot from the original grey mac install dvd to wipe the hardrive and set the imac back to factory specs.
But it wouldn't boot off the dvd. All It would do at restart was to flash slowly back and forth between blank grey screen and black screen. So, I tried the Leopard update dvd. Same results. So I zapped the pram and tried again. Same results.
If I just pushed the start button tho.. the imac would start right up and run fine. However, I didn't want to give it to someone else with all our information on it.
I finally restarted it and held the "T" key to turn it into a giant firewire drive, hooked it up to our other 20" imac, and used the disk utility from the second imac to erase the drive of the first imac. Then I inserted the grey install dvd into the second imac and selected the drive of the first imac and ran the install process.
Now, the first imac won't start up at all. Just a continual grey screen for a bit, than a couple of buzz sounds in the machine and then the black screen... than back again.
It ran great before I erased the drive and re-installed OS 10.5
What's wrong? How do I get the machine to either boot off the install cd?

So, I've figured out a little more on the first machine. It's a 20" 2.6 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo running 10.5.8.
It ran great. But, I wanted to erase the hard drive and reinstall the OS system before giving it to a relative.
I found that although the optical drive would read and write to normal cds and dvds, the machine would NOT boot from the grey start-up disks I had on hand. ( I have two imacs, and I tried both sets of dvds without success.)
I zapped the PRAM, and used disk utilities via firewire connection from my other 20" imac to check the hardrive and make repairs. Disk Utilities couldn't find any problems. So, using disk utilities from the other imac, I erased the first imac's harddrive and then used the install dvds on the second imac to install the original OS to the hard drive of the first imac.
(looking on the hard drive of the first imac, I can see all the contents)
However, the first machine will not start up. It just switches from grey....to black..... then grey..... and then black again.... over and over
Why won't it boot from the newly installed OS on it's own hard drive?
And Why won't it boot from the original install dvds?
How can I get it to start up again?

When I open up my MacBook Pro only appear a blank grey screen, and I try to hold my buttons,but my buttons have no reaction.

start up with a blank grey screen,The buttons have no reaction.

Try these steps:
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204325
Ciao.

My old MBP (2005) often crashes, freezes or shows grey screen at start up. Also track pad often does not work. I have re fomatted the HD and reinstalled system but to no avail. Genius bar says possible faulty HD, but suspect logic board, any ides any body

My old 17" MBP (2005) often crashes, freezes or shows grey screen at start up. Also track pad often does not work. I have re fomatted the HD and reinstalled system but to no avail. Genius bar says possible faulty HD, but I suspect logic board. All checks out OK on the Apple Diagnostic bench. Can a Logic board go intermittant?? Any Ideas any body??

Ive repaired 1000s of laptops over the years (translate: diagnose and replace parts).
Its not that old, Ive owned 100s of laptops (most were free) ....some I still have are nearly 13 years old and still perfect, ....some extremely expensive ones died in under a year.
other than becoming obsolete at some point, there isnt really any "will spoil on" data like Milk for solid state computer parts, ....alas.
You can have a $5000 laptop die in 4 months, and a junker one keep kicking after 10 years.... Ive seen that firsthand countless times.
Common logic dictates that "very expensive = long life" in computers,..... but all the repair people will tell you just the opposite.
I know you have a gripe, I get that all too well honestly .

Imac have grey screen at start up.

Have grey screen at start with question mark in folder. Have reset PRAM. Have tried start from disk and can not. Need help.

Your drive is shot, time for a new one. The question mark means the computer can't find a drive to boot from. If you have an external clone, you could try booting from that.

Why have all of my camera roll images suddenly turned to a blank grey screen that says jpg in the middle?

all of my photos in my camera roll suddenly turned to blank grey screens the other day and they all say jpg in the middle of them, i did nothing for this to happen so can't understand why it has. I literally went on my camera roll and they all started changing as i scrolled up. Can anybody tell me why it has done this and what i can do to get all of my pictures back?
thankyou.

Here's what I'd try (starting at 1 and if it doesn't work, then 2);
1. Try opening the images (try taking a picture and see if that opens also)
2. Try plugging it into computer, check if you can view the photos on that
3. Check when the last backup was made (hopefully it was recent) and restore from that
4. Try an alternative itunes manager like copytrans and see can you get access to the images with that

My MacBook pro will not startup. I get a blank grey screen no logo appears so I can't chooseadiffer t drive nor boot from DVD. Safe mode and verbose mode also don't change blank screen.

It was running slow with the colored spining appearing often. This started happening weeks ago with Yosemite so I formatted the disk with the DVDs that came with the mid 2011 MacBook pro, 10.6.8. I then installed Yosemite on an external drive and this morning i was booted from the external hd with Yosemite and it stopped recognizong mouse clicks so I forced a restart and now I'm stuck with the blank grey screen. Safe mode and verbose mode also do not work.

Lao Bo,
yes, you can locate and copy a file from your HD to a USB key using UNIX commands. If you know the exact name of the file which you’re trying to locate, try this:
find / -iname filename -print
This command will search your entire internal disk for the particular filename. If you know that it’s within a particular user account, then you can save search time with this variation:
find /Users/username -iname filename -print
Either variation of this command will print all files found which have the given filename. Presuming that you’re able to identify the correct file, you can copy it to a USB key using the command
cp -p filename_returned_by_find /Volumes/USB_volume
If you’re not sure which volume name your USB key has, this command will show you what the possibilities are:
ls /Volumes
Please let me know if you have any trouble with these commands.

Photoshop CS6 CC liquify just has blank grey screen.

hi i am currently on a trial for CS6 CC version on Windows 8 but every time i try to liquify an image all that happens is a blank grey screen. The weird thing is i can click and edit the area of the grey screen and if i click OK to finish the liquifying it has edited the image! Why can i not see my image whilst in the liquify screen? I've tried to change all the settings and stuff but still nothing?
tom

You have Show Image unchecked and Show Backdrop checked, but I suspect the problem is a stale video card driver. Make sure you have the latest driver by downloading it directly from the video card company website. As another test, if you press the Alt key immeadiately after starting Liquify, it will start in slow CPU mode which does not use the video card or its driver. If that works your driver is the problem.

Blank grey screen on startup issue

I have started up my G4 powerbook and am met with a blank grey screen.
I had previously been using the laptop for connecting to a projector for a presentation and having been met with this problem I reconnected the laptop to a projector and the image of the desktop was viewable on the projector screen and thus I could manage the laptop via this. How can I get the screen on the laptop back to where it should be that I can see the what I am doing?
I am sure its something obvious and possibly relating to screen sharing or such like but I cannot think of the solution just now. Any thoughts?
Many thanks for you time.

Hello again,
In order to try to resolve this I need to connect the laptop to a projector to be able to see the desktop image and open such things as System preferences. This takes me bait longer than it should thus the delay in adding to this discussion.
I did connect it up to the projector. Switched off the mirroring and tried a few switching off and on's etc. I have also tried resting the PRAM and the PMU but to now avail. There appears to be a disconnect between the screen and the system. I reckon it is maybe to do with the fact that the last time is was used and functioned as usual was when I was using the laptop with the projector.
It is of course frustrating as the laptop in question though of a certain vintage is in very good condition and operates very well other than this issue.

After my latest update my music wont load on ipad i just get a blank grey screen and no music titles yet when i check usage it says music is there, ive tried unsync it then redoing and still nothing

after my latest update my music wont load on ipad i just get a blank grey screen and no music titles yet when i check usage it says music is there, ive tried unsync it then redoing and still nothing

Rebooting will not make you lose any content. Rebooting is when you hold the home button and the sleep button down at the same time until the Apple logo appears on the screen.
You can these suggestions. One might work for you.
Make sure that you do not have a stalled download in iTunes - a song or podcast .... if you have a download in there that did not finish, complete that one first. Only one thing can download at a time on the iPad so that could be what is causing the problem.
If that doesn't work - sign out of your account, restart the iPad and then sign in again.
Settings>Store>Apple ID. Tap your ID and sign out. Restart the iPad by holding down on the sleep button until the red slider appears and then slide to shut off. To power up hold the sleep button until the Apple logo appears and let go of the button.
Go back to Settings>Store>Sign in and then try to update again. Tap one waiting icon only if necessary to start the download stream.

How to go to finder from blank grey screen with apple icon and spinning gear

My Mac desktop won't start up, it showed blank grey screen with an apple icon and spinning gear for ages. Due my computer is vintage so I would need to backup my user files before I could re-install OS X via NetBoot. My question is how can I access to the finder to back up my user folder from the grey screen. Thanks

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 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 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.

Web Analysis in 9.3.x throws a blank grey screen

All,
When I launch Hyperion Web Analysis I am prompted about requiring an older version of Java. I see the splash screen and the popup starts that normally takes me to the Web Analysis client. However, at this point I get a blank grey screen with no buttons, splash, etc. We have tried starting and stopping the Web Analysis service, and also power cycled all 3 boxes (the other using Shared Services, etc) and made sure the services come back up in the correct order. Workspace seems to work fine, as does financial reporting, but the Web Analysis applet is completely blank. I have found a (very) few recommendations on the web, but none seem to help. I have a ticket in, and they told me to remove the Java installed, run it again, and let it install which also did nothing. I am out of ideas...please help.

Hi,
Do you also have SSL enabled? That really sucks, at times. I believe- you must've got to see the famous- *"Client not inited"* error at the bottom-left hand corner(i.e. on Status bar) of the main browser window. Correct?
In any case, visit this Applet Web analysis client notinited . It might help you in a way!!!
- Natesh

Grey Screen at start-up - Troubleshoot harddrive and/or logic board?

Hi everyone. Sorry for the lengthy post, but hopefully you can help me - I've spent a lot of time on the boards already, but hoped you could clarify some things.
The problem is my Powerbook will not get past the grey screen at start-up. It will not boot off the 10.5 install disk and I can't eject the install disk to run the hardware test disk. Removing 3rd party ram, resetting PRAM, NVRAM, attempting to boot in 'safe' mode haven't helped. The harddrive is softly clicking/searching.
So some questions:
1) Is it possible that an interrupted time machine backup will bork the drive to the point where it wont boot? (See back-story below). I wouldn't have thought so, but prove me wrong.
2) Should I be able to boot from the install disk if the harddrive is stuffed?
3) If it is hardware, it's either the logic board or the drive. Is there any way to determine what it is (eg: is it possible to do a remote hardware test?)
Edit: Just tried mounting the drive in target disk mode using an iBook, but it wouldn't mount. Powerbook displays a black screen.
Oh, and I should point out that this is well out of warranty and any fixes would have to be cheap : ). Basically I need to determine if it's the drive or the logic board, preferably without having to buy and install a new drive when it may not be the problem.
Any help or advice would be appreciated.
Cheers
- Ben
Here's the back story if it's any help; recently upgraded to 10.5, created a base install disk image of all installed and registered apps (in the event that my drive failed). Copied data etc from the previous system over. It ran fine for a few days. This morning I ran time machine for the first time, left the computer for a while, came back and the screen was black (as if it was just displaying black, as opposed to off). Thinking it was just a display issue (which I've seen before), I put the system to sleep (power button, then 's'), woke it up again; still black. So I forced a shut down (wouldn't allow me to do a normal shut down, because dialogue boxes must have been preventing it) and on boot I got the grey screen.
-------

Hi Ben W. I don't have a good answer for you, but based on your information and what you've done, I think I would try starting the machine after disconnecting the harddrive. That requires taking the top off first, for which instructions are on ifixit.com.
I can conjecture that a blown HD is preventing normal operation, perhaps sucking the power down, disrupting the optical drive, etc. This is purely conjecture, but costs you nothing but your time. If this turns out to be the case, I figure the optical drive should start responding again (hold C key during reboot, etc).

Have a blank grey screen on start up?

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