Help! Imac won't boot anymore.

Hello. I am in DESPERATE need of your help. I have mac os x leopard and yesterday i update it, but the power went out in the middle of the update. now when i start it it just shows the apple icon and the small rotating wheel.
When i boot up in the Verbose mode, it just goes "Server: mdsync launch failed: (ipc/send) invalid destination port" and then 3 or saved crashreports with the loginwindow and a bunch of nubrs.
Its stuck in this loop and it just goes on and on.
I tried booting up with the cd it came with, but no help, disk utility AND fsck said its ok, in safe mode it dose not want to boot, it just stays in that grey apple rotating wheel screen.
I tried instaling it again, but with the UPGRADE feature, because i have lots of data on the machintosh HD main drive in some folders, and not in a user folder or such, so i can't use the archive and install, because i will lose all data.
Please help!
Thank you,
Sebastian

You can use Archive & Install. This moves the System folder to a new folder called Previous Systems and installs a new one. Other folders that exist on the drive won't be affected. Nothing is deleted in an A&I, only moved.
As a matter of tidiness, it isn't a good idea to have folders sitting loose in the root of the drive. You are much better off having them in a User folder; either your own or the Shared one.
I recommend an Archive & Install, as you have undoubtedly corrupted your OS when the power went out. You may have to reinstall some apps, but your Mac will boot.

Similar Messages

IMac won't boot anymore after power cut

Thanks to the great storms in New Jersey, my iMac does not boot anymore after a power cut. Does not get past the apple logo screen with the spinning wheel and keeps rebooting every 2 minutes.
I was able to mount the HD via Firewire on a host machine and the disk seemed fine.
I booted from the Install disk and ran Disk Utility - seemed fine though I could not verify the disk permissions ?
One other thing - I seemed to remember the white light (front bottom right) was blinking before during start-up. Now it goes and stays black after couple of seconds.
Help please,
Philippe

HI Phillipe and Welcome to Apple Discussions...
If you haven't done so, try running the Apple Hardware Test.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1509
I doubt repairing disk permissions can't help this problem. It sounds like a hardware issue.
*"I booted from the Install disk and ran Disk Utility - seemed fine though I could not verify the disk permissions ?"*
When you ran Disk Utility via Firewire, did you actually Verify the hard disk for errors?
Carolyn

Help: iMac won't boot past Grey logo screen with spinning lines

My fiance's iMac (intel based) running snow leopard (upgraded from Leopard a couple months ago) will not boot past the logo and spinning lines. This started after at attempting to restart after installing updates to Safari and iTunes.
When booting in verbose mode I get these lines:
Launchctl: Dubious permissions on file (skipping): /Library/LaunchDaemons
Launchctl: Dubious permissions on file (skipping): /System/Library/LaunchDaemons
Launchctl: Dubious permissions on file (skipping): /etc/mach_inid.d
AppleYukon2: Marvel Yukon Gigabit Adapter 88E8055 Singleport Copper SA
AppleYukon2: RxRingSize <= 1024, TxRingSize 256. RXMAXLE 1024, TXMAXLE 768, STMAXLE 3328
Then it just stops and does nothing.
I've unplugged everything except the apple keyboard and mouse. Ethernet is not connected.
She doesn't seem to have the original disc that came with the computer, but I do have the Snow Leopard upgrade disc.
What do I do? It won't boot in Safe Mode either, freezes at the same spot.
I'm not a particularly savvy Mac user as I recently embraced them when we moved in together.
Any help would be greatly appreciated

Repairing permission is not the first answer. Should try to run fsck and reset the PRAM
Start up your computer in single-user mode to reach the command line.
Note: If necessary, perform a forced restart as described in the Emergency Troubleshooting Handbook that came with your computer. On desktop computers, you can do this by pressing the reset/interrupt button (if there is one) or holding down the power button for several seconds. On portable computers, simultaneously press the Command-Control-power keys. If your portable computer doesn't restart with this method, you may need to reset the Power Manager.
At the command-line prompt type:
/sbin/fsck -fy
Press Return. fsck will go through five "phases" and then return information about your disk's use and fragmentation. Once it finishes, it'll display this message if no issue is found:
** The volume (name_of_volume) appears to be OKIf fsck found issues and has altered, repaired, or fixed anything, it will display this message:
***** FILE SYSTEM WAS MODIFIED *****
Important: If this message appears, repeat the fsck command you typed in step 2 until fsck tells you that your volume appears to be OK (first-pass repairs may uncover additional issues, so this is a normal thing to do).
When fsck reports that your volume is OK, typerebootat the prompt and then press Return.
Your computer should start up normally and allow you to log in.
Resetting PRAM and NVRAM
Shut down the computer.
Locate the following keys on the keyboard: Command, Option, P, and R. You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously in step 4.
Turn on the computer.
Press and hold the Command-Option-P-R keys. You must press this key combination before the gray screen appears.
Hold the keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the startup sound for the second time.
Release the keys.
Your computer's PRAM and the NVRAM are reset to the default values. The clock settings may be reset to a default date on some models.

HELP: iMac won't boot up.

Old iMac, due for replacement. Working as expected until other day. Now won't boot past initial apple splash screen, then dies after 10 seconds.

Sounds like a hardware failure, you can run Apple Hardware Test in Extended mode however you will need the original install discs. In order to get a replacement set you need to call AppleCare, give them a credit card number and the serial number of the machine and for a nominal charge they will replace them. However your machine is pretty old if still running Leopard. You may want to consider options such as taking it to your local Apple Store or AASP to be professionally diagnosed and repaired or possibly even upgrading to a new machine if necessary.

My iMac won't boot anymore

I've been using a 27" iMac since Octobre 2011 with a Lion/Windows 7 dual boot. It's always worked great, until yesterday: I couldn't boot into Windows 7 anymore, it wouldn't move past the drive selection screen that you get when you hold Option during startup. Lion worked fine, though, so I made an image of the Boot Camp drive, reformatted the partition and put the image back. This did not seem to solve it, so I decided to try a fresh Windows install. I let the Boot Camp-helper app create a disk with the needed drivers and partition the hard disk drive, but when rebooting I got stuck on a grey screen again. I managed to get the Windows 7 install disk out again by holding the mouse button at start-up, but now I can't boot into either Windows 7 or Lion. And to add another layer of tragedy: my Time Machine drive died last week and my replacement is still in the mail, so I have no recent TM backup.
What can I try to fix this?

Sorry if I sounded snippy, I'm just really getting tired of this, and I don't want to send it into the store yet because then I can't work anymore.
Superdrive seems to work fine, according to the handful of other discs that I tried. I'm going to check if I can make a copy of my Win7 disc, just in case it's something with the disc itself (but that still wouldn't explain why I can't get past the grey boot screen).
Oh, and I tried manually selecting the install disc but nothing, it just freezes up again.

Won't boot anymore but in safe mode

My laptop won't boot anymore. I get a gray screen with a prohibition sign. Here's what I found so far:
If I boot in the verbose mode it gets stuck on something like Looking for boot device.
I zapped the PRAM. Didn't help.
I can boot in safe mode.
I used Disk Utility to check the drive and permisions. Everything ok.
I can't boot from the original Snow Leopard DVD. I press C, the drive spins then stops.
I reinstalled Snow Leopard from the safe mode. Didn't help.
In safe mode Safari is crazy slow. Firefox runs full speed.
Any idea?

Reinstall OS X without erasing the drive
Do the following:
1. Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions
Boot from your Snow Leopard Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the installer.
If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior and/or Tech Tool Pro to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X.
2. Reinstall Snow Leopard
If the drive is OK then quit DU and return to the installer. Proceed with reinstalling OS X. Note that the Snow Leopard installer will not erase your drive or disturb your files. After installing a fresh copy of OS X the installer will move your Home folder, third-party applications, support items, and network preferences into the newly installed system.
Download and install the Combo Updater for the version you prefer from support.apple.com/downloads/.
Unless you can boot from your installer DVD there's nothing you can do to reinstall OS X, so I'm not sure how you did reinstall as you said.
Booting From An OS X Installer Disc
1. Insert OS X Installer Disc into the optical drive.
2. Restart the computer.
3. Immediately after the chime press and hold down the "C" key.
4. Release the key when the spinning gear below the dark gray Apple logo appears.
5. Wait for installer to finish loading.

My iMac won't boot. I only get a white screen. Won't open in safe mode or recovery mode. Any suggestions?

Hey, any help? My 24" iMac won't boot. I only get a white screen when turning on. It won't open in safe or recovery mode. Any suggestions?

If you can't boot from your installer DVD, then take it in for service.

Powermac G5 1.8Ghz June 2004 won't boot anymore

Hi all,
Past week i've bought a second hand PM G5. At first it seems to be all ok, but right now its not working anymore.
I've managed to install the OSX on the first evening i've had the PM G5. After installing evrything seemed to be fine. But after 30 minutes surfing on the internet, it froze. I had to give it an hard reset by holding down the power button.
After turning it of, it won't boot anymore. after a few times trying with 10 secconds between it, i unpluged the powercabel for 2 minutes. Wile turning it on after 2 minutes, it was booting , but it stopped booting after 1,5 minute and froze.. after hard resetting it, i've managed to boot it right. The OS seemed to be ok again, but after 5 till 10 minutes it froze again.
Right now it won't boot anymore... it starts (without the front light, this light only blinks fast once i turn it on, but after that no more. Sometimes it won''t even flash.
I've been buzzy replacing some components to get to know if it was a hardware fail. I've first replaced the PSU with two other PSU's from the PM G5, but won't do a thing.
The i've replaced the memory with 4 kind of difrent pairs, but won't do a thing either. At last i replaced the Logic Board, this won't even do a thing about it.
Of course i replaced the PRAM battery first, but also this won't help me.
I've tested it in AHT, but evrything was working well, according to AHT. I've managed to get the system log, but nothing scarry though here also, only some 122 errors some times. (download the system log here: http://www.mijnbestand.nl/Bestand-F4DDN66WLRCI.log )
I've reset al things possible like PRAM reset, PMU reset. Nothing seem to be working.
What can i do next to get this thing work?? I'm getting nut's here..
Please help..
Thanks a Lot
MArtijn Snoek

Hi martijnsnoek, and a warm welcome to the forums!
Can you count the beeps or flashes?
1 beep = no RAM installed
2 beeps = incompatible RAM types
3 beeps = no good banks
4 beeps = no good boot images in the boot ROM (and/or bad sys config block)
5 beeps = processor is not usable
In addition to the beeps, on some computers the power LED will flash a corresponding number of times plus one. The LED will repeat the sequence after approximately a 5-second pause. The tones are only played once.
Note: In this case, a flash is considered to be 1/4 second or 250 ms or greater in length.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1547
So, with the info you given, two things come to mind...
Bad solder joints around the RAM slots, try heating that area with a Hair Dryer for 3 to 5 minutes, then see if it starts.
If you can get it running, Get Temperature Monitor to see if it's heat related...
http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/12381/temperature-monitor
And/or iStat Pro...
http://www.islayer.com/apps/istatpro/
If you have any temps in the 70°C/160°F range, that's likely it.
BTW, have you blown the dust out of it since you got it?

My iMac won't boot past grey screen and it didn't come with a os x disk

My iMac won't boot past grey screen with apple. I've tried booting in safemode but that didn't help and my iMac didn't come with a os x disk.

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.”
b. 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.
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
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 either of the techniques in Steps 1b and 1c 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 10. 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
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 10
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 11
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 12
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.

27" iMac won't boot from anything BUT the main drive

Hi all,
My lovely 27" iMac is in perfect working condition, but I thought I'd try to install a OS on a large SD card to see if I would gain any speed.
In the process of doing that (cause I never got that far) I discover that the iMac won't boot from the original install DVD. It simply spits out the DVD when I try to insert into the drive. I'v managed to make an image of the DVD (in a different mac) onto the SD card in order to try an boot from that. No luck. I've tried to insert a original install DVD from my Mac Pro into the iMac, which it reads fine and well, and when I tap the restart button it restarts, but stop with a white screen doing boot up.
If I try to hold down the option key during startup, the iMac WILL let me choose which OS to boot from, but if I choose anything else than the OS already installed it freezes.
I've even tried to boot my Mac Pro from the iMac install DVD - no problems.
I've even run a hardware test on the iMac - no problems.
I am running out of options fast! Please help a devoted Mac-friend.
Take care.
Peter

I WAS using the DVD that came with the machine, but I fear Apple may have sent me the wrong one?
In trying to solve the issues I'd tried other OS disc's (A Mac Pro install DVD and a OS X Leopard DVD) - but none of them would even boot, nor install of my iMac. I always end up with a white screen during boot up.
As I described, the original iMac install DVD would indeed boot my Mac Pro, do the disc seems ok?

My iMac won't boot....Msg says "NO BOOTABLE DEVICE--INSERT BOOT DISK ...

I don't know how to start my iMac up. I don't even know what a boot disk is! Several days ago I tried to run Boot Camp but couldn't continue because I didn't have a Windows program to install si I'm not sure what happened. Can somebody please help me out? Thanks.
Dman- [email protected]

My iMac won't boot....Msg says "NO BOOTABLE DEVICE--INSERT BOOT DISK ...
Posted: Jan 17, 2011 11:44 AM
I'm getting this message again. When I restart using the option key everything is ok. When the computer goes to sleep it has the above message. Is there a setting I need to turn off so this doesn't happen all the time? Thanks.
Dennis

Won't boot anymore after nvidia-xconfig

Hey Guys,
Got a problem with my Arch Linux here, hope you can help.
Today I tried to install the official Nvidia Driver and BumbleBee following along the great Wiki on this topic.
Everything worked just fine and I also could run optirun gfxgear or somemthing like this.
I wanted to switch to the Nvidia Settings in the settings menu and it told me to configure my xconfig and restart x so I typed nvidia-xconfig in the terminal and it gave me an success output.
I restarted my system and now it hangs on the graphical thing I think. It won't boot anymore.
Hope you can help me out.
Thanks alot
Edit: My Nvidia Card is a Nvidia GT 740M if this matters
Last edited by Whitz (2015-02-09 11:02:41)

No, I have a laptop with 2 graphic cards an intel hd4000 and a nvidia gt 740m.
I ran the Arch Linux installation well until I tried to get the nvidia gt working with bumblebee.
I followed the wiki of the bumblebee topic and it worked well. I wanted to switch into the nvidia settings and it told me my x isnt configured properly and I should type nvidia-xconfig and restart X.
After the restart it won't boot to the graphical interface anymore.
Hope this cleared up the things
Also I dont get any errors but it just wont load..
Last edited by Whitz (2015-02-09 12:08:49)

My iMac won't boot up past the white screen with a grey apple and spinning icon

My iMac won't boot up past the white screen with a grey apple and spinning icon...please help!

command R did not result in anything different - still the white screen, etc. I do you Time Machine with and external hard drive, but I unplugged that. I have the installation DVD, but it doesn't seem to be reading it either.

My iMac won't boot i get an apple logo

my iMac won't boot i get an apple logo

Hi Paul,
If your iMac won't boot past a grey Apple screen, you may find the following article helpful:
Mac OS X: Gray screen appears during startup
http://support.apple.com/kb/ts2570
Regards,
- Brenden

IMac won't boot after power outage

I got a power outage a couple of hours ago. And now my iMac won't boot. When I power it up, it gets pass the white screen with the apple logo. The screen than turns blue with a spinning cursor. The cursor spins for about 10-15 minutes and stops but the normal login screen never appear and it won't boot into the desktop either. I just got a blue screen.
I have boot into the install Disc1 and did the disk repair and premission repair but it didn't help.
Any idea?
Sidney

Oh man, what a disaster!
I tried to do an Archive and Install but the installation hanged at the end of disc 2 after running an iWeb script (according to the install log) with about one minute left. I have waited for two hours but it just hanged there with all the drives spin down.
To make the problem worse. There was no way to quit the install at that point because all the menu items were disabled. The only way out was to power off. But when I powered it back on, it booted right into install directly asking for the disc 2. If I put the disc in it will install again and hang at the same spot.
Disc 2 contains iLife. I know Apple wanted to make things simple but why can't they give me an option to skip it? After all, iLife was already installed.
I finally got it working by booting from disc 1 and did a clean install. It took me all night to re-download all the updates and reinstall many applications. Fortunately, I have my address book, calendar, and most of my works backed up to .Mac so it wasn't a total lost.
On the bright side. Now my iMac is working better than before. I used to have problem getting auto sleep to work but now it works perfectly. Safari also had problem accessing charts (but Camino was fine) in a few web sites like schwab.com. Now everything works.
Lenn and David. Thanks for all your helps.
Now I am looking for a better backup solution so that the recovery won't be this painful if disaster strikes again. Any suggestions?
Sidney

Help! Imac won't boot anymore.

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for