How to get past gray screen on MacBook?

Here are some initial things to try.
http://support.apple.com/kb/ts2570
http://lifehacker.com/how-to-troubleshoot-the-four-most-common-oh-sh-t-mac-48708 0511

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Can't get past gray screen with file icon on it

When i turn on my computer the power light goes out but the gray screen stays on. After two or three minutes an icon of a file with a question mark appears. I cannot get past this screen. I have removed my battery and tried again. I have also tried the other processes for a computer that won't turn on. In my case the computer does turn on just never gets past this gray screen. Please someone help me

The question mark on the file tells you that your MacBook wants to start up but can't find a viable OS to start from. Can you start up from the DVD that came with your Mac? If so, go to Disk Utility and see if you can repair the internal hard drive. If you can't see the hard drive from within DU, your drive may have failed, and you may need to replace it. Good luck.

HT201274 I have wiped the old persons data and photos etc off my recently purchased ipod touch and now all the display shows is a usb lead and CD, please can someone tell me how to get past this screen so I can transfer my own music

Please can anyone help, I recently purchased a second hand ipod touch and it had over 4000 photos on it, so to delete them I went to settings and found an option which said something like erase all content and data, I did this and the next morning I tried to turn it on to put my own music on, only to find that the only display on the screen is a usb lead with an arrow pointing to a CD. I cant get past this screen even after plugging it in to my itunes account, its like my computer can not find the ipod.

Put it in Recovery Mode. If your computer won't recognize your iPod, try another one. How did you wiped the iPod? With iTunes or directly with the settings app?

Can't get past gray screen with progress indicator... Help

I can't turn on my Macbook. It starts but won't go past the gray screen with the progress indicator (spinning circle).
I have tried:
1. turning off, removing battery, holding start for 5+ seconds, replacing battery and then turning on.
2. Holding command + option + R + P while staring up, waited for 3+ chimes.
3. holding Shift down while starting up
none of these things are working.
I've been on hold with apple service/support for almost an hour now.
I have an assignment on the computer that is due by midnight.
HELP!
I'm not very computer savvy and this is my first mac.
Any ideas folks??
Thanks.
Macbook Mac OS X (10.4.7)

You've done all the standard procedures. If you have any peripherals attached, disconnect them.
This describes resetting the PMU:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=303319
Did you have the AC disconnected when you did it? I don't have any other ideas.
These are the startup key options:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=303124
Edit: If you have the install disc stuck in it anyway, can you get the hardware test to work? (Reboot while pressing the D key.)

Can't get past gray screen for OS X but will boot into Windows partition.

Hi- I am really desperate for help here.
Restarted my computer this evening when Front Row wasn't able to find the files on my external HD. When it booted it went directly in to my Windows Boot Camp partition. So I restarted, held down 'option', choose my OS X disk and just got the spinning sun icon on the gray screen for several minutes. It then booted into Windows again. If I hold down 'option' again I can cut it off before it gets to Windows.
I've tried booting into a cloned HD via FireWire and same results.
I've tried booting with the install disk (c key held down) and it won't recognize it.
I've tried Safe Mode (shift key) - same.
I've booted into Single User and done fsck and and it says everything is ok.
- BUT I did notice it says further up- "BSD: rootdisk0s2, major 14, minor 2". Are these errors? If so why didn't fsck find and fix them.
I've tried resetting PRAM and SMC.
The only thing I have done out of the ordinary was an hour before I was trying to get some of my files on my wife's laptop and went into permissions on my HD and changed "Everyone" Priviledges to Read (or maybe it was Read and Write) then chose "apply to enclosed items". This change took about 20 minutes.
The computer is, of course, just over a year old and has worked perfectly up until now.
Someone-Please!!!

Tried that and it just doesn't read the disk. I've booted it with the disc already in and held Shift and also tried it with "C". The same for putting the disc in just as it boots up.
I went into Single User mode again and compared the text against what shows up on the laptop. Their are a few differences. At the very beginning of the iMac text there is:
npvhash=4095
hi mem tramps at 0xffe00000
PAE Enabled
64 bit mode enabled
-then-
Extension "com.apple.driver.AppleACPIPlatform" has immediate dependencies on both com.apple.kernel and com.apple.kpicomponents; use only one style.
Extension "com.apple.driver.AppleIntelCPUPowerManagement" has immediate dependencies on both com.apple.kernel and com.apple.kpicomponents; use only one style.
-then- after "MAC Framework successfully initialized" comes this three times...
Extension "com.apple.driver.AppleACPIPlatform" has immediate dependencies on both com.apple.kernel and com.apple.kpicomponents; use only one style.
These are really the only major differences that I can see in the Single Mode screen.
I also have tried booting from the Firewire drive clone on the laptop but it is not an available option for booting. The disk partitions mount but have a lock in the corner and say they cannot be opened because I have insufficient access privileges.

How to get past white screen after start up

.

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
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 3
Boot in safe mode. Note: If FileVault is enabled on some models, 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 5.
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 4
Sometimes a boot failure can be resolved by resetting the NVRAM.
Step 5
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 6
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 7
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 8
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 is separate from the main battery of a portable. A dead logic-board battery can cause a gray screen at boot. Typically the boot failure will be preceded by loss of the startup disk and system clock settings. See the user manual for replacement instructions. You may have to take the machine to a service provider to have the battery replaced.
Step 9
If you get this far, you're probably dealing with a hardware fault. Make a "Genius" appointment at an Apple Store to have the machine tested. If you can't get to an Apple Store, go to another authorized service provider.

Can't get past gray screen

I posted earlier about a problem that resulted from installing the usual software updates that pop up periodically. Initially I posted that after the restart, the screen was blue with a wide black vertical line on the right side. With closer observation I noticed that before that happens, the screen kind of changes color from a purplish tint. If I leave it powered on, the blue screen with the black line eventually disappears and it just becomes a gray screen. Because I haven't seen any icon of a blinking question mark I still have hope that my hard drive isn't dead! Can anyone please offer any advice?
I have tried starting it in safe mode but nothing happens. I also tried holding command/option/P/R and that just did the same thing with the line.
I am looking for my original disks but have not found them yet!

1) try to boot from the install cd-dvd
(if this doesn't work)=>
2) Try to connect it to an external monitor. (if this shows an image on the external display your lcd is broken)
(if this does not show an image) =>
3)your motherboard is probably
broken (that is the graphics card integrated on your motherboard)

Can't get past gray screen after Boot Camp Assistant

So last night I decided it was time to start experimenting with Boot Camp and Windows XP Pro. I fired up Boot Camp Assistant and allocated a 32gb partition of my HD for the XP install. When prompted, I put in the XP Pro CD and restarted. It booted into the XP install utility, but when asking about which partition to use, instead of the 32gb partition, all I saw was a 131gb partition. Thinking that it was my OS X partition, I decided to cancel out of the install and do some more investigating. When it restarted, all I got was a blank gray screen, no spinning gear, no logos, nothing. When rebooting while holding down a mouse button, I was able to eject the Windows XP cd. Here's what I've tried so far:
CDs: Leopard, Original OS X Disk 1, Windows XP, None
Keys: none
Result: Gray screen
Keys: option
Result: Gray screen with mouse pointer that initially is moveable, but then freezes
Keys: c
Result: Gray screen
Keys: d
Result: Gray Screen
Keys: shift
Result: Gray Screen
Keys: command + r + p
Result: Gray Screen
Holding power button
Result: Long tone while starting up, then gray screen.
What can I do?? I'm thinking that Boot Camp fried my HD partition data, but I can't seem to access any of the boot disks or any sort of disk utilities

I did. I took it into the Apple store and they replaced my hard drive. It was under warranty, so it wasn't a problem. I got them to give me my old hard drive back, which I hooked up to an external SATA enclosure. My mac recognized it, but said it wasn't initialized. I downloaded Data Rescue II and it recovered all of my software. I'm now using it as a Time Machine disk.
After further research, I found out the my main problem was that I used Windows XP SP1. You NEED to use SP2, otherwise, this problem will occur. I figured I could just upgrade later, but nope, you need a native SP2 disk.
If your Mac isn't under warranty, try this post:
http://phail.net/2008/04/10/bootcamp-windows-xp-sp1-epic-phail/
and his solution:
http://phail.net/2008/04/13/bootcampsp1-white-screen-of-death-a-solution/
In short, you need another Leopard computer. I bet if you print out the instructions and take them to the Apple store with you, the Genius Bar will help you, they've always been super helpful/nice with me.
Good luck!!

Won't get past gray screen/apple

My son's mac book will not start. It shows the grey screen and apple logo but no further. I ran utilities from leopard install disk and it says SMART said the disk is about to fail. I ran DW 4.1 and Drive Genius 2.0.2 to no avail.
How can I get the data off of this HD?
Thanks
Geoff

See if you can get DiskWarrior to mount the drive in "Preview" mode. I recently cloned all my files off an external drive that was hosed. Thanks to DW I recovered all my files.
-Bmer
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How to get past red screen on Galaxy s4?

I tried to restart my phone this morning and it is now stuck at the red screen that says "Verizon". Any suggestions?

If that doesnt work, maybe a factory reset. Powered off: hold vol up+power+home key. Should boot into recovery mode. There you can reset the device. Unless you just have to do so right now, hold off, maybe someone with a better answer can chime in before you lose all your data on the phone.

How to get past blue screen at start up on MacPro?

I have a blue screen at start up and the MacPro won't boot up.
Before I attempt to hold down keys at start, pls let me know which one to hold down.

See if there is assistance here:
https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-5282
Ciao.

Hey guys. my macbook air wont get past the screen with the apple on it during start up. how do i fix this? i have a paper saved on my laptop on need to get at it. thanks guy!

hey guys. my macbook air wont get past the screen with the apple on it during start up. how do i fix this? i have a paper saved on my laptop on need to get at it. thanks guy!

Your boot drive is damaged in some way. If you have an original installation disc, you can boot from that and run Disk Utility. From DU you can select your internal hard drive ("Macintosh HD" is the name Apple puts on it - you may have renamed yours) and select "Verify Disk". If errors come up, try "Repair Disk". If it repairs, then you should be able to restart and boot from it. If it doesn't show up or won't repair, your drive is probably hosed.
Clinton

My MacBook Pro won't boot on the Mac side I get the gray screen and then halfway through the bar loading it turns off?

My MacBook Pro was downloading apps from iTunes and I shut the computer down at my I laws house or so I thought? When I pulled the computer out of my backpack it was still on? I tried to login and it kept spinning so I turned it off and now I only get a gray screen. I can boot it in the windows side and have an external hard drive with time machine backup on it but don't know how to load it without getting onto the Mac side?
Please help!

turn off the mac completely
as soon AS you hit power button press following 4 keys
Option + Command + P + R
that should reset it

MacBook pro will not boot. I get the gray screen, an apple icon and spinning wheel. Tried to start in safe mode but get the same screen. The only thing different was that I loaded the zedge sync app yesterday. Now getting this problem.

Macbook pro will not boot. I get the gray screen, an apple icon and spinning wheel. I tried to start in safe mode, but get this same screen. The only thing different is that I added the zedge update app to do a sync for adding ringtones to my apple cell phone. How can I get a good boot. I am fairly new to apple computer.

Reset PRAM: http://support.apple.com/kb/PH4405 and then try a normal boot.
Run the Startup Manager to select Startup disk: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1310
If those did not work your disk may be sick or dying. The top priority at this point is to make a backup copy of your data.
Check the health of the disk. Boot in Recovery Mode (Boot, Command-R). Run Disk Utility. Click on the upper left disk icon. Does the S.M.A.R.T. status say “Verified”? If not the disk/SSD is unhealthy and needs to be replaced. Even if it does not show “Verified” you can still attempt a backup.
Click on the icon indented below, usually called “Macintosh HD” and Verify Disk. If it finishes with a green “OK” message then all is well with the disk. If it shows errors in red then you have found a problem to address once the system is backed up. Do not attempt software repairs until you have secured the data.
If the disk will not show up at all in Disk Utility as your ran the tests above then it may be dead or it may have a bad internal SATA cable. A trip to an Apple store for confirmation would be in order.
If you have an external disk drive you can use as a backup drive then do so. If not Google “Hitachi USB 3.0 external hard drive 1TB” to purchase one or go to a brick-and-mortar store (including an Apple store) to pickup one. Any 1 TB external drive will do.
Assuming it is still breathing you can try to recover the data without booting from the sick disk.
Reformat the external disk. (This will erase all data on the external disk.)
Boot in Recovery Mode. Start Disk Utility. Plug in the new disk. Select it’s disk Icon (the second one down, left justified). Select the Partition tab.
Partition Layout > Single Partition
Name: Emergency Recovery 1 (or whatever name you wish to use)
Format: Mac OS Extended (journaled)
Options… > GUID Partition Table > OK
Apply
Select the Restore tab.
Drag the old system volume (Macintosh HD) to Source.
Drag the new disk volume (Emergency Recovery 1) to Destination.
Click on Restore.
It may take a long time for the backup.
If that will not complete post back for other emergency data recovery methods, including those from a brody.
If the backup succeeds, use the First Aid tab in Disk Utility to select the old volume (Macintosh HD) and Repair Disk. If it does not finish with a green OK message try to repair it once or twice more. If it repairs with a green OK message, will it boot normally? If not, boot from the Recovery Partition and reinstall OS X.
If it is still not healthy, post back for further instructions.

Macbook keeps restarting, can't get past icon screen

I had to correct my permissions because I couldn't edit my address book and ical. Everything was working fine last night after I did the permission fixes. But when I booted up my Mac tonight, the farthest I could get was the white screen with the Apple icon and the animated circle. After a few minutes, the laptop will reboot itself and continued to do that for 30 minutes. I can't get past that screen. What is going on? How do I fix this? I finally turned off the Mac and am using my Dell.

The question mark on the file tells you that your MacBook wants to start up but can't find a viable OS to start from. Can you start up from the DVD that came with your Mac? If so, go to Disk Utility and see if you can repair the internal hard drive. If you can't see the hard drive from within DU, your drive may have failed, and you may need to replace it. Good luck.

How to get past gray screen on MacBook?

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