HT1379 My iMac won't start up and shows a grey screen with light blue bars Online instructions have been followed bur don't seem to work
Hello
Online instructions for rebooting don't seem to working
What next
Light blue bars is a new one.
Startup - Gray, Blue or White screen at boot, w/spinner/progress bar
Startup - Gray Screen
Startup Issues - Resolve
Startup Issues - Resolve (2)
If you live near an Apple Store, make a Genius Bar appointment to have the computer tested. Supposedly there is no charge for testing.
Genius Bar Reservation US
Similar Messages
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Old iMac won't start up and stuck in grey screen with spinning wheel
Hi, I have a very old imac which I purchased back in 2005, and has been working fine. I have left it in storage about 1 and 1/2 years ago.
Just now I try to restart it, the screen is forever stuck in the grey screen with the spinning wheel.
I tried many times off-on, hold down the apple function key but none worked.
I no longer have the rebooting CD with me. I wonder whether the computer can still be saved?
I have already backed up the contents so it doesn't matter if fixing the computer requires me to delete all my old files.
Thanks
If I am not wrong, I think it's tiger or earlier that it's using.Do you have the Install Disc to try to boot from?
Might be time to replace the PRAM Battery, 4 years is close to their lifespan, far less if ever without AC power, & can cause strange startup problems...
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Newer%20Technology/BAA36VPRAM/ -
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? -
It started while I was using Adobe InDesign, and that program froze, then crashed. When I tried to reopen the program, the error message I received was simply "Error: 16".
I tried to take a screen shot of the error message for reference, and it gave me a message saying I couldn't because I didn't have access to the files where it would normally store the shot.
Attached to my computer at the time was my Seagate Free Agent Go-Flex for Mac backup drive.
So, I closed any open applications, and restarted my computer. But it wouldn't restart. It only displays a grey screen with a flashing icon in the middle of a folder with a question mark on it.
I have no idea what happened - I wasn't using the machine any differently than usual, and it only had a few basic applicaitons open in addition to InDesign (like Preview, Text Edit, Microsoft Word, iCal).
I have MacKeeper on my MacBook, and I keep it clean.
Does anyone out there know what this flashing icon indicates, and if there is anything I can try on my own to fix it?
Thanks.ali har wrote:
It started while I was using Adobe InDesign, and that program froze, then crashed. When I tried to reopen the program, the error message I received was simply "Error: 16".
I tried to take a screen shot of the error message for reference, and it gave me a message saying I couldn't because I didn't have access to the files where it would normally store the shot.
For the Error: 16
http://kb2.adobe.com/cps/827/cpsid_82744.html
Seems a uninstall and reinstall of CS is in order.
Attached to my computer at the time was my Seagate Free Agent Go-Flex for Mac backup drive.
May or may not be a contributing factor, may have kicked in at a wrong time or running root code.
So, I closed any open applications, and restarted my computer. But it wouldn't restart. It only displays a grey screen with a flashing icon in the middle of a folder with a question mark on it.
Computer can't find a bootable volume.
https://support.apple.com/kb/TS2570
I have MacKeeper on my MacBook, and I keep it clean.
Well that explains it, MacKeeper is almost malware.
http://applehelpwriter.com/2011/09/21/how-to-uninstall-mackeeper-malware/
Search the forums here for "MacKeeper" they will tell the whole story, crapware.
Disconnect all drives, follow the "Grey Screen" instructions and hold Shift key down while booting, if you get into OS X , immediatly backup your files to another drive and disconnect.
In my opinion you should first check to make sure you have a backup of your data, then just erase the entire internal drive (hold c boot off the 10.6 disk, use Disk Utility), reinstall OS X, same user name, update to 10.6.8, c boot off the 10.6 and Repair Disk (to fix a update error) install your programs and finally return files from backup into the same main user folders like before (Music, Docs, Pictures etc.)
A pain it is, but you've hosed your system and in the process you might as well rebuild everything and have a fast machine again. So happens to clear MacKrapper, uninstall CS5 and any other junk in your system at the same time. Fresh, clean, lean and mean.
Learn to Carbon Copy Cloner to a external drive that new pristine boot drive, you can hold the option key and boot from it (even update it), which is a real bacon saver when something like this happens. Also it's free to use, donations accepted.
http://www.bombich.com/
Note: if anything above I've mentioned is too complicated or your not sure, seek the services of a local computer specialist. -
My iMac won't start, it only has the apple sign with the timer and downloading bar at the bottom and then switches off.
Hi Paula2808,
I’m sorry you are having trouble starting up your iMac, that must be quite frustrating. There are some troubleshooting steps I would suggest in order to get you up and running again.
First I suggest using the steps in this article for the Apple logo appearing -
Mac OS X: Gray screen appears during startup
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2570
If things still are not working correctly, you may want to continue with the steps in this article -
Troubleshooting: My computer won't turn on
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1367
Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.
Best,
Brett L -
Hello. When I connect my imac Start, as usual, comes the start signal and then the white screen with the load signal then nothing happens. What could be the problem?
Presuming you get the chime, most of your Mac hardware is working and has passed the first part of the power-on self-test.
If the screen comes on, basic graphics is working.
The dark gray Apple is not present inside the Mac -- it must be loaded from a boot device. If the dark gray Apple appears, at least one of your boot devices has some capabilities. The flower petal/gear moves while Darwin is initializing and loading. If it stops immediately, something is terribly wrong.
When the screen turns blue, Mac OS X has loaded and your graphics card transitions to Interrupt-driven operation. LoginWindow task draws the login screen, and Mac OS X is ready for login.
What could be the problem depends on where in the process it stops, and whether the power light is blinking. -
G5 start up problem: stuck at grey screen with fans running full strength
hi, i'm new to discussions, so i hope this question and my technical knowledge and descriptions will be OK: problem: G5 20" stuck at grey screen with fans running full strength..
so far i've tried but did not work:
- power off by pressing the button for 5 secs,
- checked all cables connections etc, take out the power cable try again, etc.
- removed all USB connections, re-did
- tried to use it as 'target drive' connected to my macbook by firewire
- tried to start up and keeping C key pressed
- tried to start up with 'shift' key pressed
- tried to start up with command, options, P and R keys pressed,
- i had an additional RAM, i've taken it out and tried again, no luck
- i've put in Mac OS X install disc1, no luck, and now disc is inside my iMac, can't take it out
any recommendations? thank you!Scroto,
You may not actually have a bad processor. On the Dual G5's it's not uncommon after a few years for dust and corrosion to build up between the processors and their sockets. You can fairly easily remove the processors and clean the connections yourself if you're at all handy. Basically, snap off the heatsink covers, loosen a few screws and the processor and heatsink come out as a unit.
Clean the contacts on the processors (carefully). And clean the sockets. Be sure to put the same processor in the same place or you'll have issues.
I used 90% isopropol alcohol to clean mine last year. Let it air dry and blew both the socket and the cpu off after with canned air. That done, I reinstalled the processors, buckled everything up and no more "bad" processor... The machine worked perfectly from then on and I assume it still does today. Don't know, someone stole it last month:(... -
On start up my Mac Book Pro shows a white screen with a spinning wheel. I have tried starting up with the Snow Leopard disk - all I get is a blue screen. I guess that this is a major repair job??????
If you have the exact same problem - take the computer to an Apple store or an AASP. Whichever is more convenient for you. If you have AppleCare call them!
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When my Mac battery dies and I turn it back on, it always crashes on the grey screen with the progress bar, then it restarts (taking forever) and does not remember any of the programs I was running. MacBook Pro 13 inch running Mavericks
http://osxdaily.com/2014/10/17/os-x-yosemite-installation-stuck/
also use the Command-L to view logs during installation -
During boot Yosemite shows a grey screen with the Apple logo and a progress bar - is this normal?
During boot Yosemite shows a grey screen with the Apple logo and a progress bar - is this normal?
Same here after upgrade yesterday.
I can get OS utilities up using CMD R or holding the shift key (eventually), but if I simply then reinstall the OS will it not loose everything on my drive? I do have it backed up on Time Machine? What a nightmare - Apple Support does suck. I am not paying £25 for them to call me to tell me how to fix a bug in their OS software upgrade. Any help
Also does anyone know if it is possible to use time machine to go back to Snow Leopard? I have wasted much of the day on this now
Cheers
Simon -
My iMac won't start up and running so slow
Hello,
Since I upgraded my iMac to OS X Yosemite its been running so slow.
Yesterday out of the blue it won't shut down it froze so I forced the shut down by holding the power button.
Today it won't start! It goes till the apple logo with the download bar then it shuts down. Tried to unplug everything, reinstall but it won't work. It said the Mac HD driver is locked as well as the recovery one. I'm trying to repair the disk now its been going for ever.
Any help...Light blue bars is a new one.
Startup - Gray, Blue or White screen at boot, w/spinner/progress bar
Startup - Gray Screen
Startup Issues - Resolve
Startup Issues - Resolve (2)
If you live near an Apple Store, make a Genius Bar appointment to have the computer tested. Supposedly there is no charge for testing.
Genius Bar Reservation US -
Won't start up and has pattern on screen
Mac Pro running 10.6.8 won't start up and stalls out with just a funky pattern on a white screen. I have been able to do a Safe Boot and have run permissions tests/fixes but it still won't restart properly afterwards... arrggggh
Clone it to another drive, in part to NOT use the old system for now, and weed out any and all 3rd party background drivers extensions and processes. Or do a clean install, install as much as possible from original master copies/installers.
And move all the data and media to another drive. All but your home folder library so your boot drive is only the system and apps and that small 3GB user data. -
Mac won't start up and shows grey screen
My mac won't start up this morning ? It has a full charge of battery and even plugged in it just shows the grey screen. Any help.
Please restart your Mac and hold the 'Option'-key to see your start-up discs. If you do not see any start-up discs it could be your hard disk cable that is faulty. This is a common problem with Macbooks, but I am not sure this issue has been fixed with the Retina models. I've had this problem with my 2012 Pro, and a new cable did the job. Very easy to do yourself!
You can also start Internet Recovery (need wifi or cable) and start up Disk Utilities to see if your hard disk shows up there.
Please let me know. -
MacBook won't start up just getting a grey screen and wheel spins
My MacBook will not go pass the boot up screen (grey screen with apple logo) the wheel just keeps spinning. What can I do to fix this ?
I assume you do not have Lion or later installed. What do you have - Snow Leopard? If so, then try this instead:
Reinstall OS X without erasing the drive
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 Mac OS X 10.6.8 Update Combo v1.1. -
When I turn on my Mac I get a grey screen with a folder with a question mark . Have tried the disk utility to no avail as the disk has apparently dismounted and will not mount even though the mount option is available. I have recently upgraded from snow leopard go os x maverick
This could be a software/state problem or a hardware problem. In your case it sounds like the latter but you should try the steps below in case it might help.
Mac OS X: Gray screen appears during startup
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2570
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