I keep getting a Gray Screen at Startup on my imac

My imac suddenly went gray while watching videos and now it keeps going gray at startup.
I tried a safe start (holding the shift key at startup) but that didn't work.
Any suggestions please.
BTFrustration.

This worked for me: from apple support....
1. Shut the computer down by holding the power button for 10 seconds
2. Restart the computer and press shift at the same time until you see the progress bar start moving
3. Once you reach the point where your screen goes dark and you see the cursor, type the first letter of the username for your computer, then hit Enter, then type your password, then hit Enter.
4. After a moment, you should see the spinning beach ball
5. Your screen should then move on to something along the lines of "Completing OSX Installation" (I can't remember the exact wording). Let it finish. After that it should go to your normal desktop and the issue should be fixed. (If your screen goes pitch black during this process, hit the space bar. I thought it wasn't working, but the screen was just sleeping).

Similar Messages

Getting a gray screen at startup

Anyone know how to fix this I'm out of town and don't have my disk

See if you can find a solution here:
https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-5282
Ciao.

On startup, I get a gray screen w the apple logo and the gear going underneath, help can't get into my sign in and password..

On startup, I get a gray screen w the apple logo and the gear going underneath, help can't get into my sign in and password..

Hi there,
Yes it does. Please read this training manual that is supplied by apple that clearly states that it does.
http://service.info.apple.com/service_training/en/010/comp-theory/index.php?page =startup
Oh, if you cannot access it please look here.
Please note that the ""Some other issue" means that there could be a possible other issue, but the chance of that
happening is small.
Thanks an ACMT Trainee (Apple Certified Mac Technician)

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.

My computer will not start up. It powers up I get the gray screen with the apple and get the loading progress bar it loads to 25% and the screen goes black

My computer will not start up. It powers up, I get the gray screen with the apple, then the loading progress bar starts loading to about 25% the the screen goes black. what can I try to get my computer up and running?

Carolyn Samit wrote:
iMac, Mac OS X (10.7.1)
Use Command + R for Lion Recovery
Try restarting, when you hear the startup tone hold down the Option key. Then choose the Recovery Partition.

Mac G5 Freezes on gray screen on startup.

I've been noticing a problem of a freezing computer on the gray screen on startup in the last month. I simply re-start my computer, and it goes back to normal and boots up fine. I've not installed and programs, utilities, or new hardware. My computer still has over 200 gig of free space.
Is this an indication of a worse problem? If not, is there something I can do to fix this? I regularly used the Disk Utility program to check and fix permissions, so that should keep it somewhat clean.

Update your os. Your profile confirms you still using OS 10.6.6! You should be using OS 10.6.8 the last version of SL.

Are there options left for restarting after getting only gray screen?

I have an iBook G3 Dual USB with 12.5 inch screen, using 10.3.9 - after freezing up and forced shutdown I only get a gray screen on start up. It won't start in Safe Mode, it won't start using fsck. If I start from install disk I get the gray screen with the apple and the spinning gear - forever! If I start and press the option key I get the blue screen with the two arrows but no disks show, and the little watch just keeps spinning. Is my hard disk fried? Is there nothing else to try except the repair shop? Can I connect by Graphite Firewire via ethernet and try accessing it's disk utility? I only have 9.2.2 on it. Thanks.

brucejsp - quoting your note:
...after freezing up and forced shutdown
I only get a gray screen on start up. It won't start
in Safe Mode, it won't start using fsck. If I start
from install disk I get the gray screen with the
apple and the spinning gear - forever!
I went through a similar situation after installing the recent 2007-004 security update. Check out the long and growing problems report thread under "Panther Security Update 2007-004". If you just did this update, it may be the source of your problems. In spite of all of the other suggestions, reinstalling (using archive and install, maintain system settings), then doing all but the 004 update, did the trick.
G4 MirrorDoor Mac OS X (10.3.9) (2) 75GB HDs, Initio Miles U2W SCSI/Firewire/USB PCI Card, Westell DSL Ext. Modem, 1.75 GB RAM

Freeze on blank gray screen at startup in OS 9.2.2!?

Hi,
I've been a happy OS 9.2.2 user for many years on my G4/933. I have OSX.3 on a 2nd internal drive. But I do mainly audio recording, and I find OSX to be extremely sluggish, so I work primarily in OS9.
Everything had been working fine, but then last night as I restarted from OSX with my OS 9.2.2 partition selected as the startup disk, the computer rebooted then completely froze on a blank gray screen. No icon, question mark, sad Mac. Nothing. Since then I have restarted many time by holding down the Option key to go back to OSX. While in OSX I ran Disk Repair on the internal drive with OS 9 on it. And I then ran Disk Warrior 2.1 for OS9 on the drive. They both found some errors, but nothing critical and they were fixed. But I still get the gray screen of nothingness when restarting under OS 9.2.2.
With some hesitation I tried "zapping the PRAM", which i've never done before. As I held down the Command/Option/P/R keys the screen just stayed black, which was scary. When I finally let the keys go it changed the Gray Screen of Nothingness and I was able to reboot and get back to OSX. I have no idea if I actually zapped my PRAM or not, or if that is the right thing to do.
I can function in OSX, but I'm really hobbled without being able to work in my good old OS 9 environment. I would really appreciate any tips...!
Thanks - Steve
G4 (circa July '02) Mac OS 9.2.x
G4 (circa July '02) Mac OS 9.2.x

Okay. I discovered these two post from a guy who appeared to have a similar issue as you do:
OS 9 Gray Screen, Help - MacWorld Forums & Os 9 Gray Screen - MacOSX.com
He even used Mac OS 9 primarily for audio work. From what I gathered his Mac was suffering from corrupt preference files.
Try doing the following:
Boot into Mac OS X and open the Preference folder in you Mac OS 9 System Folder.
Move these files into the Trash: Finder preferences, Mac OS preferences & System preferences. Also trash the preferences files for your audio card if you have any.
Open your Mac OS X System Preferences and select your Mac OS 9 folder as your start up volume, then quit System Preferences.
Shut down your Mac and unplug it.
Open the Mac, remove all of your PCI cards, and press the PMU button for 10 seconds. (The PMU button is a tiny black button on a small silver block mounted somewhere on the motherboard. It should look similar to this.)
Reinstall you cards, close your Mac and plug it back in.
Press the power button. If all is well the Mac should be able to into Mac OS 9 with out any problems.
If it still hags on the gray screen then your Mac OS 9 partition might be heavily fragmented or nearly full.

IMac G5 gray screen on startup and fan maxes out!! Help!

I've heard this problem quite a bit on several forums, but have yet to find an answer. I Need help!! My iMac G5 delays on startup ( i hit the button, and startup doesn't actually start for a minute or 2), and when it does, i get the gray screen, and then after another minute, the fan goes crazy and maxed out until I manually shut down. I reset the memory, and check the LED lights, (all came on normally). What's going on here!? I appreciate any help

If the troubleshooting solutions listed in Mac 101 were of no help & you found no solutions to your problem(s) listed in the various Knowledge Base Articles see if the following suggestions are of any help:
Except for the keyboard & mouse, disconnect all devices/peripherals from your computer.
Step 1: Restart into Safe Mode by holding down the Shift key during startup. The comp will run a complete & lengthy file systtem check, then start up w/only the required kerenel extensions & w/o running any Startup items tthat you installed.
If you are running OS 10.4 it will also perform some font finagling.
Try starting up normally again. If you are still stalling, restart in Safe Mode & move on to Step 2...........
Mac OS X: Starting up in Safe Mode
Step 2: Open Library>Startup items folder-the root level Library, not the one in your user name folder.
Look for potentially problematic 3rd party items such as virus scanning software components, etc. Remove 1 or more items to a location outside the Library folder, such as the Desktop, then restart normally & see if your Mac stalls. It it does, try removing all the items in the Startup items folder & restart. If all’s now well, place the items back into the Startup items folder 1 by 1, restarting each time you put one back. If and/or when the stall resurfaces, you just identified the faulty component.
If the above does not work, then it’s time to move on to Step 3.................
Step 3: WARNING-This step can be tedious-removing .plist files from the /Library/Preferences folder.
Remove the entire Preferences folder from the Library folder on your startup drive then place the files back 1 by 1 until you see the problem return. *The Mac will automatically create a new Preferences folder in the Library folder*
Alternatively, you can take half of the items out (all non-Apple .plist file, for example), restart to see if your Mac stalls, then move to a smaller set of items, repeatingn the process until the culprit is found.
Or you can use Preferential Treatment which is a FREE utility that does all the work for you.
Hang in there & good luck!!!!

My Mac is producing gray screen at startup and crashes. I'm afraid that everything explode and disappear, and can no longer connect and work with my Mac. Can anyone help ?? Thank you.

My Mac is producing gray screen at startup and crashes. I'm afraid that everything explode and disappear, and can no longer connect and work with my Mac. Can anyone help ??
Thank you.
Problem description:
gray screen at startup and crashes
EtreCheck version: 2.1.1 (104)
Report generated 6 de dezembro de 2014 13:29:43 BRST
Hardware Information: ℹ️
MacBook Pro (15-inch, Early 2011) (Verified)
MacBook Pro - model: MacBookPro8,2
1 2.2 GHz Intel Core i7 CPU: 4-core
4 GB RAM
BANK 0/DIMM0
2 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok
BANK 1/DIMM0
2 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok
Bluetooth: Old - Handoff/Airdrop2 not supported
Wireless: en1: 802.11 a/b/g/n
Video Information: ℹ️
AMD Radeon HD 6750M - VRAM: 1024 MB
Color LCD 1440 x 900
Intel HD Graphics 3000 - VRAM: 384 MB
System Software: ℹ️
Mac OS X 10.6.8 (10K549) - Uptime: 0:31:56
Disk Information: ℹ️
TOSHIBA MK7559GSXF disk0 : (698,64 GB)
S.M.A.R.T. Status: Verified
- (disk0s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB
Macintosh HD (disk0s2) / : 749.81 GB (378.70 GB free)
MATSHITADVD-R   UJ-898
USB Information: ℹ️
Apple Inc. FaceTime HD Camera (Built-in)
Apple Inc. Apple Internal Keyboard / Trackpad
Apple Inc. BRCM2070 Hub
Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller
Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver
Thunderbolt Information: ℹ️
Apple, Inc. MacBook Pro
Problem System Launch Daemons: ℹ️
[not loaded] org.samba.winbindd.plist [Support]
Launch Agents: ℹ️
[running] com.babylon.activation.plist [Support]
[loaded] com.divx.dms.agent.plist [Support]
[loaded] com.divx.update.agent.plist [Support]
[loaded] com.hp.help.tocgenerator.plist [Support]
Launch Daemons: ℹ️
[loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist [Support]
[loaded] com.microsoft.office.licensing.helper.plist [Support]
User Launch Agents: ℹ️
[loaded] com.adobe.ARM.[...].plist [Support]
[loaded] com.facebook.videochat.[redacted].plist [Support]
[loaded] com.google.keystone.agent.plist [Support]
[running] com.skype.c2c_service.plist [Support]
User Login Items: ℹ️
iTunesHelper UNKNOWNHidden (missing value)
FaceboxPro Aplicativo (/Applications/FaceboxPro.app)
Safari Aplicativo (/Applications/Safari.app)
Octoshape Aplicativo (/Users/[redacted]/Library/Octoshape/Octoshape.app)
uTorrent UNKNOWN (missing value)
Dropbox Aplicativo (/Applications/Dropbox.app)
Inkscape UNKNOWN (missing value)
RealPlayer Downloader Agent Aplicativo (/Users/[redacted]/Library/Application Support/RealNetworks/RealPlayer Downloader Agent.app)
HP Product Research Aplicativo (/Library/Application Support/Hewlett-Packard/Customer Participation/HP Product Research.app)
Internet Plug-ins: ℹ️
OVSHelper: Version: 1.1 [Support]
Google Earth Web Plug-in: Version: 7.1 [Support]
Flip4Mac WMV Plugin: Version: 2.4.4.2 [Support]
RealPlayer Plugin: Version: Unknown [Support]
AdobePDFViewerNPAPI: Version: 10.1.12 [Support]
FlashPlayer-10.6: Version: 15.0.0.239 - SDK 10.6 [Support]
DivX Web Player: Version: 3.1.1.9 - SDK 10.6 [Support]
Silverlight: Version: 5.1.30514.0 - SDK 10.6 [Support]
Flash Player: Version: 15.0.0.239 - SDK 10.6 [Support]
QuickTime Plugin: Version: 7.6.6
iPhotoPhotocast: Version: 7.0 - SDK 10.7
SharePointBrowserPlugin: Version: 14.1.2 [Support]
AdobePDFViewer: Version: 10.1.12 [Support]
JavaAppletPlugin: Version: 13.9.8 - SDK 10.6 Check version
User internet Plug-ins: ℹ️
npsf_uni: Version: sf 3.3.2.1 [Support]
OctoshapeWeb: Version: 1.0 - SDK 10.8 [Support]
Safari Extensions: ℹ️
Searchme Adware! [Remove]
Skype Click to Call
iSkyDeluxe
TED HTML5 video playe
Audio Plug-ins: ℹ️
iSightAudio: Version: 7.6.6
3rd Party Preference Panes: ℹ️
Flash Player [Support]
Flip4Mac WMV [Support]
Skype Click to Call [Support]
Tuxera NTFS [Support]
Time Machine: ℹ️
Time Machine information requires OS X 10.7 "Lion" or later.
Top Processes by CPU: ℹ️
      5% WindowServer
      4% DivXMediaServer
      1% fontd
      0% RealPlayer Downloader Agent
      0% WebProcess
Top Processes by Memory: ℹ️
296 MB WebProcess
202 MB FaceboxPro
185 MB Microsoft PowerPoint
163 MB Safari
137 MB Microsoft Word
Virtual Memory Information: ℹ️
843 MB Free RAM
1.76 GB Active RAM
706 MB Inactive RAM
978 MB Wired RAM
577 MB Page-ins
0 B Page-outs
Diagnostics Information: ℹ️
Dec 6, 2014, 12:58:24 PM Self test - passed
Dec 6, 2014, 12:23:11 PM Kernel_2014-12-06-122311_MacBook-Pro-de-...panic [Details]
Dec 6, 2014, 07:08:28 AM PluginProcess_2014-12-06-070828_MacBook-...crash
Dec 5, 2014, 05:24:39 PM WebProcess_2014-12-05-172439_MacBook-Pro...crash
Dec 5, 2014, 10:45:59 AM Kernel_2014-12-05-104559_MacBook-Pro-de-...panic [Details]
Dec 5, 2014, 10:18:14 AM Kernel_2014-12-05-101814_MacBook-Pro-de-...panic [Details]
Dec 3, 2014, 08:28:35 PM locationd_2014-12-03-202835_localhost.crash
Dec 5, 2014, 10:25:44 AM Kernel_2014-12-05-102544_MacBook-Pro-de-...panic [Details]

Startup - Gray, Blue or White screen at boot, w/spinner/progress bar
Startup Issues - Resolve
Startup Issues - Resolve (2)

I am not able to access the "Settings" on my iPad 3. I just get a gray screen for about 30 seconds and then the app shuts down. I am also unable to access the App store, iTunes, or any app requiring an internet connection. Any thoughts?

I am not able to access the "Settings" on my iPad 3. I just get a gray screen for about 30 seconds and then the app shuts down. I am also unable to access the App store, iTunes, or any app requiring an internet connection. Any thoughts?

First, try a system reset. It cures many ills and it's quick, easy and harmless...
Hold down the on/off switch and the Home button simultaneously until the screen blacks out or you see the Apple logo. Ignore the "Slide to power off" text if it appears. You will not lose any apps, data, music, movies, settings, etc.
If the Reset doesn't work, try a Restore. Note that it's nowhere near as quick as a Reset. Connect via cable to the computer that you use for sync. From iTunes, select the iPad/iPod and then select the Summary tab. Follow directions for Restore and be sure to say "yes" to the backup. You will be warned that all data (apps, music, movies, etc.) will be erased but, as the Restore finishes, you will be asked if you wish the contents of the backup to be copied to the iPad/iPod. Again, say "yes."

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

How to get past gray screen on MacBook?

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

Ipad 2 - get a gray screen on Safari and can't make selection even though connected to internet...

ipad 2 - get a gray screen on Safari and can't make selection even though connected to internet...

Try rebooting the ipad by pressing and holding the on/off and home buttons simultaneously until the screen goes blank and you see the apple logo. It should take about 10-15 seconds to reboot.

Keep getting a popup window stating" startup disc almost full, need to delete files"

keep getting a popup window stating" startup disc almost full, need to delete files", what can i do to help with this, i generally have only photos in iphoto, some imovies, and a small amount of documents

You should never, EVER let a conputer hard drive get completely full, EVER!
With Macs and OS X, you shouldn't let the hard drive get below 15 GBs or less of free data space.
If it does, it's time for some hard drive housecleaning.
Follow some of my tips for cleaning out, deleting and archiving data from your Mac's internal hard drive.
Have you emptied your iMac's Trash icon in the Dock?
If you use iPhoto, iPhoto has its own trash that needs to be emptied, also.
If you store images in other locations other than iPhoto, then you will have to weed through these to determine what to archive and what to delete.
If you use Apple Mail app, Apple Mail also has its own trash area that needs to be emptied, too!
Delete any old or no longer needed emails and/or archive to disc, flash drives or external hard drive, older emails you want to save.
Look through your other Mailboxes and other Mail categories to see If there is other mail you can archive and/or delete.
Other things you can do to gain space.
Once you have around 15 GBs regained, do a search, download and install OmniDisk Sweeper.
This app will help you locate files that you can move/archive and/or delete from your system.
STAY AWAY FROM DELETING ANY FILES FROM OS X SYSTEM FOLDER!
Look through your Documents folder and delete any type of old useless type files like "Read Me" type files.
Again, archive to disc, flash drives, ext. hard drives or delete any old documents you no longer use or immediately need.
Look in your Applications folder, if you have applications you haven't used in a long time, if the app doesn't have a dedicated uninstaller, then you can simply drag it into the OS X Trash icon. IF the application has an uninstaller app, then use it to completely delete the app from your Mac.
Download an app called OnyX for your version of OS X.
When you install and launch it, let it do its initial automatic tests, then go to the cleaning and maintenance tabs and run the maintenance tabs that let OnyX clean out all web browser cache files, web browser histories, system cache files, delete old error log files.
Typically, iTunes and iPhoto libraries are the biggest users of HD space.
move these files/data off of your internal drive to the external hard drive and deleted off of the internal hard drive.
If you have any other large folders of personal data or projects, these should be archived or moved, also, to the optical discs, flash drives or external hard drive and then either archived to disc and/or deleted off your internal hard drive.
Good Luck!

I keep getting a Gray Screen at Startup on my imac

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