I'm only booting to the gray screen...help!

There's something going on, when I turn my computer on, it only boots the the gray apple screen with a progress wheel, no further. I cannot get it to boot in safe mode, and my problem is worse because my optical drive hasn't worked in a long time (I've been using an external drive), so I can't reinstall the software.
Thoughts?
Powerbook G4 12 Mac OS X (10.3.8)

Welcome to Apple Discussions, Friends with Tigger and andylambert17.
From your desciptions it sounds like both PowerBooks are suffering from an internal hard drive failure of some kind.
There are commonly two kinds of drive failures - either related to a directory corruption or mechanical failure. If it is due to directory corruption then there is a reasonable chance that DiskWarrior might be able to fix it.
However if it is mechanical failure then the only option is to replace the drive. There will have been previous warning symptoms like unusual noises, sluggish performance, problems accessing files/applications or startup issues.
Data recovery, if required, might be possible with Data Rescue or via an expensive professional data recovery service.
If feasible it will be a good idea to run the Apple Hardware Test - but, of course, a working optical drive is needed.
On the other hand, if you have a cloned, bootable, backup on an external FireWire drive then try restarting from that. Or if you have access to another FW-equipped Mac then you can use FireWire Target Disk Mode. You can then test the internal drive using Disk Utility. Look out for the SMART status at the bottom of the DU window. If it says anything other than "Verified" then the drive is in trouble.
2.0GHz MacBook, 15" 1.25GHz/12" 1GHz PBs, 2xPPC Mac minis, 12" iBook G4, Mac OS X (10.4.8) Cube, 2xTAMs, iPod 4G & nano 2G, 1G & 2G iPs, AEBS, AX

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Mac Pro (early 2008) wont boot pat the gray screen

First, my mac pro has three hard drives, bay 1 is time machine, bay 2 is empty, and bay 3 is A new Disk, running a newly installed 10.6.4. The computer was running great, then one morning I turned it on and the computer never got passed the gray screen after the chime and fan noise. I did a hard restart, holding down the power button, the computer booted normally to bay 3. This has happen twice. I have notice that if I restart from the OS it boots to bay 3 with no problems. It seem to only happen when the computer has been off for several hours.
Thanks for any help on this!

One thing at a time, and while I would hope you would use DW 4.2 on regular basis, plan for the worst and hope for the best, no reason to jump off the deep end and no, not processors or logicboard.
DW may not be able to boot your system from its CD, which I never use, just copy latest 4.2+ version to your boot volumes.
A printer or its cable, scanner, consumer USB device is much more likely, or drivers.
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Safe boot mode - for when there isn't any other option and to do light maintenance.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1564

IBook won't boot, stops at gray screen--HELP

I couldn't find this exact topic at first glance and I am hoping someone can help me. My ibook is about 5 years old and has only really crashed on my once 2 years ago but I was able to reinstall the OS and go on my way. This time, however, nothing works. I tried to boot up yesterday and the gray screen appeared and that was it along with a strange buzzing sound. I tried Disk Warrior, wouldn't even boot off that. Also tried booting off system disk 1 and didn't get past the language screen, just hung up with that buzz again.
Does this sound like a logic board issue? Can it be rescued?
Thanks in advance for any help!

I'm not sure if the computer can be checked out at home in such a way
in its present state, to see if there is a logic board failure behind it, now,
or not. There could be a hard disk drive failure, or ATA controller failure;
and a short list of other possibilities, best checked over by a specialist.
Certain keyboard commands and things could be tried (and I usually
assume they'd been tried before asking here, but that's often not so)
just to see if one or more of them could get a rise out of the dead Mac.
Be sure, if you can get the installer disc to boot the Mac, that you
try and use the Disk Utility to repair disc; maybe more than once;
and do not try to just reinstall an Archive and Install. The HDD may
have corruption issues and it may need low-level zero-data and re-
formatting before a new system could go on there, if it worked at all.
{Even trying to reset PRAM/NVRAM and then seeing if you can get
the bootable OSX installer disc to start up the Mac could be OK.
Maybe that PMU reset, as a last resort? It probably won't hurt...}
A system on an external bootable enclosed hard disk drive could be
used by a tech or a prepared home-tech owner, and a clone of the
machine's system then attempted to be used to boot the ailing Mac.
If the optical drive and other components relying on the logic board
are dysfunctional due to a defect on that main board, most external
devices may also have a hard time trying to use these methods of
outside efforts to troubleshoot be nominally successful.
There may be a way a tech can use an second computer to get
data off the drive in your iBook, should it come to that, by using
the FireWire Target Disk mode and see if your iBook can start
and act like an external hard disk drive. A copy of the drive's
content or parts of it may be made by the second healthy Mac.
A clone (perhaps not bootable if data on it is damaged and not
recoverable) could be made if the second healthy computer has
a clone utility and also an external drive it can copy/clone the
iBook's drive content over to. This may be asking too much;
but the home user who has stuff on hand could do it shortly.
Anyway, there are some ideas online, if you can search google
and choose appropriate words; I looked but you may need to
read through several different source links to see if anything
sounds like it may work. re: iBook won't start past grey screen
Some users have tried resetting the PMU, others tried NVRAM
and PRAM; a few tried SafeBoot to see if the system was OK
enough to load in a reduced startup mode; maybe where the
system's own Disk Utility could be ran to at least fix permissions.
And of these, if it is truly a logic board or a failed hard disk drive,
they won't really do much. Probably no harm; and that is part
of what troubleshooting is all about, working with zeros and ones!
Good luck & happy computing!
edited to add a chapter.

Macbook Pro won't boot and getting gray screen, help!

I have a Macbook Pro 15" from mid2011. The warranty just expired one week ago.
I was normally using it without any problem, when suddenly the screen started to freeze and get some horizontal line. I had to force shut down with the power button couple times. The next day, my MBP wasn't booting during the startup.
When I turn on, I can hear the chime, the Apple logo show up and the little wheel turns, but after those things the screen remaing gray without any thing happens.
I have tried some steps that I found on discussion, forums, and websites like:
- PRAM
- cmd-s (to verify and clean the HD)
- hold option and restore using a flash drive with Mountain Lion (after I choose the drive, I get a "blue" screen)
- Remove the RAM and put back
All those things weren't successful.
What do you guys think I should do now?
What are the main causes of gray screen or blue screen?
Should I replace my RAM or HD?
I'm avoiding to take to a technichian or a geek, because I have a lot of confidential work inside. Luckly, I have a backup of everything.
I appreciate every reply made.
Thanks!!

Hi Eric,
Thanks for your fast reply.
Yes, I've tried cmd-R. I get a "blue screen" with vertical lines. Pretty weird.
I'm unable to access the Disk Utility.
Do you think the HD is damaged?

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Ciao.

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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.

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G5? PowerPC? 10.5? or earlier....
https://discussions.apple.com/community/desktop_computers/power_mac?view=discuss ions
Apple has a number of resources like "Power or Startup Quick Assist"
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1149
Your drive does need to be repaired, and best things to buy are another backup recovery drive, with a small OS X partition; a copy of Disk Warrior is expensive @ $90 but excellent and best.
Never bother with or use the drive or reinstall while there are errors. Don't take a "clean' bill from Apple Disk Utility to mean there are no errors. Only that it didn't find what it looked for.
http://www.macintouch.com/readerreports/harddrives/topic4557.html#d12aug2010
http://www.alsoft.com/DiskWarrior/index.html
A quick search "keyboard shortcuts" takes you here:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1343
how to resolve and fix startup issues with fsck and disk utility:
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1417
http://macperformanceguide.com/Mac-HowToClone-backup.html
http://macperformanceguide.com/Mac-HowToClone.html
How to use DU to backup and restore
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1553
http://www.alsoft.com/DiskWarrior/index.html
http://www.bombich.com/ccc_features.html
Make sure to have multiple backup sets and of your system so if there is a serious problem, you can just erase and restore to be back runninig.
Sounds like your G5 though needs PMU reset, not PRAM, and the best way for those is to clear nvram instead. might even want to check for dust; tell what System Profile says (later) as to "PowerMacX,Y" or "MacProX,1"
http://www.apple.com/support/powermac or /macpro
http://www.apple.com/support/sitemap/
The Utility menu is on the menu bar of an "OS X Install DVD" and at the point where you get to but stop at "install....' for OS X. you probably do need to install OS X on another drive to work from.
Oh, a real severe issue and damage to the drive directory or filesystem CAN in cases prevent booting from DVD (the system still tries to find and see what boot volumes are present) and can help to pull or disconnect the drive. Putting a drive in a FW case to turn on after startup is very useful.

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orshikhfromsc,
boot from the Mac OS X Install DVD that originally came in the box with your MacBook Pro (by holding down the C key as it starts up). When the desktop appears, select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu and erase your internal disk. After it’s been erased, reformat it. After it’s been reformatted, exit Disk Utility and reïnstall the version of Mac OS X from that DVD onto your internal disk. After that version of Mac OS X has been reïnstalled, boot from your internal disk and run Software Update to get it up-to-date within that version; that should allow you to redownload and reïnstall Mavericks, if desired. If Mavericks is reïnstalled, run Software Update again to get it up to date.
If you no longer have the two grey installation DVDs, you can purchase a replacement set from either Apple or iFixit.

Had to reset password but now it won't go past the gray screen. It tries to boot but turns off. How do I fix it?

My father forgot his password on his macboo pro. I followed the instructions on how to reset it. Now when I turn it on it goes to the gray screen and there's a loading bar but it doesn''t finish, the mac turns off. What do I do!!!

Reinstall Lion, Mountain Lion, or Mavericks without erasing drive
Boot to the Recovery HD:
Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the menu screen appears. Alternatively, restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears. Select the Recovery HD and click on the downward pointing arrow button.
Repair
When the recovery menu appears select Disk Utility. 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 then click on the Repair Permissions button. When the process is completed, then quit DU and return to the main menu.
Reinstall Mountain Lion or Mavericks
OS X Mavericks- Reinstall OS X
OS X Mountain Lion- Reinstall OS X
OS X Lion- Reinstall Mac OS X
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How do I fix a initializing problem with my macbook pro? I only get to the blank screen with the apple logo and the "processing something" sign... it just doesn't start the system....
Please help
Marcelo

If there is no loading bar, it's usually a problem with a third party kext file in OS X itself.
You can press the power button down to force a hardware shutdown, then reboot holding the shift key down on a wired or built in keyboard, this will disable them and you go around and update your third party software.
Gray, Blue or White screen at boot, w/spinner/progress bar
Also take this time to backup your users files off the machine if possible.
Most commonly used backup methods
Sometime that won't work and you need to do more
..Step by Step to fix your Mac

Macbook will not boot, stays on gray screen no apple logo

I was in the middle of watching some streaming content in netflix when my macbook froze. I tried to force quit, but to no avail, so I forced shut down. When I press the power button to reboot, I hear a couple of clicking sounds like the fan is trying to start up, but it doesn't. The screen remains on the gray screen and the apple logo never appears (no apple startup sound either). I do not hear the fan running.
Other possible factors:
-I know there are some software updates waiting, I just haven't had the chance to.
-A few days ago I did get a message that virtual memory or maybe it said hard disk (I can't remember) memory is close to being full. I trashed a whole lot of stuff, but did not get around to clearing my trash yet.
Any ideas?

To those of you reporting these problems, are your MacBooks from 2006, roughly?
The reason I ask is, there are reports of 06 MacBooks having AirPort card issues (which I think may relate to a bigger issue, perhaps in the logic board), and my 06 Mac mini has also just recently died on me. Which, to my understanding, uses some of the same hardware as an 06 MacBook.
To elaborate furhter, my mini had a problem with the Wi-fi card at first. It would work fine for 20 minutes, then it would die. This would happen regardless of what operating system I was running (OS X, Windows, Linux), so I'm positive it was/is a hardware issue. More recently, after disassembling the mini, just to take a look for any physical problems, the computer was doing the exact thing described in this post.
Upon start up, I would get the chimes, but would recieve nothing after that. The hard drive would not spin up, and with a CD inserted, the drive would spin, but nothing would come of it. After tinkering some more, I tried removing the CD drive from the computer, so only the hard drive was plugged in, and voilla, the computer booted back to the OS X install. Also, if I were to unplug the hard drive, and have only the CD drive connected, I was able to boot to a CD.
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If you feel up to it, disassemble your MacBook and try removing the HDD, or the CD Drive if possible, and see if you get anywhere. It may be easier to remove the HDD and try booting to a CD. However, I'm not familiar with how the insides of a MacBook are laid out.
Hopefully this helps.
-Chris.

I installed an software Update on my MacBook Pro and after that my laptop wont reboot passed the gray screen?

After installing a software update on my Macbook Pro, it would not reboot passed the gray screen and then would shut down.

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, 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 damaged 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 a Mac Pro tower, not to any other model. 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.
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.

Why is my macbook pro stuck on the gray screen?

I turned on my macbook today and tried to turn it on, only to find out that it decided to stay on the gray screen for quite a while. I have tried to re-boot the system quite a few times, but nothing has helped. I then googled my situation to find a solution. I came across a post from someone who recommended holding down command + V and the power button. A black screen then appeared with a bunch of white writing. I haven't touched it because i dont want to mess it up any more that i already have. PLEASEEE HELP ME!!! Thank you!!!!

Just take it to the apple store. Same thing happened to me and they fixed it by going on the black screen but dont mess up with that screen let them fix it.

I'm only booting to the gray screen...help!

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