I restarted my iMac and all I have is a gray screen and a color wheel .

I restarted my iMac about an hour ago and all I have is a gray screen and a rotating color wheel.

Follow the steps @ > Mac OS X: Gray screen appears during startup

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  • I need to know how to fix my iphone4 I was playing one of my games and a up date poped up and i push it to up date my phone. When it restarted all I have is a white screen and four black dots and all the driffent laughes I can not make any or get any call

    I need to know how to fix my iphone4 I was playing one of my games and a up date poped up I pushed on the up date when it restarted all I have is a white screen with four black dots and all the driffent laughes and a i with a blue circle around it I can not make any calls or get any calls or any thing

    I don't have apps on my phone so i can;t do anything

  • Restarted my iMac and now it's stuck on the blue screen

    I have not had a problem with the actual computer since I received it a year ago.
    This is what I did on my computer today:
    I downloaded Google Chrome, for the sites that don't really work as well with Safari and then later on, I changed a couple of the Folder Sharing permission for a few picture folders and a couple of document folders so "Everyone" does not have access to them, only me. I went into my System Preferences > Accounts to see who was under "Staff" and any other computer I tried to connect to. I tried to unlock the Accounts section and my System Preferences kept freezing, so I had to force quit it.
    Every time I had a freezing issue with my PC, I always restarted it, so that's what I did, I restarted my iMac. Now, it only shows a blue screen. It goes through the gray screen with the apple logo, and then the blue screen. I see my cursor to my Magic Mouse for a few seconds and then it vanishes. Now all I have is a blue screen and it's been on a blue screen, this time, for about 15 minutes.
    I tried to hold down the power button, mainly out of panic, and I also unplugged everything and then tried to turn it back on and that hasn't worked.
    Please help. : (

    Sounds like you changed some of the file and share permissions
    incorrectly and then complicated things further by hoping a restart
    in the middle of this mistaken direction could cure it somehow.
    Sometimes that works; but some parts of the system are not to be
    messed with, since some items have to be where they are to work.
    And some kinds of keyboard/mouse functions on boot are reluctant
    to perform with a bluetooth or wireless mouse & keyboard; so a USB
    wired keyboard is very handy to own & have on hand. I have spares.
    (You may have to try and see if a power management reset can help,
    if the problem has compounded by now into more than the first issue;
    a System Management Controller reset. (Don't recall how, but this
    will vary with the model and build year of the computer.) And it may
    not help resolve the issue; booting from the installer disc may...)
    Some command keys require early power in the keyboard; sometimes,
    a wireless keyboard or mouse won't be seen by the computer at a
    critical moment in early boot stages; so a procedure may not occur.
    Keyboard commands and shortcuts on boot are important to use &
    know in the case of troubleshooting and maintenance.
    Can you start the computer from the OS X install disc that came
    with the computer (or if you've upgrade the OS to a later than
    originally shipped version, use the latest retail disc) by holding
    the C key down on boot, until you see a window with either a
    choice to select a language or (maybe second window) a menu
    in the top of the screen, where you see Installer (instead of Finder)
    and check the top menu bar by clicking to read the drop-down
    menus, looking for Disk Utility.
    When you find Disk Utility, as indicated from the booted Installer disc
    (disc #1 of a restore install set) select the name of your computer drive
    which probably is Macintosh HD in the Disk Utility left side-bar, and then
    click on 'repair disk.' When that is done, note if there is a message in
    the little screen inside the utility, what it said; then choose to run the item
    named 'repair disk permissions' and then restart the computer normally.
    This would include selecting the computer's hard disk drive from an
    option in the Installer's menu bar after quitting Disk Utility; to choose
    from a startup manager, the Macintosh HD as a boot volume, & restart.
    You could try and see if the computer would re-start and with the Shift
    key held down, through the boot process (from the hard disk drive OS)
    and if it gets to a point of asking for your Admin password, enter it, &
    continue until a desktop appears. If this works, use GO in the Finder
    top menu bar and find Utilities folder, open it, and find Disk Utility, then
    run 'repair disk permissions' on the volume Macintosh HD. + Restart.
    This may not work, but if it sorta does, you could try and see if things
    run OK. Another possible fix (without performing an Archive & Install
    from the booted Install disc) may be to get the Combo update file for
    the OS X version you have in the computer already, & reinstall it.
    Be sure to repair disk permissions before and after this kind of action.
    If you want other users of your computer to not access your files, be
    sure to set up other user accounts with less than Admin privileges.
    Then understand how security works in Mac OS X. Your user folder
    content is not normally accessible by someone running that computer
    from a different user account, if the computer is used correctly.
    One of the better Mac browsers is Camino from Mozilla; FireFox is OK,
    and for some users, Opera is fine enough. There are others; and I am
    not so sure about Chrome at this point. No real need for me to use it.
    In any event...
    Good luck & happy computing!
    { edited 2x }

  • I restarted my iMac and lost everything!!!

    I restarted my iMac, and all my pictures, my music in iTunes was all gone! Is there a way to get it back?!?!?!
    Any ideas what may have caused this to happen?

    Quote: " So that indicates to me that all the stuff I think I've lost is on there somewhere, but I don't know how to bring it back."
    That is an encouraging sign. Since you have Tiger OSX, did you do a search of your internal hard drive with Spotlight?
    You could also download this free utility "EasyFind" for Tiger. It is an efficient searching program that is not difficult to use.
    http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/11076/easyfind
    It is possible the iTunes and iPhoto folders are buried in some obscure sub-folder.
    Give it a shot ..... it can't hurt!
    DIXIE
    P.S. I would first Repair Permissions using /Applications/Disk Utility/Repair Disk Permissions
    Message was edited by: DIXIE

  • I had to restart my iMac and when it came back on the screen shows a file folder with a question mark. What should I do?

    I had to restart my iMac and when it came back on the screen shows a file folder with a question mark. What should I do?

    Did you move any system files? It's looking for the system folder. You can startup from the system CD by inserting the CD and restarting the computer and at the same time hold down the C key. The computer will boot from the CD. At that point run the disk utility and check your hard-drive. It the problem persists then do a fresh clean install of the system folder and that should help you get back on track.
    Good Luck.

  • My battery died and started to charge n all o have is a white screen

    my battery died and started to charge n all i have is a white screen

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  • My mac doesnt start. All i get is the gray screen with the apple and the loading icon but nothing more happens. I tried to start it in safe mode but it doesnt help. What can i do?

    My mac doesnt start. All i get is the gray screen with the apple and the loading icon but nothing more happens. I tried to start it in safe mode but it doesnt help. What can i do?

    If you have a external USB enclosure - trying installing your hard drive in that enclosure and connect it to your usb port - restart your macbook while holding down the options key.  If you Macbook boots to your desktop then you have a faulty cable.  If you get the same error, then your hard drive just died on you.
    good luck.

  • Nothing will load. All I have is a black screen

    Nothing will load after downloading the app on the iPad. All I have is a black screen. Please help.
    I have even deleted the app and redownloaded

    Did the app download successfully and install,  but you are unable to add photos to it or did the screen go black when you tried to run the app?
    Pattie

  • HT1414 all I have is a blue screen on my 4s phone it won't do anything. can't even shut it off?

    All I have is a blue screen on my 4s phone. It won't respond to anything can't even shut it off? Its been like this for over 2 hours
    what do I do to fix this?

    Have you tried resetting your iPhone?
    Reset: Press the Home and On/Off buttons at the same time and hold them until the Apple logo appears (about 10 seconds). Ignore the "Slide to power off"

  • HT1414 my Ipad will not open. All I have is a black screen.  HELP!

    My IPAD will not open. All I have is a blank screen.   HELP!

    Try a reset: hold down the home button along with the power button until you see the Apple, then let go

  • HT1212 my ipad stopped working... all i have is a gray bar that moves from top to bottom then over again

    my ipad stopped working... all i have is a gray bar that moves from top to bottom then over again

    And which update? 
    After you get your problems straightened out, recommend that you update to OS 10.6.8, check software update for all the other updates that goes along w/it. 

  • When I start my computer up, all I get is a gray screen...

    Last night my macbook froze on me. I couldn't even restart, so I pulled the battery and the charger to restart it up. When it came up, all I got was a gray screen with a flashing folder with a question mark in it. I wasn't able to get onto the internet last night, so I don't think its a gasp virus, but for some reason the computer just crashed on me.
    1. What has to be done to get my computer working again? I don't have my restart discs (I am at school and they are at my home 2 hours away), and I tried holding OptionCommand+RP and nothing. Are there any other quick fixes I can try besides taking it to a specialist?
    and
    2. Anybody know my chances of saving my information on my hard drive? I have all my notes on there for school, as well as over 1,000 pictures and nearly 13 gigs of music. I am going to be sick if they are gone. I know that it is hard to say one way or another without actually troubleshooting the computer, but being that I didn't do anything to it, it just went down, is it more than likely just an OS problem and my files will be okay?

    Basically something is preventing access to the system folder if all you see is a continuous flashing ? folder. It could be a bad directory, a misplaced file, or a damaged drive. My recommendation is to get a Firewire hard drive at least as large as your internal drive from http://www.macsales.com/ and Subrosasoft Filesalvage to see if it can recover your data. If that can't try Prosoft Data Rescue II. Both may be available from your school store at a school discount. If neither works, sometimes Alsoft Disk Warrior 4.1 might work. If that still doesn't work, unfortunately a data recovery specialist which may cost thousands will have to be used such as http://www.drivesavers.com/ This is why I recommend you ALWAYS backup your data*:
    http://www.macmaps.com/backup.html
    Good luck!
    - * Links to my pages may give me compensation.

  • When i open safari, it will not load and the color wheel spins

    When i open up safari, it will not load anything and the color wheel spins as long as safari is open. Not sure what to do.

    Please read this whole message before doing anything.
    This procedure is a test, not a solution. Don’t be disappointed when you find that nothing has changed after you complete it.
    Step 1
    The purpose of this step is to determine whether the problem is localized to your user account.
    Enable guest logins* and log in as Guest. Don't use the Safari-only “Guest User” login created by “Find My Mac.”
    While logged in as Guest, you won’t have access to any of your personal files or settings. Applications will behave as if you were running them for the first time. Don’t be alarmed by this; it’s normal. If you need any passwords or other personal data in order to complete the test, memorize, print, or write them down before you begin.
    Test while logged in as Guest. Same problem?
    After testing, log out of the guest account and, in your own account, disable it if you wish. Any files you created in the guest account will be deleted automatically when you log out of it.
    *Note: If you’ve activated “Find My Mac” or FileVault, then you can’t enable the Guest account. The “Guest User” login created by “Find My Mac” is not the same. Create a new account in which to test, and delete it, including its home folder, after testing.
    Step 2
    The purpose of this step is to determine whether the problem is caused by third-party system modifications that load automatically at startup or login, by a peripheral device, or by corruption of certain system caches.
    Disconnect all wired peripherals except those needed for the test, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards. Boot in safe mode and log in to the account with the problem. 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. Ask for further instructions.
    Safe mode is much slower to boot and run than normal, and some things won’t work at all, including sound output and Wi-Fi on certain iMacs.  The next normal boot may also be somewhat slow.
    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.
    Test while in safe mode. Same problem?
    After testing, reboot as usual (i.e., not in safe mode) and verify that you still have the problem. Post the results of steps 1 and 2.

  • My iMac 21" 500 GB stalls at 1st gray screen.  Finally booted up after about 10 minutes. Anybody experienced this?  thanks

    My iMac 21" 500 GB stalls at 1st gray screen.  Finally booted up after about 10 minutes. Anybody experienced this?  thanks

    When it "stalled at the 1st gray screen" did you see a progress bar(in addition to the normal spinning gear)? If so, you were starting up in Safe Mode.
    This can happen automatically if problems with the file system are found. If you were able to get started up, that would generally indicate that it(fsck) was able to repair the problems.
    Have you been able to restart since this happened?
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1564
    Autumn

  • TS4440 Need password to restart my iMac and I have forgotten it. What now?

    Need password to restart iMac and have forgotten it. What now?

    Ok, since yours had to have come with an OS newer than Snow leopard (and without disks), here are the instructions on how to reset it:
    https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-4101
    If that is not what you are looking for, let us know.

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