IMac g5 is stuck at white startup screen with apple logo & spinning circle

Hello,
i had a digital copy of os x leopard and i was trying to reinstall it, so i would double click on install mac os x, and it would tell me to restart, i would do this but nothing happened so i had to mount the disk again and double click install mac os x, and it told me to restart again. so i looked up how to install leopard from a dmg file, and it said to restore the dmg to the drive, so i went into disk utility and i put the source as the dmg, and the destination i dragged the imac hdd icon. it finished and i was gonna select the leopard file as my startup disk in system preferences, but that wouldnt run. i then noticed some of the letters were missing on the name of the icons in the dock, so i just restarted the computer, but it got stuck on the white screen. i tried lots of stuff like turning on while holding shift, but it didnt do anything, and i tried with cmd+s and that gave me some black command prompt where i typed/sbin/fsck -fy and that did some stuff and it said my drive was okay, but it still wont start up. What do i do?!?!

im trying tiger right now, first i wanna reinstall tiger, than leopard next, you know, one problem at a time. i dunno maybe, heres the readme:
Read Before You Install
Mac OS X
Read this document before you install Mac OS X. It includes information about
supported computers, system requirements, and installing Mac OS X.
For more information about Mac OS X, visit this website:
• www.apple.com/macosx/
For the latest information about using Mac OS X, connect to the Internet and open Mac
Help. To open Mac Help, click the Help menu in the Finder and choose Mac Help.
For information about the support available for this product, see the AppleCare
Software Services and Support Guide included with Mac OS X.
System requirements
You must have a Macintosh computer with:
• a PowerPC G3, G4, or G5 processor
• a DVD drive
• built-in FireWire
• at least 256 MB of RAM
• a built-in display or a display connected to an Apple-supplied video card supported
by your computer
• at least 3 GB of disk space available, or 4 GB if you install the developer tools
If you see a message in the Installer that you do not have enough disk space to install
Mac OS X, you can deselect items to save space. To deselect items, click Custom Install
in the Easy Install panel.
Updating your computer’s firmware
You may need to update your computer’s firmware. It’s best to update the firmware
before installing Mac OS X. If you haven’t started the Mac OS X Installer, check the
Apple Software Updates website to see if there are any firmware updates for your
computer:
• www.apple.com/support/downloads/
If you don’t do this, you may see a message that you need to update your computer’s
firmware when you start the Installer. To update the firmware, you will need to quit the
Installer and restart your computer using your current startup disk, then check the
Software Updates website.
If you have problems with your computer after installing this version of Mac OS X, you
might need to update the firmware even though you did not see a message when you
installed the software. Check the Software Updates website for recent firmware updates
for your computer.
Starting installation
To start installing Mac OS X, insert the Mac OS X Install DVD and double-click the
Install Mac OS X icon:
You can also start installing Mac OS X by inserting the Install DVD and restarting your
computer while holding down the C key, or by selecting the Install DVD as your startup
disk using Startup Disk preferences.
Quitting the Installer
If you need to quit the Installer before you click Install in the Easy Install or Custom
Install pane, choose Quit Installer from the Installer application menu, then click
Startup Disk to select a startup disk for your computer.
If you have already clicked Install, wait until installation finishes.
Advice about hardware compatibility
Installing on a Power Macintosh G3 (Blue and White)
If you have a Power Macintosh G3 (Blue and White) that came with an Apple SCSI hard
disk, do not choose UNIX File System (UFS) as the format for the destination disk.
Installing on a computer with a third-party SCSI card
If you have a third-party SCSI card installed in your computer and you cannot start up
Mac OS X, attach a disk drive or terminator to one of the card’s ports. If you continue
to have problems, try removing the card. Contact the manufacturer of the card for
more information about using the card with Mac OS X.
Installing on a computer with a third-party video card
If you have a third-party video card installed in your computer, you may need to
remove it before you install Mac OS X. Contact the manufacturer of the card for more
information about using the card with Mac OS X.
Advice about installing Mac OS X
Erasing and formatting your disk
When you install Mac OS X, you can erase the destination disk you select. In the “Select
a Destination” pane of the Installer, click the Options button. Select Erase and Install
then choose a format. In most cases, choose Mac OS Extended (Journaled).
Important Do not choose UNIX File System (UFS) unless you need to work with this
format. If you choose UFS, Mac OS 9 and all Mac OS 9 applications must be installed on
a Mac OS Extended format disk to use them with the Classic environment.
To install Mac OS X on the same disk or disk partition as Mac OS 9, the disk must be in
Mac OS Extended format. If it isn’t, quit the Installer and back up your files, then
reformat the disk.
You can also partition your hard disk into several volumes before you install Mac OS X.
In the Installer, choose Utilities > Open Disk Utility and click Partition. Partitioning the
disk erases the entire disk, so be sure to back up your files first.
Installing optional software
Easy Install installs all the software you need to use Mac OS X, but does not install
some additional software. If you want to install this optional software or you don’t
want to install all the software installed using Easy Install, click Custom Install and
select the items you want to install. If you want to install this optional software later,
insert the Mac OS X Install DVD and double-click Optional Installs.
Locating the Installer log
When you install Mac OS X, the Installer saves a log of the installation. To see the log,
open Console (in /Applications/Utilities), click Logs, then click the triangle next to /
var/log and select install.log.
Reinstalling Mac OS X
To reinstall Mac OS X, insert the Mac OS X Install DVD and double-click the Install
Mac OS X icon, then follow the onscreen instructions. When you see the “Select a
Destination” pane, click Options to select how to install Mac OS X:
• Select “Archive and Install” to save your existing system files, user accounts and
their home folders, and existing network settings. The Installer saves files in a
folder named Previous System so that you can copy them to an appropriate location
later. You cannot start up your computer using the Previous System folder.
• Select “Erase and Install” to erase the destination volume and install a new copy of
Mac OS X. If you select this option, you will lose all your files and the software you
have installed on the destination volume, so you may want to back it up first. If you
select this option, you can choose the format for the volume. In most cases, choose
Mac OS Extended (Journaled) from the pop-up menu.
Setting up and connecting to the Internet
If you have an existing Internet service provider (ISP) and you’re installing Mac OS X for
the first time, you need to enter your Internet connection information when installation
finishes. Be sure to have the information available. If you have problems connecting to
the Internet, contact your ISP to make sure you have the correct information.
Advice about using Mac OS X
If you have problems starting up
If you cannot start up your computer, insert the Mac OS X Install DVD and restart your
computer while holding down the C key. Choose, Choose > Open Disk Utility, then
click First Aid to repair your disk.
If you have problems starting up your computer and you have devices connected to
your computer such as FireWire drives, USB printers, or external displays, try
disconnecting them before starting up again.
Upgrading your applications and other software
For best results with Mac OS X, look for versions of your applications that are built for
Mac OS X. Check the Mac OS X website for information about available applications:
• www.apple.com/macosx/
If you cannot find Mac OS X versions, upgrade to the latest Mac OS 9 version to use
with the Mac OS X Classic environment. Check with the manufacturers for the latest
updates.
Using POP email accounts and On My Mac mailboxes in Tiger and Panther
If you have a shared home folder and you access a POP email account using Mail in
both Mac OS X Panther and Mac OS X Tiger, you will not see messages that you retrieve
in one version when you switch to the other.
As an alternative, you can deselect the option to remove copies from the server after
retrieving your messages. To change this option, open the Accounts pane of Mail
preferences and click Advanced.
You will not see messages saved in a mailbox on your computer when you switch from
one version to another. To avoid this problem, use separate home folders for each
version of Mac OS X.
Your IMAP account will synchronize automatically when you switch between Mail in
Tiger and Panther.
© 2005 Apple Computer, Inc. All rights reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, FireWire, Macintosh, Mac OS, and
Power Macintosh are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.
PowerPC is a trademark of International Business Corporation, used under license therefrom.
it says that a imac g5 can work

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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 startup failure is to secure the 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 the last backup, you can skip this step.
There are several ways to back up a Mac that is unable to start. You need an external hard drive to hold the backup data.
a. Start up from 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.” The article refers to starting up from a DVD, but the procedure in Recovery mode is the same. You don't need a DVD if you're running OS X 10.7 or later.
b. If Step 1a fails because of disk errors, and no other Mac is available, then you may be able to salvage some of your files by copying them in the Finder. If you already have an external drive with OS X installed, start up from it. Otherwise, if you have Internet access, follow the instructions on this page to prepare the external drive and install OS X on it. You'll use the Recovery installer, rather than downloading it from the App Store.
c. If you have access to a working Mac, and both it and the non-working Mac have FireWire or Thunderbolt ports, start 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.
d. 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
If the startup process stops at a blank gray screen with no Apple logo or spinning "daisy wheel," then the startup volume may be full. If you had previously seen warnings of low disk space, this is almost certainly the case. You might be able to start up in safe mode even though you can't start up normally. Otherwise, start up from an external drive, or else use the technique in Step 1b, 1c, or 1d to mount the internal drive and delete some files. According to Apple documentation, you need at least 9 GB of available space on the startup volume (as shown in the Finder Info window) for normal operation.
Step 3
Sometimes a startup failure can be resolved by resetting the NVRAM.
Step 4
If you use a wireless keyboard, trackpad, or mouse, replace or recharge the batteries. The battery level shown in the Bluetooth menu item may not be accurate.
Step 5
If there's a built-in optical drive, a disc may be stuck in it. Follow these instructions to eject it.
Step 6
Press and hold the power button until the power shuts off. Disconnect all wired peripherals except those needed to start up, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards. Use a different keyboard and/or mouse, if those devices are wired. If you can start up 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.
Step 7
If you've started from an external storage device, make sure that the internal startup volume is selected in the Startup Disk pane of System Preferences.
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If the startup process hangs again, the problem is likely caused by a third-party system modification that you installed. Post for further instructions.
Step 8
Launch Disk Utility in Recovery mode (see Step 1.) Select the 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 restart as usual.
Step 9
If the startup device is an aftermarket SSD, it may need a firmware update and/or a forced "garbage collection." Instructions for doing this with a Crucial-branded SSD were posted here. Some of those instructions may apply to other brands of SSD, but you should check with the vendor's tech support.
Step 10
Reinstall the OS. If the Mac was upgraded from an older version of OS X, you’ll need the Apple ID and password you used to upgrade.
Step 11
Do as in Step 9, but this time erase the startup volume in Disk Utility before installing. The system should automatically restart into the Setup Assistant. Follow the prompts to transfer the data from a Time Machine or other backup.
Step 12
This step applies only to models that have a logic-board ("PRAM") battery: all Mac Pro's and some others (not current models.) Both desktop and portable Macs used to have such a battery. The logic-board battery, if there is one, is separate from the main battery of a portable. A dead logic-board battery can cause a startup failure. Typically the failure will be preceded by loss of the settings for the startup disk and system clock. See the user manual for replacement instructions. You may have to take the machine to a service provider to have the battery replaced.
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If you have not tried this, try this.
Go step by step and test.
http://support.apple.com/kb/ts2570
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH14062
Startup in Safe Mode
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH14204?viewlocale=en_US
Repair Disk.
Steps 1 through 7
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH5836
Reset PRAM
http://support.apple.com/kb/ph14222
Reinstall OS X Mavericks
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH13871

Startup screen with apple logo and grey loading bar, then unexpectedly shuts down

Hey, I have a MacBook Pro from 2010 I believe with iOS Maverick installed. (MacKeeper is also on there, which I just found out is apparently malware)
So three days ago I was watching Netflix, the image froze, but the audio kept going. Figured my internet was slow, so I waited a little, nothing happened. pressed escape to leave the full screen mode, but nothing happened. None of the keys would do anything, not even the sound or brightness keys. So I did a force shut down by holding down the power button.
I waited a little, then decided to turn it back on. Start up sound played, white screen with grey apple logo and loading gear appeared together with a grey loading bar. I figured that this meant it had to repair something. But after about a minute or two it just went to a black screen/ shut down. I left it off for a day, tried it again, same thing. Next day I tried booting it up while holding the shift key to do the safe boot (I knew it wouldn't work since I already had the grey loading bar anyways), same thing happened.
Any suggestions? (note: I thought I had posted this yesterday, but apparently I didn't even register as a user, weird. So if this gets posted twice, I apologize)

If your disk cannot be repaired, your only options are to call the disk dead and order a new one or to try and erase and reformat the disk and try to install a system on it.
The latter is just something you can try - I doubt that it will work.
Boot into your Recovery partition once again and select Disk Utility. You should see your boot volume (usually named "Macintosh HD") in the left column of disks. Select the Erase tab and format the disk using "Mac OS Extended (Journaled)". If the disk will format, then you can go back to the main Recovery screen and try installing OS X.
If that doesn't work - and you'll probably know when trying to format the drive - you'll need a new drive.
Clinton
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MBP stuck at gray boot screen with apple logo, loading wheel, and loading bar

Today i was using my mac book pro and it was working just fine, and i shut it off and when i tried to use it later I get stuck at this screen. I have never seen this loading bar and it doesnt seem to do any thing because it only goes as far as it is in the picture then it dissapears leaving me stuck at the apple logo and the loading wheel.
Sadly i cant get my warranty information since i cant get past boot up, and the serial number in the battery area is to small to read (the letters or numbers are literaly blobs)
I have tried holding shift at boot and it does nothing and holding alt during boot only shows the hard drive icon, but when i click it im back to stage 1.

Spaghettipopsicle wrote:
Today i was using my mac book pro and it was working just fine, and i shut it off and when i tried to use it later I get stuck at this screen.
Your Mac is attempting to fix your drive and it's not succeeding, you can let it go for some time and see if it clears up.
https://support.apple.com/kb/TS3148
Do these steps.
If on 10.6 stick a clean and polished 10.6 disk into the computer and reboot holding the c key down.
If on 10.7 hold the command and r keys and boot, you'll enter Lion Recovery Partition.
Under the Utilities Menu is Disk Utility, use it to Repair Disk (note any failures!) and Repair Permissions (ignore list)
See if your computer boots, if not repeat the above steps and use Disk Utility to format a blank external drive, Partiiton Tab, Option: GUID, format OS X extended (J) and click apply.
Next quit and install 10.6/10.7 onto the external drive, when that completes, hold the option key down and you can boot from it. Retrieve your files off the internal drive to the external.
If you cant' see your internal drive in Disk Utility, it's likely failed.
Sometimes you can software like Data Rescue, installed on another Mac or a external boot drive and "read" the failed drive for any salvagable data, provided it's still working mechnically. Good thing about DataResue supposedly is you don't pay unless it's sure it can recover some of your files. I never used it as I make many backups, or bootable clones.
Mechanically failed drives data can only be recovered by platter dissection, a very expensve process.
There is several ways to read the drive, take it out and place it in a enclosure or use a IDE/SATA to USB adapter cable with another Mac or PC (with MacDrive) or use another Mac and Firewire Target Disk Mode (hold T on the sick Mac)
https://support.apple.com/kb/ht1661
If the drive works and you got your data off of it, you can erase it (use the Zero option, GUID/OS X Ext.J) and reinstall OS X, same user name as before, update, (Repair Disk from disk if on 10.6.8) install programs and return files last (and in that order exactly) your machine will be as close as possible to the way it was.
Lastly, consider making a clone, this way you can simply option boot and use that.
http://www.bombich.com/
If the above is too much for you, please let a local Mac/Pc specialist assist you to prevent data loss.

My ipod touch is stuck on the black screen with apple logo?

Yesterday I restored my Ipod Touch back to factory settings...thought everything was fine until I realized my wifi option was grey and unclickable and read "no wifi", so I went to settings and hit "restore network settings". The ipod shut off and wont turn on since. Ive tried restarting multiple times, all it does is stay on the black screen with the apple logo. Help please?

If it's off you should push the top right button and the home button for a few seconds. Rebooting like that always worked for me!

Stuck on grey boot-up screen with Apple logo & spinning icon for 12 hours

I awoke to find my computer displaying the 'Restart your computer' screen, which I did by holding down the power button. Upon restarting, I got the grey loading screen with the apple icon and the spinning wheel. It stayed that way for hours without proceding. Have tried removing the battery, removing the charger and restarting. Have tried doing a forced disk-boot by holding down 'c' and restarting with the OS X disc 1 in the drive, but all I got was a beep and then the same screen again.
I'm starting to get a little nervous here as nothing is working, and there don't seem to be any others with the same problem I'm having!

Have you changed your Ram or done anything else
lately - here's a reference to your 'beep'...
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=58442
I'd suggest trying an SMC reset...
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=303319
followed by a Pram reset...
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=2238
Hopefully some of these resets will correct the
problem. Have you 'jarred' you book and maybe
loosened the ram??
I unfortunately have tried all of those and haven't had any luck.
Pardone my ignorance, but if I have dislodged the RAM, how would I know? And, potentially more significantly, how do I fix it?
Thanks for the help thus far, though.

MacBook 2008 or 2009(?) stuck on grey boot screen with Apple logo and rotating gear under it.

See now, the real problem is that I can't even try Disk Utility because I don't have the original disks seeing as I bought this MacBook off of Amazon. I tried Safe Mode, Single User Mode, & resetting the PRAM. Basically everything I can do without the original disks. How do I do this?! Please help for I'm desperate.

Sounds like you've already read this Apple note. No bootable external backup hard drive? You might call Apple support to see if they still have the original OS X disks for your system, or you can buy OS X 10.6 from the online Apple for $20, which would be an upgrade, assuming you have at least 1GB of memory. Otherwise, take it into an Apple store for assistance.

I get the grey screen with apple logo & swirly circle - that's it?

I need to re install Lion X. I went to the Genius bar & the Genius held the alt key (?) then the re-install screen came up. Simple, but i need to do this at home & now it doesn't work!
Do I need the computer on?
Do I hold only the alt key?
Or is it the cmd key?
Please help!
Thanks

Hold the alt/Option key (that's ONE key) at Startup and a completely ROM resident routine called the Startup Manager will draw a gray screen then an Icon for each bootable Volume. then the Eject key is "live" and will open the drawer on a tray-loader.
Select Recovery_HD and you will get to the Utilities/Installer screen you saw before.

Computer doesn't boot up running on white screen with apple logo

Mac Pro 13/2.5 on powering up just stays on white boot screen with apple logo and spinning booting spiral. Nothing then happens

Try the steps in this support article:
http://support.apple.com/kb/ts2570
Ciao.

Mac stuck on white screen with apple logo at startup

It's a few days i have this issue.
When i turn on my macmini (late 2009) it does the startup sound, but when the white screen with apple logo appears it stucks on that screen.
To solve this problem i have to unplug the power connector, when i restart it works normally.
This happens randomly, not at every startup.
I switched from normal HD to ssd HD (brand new one), i have the same problem with both HDs.
Since black outs are not good for computers i woult solve this problem.
Does anybody have my same issue or know what's wrong?
Thanks!!!

Hello, tough to tell what it might br.
Have you done a PRAM reset, CMD+Option+p+r...
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1379
In fact, do 3 in a row, takes a bit of time.
Intel-based Macs: Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC)...
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964

IMac g5 is stuck at white startup screen with apple logo & spinning circle

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