Imac have grey screen at start up.

Have grey screen at start with question mark in folder. Have reset PRAM. Have tried start from disk and can not. Need help.

Your drive is shot, time for a new one. The question mark means the computer can't find a drive to boot from. If you have an external clone, you could try booting from that.

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Imac have black screen. Start Computer sound come on, no picture. The last time I used the computer I put it to sleep, it never came back. i tried everything that was suggested including puting in the start up disk. The disk would not eject. Some one

Imac have black screen. Start Computer sound come on, no picture. The last time I used the computer I put it to sleep, it never came back. i tried everything that was suggested including puting in the start up disk. The disk would not eject. Some one suggested how to remove it and that did work. Computer going to Apple hospital Tues. July 3, thank you for all the suggestions.
Phyllis33

There is nothing wrong with the OS update.
Delete ALL your email accounts.
Restart Playbook
Put the accounts back and ensure they are all set with PUSH ON. Manual (push off) will burn battery.
Similarly delete your wifi connections and add back when required.
Turn off wifi is not connected to wifi.
Any "hunting for connection" in email or wifi will burn up battery.

My old MBP (2005) often crashes, freezes or shows grey screen at start up. Also track pad often does not work. I have re fomatted the HD and reinstalled system but to no avail. Genius bar says possible faulty HD, but suspect logic board, any ides any body

My old 17" MBP (2005) often crashes, freezes or shows grey screen at start up. Also track pad often does not work. I have re fomatted the HD and reinstalled system but to no avail. Genius bar says possible faulty HD, but I suspect logic board. All checks out OK on the Apple Diagnostic bench. Can a Logic board go intermittant?? Any Ideas any body??

Ive repaired 1000s of laptops over the years (translate: diagnose and replace parts).
Its not that old, Ive owned 100s of laptops (most were free) ....some I still have are nearly 13 years old and still perfect, ....some extremely expensive ones died in under a year.
other than becoming obsolete at some point, there isnt really any "will spoil on" data like Milk for solid state computer parts, ....alas.
You can have a $5000 laptop die in 4 months, and a junker one keep kicking after 10 years.... Ive seen that firsthand countless times.
Common logic dictates that "very expensive = long life" in computers,..... but all the repair people will tell you just the opposite.
I know you have a gripe, I get that all too well honestly .

Have a blank grey screen on start up?

Guys, Help I have a blank grey screen on start up?

See Here > http://support.apple.com/kb/ts2570

Older model iMac. Grey screen, no tones, apple logo and spinner, then shuts down. Tried all greyscreen tips on Apple Website. Suggestions?

Older model iMac. Grey screen, no tones, apple logo and spinner, then shuts down. Tried all greyscreen tips on Apple Website. Do not have start up disc. Do not know what OS it runs. Suggestions?

Since you don't have a startup disc you haven't done ALL of the tips on this page http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2570
I don't know what you've done but you need to follow the tips listed and that could include possibly erasing and reinstalling the OS. Older model iMac does nothing to help us understand what you're working with. You can call Apple and provide them with your serial number and for a fee they'll ship you a set of original install discs or you could possibly use Snow Leopard which you can get for $20 here http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC573/mac-os-x-106-snow-leopard
You can enter the serial number here for specs on the iMac http://www.everymac.com
And if you don't know where to find the serial number see here http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1349

Grey Screen at start-up - Troubleshoot harddrive and/or logic board?

Hi everyone. Sorry for the lengthy post, but hopefully you can help me - I've spent a lot of time on the boards already, but hoped you could clarify some things.
The problem is my Powerbook will not get past the grey screen at start-up. It will not boot off the 10.5 install disk and I can't eject the install disk to run the hardware test disk. Removing 3rd party ram, resetting PRAM, NVRAM, attempting to boot in 'safe' mode haven't helped. The harddrive is softly clicking/searching.
So some questions:
1) Is it possible that an interrupted time machine backup will bork the drive to the point where it wont boot? (See back-story below). I wouldn't have thought so, but prove me wrong.
2) Should I be able to boot from the install disk if the harddrive is stuffed?
3) If it is hardware, it's either the logic board or the drive. Is there any way to determine what it is (eg: is it possible to do a remote hardware test?)
Edit: Just tried mounting the drive in target disk mode using an iBook, but it wouldn't mount. Powerbook displays a black screen.
Oh, and I should point out that this is well out of warranty and any fixes would have to be cheap : ). Basically I need to determine if it's the drive or the logic board, preferably without having to buy and install a new drive when it may not be the problem.
Any help or advice would be appreciated.
Cheers
- Ben
Here's the back story if it's any help; recently upgraded to 10.5, created a base install disk image of all installed and registered apps (in the event that my drive failed). Copied data etc from the previous system over. It ran fine for a few days. This morning I ran time machine for the first time, left the computer for a while, came back and the screen was black (as if it was just displaying black, as opposed to off). Thinking it was just a display issue (which I've seen before), I put the system to sleep (power button, then 's'), woke it up again; still black. So I forced a shut down (wouldn't allow me to do a normal shut down, because dialogue boxes must have been preventing it) and on boot I got the grey screen.
-------

Hi Ben W. I don't have a good answer for you, but based on your information and what you've done, I think I would try starting the machine after disconnecting the harddrive. That requires taking the top off first, for which instructions are on ifixit.com.
I can conjecture that a blown HD is preventing normal operation, perhaps sucking the power down, disrupting the optical drive, etc. This is purely conjecture, but costs you nothing but your time. If this turns out to be the case, I figure the optical drive should start responding again (hold C key during reboot, etc).

I'm getting the grey screen during start up and can't boot the computer. I did a cmnd R but worried it would automatically wipe my hard drive and reinstall OS. Is there a risk at cmnd R will result in wiped HD without me actively making that choice?

I'm getting the grey screen during start up and can't boot the computer - MacBook Pro with lion.
I did a command r after doing some research but got nervous that it would automatically wipe my hard drive and reinstall OS.
I was nervous because it asked me for language for software use before any options were presented (such as repair via disk utility). It looked similar to an OS install.So I powered off....Is there a risk at command r will result in wiped HD without me actively making that choice?

Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions - Mavericks, Lion/Mountain Lion
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. Select Restart from the Apple menu.
Reinstall Mountain Lion or Mavericks
OS X Mavericks- Reinstall OS X
OS X Mountain Lion- Reinstall OS X
Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet if possible because it is
three times faster than wireless.

Blank Grey Screen on start up cannot access MAC OSX frozen up

Blank grey screen on start up Cannot get into the Mac osx side, even if I do not hold down the option key it goes to the Windows side but key boad / mouse does not work. I want to get into the mac side so I can delete the windows partition. HELP PLEASE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

See Here > http://support.apple.com/kb/ts2570

GREY SCREEN ON START UP WITH FOLDER WITH ? IN IT?

keeping getting a grey screen on start up, with a folder with a question mark in it?

Go step by step and test.
http://support.apple.com/kb/ts1440
Startup Manager to select Startup disk.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1310
Repair Disk
Steps 2 through 8
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH5836
Reset PRAM.
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH4405
Reinstall OS X

IMac dead, grey screen, won't start from disks

I'm sure this is going to go over familiar territory.   We have a housefull of Macs and have had for a long time, and I'm fairly used to hunting down issues. This particular one is a problem I've fortunately not seen before. I suspect a serious hardware problem, but only got a look at it once it was fairly advanced.
My teen son was using this computer, a 21" iMac, I think from 2007 (it was a hand me down from his Mac-savvy Grandma).   He says that it was freezing on him for the last week or two, and he'd have to restart. Then a couple of days ago when he restarted he got a folder icon with a ?, so he took the install discs and reinstalled the OS, which was 10.4.   Yes, at this point he'd already goofed, because he'd gone over his data, and though he had an external HD, he had not used it with Time Machine for several months. I don't know what he was thinking, but he's 16...he probably was not.
This was where I finally came in. Yes, get old Dad involved once an issue has reached the crisis stage. :-\
At that point his desktop showed a fresh install of 10.4, which we wanted to update at least, and possibly retrieve his last Time Machine, but I figured there was likely an underlying problem.   Disk utility showed that the disk needed repairing, but I figured that needed to be done from an install disk, and for good measure, I should probably run the Hardware Test as well.
Now things got complicated, because I have been unable to get the computer to start from any install disk I've tried. We have two sets of original install disks from this generation of iMacs (two similar computers), and complete install discs for 10.5 and 10.6, as well as Disk Doctor.   The computer refuses to start up from any of them, with either 'C' or 'D' held down, nor will it start up in Safe Mode. And now the fresh install of 10.4 has disappeared as well.
All that occurs on restart, after the 'bong' is a grey screen. If a disk is in the optical drive, there is a brief sound of it spinning up, then silence for a good while, maybe 2 mins, then the disk is spit out. Nothing more. I have zapped the PRAM or whatever it's called these days, with no change.
We did have an external DVD drive somewhere and I'd like to try that, in case there's a problem with the optical drive itself, but I am thinking this computer may have both disk and hardware issues.
Any advice welcome...thanks in advance!

Hi, sounds like the Hard Drive is dying, & that can prevent booting up.
Hold alt key on bootup, what shows as boot choices?
Have you unplugged all peripherals, cords, & AC power, let sit 30 minutes & try just with AC connected?
If you don't know the model, find the Serial# & use it on one of these sites, but don't post the Serial# here...
http://www.chipmunk.nl/klantenservice/applemodel.html
http://www.appleserialnumberinfo.com/Desktop/index.php
How to find the serial number of your Apple hardware product...
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1349
Tough without the Install disc, but some things to try...
Does it boot to Single User Mode, CMD+s keys at bootup, if so try...
/sbin/fsck -fy
Repeat until it shows no errors fixed.
(Space between fsck AND -fy important).
Resolve startup issues and perform disk maintenance with Disk Utility and fsck...
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106214

Why does my 27" iMac running OS 10.6.8 hang on the grey screen at start up?

My 27" iMac, running OS 10.6.8, has started running slowly when loading Apps and when running Safari. Also, when powered, on It has started stopping on the grey screen before the Apple logo displays. To get past this I must turn the Mac off and then back on. Does anyone know what would be causing this behaviour and what I should try for a fix?

It could be a sign of an impending harddrive failure. If you don't backup regularly, I would strongly suggest you start. Don't run ANY anti-virus software as it really messes with your system and if you do regular software updates you'll be fine there.
OnyX for MAC is a good application to clean out those cob webs:
OnyX for Mac
http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/11582/onyx
http://helpdesk.hsc.unt.edu/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/Mac-OS-X-10.6-run-OnyX.pd f

Macbook has Grey screen wont start- said " MAC OSX does not have enough memory "

My daughter was using the macbook, and a message came up saying something like MAC OSX does not have enough memory for start up applications, ...
and it was frozen ( wish I had written down what it said") In held the start button down for 10 seconds, and now it wont work properly.
All I get on start up is a grey screen. I have tried holding down shift key and rebooting, but nothing.
I tried resetting the Pram or whatever it is.
I cant try and start from the start up utility disc as there is already a disc in there and I cant get it out.
Have tried rebooting with mouse key pressed., have tried rebooting holding F12, rebooting holding command O and P , have tried pushing the ejectb button when rebooting. But nada.
Ipod died last week, video camera on the blink yesterday, am having a bad electronic week!!!
Has it died or is there another solution..Help please.

Wow, sorry to hear!
Does it boot into any of these modes?
Target mode...
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1661
Does it boot to Single User Mode, CMD+s keys at bootup, if so try...
/sbin/fsck -fy
Repeat until it shows no errors fixed.
(Space between fsck AND -fy important).
Resolve startup issues and perform disk maintenance with Disk Utility and fsck...
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106214
Does booting with the Option/alt key held down show any boot choices or work at all?

I have a grey screen on start up and can see the sign in page in the background. How do I resolve this issue.

After my iMac has been asleep for sometime and I wake it up there is a grey screen with a load bar running at the bottom, but I can see the sign in page in the background. It eventually goes to the sign in page but it still takes a minute or so before I can actually sign in as well the mouse and keyboard are froze during that time as well. One it unfreezes the iMac seems to work as usual. What is going on and how do I resolve?

Hello there Kenorb1,
It sounds like your computer is unresponsive and the screen is grayed out with a loading bar and is unresponsive for a bit. From what you describe it sounds like you are seeing the computer wake from Safe Sleep. Here is some more information about what that is and why it is happening:
Mac computers: Progress bar appears after waking from sleep
Safe Sleep ensures that data stored in main memory will not be lost should the computer shut down due to the battery being drained completely . Prior to your computer entering sleep, Safe Sleep automatically saves the contents of main memory—such as desktop settings, open applications, and other work in progress—to the hard drive.
There are two situations in which a computer will enter safe sleep:
In the event the battery becomes completely depleted while the computer is asleep, the computer will shut down. But when a power adapter is connected or a freshly charged battery is installed, the computer can be restarted. Press the power button as if turning the computer on and it will automatically return to the desktop state that existed prior to entering sleep. This means that applications and files will remain exactly as they were prior to the computer being put to sleep, making it easy for you to continue with your work.
With the release of the OS X Mountain Lion v10.8.2 supplemental update 2.0, a new feature was introduced to enter safe sleep after four hours of the computer being connected to AC power. This is an effort to comply with the European Energy Standards (ErP Lot6). This will only occur if there is no wireless or Ethernet activity and no activity from external devices such as USB storage devices.
Thank you for using Apple Support Communities.
Take care,
Sterling

Mac freezes, shows grey screen then starts back up

For the past two weeks I have had the issue of my iMac suddenly freezing for a few seconds and then it turns to a grey screen for a few more seconds before it starts back up on my user area.
All programs get shut down (which is annoying as I do graphic design so I'm usually on PS or AI and lose work I've done since last save). Programs which are set to start up automatically upon login do not start up. Thankfully firefox will start back up when I click it and continue from all the tabs I had open.
I cannot seem to find a source for this to be happening... The programs which are always running when this has happened previously are: Mac Mail, finder, Messages, Spotify, Wacom Desktop Center. This morning it happened when none of my adobe programs were running.
Has anyone had the same issue or knows what's up?
I tried to go to apple support but it said I need to pay £35 for someone to answer my question.
27" iMac
Late 2012
16GB
1TB storage with 431gb free
running OSX10.8.5

Hi,
Try ; Intel-based Macs: Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC)
and : About NVRAM and PRAM
to ensure the proper operation of the SMC.
and if still issues persist, try: OS X: What is Safe Boot, Safe Mode?
Cheers

How to reboot imac from grey screen with rotating icon?

Hi
Can anyone help regarding the rebooting of an iMac 24"
I need help with my 24" iMac OS X 10.8.4. After the screen froze it was turned off at the mains. Now it won't reboot, just the grey screen with the spinning icon.
Please advise.
Regards,
M

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.
Start up in safe mode. Note: If FileVault is enabled, or if a firmware password is set, or if the startup volume is a Fusion Drive or a software RAID, you can’t do this. Post for further instructions.
Safe mode is much slower to start 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 the login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin.
When you start up 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, the startup volume is corrupt and the drive is probably malfunctioning. In that case, go to Step 10. If you ever have another problem with the drive, replace it immediately.
If you can start and log in in safe mode, empty the Trash, and then open the Finder Info window on the startup 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 restart as usual (i.e., not in safe mode.)
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.
Step 13
If you get this far, you're probably dealing with a hardware fault. Make a "Genius" appointment at an Apple Store, or go to another authorized service provider.

Imac have grey screen at start up.

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