IMac won't boot to install disk, normally or in safe mode! Please help

Hi everyone,
I'm using my iPhone so please excuse any spelling or grammatical errors.
I have a 27" quad-core iMac bought about a year ago.
Today I went to reformat the harddrive as I'm selling the machine to a friend. First the iMac would not boot to the install disk - it just gets stuck on the apple logo screen, but with no spinning wheel - now it won't even start up normally! I've attempted to start up in safe-mode but again it gets stuck on the apple screen and there's a strange clicking noise, which sounded like it was coming from the cd drive area.
It's a shame this happened today, right before I was supposed to give the computer to it's new owner. I really don't want them to think I was trying to sell them a computer with problems.
I've tried a basic hardware test and it came back with no problems.
Can anyone help?

Try using the original Install Disc that came with the machine, do not try any other DVD. Put it in the SuperDrive, while holding down the power button also hold down the Option button on the keyboard. It should start and give you the option of starting from either the internal HD or the Install Disc. Choose the Install Disc, select the language, choose the Utilities Menu, Disk Utility, then select the internal HD, select the Erase tab and set it to Mac OS Extended (Journaled) and click erase. Then exit Disk Utility and continue with the install process to reload OS X.
Roger

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Ibook g4 won't boot from install disks

Got an ibook g4 1.33 ghz combo drive from original owner w/install disks. I want to reinstall original system but it won't boot from install disk 1. Tried starting holding down c but ignores disk. Holding down option just gives me the HD. Install disk shows up on desktop and opens. Tried disk utility from install disk but it doesn't allow me to erase the hd. Is there anything else I can do? Thanks.

OK, so let us suppose that you have the correct disk, the possibilities are:
• the optical drive is not functioning properly. However, since the disk shows up on the desktop the drive is apparently reading it.
• the disk itself is the issue. It could the wrong disk, but let us assume it is not. It could be damaged so that it is no longer bootable, or it could dirty. I would begin by giving the disk a good buffing and see if that will encourage it to boot the computer.
Good luck.
cornelius

IMac won't boot, dark screen after normal grey start up screen

Quite perplexed with this problem, have tried everything I can think of.
Computer: iMac 2.16 gHz 24" mid 2006, 4 gig RAM
OS: 10.6.8
Froze and required hard shutdown. Subsequent to this, has behaved consistently:
Normal grey screen with Apple logo and spinning timer, can hear disk activity. Then the screen goes dark and nothing else happens (although the computer is still on). Have to perform hard shutdown.
Have tried:
1. Booting into single user mode (multiple times) and performed fsck, no errors noted
2. after using 'exit' command in single user mode, computer attempts to reboot but then freezes after noting 'panic'
3. Reset PRAM (no change)
4. Tried safe mode boot, progress bar on grey screen progresses, then spinning timers comes on, then same crash with dark screen
4. Disassembled computer, removed hard drive, mounted normally in external SATA enclosure. I backed up critical data, ran Disk Utility Repair, no errors noted.
5. Reinstalled HD, reassembled computer, rebooted, same issue
6. Attmepted to boot with Snow Leopard Install disc to perform a fresh Achive and Install - after prolonged grey screen with spinning timer and audible DVD drive access, same switch to dark screen and no further progress
7. Same panic message and stalled boot attempt noted when booting into single user mod
I'm stumped. My assumption is that there is a courrpt file that is causing a kernel panic during boot and I assumed that I'd be able to perform an archive and install but when this failed I'm guessing all I can do is replace the hard drive with a new one and then go through the hassle of transferring all the data over manually.
I would welcome hearing any other observations, similar experiences or other ideas. MTIA.

One update ... when I boot the computer and get the 'dark screen', I hear disc activity. So I started hitting the return key and I get the chime with each return as if I'm on the log in screen and hitting the return to log in without entering any text.
That would argue there is a problem with the screen.
However, it does not explain why the computer display works normally during single user mode and hangs (without the screen going dark) when trying to reboot from this mode.

IBook G4 won't boot using Install Disk

My iBook g4 won't boot from its original Mac OS X Install Disk (10.4.2).
When I try to start by holding down the 'C' key, the drive starts to spin up the disk, but then starts up from the hard drive.
When using the System Preferences to select the install disk as the start up drive, it shows in the preference pane, I can select it, but when it restarts, I get a flashing question mark before the computer continues by booting up from the hard drive.
I've also tried holding down the 'Option' key to run the Apple Hardware Test on the disk, but my internal hard drive is my only option when trying this.
I find it odd that the drive would work normally for all other purposes (reading/writing CD and DVD's), but will not start up from it.
Thanks in advance for any thoughts or suggestions!

An update:
I tested the startup disk using an external FireWire DVD drive and received the exact same results as when attempting to boot from my iBook's internal drive.
Since it's definitely not the drive, I'd have to agree with you that my install disk is bad (although I'm still at a loss as how an undamaged install disk goes bad).
You mentioned that Apple Support would replace the disks for a fee. I went through the Apple Support page and which led me to a page informing me that I had to pay $50 to talk to them once about this issue. I'm hesitant to spend $50 on a call where they'll tell me I can purchase new 10.4 install disks for the discounted fee of $50+shipping for a total investment that's almost the cost of simply upgrading to 10.5.
Has anyone actually purchased replacement install disks from Apple? I'd be interested in knowing what you were charged.
Or is there another method of contacting Apple regarding this issue that won't cost me $50?

IMac won't boot from install disc

My iMac has been running a little slow the past two days and so I ran Disk Utility. DU reported that I had the incorrect number of thread records and an invalid volume count. It instructed me to repair the disk by booting from the install disc. The problem is that when I try to boot from the install disc (after I choose the disc from the options), I just get a gray screen with the apple logo on it. Nothing else happens, no disc activity, nothing.
Anyone have any ideas as to how to get my iMac to boot from the disc and, ultimately, to get Repair Disc running from DU?
Thanks,
Rich

It should only take a minute or so at most to boot from the DVD.
If your sure you have the correct Install Disk for that iMac, I'd start over. Then if it still doesn't work then perhaps a trip to your Local Apple Service Provider with the Disk or Disk and iMac is in order.
http://www.apple.com/buy/locator/service/
Alternately using the correct Disk as per the following article, see if you can run the Apple Hardware Test? > http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1509

IMac won't boot from/install Lion. Why?

I have a 2006-model iMac (iMac5,1 with a 2GHz Core 2 Duo processor and 2.5GB RAM; this is one of Apple's supported configurations for Lion) which has been running quite nicely for several years now. About a year or so ago I moved it to 10.6 which went smooth as silk. Last week I decided to move it to 10.7 and right about now I'm ready to throw this iMac in the effin' trash. It simply WILL NOT boot from OS X 10.7 no matter what.
I first put my 10.7 installer on the computer while it was running 10.6. I launched it, it copied a bunch of stuff, then restarted the computer. Then....nothing. I got the Apple logo with the spinner. I waited about 20 minutes for something greater to happen but nothing did so I forced a shut down. Unfortunately that attempt seems to have destroyed my previous 10.6 installation. Any further attempt to start from that hard drive yields an infinite spinner with the Apple logo but never any desktop or anything useful.
I then put my old iMac into Target Disk Mode, connected it to my newer iMac (iMac7,1 with 4GB RAM running 10.7.4), and used Disk Utility to reformat the old iMac's hard drive. That went fine. I then ran the OS X 10.7 installer on my new iMac, directing it to install onto the old iMac's hard drive. It took about 10 minutes to copy its files then directed me to restart which I did. I got the spinner-with-Apple for a few minutes followed by a spinner-with-circle-slash forever (about 15 minutes before I forced a shut down). I was able to reboot my newer iMac from its internal hard drive without any issues but every time I tried booting the newer iMac from the older iMac's hard drive I would get the spinner-with-Apple for a few minutes followed by a spinner-with-circle-slash forever thing. The same thing happened when I took the older iMac out of TDM and tried to boot it from its own hard drive. Trying that in verbose mode shows "Waiting for DSMOS" as the final line before the machine stalls. It is important to note that (a) this is a legitimately purchased Lion license that I bought last year, and (b) I'm trying to install it on an Apple iMac, not a Hackintosh.
Next, I ran the Recovery Disk Assistant to create a bootable 10.7 recovery USB drive. The creation of the drive went fine and I'm able to boot my newer iMac from the drive — but I cannot boot the older iMac from it, again getting the spinner-with-Apple for a few minutes followed by a spinner-with-circle-slash forever thing. Verbose mode shows the DSMOS error again.
My next step was to extract the "InstallESD.dmg" bootable system image from the installer app and clone that onto a USB drive. That went fine and I was able to boot my newer iMac from that drive but I was unable to boot the older iMac from that drive, again getting the spinner-with-Apple for a few minutes followed by a spinner-with-circle-slash forever thing with verbose mode showing the DSMOS error.
Next I tried to reverse things. I put my newer iMac into TDM, connected it to the older iMac, and tried to boot the older iMac from the newer iMac's hard drive. This failed too. I never got the circle-slash thing, only the Apple logo forever. Verbose mode shows the last line being "BootCacheControl: Unable to open /var/db/BootCache.playlist: 2 No such file or directory".
Finally, I pulled out a spare external hard drive. From my new iMac I booted from my USB drive (the one I cloned "InstallESD.dmg" onto), installed Lion onto the external drive, and booted successfully from the external drive. Everything was running perfectly. I ran System Update until everything was fully updated, then connected that external drive to the old iMac and tried to boot. Again, Apple logo forever with verbose mode showing the BootCacheControl error.
To ensure that the older iMac was fully operational I dug out the old OS install discs and ran the "extended" diagnostic. Everything came up perfect with no errors.
I then pulled out my OS X 10.6 DVD and tried booting the older iMac from it. That worked perfectly, and I was able to format and install 10.6 without any hiccups or issues whatsoever. The iMac is perfectly operational under 10.6.
So why the phargl can't I get 10.7 on this bloody machine?!?!?

In addition to MGW's suggestion...........
See the following Articles:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=25497 Older versions of Mac OS than what comes with your computer
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=25517 Mac OS: Versions, builds included with PowerPC Macs (since 1998)
==========
Without the original System DVDs that came w/the iMac, all you have is a glorified doorstop. You need the System DVDs to troubleshoot. *Especially Install Disc #1.*
You can get replacement System Install & Restore CD/DVDs from Apple's Customer Support - in the US, (800) 767-2775 - for a nominal S&H fee. You'll need to have the model and/or serial number of your Mac available.
If you're not in the US, you may need to go through the regional Apple Store that serves your location to find the contact number. Here's a list of links to all of those -
http://store.apple.com/Catalog/US/Images/intlstoreroutingpage.html

IBook on 10.4 won't boot from Install Disk

Hi - Somewhere along the line I lost DiskUtility from my iBook running 10.4.11. I thought I could run it from the Install Disc but I find the iBook won't boot from the Disc and DU won't run from the Disc (when I do manage to track it down there).
I have install discs from a G4 Powerbook and a MacBookPro Unibody but I'm concerned about repairing permissions from the wrong version of DU (even if I could get the iBook to boot from those discs). Is a newer disc OK? I want to run or install DiskUtility. What are my options??
How can I get the iBook to boot from its install disc?
TIA your expertise...
j2

The installers are machine-series specific. And the Intel disc won't work
in the PPC Mac, additionally. If you have the correct disc for that iBook,
then you can boot the computer with the disc inside the optical drive
and hold the C key down, until Installer appears on the screen; a second
screen after the initial language screen has a full menu bar and Installer
in the header; options appear in the drop-down menu lists, Disk Utility is
among utility and other features listed in there.
If you do not have an iBook G4 disc or an OS X disc retail version capable
of doing the job, you really should get the correct disc. In a few instances,
another path may work, but is not recommended. And you could lose the
content of the hard drive in the computer you are hoping to save.
However, you may be able to use Pacifist to get Disk Utility from the PB G4
installer disc to be made available on the desktop of the iBook, and use
Pacifist to install that extracted package item from the other PPC install disc.
This does not use the installers on the disc media, so Pacifist is used to do
the process. The iBook ideally needs a replacement disc set, and that may
be available from Apple online store's sales support (see online phone#)
and the product would be matched by serial number. A fee is involved.
The original software disc set would have the correct Apple Hardware Test
and the software kit as included when the computer was new.
If Tiger did not ship with the computer in question, then a full retail disc 10.4
installer could probably be used; since it would be newer than, say 10.3.9.
In natural progression, the newer disc of correct kind & type supported by
the computer is a possible path; however a Leopard disc won't help fix Tiger.
You could also use Disk Utility in one PPC Mac, via FireWire Target Disk
mode, to repair the drive of the iBook. It would only appear as a hard drive.
So, repairing disk permissions would not be possible, on a non-boot volume.
This, only within limits; differences in build versions of OS and custom installs
done to a computer configuration may make doing so very limited. I would
not expect an Intel-Mac's version of the same OS to help a PPC in any way.
Good luck & happy computing!
{ edited 2x }

Can't repair disk/Won't boot from install disk

Apologies in advance for how not-tech savvy I am.
I was trying to create a partition using bootcamp but the partition failed and it told me to repair disk using disk utility.
When I try to boot from the install dvd by holding down C the computer just gets stuck in a loop. It turns on, chimes, makes a whurring noise and then restarts again. I can select the install disk by holding down the option key but it does the same thing. If I try to safe boot it comes up with a flashing folder and a question mark.
(Also, the install disk I'm using is not the one that came with this computer, but a OS X 10.5.4 that came with our iMac. Don't know if that would make a difference?)
I downloaded the techtool deluxe that comes with applecare, and it says there's a problem with the volume structure, but when I try to repair using techtool it says the disk cannot be repaired and only gives me the option to start over.
Message was edited by: lizrd91

You would have to be booting from either a newer version retail OS X 10 install DVD
than whatever your computer shipped with, or that original specific disc set it first had.
No other computer's model/build specific restore-install disc set can do this job, since
it would not be correct and can't boot the computer. The wrong software set is on it.
There may be some way to attempt to boot into Single User mode and try fsck...
• Resolve startup issues and perform disk maintenance with Disk Utility and fsck:
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1417
• OSXFAQ - Technical stuff for OS X: how to use 'fsck'
http://www.osxfaq.com/dailytips/07-2002/07-31.ws
There are odd instances where users have applied incorrect use of Boot Camp
to install a Windows version in their Mac, and in so doing, erased or damaged
the OS X partition on their computer's hard disk drive. This is why it is a great
idea to perform maintenance and also keep a complete bootable OS X clone
on an externally enclosed hard disk drive, of the Mac's system & apps.
If you had a current version of DiskWarrior on its own disc media, that may be
able to help fix or restore some file system issues in a hard disk drive.
Perhaps there is more you can do, but frankly if I wanted Windows, there are
tons of old PCs out there awaiting recycle from which to choose. (Not 4 me!)
Good luck & happy computing!
+{PS: Hi there in the down-under ... from here, in the up-over!}+

IMac won't boot up, after Disk Utility

I was running onyx and it said to run my osx install disk and use disk utility and the repair disk function, so I did. There was an error message like node error and wouldn't get past checking catalogues before stopping. So I quit that and just tried to reboot, but it wouldn't work, just stuck at the apple logo and spinning circle. Is there anyway to fix this?
21.5" iMac Mac osx 10.6.5

Reinstall OS X which will not erase your drive.
Reinstall Snow Leopard
Booting From Snow Leopard Installer Disc
1. Insert OS X Installer Disc into the optical drive.
2. Restart the computer.
3. Immediately after the chime press and hold down the "C" key.
4. Release the key when the spinning gear below the dark gray Apple logo appears.
5. Wait for installer to finish loading.
Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions then Reinstall
After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu. 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 click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the installer. Complete the OS X installation. If you have a good Time Machine backup then select the option to Restore from a TM backup in the installer's Utilities menu.
If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall Snow Leopard from scratch.

Mac Mini won't boot with install disk

tried booting with install disc in and pushing "c" on keyboard and doesn't work. Using a apple wireless keyboard. Also used the keyboard that came with Mac Pro but didn't work nor did a wired logitech.
any ideas?
Thanks!

+What is the source of the idea that the mac aluminum keyboard won't work with the mini?+
Dozens of reports in this forum over the past year.
Keep in mind that by "not working" what was meant was that the startup keys wouldn't work. The Alu keyboard otherwise works fine with the Mini.
It has also been reported that the Alu Keyboard does work for startup keys if it is plugged into a hub with an external power supply.

Pismo won't boot from install disks

Hi! I've looked to find the answer elsewhere, but no luck... apologies if this has already been answered.
I have a Powerbook G3 Pismo which I now need to use to run Hypercard. (Yes!)
It has been sitting unused for over a year.
It didn't start up.
I found an article that explained how to remove the PRAM battery. I did so. It starts up fine when connected to power.
I have ordered a new PRAM battery, but it hasn't arrived yet. I decided to go ahead and try to get it to boot.
When I powered up, I got the alternating icon saying it couldn't find an installed system.
I guessed that the hard drive had become corrupt, so I rebooted into Target Disk mode. It worked!
I connected it via FireWire to a MacBook Pro. The Pismo did show up as an external firewire hard drive. Good!
Using OS X Disk Utility, I erased the Pismo drive.
I couldn't decide whether to use OS X Extended, or OS X Extended (Journaled).
I didn't know about any options to install drivers for OS 9, so I probably did the wrong thing. (Pismo can boot into either OS 9 or OS X, I think.)
I tried to fix this later (see below).
I disconnected the Firewire and shut down.
I finally got the Pismo to boot up from a MacWarrior CD (a 3rd-party disk utility that fixes directory problems). I used it to fix the directory.
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I reconnected the Pismo to the Macbook Pro using Firewire.
I tried to install Tiger on the Pismo using my officially purchased, large-box Tiger software. The Macbook Pro mounted the disk, but when I ran the installer, it told me I couldn't install Tiger on this machine (the Macbook Pro, duh!) and only gave me the option to quit.I thought that I could use an all-model install disk to install OS X on ANY external hard drive! What gives???!???
I tried to boot from the AppleCare Protection Plan's TechTool Deluxe.
It seemed to be booting fine into 9.1. Yippee!
It halted with a System Error (address error) telling me to restart holding down the Shift key.
I do so. It seemed to be booting fine into 9.1 again, Extensions Off.
But it halted with the same System Error.
I read about OS 9 drivers and went back into Disk Utility using the Macbook Pro.
Using Firewire to access my Pismo hard drive, I re-erased everything and made the partition have an Apple Partition Map.
I did not see any option to check or uncheck that mentioned installing OS 9 drivers. Did I miss it? Was it not there because I'm using a recent version of Disk Utility?
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VERY FRUSTRATING! Have I tried everything? Has the hard drive gone bad?
Any help would be appreciated.

My new PRAM battery has been installed. I reset PRAM by doing a command-option-P-R.
The problem remains, but it's getting more consistent, which I guess is progress. With the Pismo connected to AC power (all my batteries are, of course, dead by now), the following has happened:
When I start up with the Tiger installation disk, everything goes smoothly, the gray Apple logo appears, and then, suddenly, a flurry of white text on an irregular black background floods the screen. Darwin says there's a kernel panic and they're in a loop ("we are hanging here").
When I start up with the original Software Restore disk, the blank gray screen blinks, turns a different shade of gray, the cursor arrow shows up in the upper left-hand corner, and it hangs. The cursor arrow doesn't respond to the trackpad; it's frozen.
When I start with the original Software Install disk, the same sequence takes place, but there is no cursor arrow that shows up. It just has the gray screen, a blink with a slightly different shade of gray, then it hangs.
The behavior is exactly the same for all 3 disks (respectively) when I use the MacBook Pro to start up:
Insert Pismo or Tiger disk into MacBook Pro (counterintuitively).
Start up the Pro in Target mode. Connect to Pismo using Firewire cable.
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Then it tries to use the disk in the Pro, but ends up acting case-by-case as it did when each disk was in the Pismo's drive (kernel panic hanging, gray screen with arrow, gray screen without arrow).
Helllllp!
My last chance will be to take a hard drive from a defunct ice iBook (dual USB) and use it to replace the factory-supplied Pismo drive. That iBook was a G4; the Pismo is a G3 (I believe). If there has developed a deep, difficult problem with the Pismo's hard drive, hopefully this will solve it:
I will try to boot from the iBook-drive-in-the-Pismo. I doubt this will work. If it does, great! If not...
I will try to boot from the Tiger installation disk, and if that works, try to install the Tiger software on it.
If that doesn't work, I will try to boot from the Software Restore and the Software Install disks.
If that doesn't work, I give up!!!! Unless someone here has a better idea.

EMac - won't boot to install disk

I've got a G4 eMac (512Mb, Jaguar) that randomly freezes. These freezes do not occur in Safe mode. So I'm trying to reformat the HD and clean reinstall the OS. However, I cannot get it to boot to the original install disk. Any ideas?
Here's what I've tried:
*TechTools Plus shows no hardware issues; all tests pass.
*Hard drive is verified.
*Repaired permissions (ran 4x).
*I've zapped PRAM (3x)
*I've entered "set-defaults" and "reset all" in Open Firmware command line interface.
*CD in the drive will mount. I can browse files on the CD.
*I've tested the CD in another eMac and it will boot the computer. I actually have another eMac with install disks and they will not boot this problem eMac either.
*When I launch the OS install program and press the "Restart" button, the computer restarts but winds up booting from the HD (I can first hear the CD read head accessing the CD).
*When I hold down the Alt/Opt key on start up, it will not list the install CD as a boot option.
*When I press the "C" on start up, it still boots from the HD.
Shall I say, "Arrggh"?
Any help appreciated.

Interesting results. I was able to clean install the OS from another computer to the flaky eMac using the target mode as you described. From the other computer, I can even boot from the flaky eMac hard drive in target mode (start flaky eMac in target mode, start the other Mac while holding the Alt key and select the flaky eMac hard disk as boot option from the two listed.)
But I still cannot directly boot the flaky eMac (and Safe mode doesn't boot now).
I have repeated the following after OS install.
*reset PRAM
*entered "set-defaults" and "reset-all" in Open Firmware command line interface.
Am I running up against a hardware problem?

Macbook won't boot from install disks

I have tried to boot my sisters macbook the other day from her install disks so I could use disk utility to repair her disks (I think there is a problem with the block count) so I inserted the CD and held 'C' on startup and I got to the grey screen for about 10 seconds but then the computer went black, chimed again and gave me the same screen and kept repeating until I let go of 'C' where it booted from the hard drive. The problem is not the CD as I tried to boot from another leopard install disk. Anyone have any ideas? Thanks

Reboot holding down the shift key until you see the spinning cog. When the desktop finally appears (it will take a good while) launch DU and Repair Disk. Then empty the Trash. Then reboot. Then try again to boot from the (correct) OS installer DVD (not a CD).

IMac won't boot with install CD with gray screen

A couple of weeks ago I turned on my computer and couldn't get past the gray screen (with no Apple logo). I couldn't boot in safe mode, and had to boot with software install disc. I recently had to unplug my computer for a move and when I turned it on I had the same problem. Unfortunately after resetting PRAM nothing happened, and I couldn't boot in safe mode. Then I tried booting with disc pressing C during startup, and it sounded like the disc was reading ( I could hear it spinning), but I still had nothing but a gray screen. Also tried booting with recovery disc that comes with Apple Protect Plan and couldn't get past gray screen. After I leave the computer on for a couple of hours I get the folder with question mark flashing. Can anyone help?

den.thed,
Thanks. I tried the sleep method, but if I were listening to music through my Apple TV or was watching multiple movies, the IMac would shut down or go to sleep after 3 hours and sometimes that became a real bother. I have a HD with just my music from ITunes on it and then I have a new 1 TB HD that I have nothing but movies on it. Those are the 2 I want to leave on at all times, but the machine would freeze if I had both plugged in. Thanks!

MacBook with new HD won't boot from Install Disk

Hi there,
My MacBook's HD went on me the other day - froze computer, grey screen, flashing question mark, loud beep, etc. I bought a new HD, installed it without any problems (I thought!), but now I can't get the computer to start with the original Install Disk. On start-up, I have a light grey screen, and can hear the fan running, but that's it. At one point, on start-up while holding down the D key, I got the Language selection menu, but my cursor was frozen in the left hand corner and I couldn't do anything but restart. Now nothing comes up or else I get the "You need to restart your computer...." message on a grey screen.
Any ideas how I can get the Install Disk with Disk Utilities to work?
Thanks .....
Message was edited by: jomimata
Message was edited by: jomimata

Unfortunately, it sounds like you have a hardware problem beyond the hard drive. Even if there was no hard drive installed at all, you should still be able to startup from the the original install disk. Do you hear a "chime" at startup? If not, then you definitely have a hardware problem. You should take your MacBook into a local Apple store and make an appointment with the Mac Genius (or another local Apple Authorized Service provider). If you can't startup from the original install disk by holding down on the "c" key or holding down on the "option" key and then selecting the install disk, you have a hardware problem that can't be resolved with troubleshooting here.
-Doug

IMac won't boot to install disk, normally or in safe mode! Please help

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