Imac won't get past boot screen

I have never had a problem with my mac, but recently I was surfing the internet, and the screen seemed to freeze. I powered it off by holding the power button until it turned off, then tried to turn it back on. the apple screen came up, then the rotating wheel, then a grey progress bar at the bottom. The progress bar loads a few centimeters, then the whole thing just turns itself on. Someone advised popping out the memory and reinserting it, but that did not work. I have attached a link to a video of what it is doing, please let me know if anybody knows what could be wrong and how I could fix it.
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/15260662/iMac.mov

So that worked better than anything else I tried, got me to disk utilities. Tried fist aid, but it said that the drive could not be repaired. I did notice that most of the details at the bottom were missing (mounting, # of files, used disk space, ect.). I also tried the option to instal a fresh version of the OS, but it said the disk was locked. I did notice somewhere in all the searching around that my HD only had 130MB free space, which I imagine may have contributed to the issue. Since I cannot get the computer to boot to the OS, is there a way I can back up my information to my external HD? (I now see the importance of keeping backups.) Or are there any other steps advised?

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IMac won't get past startup screen, no matter what. Pls help?

I just inherited a mid-2010 iMac from a friend. It hadn't been used for months, and now when it is started up, it won't get past startup screen. It shows the 'slot' looking image on the bottom of the white loadup screen, then it's just the apple symbol and the whirly thing going around forever. I've had it going for over half an hour at one point, and nothing changes. I have tried all the different reboot key combos, such as C with a startup disk in it, D for hardware test, command S for safe mode, etc. The only thing which makes any difference at all is using the T key at startup, when I do get the three-pronged white symbol floating around screen.
It is a 21 inch with 500gig, and I believe it's running Snow Leopard. They never had a problem with it before, but now after the months of disuse, it is doing this. Please, can anyone help? Thanks!

I'm not sure if a dead PRAM battery would give you these symptoms, but one possibility is that if the computer was off wall power for months, the PRAM battery, a small coin cell battery that controls certain functions, may be drained and dead.
But, in any case, try an SMC Reset. You must follow the timing for this exactly.
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht3964
And then a PRAM Reset.
Hold down Option-Cmd-P-R together at the startup chime, listen for two more chimes, total three, then release all the keys to finish booting.
You might also try a Safe Boot by holding down Shift at the startup chime. (Cmd-S isn't for Safe Boot, it's single user mode.) Give it much longer to boot than usual, but if it doesn't finish in perhaps 5 or 10 minutes, then you'll have to give up on that.

Won't get past "Platinum screen", keyboard not recognized

Hi all,
I just built a system, haven't even loaded up the OS yet. On the first boot, the computer won't get past the screen which says "Platinum" and says "tab to switch to post" or "del to run BIOS setup." The lights don't flash on the PS/2 keyboard i hooked up (a 6 year old Compaq one). I then tried a 2-year old Dell PS/2 keyboard with the same result. Is this problem fixable? I bought this off of Newegg and there is still time to return it, if I need to. Thanks for your help in advance. Also, if this topic has been beaten to death, I'm sorry. I'm in a state of panic right now since this computer isn't even for me.

I had the same symptoms first time I tried to boot my then-new K8N Neo2 Plat. I had the advantage of having the D-bracket, which was telling me it was hanging in the memory test. I had stuck in some cheapo memory to set up the board, waiting for my good stuff to show up. Turns out the memory was not up to the task. When I stuck in the good stuff, she fired right up. What memory are you using? Are you sure you don't have the D-bracket? it looks like a PCI back-plane USB bracket, except it has 4 LEDs on it (in addition to 2 USB ports and a 1394 port).

Blackberry playbook won't go past boot screen

Playbook keeps freezing we rebooted by holding the power button for 10seconds now we can't get pAst boot screen. Just gets stuck there and doesn't get to icons screen. Any suggestions?

Call support at this number:
http://us.blackberry.com/support/tablets/playbook/contact-support.html
You may have to reload the software using the desktop manager, but see what support says first.
Please click the Thumbs Up icon if this comment has helped you!
If your issue is resolved, please click the solution button on the resolution!
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Imac won't get past start up screen

My iMac can't get past the start up screen (white screen with apple logo). How can I get past this?

The following support article is somewhat outdated. Where it refers to booting from an installation disc, you should boot into Recovery (if running OS X 10.7 or later) by holding down the key combination command-R at the chime. If your startup volume is encrypted with FileVault, you’ll have to unlock it in Disk Utility before you can do anything with it.
Mac OS X: Gray screen appears during startup

Computer won't get past OS screen after unlock, even if I am still using 2 cores

>Phenom II x2 555 BE
>MSI 870a-g54
So I decided to unlock my CPU and have been experiencing a problem. I recently found out that if I even have "unlock core" function enabled in BIOS, even while running it with two cores, the computer won't get past the windows screen. With four cores enabled it obviously does the same. No matter what I try I cannot get past the Windows screen while having the unlock core function enabled.
My BIOS isn't on the latest version. I tried flashing it but I couldn't start it up even after flashed, it gave me the same problem described above. I reflashed it to the version I'm on now and it works, but I still can't unlock. What gives?
Any help would be appreciated.
TL;DR: PC will run as Phenom ii X2 555, but not as Phenom ii x4 B55. Can't get past windows screen.

you need to provide more vcore to the cpu
first try to enable 1 core (core number 3) (disable core number 2 and 4) and increase some vcore. If booted then you have a good core.
Then try this with other core (core number 4) (disable core number 2 and 3), if booted then your both cores are unlockable and are good core (i.e, not defective)
then you can try all cores at same time with some voltage increase (vcore)

MacBook 2010 won't get past loading screen

Hi everyone. I don't live anywhere near an apple store so am hoping I can get some help here. My MacBook won't get past the initial White loading screen with the grey apple logo. A loading bar (which I've never seen before) comes up, loads about 1/5 of the way, disappears, comes back empty, does the same thing then my laptop turns off. About two weeks ago the battery stopped working without being plugged in and each time I turned it on it had reset the date to 01/01/2001. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Welcome to the Apple Support Communities
The hard drive is damaged. Insert the Mac OS X DVD, press C key when your Mac starts, go to Utilities > Disk Utility and repair the drive. If it doesn't work, take the Mac to an Apple Store.
If you haven't made a backup, download DiskWarrior

IPhone won't get past lock screen. Restart won't work.

My phone was charging and I took it off the charger, my friend played around and did the color invert thing (where you press the home button 3 times). Now it won't get past the lock screen. When I try to put in my pass code it just puts boxes around the numbers but won't actually press it. I tried restarting it, it's currently plugged into my computer and nothing. It was really warm when I first noticed this. Help!

It sounds like your friend also turned on VoiceOver, which speaks items on the screen as you touch them (and sounds like the Siri voice). You will need to go to Settings>General>Accessibility>VoiceOver and turn it off. However, with VoiceOver on the way you use the iPhone screen changes. First, to scroll you will need to flick the screen with three fingers. Next, to activate something on the screen you will need to first tap it once to select it, then double-tap it to activate it. Example: to open Settings, tap Settings once (the voice will say "settings"), then double-tap it again and it will open. The specific steps are:
Enter you lock code by tapping the first number once to select it, then double-tap it to enter it. Repeat for the other numbers.
Press Home.
Tap Settings. Then double-tap Settings.
Tap General. Then double-tap General.
Use three fingers on the screen to scroll to Accessibility.
Tap Accessibility. Then double-tap Accessibility.
Tap VoiceOver. Then double-tap VoiceOver.
Tap "On" next to VoiceOver. Then double-tap "On" to turn it off.
To fix the inverted colors, go to Settings>General>Accessibility and turn White on Black to Off.

IPhone 5 won't get past apple screen (keeps restarting)

Hello
Bought an iphone 5 just before the ios 7 release and for the last little while the phone would shut off a After a full charge when it hit approximately 97% of full charge it would shut off! Now it won't get past the apple screen and just keeps restarting over and over again.
Does anyone else have this problem with their iphone 5 and if so any solutions???
Our carrier Fido says this is an IOS 7 issue. Can anyone help
Thanks
Shep

Hey Shep77,
That definitely sounds frustrating! To completely isolate the issue, you may want to restore your iPhone in recovery mode, as outlined in this article:
iPhone: Hardware troubleshooting
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2802
iPhone is unresponsive and displays the Apple Logo
Review this article: iOS: Unable to update or restore.
.The above article also has great troubleshooting steps for Power issues, you may want to run through those if restoring does not resolve your issue:
Will not turn on, will not turn on unless connected to power, or unexpected power off
- Verify that the Sleep/Wake button functions. If it does not function, inspect it for signs of damage. If the button is damaged or is not functioning when pressed, seek service.
- Check if a Liquid Contact Indicator (LCI) is activated or there are signs of corrosion.
Learn about LCIs and corrosion.
- Connect the iPhone to the iPhone's USB power adapter and let it charge for at least ten minutes.
- After at least 15 minutes, if:
               - The home screen appears: The iPhone should be working. Update to the latest version of iOS if necessary. Continue charging it until it is completely charged and you see this battery icon in the upper-right corner of the screen . Then unplug the phone from power. If it immediately turns off, seek service.
               - The low-battery image appears, even after the phone has charged for at least 20 minutes: See "iPhone displays the low-battery image and is unresponsive" symptom in this article.
               - Something other than the Home screen or Low Battery image appears, continue with this article for further troubleshooting steps.
- If the iPhone did not turn on, reset it while connected to the iPhone USB power adapter.
               - If the display turns on, go to step 4.
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- Connect the iPhone to a computer and open iTunes. If iTunes recognizes the iPhone and indicates that it is in recovery mode, attempt to
restore the iPhone. If the iPhone doesn't appear in iTunes or if you have difficulties in restoring the iPhone, see this article for further assistance.
- If restoring the iPhone resolved the issue, go to step 4. If restoring the iPhone did not solve the issue, seek service.
Thanks,
Matt M.

My iMac won't get past little apple screen icon

When I turn on iMac, it never goes past the white apple screen and the little wheel just turns and turns for hours if I let it. I turn it off, unplug it, turn it back on...but nothing! Any ideas?
Thanks

Have you tried booting from your install disc? You should also have a disc with Apple Hardware Test on it, try and see if you can start up from that and run the test.
It would be helpful to know which model you have (how to identify your iMac).
Also, see if anything here helps: won't complete startup.

IMac can't get past grey screen...

This all happened when I was creating an Image of an OS 10.4 dmg file. as soon as it finished different items began disappearing from the top Finder bar. Soon as I restarted I couldn't get past the gray screen with spinning thingy.
Here's what I tried so far-without success:
_Zapped the PRAM (Option, Command, P, R keys held down on start-up); all peripherals had been disconnected.
_Reset the SMC controller by unplugging everything from the iMac for at least 15 seconds, and then powering back up with just the keyboard connected to it.
_Made a full hardware check holding down the "D" key with the MacOSX disc inserted upon start-up; the check turned out fine, no errors. no errors in my RAM chips either
_was able to successfully use Target Disk mode so I was able to back up my Hard Drive.
_Inserted the OS 10.4.7 Disc that came with the iMac, ran Disk Utility, selected my Hard Drive and ran a "Verify Disk" (said it had a error on the hard drive, so I then ran" Repair Disk" and told me it repaired whatever it needed to. (can't remember exactly what it said). booted it back up and still Gray Screen with spinning cycle
few things to note:
_It won't let me boot into safe mode. (when i hold Shift down the Apple comes up but I get a circle with a diagonal line going thru it (like the no-smoking sign) flashing back and forth between that and the Apple logo until I let go of the Shift key.
__booted by holding down option, was able to select my Hard Drive {(apparently it still recognizes my HD (i.e. M. Scorsese icon)} but still won't work
i've run out of ideas other than restoring and erasing everything.

I think you did a pretty thorough job of trouble-shooting.
I think the problem is related to the error you got running +Verify Disk+ in Disk Utility. +Repair Disk+ may have reported it being repaired, but probably not completely. Some critical system file(s) may have been damaged.
Take a look at this article.
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1417
I think you have done everything listed already, except using fsck, so try that method.
If that does not work and you decide to reinstall everything, you may want to first try the +Archive and Install+ option in Installer. +Archive and Install+ will give you a fresh system while maintaining your user account and settings. Some third-party apps may need to be reinstalled. Since you have a backup already, you could decide to completely erase the drive, reinstall, and restore data, as the last resort.

Intel Imac won't get past Apple on startup

One of our 17" Intel Imacs (early to mid 2006 model) will not get past the Apple on startup. I have done the following:
1. Replaced the ram. No luck.
2. Zapped the PRAM. No luck.
3. Reset the SMC. No luck.
4. Tried booting from several CDs including disk warrior. No luck.
5. However, I was able to run the Hardware test from the system disk. It found no problems the several times I ran it.
6. I was able to mount the drive using Target Disk mode. I then ran diagnostics on the harddrive. Fixed some things, but nothing major. Still won't boot.
7. I tried the opposite approach and tried to run the machine using the other machine in Target mode. No luck.
8. I downloaded firmware, created a disk per apple's instructions and tried to run it. No luck.
I think that is basically it. I've been able to backup all the data and was going to reformat the harddrive, although I don't see how that would work considering that the machine won't boot up from either a CD or another drive in Target Disk mode.
I'm thinking this machine is a goner. Any other ideas would be much appreciated.

Have you tried the diagnostics? Insert the original OS X Installer Disc One that came with the computer and restart the computer. After the chime press and hold down the "D" key until the diagnostic screen appears. Run extended diagnostics and not any error codes reported.
If you cannot boot into the diagnostics then take the computer in for service.

My iMac won't get passed white screen, My iMac won't get passed white screen

Hi I was updating my iMac with mac os lion and it was installing the update when there was a power shortage and the iMac turned off. Now when I turn it on it won't get passed the white screen with the Apple logo and the turning thing, what should I do?
The update I was doing was the Mac OS X Update Combined version 10.7.3

I'll assume you have backups of your data. Boot from your recovery partition (command-R at startup) and reinstall the Mac OS. You don't need to erase the boot volume. If your Mac didn’t ship with Lion, you’ll need the Apple ID and password you used to upgrade, so make a note of those before you begin.

Macbook won't go past boot screen-want to back up files before reinstalling

Hi everyone,
My Macbook (Aluminum Unibody-before they labeled it "the pro") started slowing down when I installed snow leopard recently. It was jamming up a lot and I would have to restart often. On my most recent lock up, I restarted and it never went past the apple boot screen. I booted from the system DVD and ran disk utility, to no avail. There were all sorts of errors. Brought the computer into best buy and they tested the health of my hard drive-it is in perfect condition. THey suggested I just reinstall the OS and everything on my computer would be saved. I went to do this and received this error "You cannot install Mac OS X on this volume without changing your installation settings. Click Options to change the settings. The contents of this volume cannot be changed"
When I click options, I receive this:
"The destination disk must be erased for installation.
The detination volume will be completely erased and a new compy of Mac OS X will be installed on the volume. All your data will be lost" Then gives me these options "Format as: Mac OS Extended (Journaled) or Mac OS Extended (Case-sensitive, Journaled).
You gotta talk to me like I'm someone with no experience with this sort of thing. Because.. I'm not experienced with these issues. I did all the startups that are suggested... the fsck (or whatever) thing (doesn't fix anything), the single-user start up, start up in safe mode (doesn't work).
Now, I can boot up with my system disk and reach the disk utlity. There is an option there to "restore" by dragging the Mac HD to the top field and the external hard drive to the bottom field. It does say it will write over any other files, however.
Here's my issue-first, I want to make sure that it will really make a full copy of everything, just as Time Machine does. The only hard drive I have that is WORKING with this, is the one that my time machine backups are on. I'm assuming all of my backups (there are many), will be erased and written over. Is this so? And will backing up by this method, really work to where I will be able to access all my files? Will I be able to restore from this backup after the OS is reinstalled? I hadn't backed up since December 3 and there is some important information and files on there that I just can't lose. I already tried switching out the hard drive from my computer to another mac, but for some reason, the screw keeping the hard drive attached, is stripped and there's no way to get it out. Very strange since I've never tried.
Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much!
Thank you!

Jenn,
If you cannot run Repair Disk from Disk Utility you are ARE NOT running it from the original Install Disk that came with the computer or the Snow Leopard Upgrade Disk you purchased. Please follow the directions I provided and you should be able to run Repair Disk form Disk Utilities.
Regarding Best Buy I would recommend NOT taking it to them for repair, if you have an Apple Store in your area please take it there. If you don't have an Apple Store within a couple of hour drive use this link to locate an AASP to take your machine to.
I am assuming you have your Time Machine backups on an external HD. If so they are safe for now. In the event you need to reformat the internal HD on your MBP and reinstall OS X you can use the TM backups to restore from.
Regarding "do you think copying the disk as mentioned (from the disk utility) would work?" No that would not work.
Lets first see if Disk Utility can repair your internal HD. If for some reason that fails then you can run Apple Hardware Test and see if any HD errors are reported there. And finally if that doesn't come up with anything then you can make an appointment at an Apple Store or AASP.

Graphite iMac Won't Get Past Startup

I recently inherited a Graphite 600mhz iMac with 1gig of RAM and a 40gb HDD from my Television productions class. I used an iPod ripping program called iPod Access to load about 10gigs of music to the computer. I also installed a few programs like VLC and WMP. The computer was running a little slow after these installs and transfers, so I figured I'd restart. I did, and the computer made it to the gray Mac loading screen, where the little wheel revolved and revolved. As of now, the computer will not get past this point after many attempts. Is the HD shot? No hardware has been changed. Could it have something to do with my iPod?

Can you start from a Bootable CD? Hopefully, you inherited the 10.3 disks, or a copy of a 9.2.1 disk along with the iMac.
I'm guessing that the disk is full and the Mac has lost track of some important startup file. OSX writes a lot of files to the disk in the course of operation that are invisible but take up space. If you don't do regular house cleaning you loose a whole lot of space over time.
Some music import proceedures make two copies of each file, and that adds to the problem.
I'm guessing. At any rate, you are going to need a bootable CD to trouble shoot this situation.
David

Imac won't get past boot screen

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