IMac wont go past grey screen and cog turning

Hi there !
I have an iMac, thing is after installing a new OS it won't turn on again, it gets as far as grey screen then the cog keeps turning then it just shuts itself off. I've tried using the disk utility but it fails when I verify disk and repair disk, then the HD name goes grey and when I go to boot options its no longer there to boot from. done all the reccomendations on the apple troubleshoot through start up and fsck. is there something physically wrong with the disk or can it be solved by diskwarrior ? (Oh, I haven't backed up either so any idea's if it can be saved?)
Cheers
Ed

Hmmmmm... I had a very similar issue and I called apple. Do you still have apple care? They are awesome about helping you. With mine, I had to reinstall my OS but I can't remember the little tricks used to do it. Maybe you have already tried that... not sure.
I hoe that helps.

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Hi , and a warm welcome to the forums!
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"Try Disk Utility
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2. When your computer finishes starting up from the disc, choose Disk Utility from the Installer menu at top of the screen. (In Mac OS X 10.4 or later, you must select your language first.)
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http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106214
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Take each of these steps that you haven't already tried. Stop when the problem is resolved.
Step 1
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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.
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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.
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Step 8
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Step 9
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 10
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Step 11
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 12
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-Bmer
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Message was edited by: delafonze19

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