Intel iMac hangs at startup on white screen, no logo

Suddenly, my Intel iMac won't boot. When I turn it on, it plays the tone and hangs forever at the white lit screen. I hear the CD-ROM drive spin up, but I can't get it to boot from a CD, even if I hold down "C". I have Bootcamp installed dual-booting Vista SP1 (by default) and OS X Leopard. I can't make the boot menu appear, either.
I tried resetting the SMC as described in a troubleshooting article by unplugging everything, waiting, plugging back in the power and then the other peripherals (only network, keyboard, mouse, and a secondary display.) It had no effect.
Any suggestions, if only to narrow down what the problem might be?

mquander....did the new hard drive resolve the problem?
I have the exact same problem. It all started on a hot day, my iMac froze while just surfing the web. Only option was to power it down manually. After that the machine would not boot into OSX, it would get as far as the blue screen, but never come up with the login window. Then it started acting up and certain keyboard boot combinations would not work consistently. For example holding option down would only occasionally bring up the boot list, other times, it would just stay at a gray screen indefinitely.
Now I can't boot to anything, CD, internal hard drive, external hard drive. The gray screen comes up with no apple logo, eventually if I leave it, 10 minutes or so later it will reboot itself and just do the same thing.
I'd be curious to find out if the new hard drive resolved your problems.
Thanks
Chris

Similar Messages

Imac won't start beyond white screen apple logo and circle

Imac won't start beyond white screen, Apple logo and spinning circle

Follow the steps at > Mac OS X: Gray screen appears during startup

My imac wont get past the white screen with logo and rotating wheel

i was trying to turn on my imac when suddenly ot took forever on the white screen
i tried taking off everything connected to it-no change
i tried a safe mode after a few minuted a heard the second chime then a blinkin
question mark folder showed up so i turned it off again and tried a nvram/pram reset but it still stuck on the white screen
is it time to visit the apple store or is there something else i should try?

A flashing question mark or globe appears when you start your Mac
Reinstall Lion, Mountain Lion, or Mavericks without erasing drive
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.
Reinstall Lion, Mountain Lion, or Mavericks
OS X Mavericks- Reinstall OS X
OS X Mountain Lion- Reinstall OS X
OS X Lion- Reinstall Mac OS X
Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet
if possible because it is three times faster than wireless.

White screen no logo at startup

When attempting a startup on my Apple iMac (intel based), I get the dreaded white screen with no apple logo. I have searched the internet for information that would resolve this issue to no avail.
I disconnected everything, including a USB devices like the keyboard and mouse. Basically anything connected to the back of the machine. I unplugged the machine, waited ten seconds (sometimes more) then plugged it back in, held down the command, option, P and R keys while attempting to start up. Waited for the startup gong (2 to 3 times) and still get the white screen.
I know there must be something I can do to get my machine back to it's natural working state...but what?
Anyone have the definitive answer?

Please follow Apple's directions step by step, you may have suffered a hardware failure however before you know follow the steps in Gray screen appears during startup

Intel iMac will not boot past gray screen

Intel iMac will not boot past gray screen
my system:
new (month old) 24" intel imac, 2.8 ghz, 4 gb ram.
running: leopard (upgraded from tiger, which was pre-installed at purchase), installed 10.5.1 update right before this huge problem occurred.
install discs on-hand: two-disc tiget set, single leopard upgrade disc.
what led to this:
i wanted to install windows using bootcamp on a 50 gb partition.
at this point i was running leopard 10.5
i followed all bootcamp instructions, printing out the guide, as well. once i got into the windows setup, i was prompted to choose a partition to install windows. unlike the bootcamp guide, which showed three partitions, one clearly labeled "bootcamp", i saw only one partition. not wanting to risk writing over my mac partition, i quit the setup and rebooted the mac os. after some googling around, i looked for firmware updates (didn't need any), and then software updates. i decided to try updating to 10.5.1.
i then ran through boot camp again, deleting my previous windows partition, creating a new one, and moving forward as before. once again, i was only shown one partition to choose from in the windows setup. i exited the setup again to reboot through the mac os, but this time, i was only given a blank gray screen.
here's what i have tried so far:
booting from a CD, holding down the C or D keys: no response (in fact, i have to restart the computer holding down the mouse button to be able to eject the CD)
booting with option key held down: gray screen
booting with option key held down with external bootable firewire drive attached: the firewire drive appears as a boot icon, and i can click on it within a five second window, but then the screen freezes after that time period, and nothing changes
booting into target mode while attached to another mac: gray screen (no firewire icon, and drive never shows up on other mac)
resetting NVRAM: i'm able to hear the boot chimes, but no difference in performance. gray screen every time
Safe boot: nothing but a gray screen
Verbose mode: gray screen
Single user mode: gray screen
Single user mode with firewire drive attached: occasionally (not every time), i am able to get the white on black terminal to show up. from here, i'm able to run fsck, but it appears to only be checking the firewire drive. i have tried several times to boot from here, and once it took me to a blue screen with movable arrow cursor, but it never went beyond this.
is there anything else left to try before taking it to apple?
any help would be greatly appreciated.
thanks,
Casey Burns
Casey Burns Illustration and Design
http://CaseyBurns.com

I'd call Apple support at this point. You'll need
to put this issue on the record.
Call U.S. iPod and Mac technical support: 1-800-APL-CARE (1-800-275-2273)
The wait may be long for an agent to come on the line
so expect that and have some other stuff to do in the meantime.
If you have the applecare protection plan, I'd ask about "onsite"
service.
I like your work ! Good luck !
Slim
Message was edited by: slimpikkunz

Booting i7 iMac - Can't Get past "white screen" unless i unplug peripherals

This has been an intermittent but regular problem recently. upon startup, my iMac gets hung at the white screen. unless i unplug my external drives, usb devices and monitor. didn't happen for the first couple of months with this machine, but recently it's been driving me crazy.
any ideas?

Great answer i think, but this is jibberish to me. mean anything to you?
5/19/10 10:57:25 AM com.apple.launchd[1] * launchd[1] has started up. *
5/19/10 10:57:39 AM com.apple.SystemStarter[32] /Library/StartupItems/Digidesign Mbox 2/Digidesign Mbox 2:start
5/19/10 10:57:39 AM com.apple.SystemStarter[32] Starting Digidesign Mbox 2 Configuration Service
5/19/10 10:57:39 AM com.apple.SystemStarter[32] Requesting load of /System/Library/Extensions/DigiIO.kext.
5/19/10 10:57:39 AM com.apple.SystemStarter[32] PACESupport - launchd already started us
5/19/10 10:57:39 AM com.apple.SystemStarter[32] /System/Library/Extensions/DigiIO.kext loaded successfully (or already loaded).
5/19/10 10:57:39 AM com.apple.SystemStarter[32] Requesting load of /System/Library/Extensions/DigiDal.kext.
5/19/10 10:57:39 AM com.apple.SystemStarter[32] /System/Library/Extensions/DigiDal.kext loaded successfully (or already loaded).
5/19/10 10:57:40 AM com.apple.SystemStarter[32] Starting Qmaster services
5/19/10 10:57:41 AM com.digidesign.fwfamily.helper[54] Wed May 19 10:57:41 Jon-Chases-iMac.local DigidesignFireWireHelper[54] <Warning>: 3891612: (CGSLookupServerRootPort) Untrusted apps are not allowed to connect to or launch Window Server before login.
5/19/10 10:57:41 AM com.digidesign.fwfamily.helper[54] Wed May 19 10:57:41 Jon-Chases-iMac.local DigidesignFireWireHelper[54] <Error>: kCGErrorRangeCheck: On-demand launch of the Window Server is allowed for root user only.
5/19/10 10:57:41 AM com.digidesign.fwfamily.helper[54] Wed May 19 10:57:41 Jon-Chases-iMac.local DigidesignFireWireHelper[54] <Error>: kCGErrorFailure: Set a breakpoint @ CGErrorBreakpoint() to catch errors as they are logged.
5/19/10 10:57:42 AM com.digidesign.fwfamily.helper[54] _RegisterApplication(), FAILED TO establish the default connection to the WindowServer, _CGSDefaultConnection() is NULL.
5/19/10 10:57:43 AM com.apple.audio.coreaudiod[92] Wed May 19 10:57:43 Jon-Chases-iMac.local coreaudiod[92] <Error>: kCGErrorFailure: Set a breakpoint @ CGErrorBreakpoint() to catch errors as they are logged.
5/19/10 10:57:43 AM com.apple.audio.coreaudiod[92] coreaudiod: _RegisterApplication(), FAILED TO establish the default connection to the WindowServer, _CGSDefaultConnection() is NULL.
5/19/10 10:57:43 AM com.apple.audio.coreaudiod[92] _RegisterApplication(), FAILED TO establish the default connection to the WindowServer, _CGSDefaultConnection() is NULL.

HT3964 My iMac turns on and a white screen appears with the mac apple and the wheel just sits and spins for a long period of time. Any ideas?

My iMac turns on. A white screen appears, then a apple appears, then the wheel starts to turn but my computer never boots all the way on?

Please carefully read Apple's Gray screen appears during startup advice letter for steps on how to troubleshoot the issue.

My imac starts up with a white screen, gray apple and spinning gear and is frozen on that screen. What can I do?

my imac starts up with a white screen, gray apple and spinning gear and is frozen on that screen. What can I do?

Start your iMac with the original DVD that camera with the system. Then open disk utility and repair your hard drive, also repair your permissions.

Hanging and going to white screen

I am using Firefox 3.6.13 with XP (with all updates). When I leave Firefox up for a period of time (usually an hour or more though sometimes less than that), Firefox hangs at a all white screen and I can't do anything except open Task Manager and shut it down, then restart it.

Could someone please help me. I have a blackberry 8520 and I recently accidentally put ONLY the keypad in the water but luckily I read that you have to keep it in the sun for 24 hours and it worked, next my charger port broke of then I got it fixed but right after I got it fixed every time I fully charge my phone or it have 2 or more bars in like 10 or 7mins it freezes and their are these lines then it goes into a white screen. I took the battery and put the batter back in the phone worked fine but then the battery went from full to battery drained shutting down?!? What do I do??

White screen no logo SOMETIMES!!

so ive read over a hundred white screen problems none are like mine!
mainly the problem occurs first time during the day i turn on my macbook 13" aluminum mac os x 10.5.8. It gives me a white screen no logo no spinning wheel . disconnecting the power supply and battery pressing the on button for 10 secs then connecting everything again and turning on the macbook usually fixes the problem... or pressing fn cmd L+ P (got this of a forum somewhere)...usualy this problem doesnt take place whenever i turn on the macbook again during the day just the first time
a couple of times it went past the logo and spinning wheel but hangs when it reaches the desktop
a couple of times it turned on to a black screen (no boing sound at the beginning)
note that it works PERECTLY once i get past the white screen problem
once it was working perfectly but it couldnt find my camera (isight) but disconnecting the battery and stuff i said above fixed it
i did a disk utility check and repair from the OS cd >> says everything appears to be ok
i did a hard ware test and extended test from the cd >> says no problems found
so WTH!!!!
i just wanna know if this seems to be a software or hardware prblem... and if i can fix it myself?
im freaking out please help!!
please not i rarely put my macbook to sleep usually i switch it on/off
any information is highly appreciated!

okay so same problem again after the macbooks been off over night im not shutting it off anymore after tonite just wanted to check the console msgs) again after forcing shutdown then turning it on again it works just fine :S
so here are all the msgs since i turned it on the first time, forced shut, turned it on again then opened up the console (sorry again i dunno wat msgs to choose so ill just paste all of them..maybe u could find something that makes sense)
Jan 7 08:54:27 localhost com.apple.launchctl.System[2]: launchctl: Please convert the following to launchd: /etc/mach_init.d/dashboardadvisoryd.plist
Jan 7 08:54:27 localhost com.apple.launchd[1] (com.apple.RemoteDesktop.PrivilegeProxy): Unknown key for boolean: EnableTransactions
Jan 7 08:54:27 localhost com.apple.launchd[1] (com.apple.usbmuxd): Unknown key for boolean: EnableTransactions
Jan 7 08:54:27 localhost com.apple.launchd[1] (org.cups.cupsd): Unknown key: SHAuthorizationRight
Jan 7 08:54:27 localhost com.apple.launchd[1] (org.x.privileged_startx): Unknown key for boolean: EnableTransactions
Jan 7 08:54:28 localhost kernel[0]: npvhash=4095
Jan 7 08:54:28 localhost kextd[10]: 429 cached, 0 uncached personalities to catalog
Jan 7 08:54:28 localhost kernel[0]: hi mem tramps at 0xffe00000
Jan 7 08:54:28 localhost kernel[0]: PAE enabled
Jan 7 08:54:28 localhost kernel[0]: 64 bit mode enabled
Jan 7 08:54:28 localhost kernel[0]: Darwin Kernel Version 9.8.0: Wed Jul 15 16:55:01 PDT 2009; root:xnu-1228.15.4~1/RELEASE_I386
Jan 7 08:54:28 localhost kernel[0]: standard timeslicing quantum is 10000 us
Jan 7 08:54:28 localhost kernel[0]: vmpagebootstrap: 445530 free pages and 13222 wired pages
Jan 7 08:54:28 localhost kernel[0]: migtable_maxdispl = 79
Jan 7 08:54:28 localhost kernel[0]: 102 prelinked modules
Jan 7 08:54:28 localhost kernel[0]: AppleACPICPU: ProcessorApicId=0 LocalApicId=0 Enabled
Jan 7 08:54:28 localhost kernel[0]: AppleACPICPU: ProcessorApicId=1 LocalApicId=1 Enabled
Jan 7 08:54:28 localhost kernel[0]: Loading security extension com.apple.security.TMSafetyNet
Jan 7 08:54:28 localhost kernel[0]: calling mpopolicyinit for TMSafetyNet
Jan 7 08:54:28 localhost kernel[0]: Security policy loaded: Safety net for Time Machine (TMSafetyNet)
Jan 7 08:54:28 localhost kernel[0]: Loading security extension com.apple.nke.applicationfirewall
Jan 7 08:54:28 localhost kernel[0]: Loading security extension com.apple.security.seatbelt
Jan 7 08:54:28 localhost kernel[0]: calling mpopolicyinit for mb
Jan 7 08:54:28 localhost kernel[0]: Seatbelt MACF policy initialized
Jan 7 08:54:28 localhost kernel[0]: Security policy loaded: Seatbelt Policy (mb)
Jan 7 08:54:28 localhost kernel[0]: Copyright (c) 1982, 1986, 1989, 1991, 1993
Jan 7 08:54:29 localhost kernel[0]: The Regents of the University of California. All rights reserved.
Jan 7 08:54:29 localhost kernel[0]: MAC Framework successfully initialized
Jan 7 08:54:29 localhost kernel[0]: using 9175 buffer headers and 4096 cluster IO buffer headers
Jan 7 08:54:29 localhost kernel[0]: IOAPIC: Version 0x11 Vectors 64:87
Jan 7 08:54:29 localhost kernel[0]: ACPI: System State [S0 S3 S4 S5] (S3)
Jan 7 08:54:29 localhost kernel[0]: mbinit: done
Jan 7 08:54:29 localhost kernel[0]: Security auditing service present
Jan 7 08:54:29 localhost kernel[0]: BSM auditing present
Jan 7 08:54:29 localhost kernel[0]: rooting via boot-uuid from /chosen: CBA1579B-DEBC-372E-BD51-03883A28ECF7
Jan 7 08:54:29 localhost kernel[0]: Waiting on <dict ID="0"><key>IOProviderClass</key><string ID="1">IOResources</string><key>IOResourceMatch</key><string ID="2">boot-uuid-media</string></dict>
Jan 7 08:54:29 localhost kernel[0]: wl0: Broadcom BCM432b 802.11 Wireless Controller
Jan 7 08:54:29 localhost kernel[0]: 5.10.91.21
Jan 7 08:54:29 localhost kernel[0]: Got boot device = IOService:/AppleACPIPlatformExpert/PCI0@0/AppleACPIPCI/SATA@B/AppleMCP79AHCI/PR T0@0/IOAHCIDevice@0/AppleAHCIDiskDriver/IOAHCIBlockStorageDevice/IOBlockStorageD river/FUJITSU MHZ2160BH FFS G1 Media/IOGUIDPartitionScheme/Customer@2
Jan 7 08:54:29 localhost kernel[0]: BSD root: disk0s2, major 14, minor 2
Jan 7 08:54:29 localhost kernel[0]: Jettisoning kernel linker.
Jan 7 08:54:29 localhost kernel[0]: Resetting IOCatalogue.
Jan 7 08:54:29 localhost kernel[0]: IGPU: family specific matching fails
Jan 7 08:54:29 localhost kernel[0]: Matching service count = 1
Jan 7 08:54:29 localhost kernel[0]: Matching service count = 2
Jan 7 08:54:29: --- last message repeated 4 times ---
Jan 7 08:54:29 localhost kernel[0]: Matching service count = 3
Jan 7 08:54:29 localhost kernel[0]: Previous Shutdown Cause: 3
Jan 7 08:54:29 localhost kernel[0]: AppleIntelCPUPowerManagement: initialization complete
Jan 7 08:54:29 localhost kernel[0]: NVDANV50HAL loaded and registered.
Jan 7 08:54:29 localhost kernel[0]: AppleTyMCEDriver::probe(MacBook5,1)
Jan 7 08:54:29 localhost kernel[0]: AppleTyMCEDriver::probe fails
Jan 7 08:54:30 localhost kernel[0]: IGPU: family specific matching fails
Jan 7 08:54:30: --- last message repeated 2 times ---
Jan 7 08:54:30 localhost kernel[0]: Matching service count = 0
Jan 7 08:54:30 localhost kernel[0]: [HCIController][configurePM] power parent ready after 1 tries
Jan 7 08:54:32 localhost bootlog[36]: BOOT_TIME: 1262847264 0
Jan 7 08:54:32 localhost rpc.statd[18]: statd.notify - no notifications needed
Jan 7 08:54:33 localhost DirectoryService[32]: Launched version 5.7 (v514.25)
Jan 7 08:54:34 localhost fseventsd[27]: bumping event counter to: 0x3499f99 (current 0x0) from log file '0000000003492b12'
Jan 7 08:54:34 localhost kernel[0]: NVEthernet: Ethernet address 00:23:32:ce:41:ca
Jan 7 08:54:34 localhost kernel[0]: AirPort_Brcm43xx: Ethernet address 00:23:6c:84:5f:f7
Jan 7 08:54:34 localhost blued[45]: Apple Bluetooth daemon started.
Jan 7 08:54:34 localhost /System/Library/CoreServices/loginwindow.app/Contents/MacOS/loginwindow[23]: Login Window Application Started -- Threaded auth
Jan 7 08:54:36 localhost com.paceap.pacesupport[39]: kextload: extension /System/Library/Extensions/PACESupportFamily.kext/Contents/PlugIns/PACESupportL eopard.kext is already loaded
Jan 7 08:54:37 localhost mDNSResponder mDNSResponder-176.3 (Jun 17 2009 18:57:49)[22]: starting
Jan 7 08:54:37 localhost com.apple.usbmuxd[14]: usbmuxd-176 built for iTunesNineDot on Sep 24 2009 at 16:11:05, running 32 bit
Jan 7 08:54:37 localhost kernel[0]: NVEthernet::setLinkStatus - Valid but not Active
Jan 7 08:54:37 localhost kernel[0]: NVEthernet::mediaChanged - Link is down
Jan 7 08:54:37 localhost kernel[0]: NVEthernet::setLinkStatus - Valid but not Active
Jan 7 08:54:38 localhost kernel[0]: AirPort: Link Down on en1
Jan 7 08:54:38 heba-el-kests-macbook configd[34]: setting hostname to "heba-el-kests-macbook.local"
Jan 7 08:54:38 heba-el-kests-macbook /usr/sbin/ocspd[61]: starting
Jan 7 08:54:40 heba-el-kests-macbook kernel[0]: en1: 802.11d country code set to 'FR'.
Jan 7 08:54:40 heba-el-kests-macbook kernel[0]: en1: Supported channels 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 36 40 44 48 52 56 60 64 100 104 108 112 116 120 124 128 132 136 140 40 48 56 64 104 112 120 128 136 36 44 52 60 100
Jan 7 08:54:46 heba-el-kests-macbook kextd[10]: writing kernel link data to /var/run/mach.sym
Jan 7 08:54:47 heba-el-kests-macbook com.apple.SystemStarter[16]: Starting Aladdin USB daemon
Jan 7 08:54:47 heba-el-kests-macbook com.apple.SystemStarter[16]: PACESupport - launchd already started us
Jan 7 08:54:47 heba-el-kests-macbook kernel[0]: Auth result for: 00:17:79:30:6c:db MAC AUTH succeeded
Jan 7 08:54:47 heba-el-kests-macbook com.apple.SystemStarter[16]: Starting Qmaster services
Jan 7 08:54:47 heba-el-kests-macbook kernel[0]: AirPort: Link Up on en1
Jan 7 08:54:49 heba-el-kests-macbook loginwindow[23]: Login Window Started Security Agent
Jan 7 08:54:49 heba-el-kests-macbook authorizationhost[85]: MechanismInvoke 0x125980 retainCount 2
Jan 7 08:54:49 heba-el-kests-macbook SecurityAgent[86]: MechanismInvoke 0x101600 retainCount 1
Jan 7 08:54:49 heba-el-kests-macbook SecurityAgent[86]: MechanismDestroy 0x101600 retainCount 1
Jan 7 08:54:49 heba-el-kests-macbook loginwindow[23]: Login Window - Returned from Security Agent
Jan 7 08:54:49 heba-el-kests-macbook authorizationhost[85]: MechanismDestroy 0x125980 retainCount 2
Jan 7 08:54:49 heba-el-kests-macbook loginwindow[23]: USER_PROCESS: 23 console
Jan 7 08:54:49 heba-el-kests-macbook com.apple.launchd[1] (com.apple.UserEventAgent-LoginWindow[82]): Exited: Terminated
Jan 7 08:54:49 heba-el-kests-macbook com.apple.launchd[65] (com.apple.AirPortBaseStationAgent): Unknown key for boolean: EnableTransactions
Jan 7 08:54:49 heba-el-kests-macbook com.apple.launchd[65] (org.x.startx): Unknown key for boolean: EnableTransactions
Jan 7 08:54:50 heba-el-kests-macbook com.apple.FolderActions.enabled[88]: launchctl: Error unloading: com.apple.FolderActions.folders
Jan 7 08:54:50 heba-el-kests-macbook /System/Library/CoreServices/coreservicesd[44]: SFLSharePointsEntry::CreateDSRecord: dsCreateRecordAndOpen(Heba El Kest's Public Folder) returned -14135
Jan 7 08:54:52 heba-el-kests-macbook /System/Library/CoreServices/SystemUIServer.app/Contents/MacOS/SystemUIServer[9 8]: CPSGetProcessInfo(): This call is deprecated and should not be called anymore.
Jan 7 08:54:52 heba-el-kests-macbook /System/Library/CoreServices/SystemUIServer.app/Contents/MacOS/SystemUIServer[9 8]: CPSPBGetProcessInfo(): This call is deprecated and should not be called anymore.
Jan 7 08:55:46 heba-el-kests-macbook /System/Library/CoreServices/Finder.app/Contents/MacOS/Finder[99]: CPSGetProcessInfo(): This call is deprecated and should not be called anymore.
Jan 7 08:55:46 heba-el-kests-macbook /System/Library/CoreServices/Finder.app/Contents/MacOS/Finder[99]: CPSPBGetProcessInfo(): This call is deprecated and should not be called anymore.

On boot up, just white screen with logo and windmill. Forever! Can't get out.

On boot up, just white screen with logo and windmill. Forever! Can't get out.

Backup in case your disk is failing. (Post back if you need instructions on how to do that w/o booting OS X.)
Start up in Safe Mode; http://support.apple.com/kb/PH14204?viewlocale=en_US
If it boots reliably in Safe Mode then it is probably a software issue. Post back for more instructions.
Reset PRAM: http://support.apple.com/kb/PH4405
Boot in Recovery Mode. (Hold down the Command (⌘) and R keys as your computer restarts.) Run Disk Utility. Click on the upper left system disk icon. Does S.M.A.R.T. report “Verified”? If not the disk is failing and will need to be replaced. Click on the icon underneath and indented to the right, usually called “Macintosh HD”. Repair Disk. It should finish normally with a green OK message. If it does not try to repair it again.
If it will not finish with the green OK message then use Disk Utility to erase the drive and then reinstall OS X. (Be sure you have a backup before erasing the disk. Post back if you need instructions on how to do that.)
If it repaired all errors and is still not booting normally, reinstall OS X.
If it is still sick after all these steps then the disk probably needs to be replaced or it could be a disk cable. You replace these inexpensively and fairly easily yourself or take it to an Apple store for them to do it for you at a higher cost. If it is still under warranty or AppleCare have Apple do it for you for free. You may want to have Apple check the health of the system and disk before repairing it yourself. Post back if you need instructions on replacing the disk and/or testing the disk cable.

Weird startup problems - white screen - USB/Firewire?

Not even sure where to start on this one...
I've got an Intel Dual 2.0ghz 20" Imac. 3 gb of RAM. I have AppleCare, but not sure this isn't peripheral related, so don't want to start down that path just yet.
I've got two Western Digital MyBook drives: a 250gb connected through the firewire 400 port, and a 500gb drive connected to the 800 port. An Eyetv 200 DVR is connected between the 250gb drive and the computer. Multiple USB devices (Treo 680, CanoScan LiDE500f, Epson Stylus Photo R220, Ipod) through an externally powered Belkin 7 port hub. Bluetooth keyboard and mouse.
About once out of every 10 boots, the machine only comes to a white screen. I have discovered that I have to disconnect all cables from the back of the machine to continue the booting process. Sometimes the boot continues when the firewire plugs are removed, sometimes with the USB. I also have the issue, documented elsewhere, with the WD drives intermittently unmounting.
I've had other, possibly related, issues with Missing Sync hanging (whether syncing with the Treo or not). Curiously, when this problem manifests, Console also hangs in the same manner. Not sure what clears the problem, but after a few reboots, logouts, and resetting the power manager, it generally goes away.
My hunch is that the USB/Firewire buses are underpowered or overstressed. The problems have so far resisted my trying to narrow them down further.
Another oddity: After problems booting, the display brightness is often reset to its lowest (dimmest) setting.
The most frustrating part of all this is that I use my EyeTV device to record TV programs when I'm away. Obviously, if the machine doesn't boot consistently, I can't depend on this.
Anyone have any better hunches?
thanks!

Perhaps I'm on the path to finding the cause of this problem. I took your advice, and using a Firewire 400 cable, connected the 500gb drive in line with the other Firewire devices. After rebooting, I immediately had the same interrupted startup process.
I noticed when connecting the 500gb drive, that it also has a USB port. I have now taken this drive out of the Firewire chain and connected it via USB. I haven't tested very long, but so far so good. I'm beginning to think that the Firewire bus on my 500gb WD drive is bad. I already knew that the 800 port didn't work. Lets hope the USB works. This is solely a backup drive, so USB is fine (unless I need to boot off a backup, in which case I know that the FW 400 will work in a pinch). I'll keep you updated.

HT1533 on starting the IMAC (2010),there is a white screen with apple logo which doest go away or proceed to next screen. What could be wrong?

I had booted the system many times., tried option command P R buttons at the same time. No luck. If the Imac is connected to internet by ethernet port, sometimes the screen is just black and blank to which i had to remove internet port after which if i reboot , the login page appears and then goes to apple logo on white screen and is stuck there. Please help!!

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 boot failure is to secure your 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 your last backup, you can skip this step.
There are several ways to back up a Mac that is unable to boot. You need an external hard drive to hold the backup data.
a. Boot into 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.”
b. If you have access to a working Mac, and both it and the non-working Mac have FireWire or Thunderbolt ports, boot 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.
c. 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
Press and hold the power button until the power shuts off. Disconnect all wired peripherals except those needed to boot, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards. Use a different keyboard and/or mouse, if those devices are wired. If you can boot 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.
If you've booted from an external storage device, make sure that your internal boot volume is selected in the Startup Disk pane of System Preferences.
Step 3
Boot in safe mode. Note: If FileVault is enabled on some models, or if a firmware password is set, or if the boot volume is a software RAID, you can’t do this. Post for further instructions.
Safe mode is much slower to boot 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 your login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin.
When you boot 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, your boot volume is corrupt and the drive is probably malfunctioning. In that case, go to Step 5.
If you can boot and log in now, empty the Trash, and then open the Finder Info window on your boot 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 reboot as usual (i.e., not in safe mode.)
If the boot process hangs again, the problem is likely caused by a third-party system modification that you installed. Post for further instructions.
Step 4
Sometimes a boot failure can be resolved by resetting the NVRAM.
Step 5
Launch Disk Utility in Recovery mode (see Step 1.) Select your 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 reboot as usual.
Step 6
Reinstall the OS. If your Mac was upgraded from an older version of OS X, you’ll need the Apple ID and password you used to upgrade.
Step 7
Repeat Step 6, but this time erase the boot volume in Disk Utility before installing. The system should automatically reboot into the Setup Assistant. Follow the prompts to transfer your data from a Time Machine or other backup.
Step 8
This step applies only to older Macs (not current models) that have a logic-board ("PRAM") battery. Both desktop and portable Macs used to have such a battery. The logic-board battery is separate from the main battery of a portable. A dead logic-board battery can cause a gray screen at boot. Typically the boot failure will be preceded by loss of the startup disk and system clock settings. See the user manual for replacement instructions. You may have to take the machine to a service provider to have the battery replaced.
Step 9
If you get this far, you're probably dealing with a hardware fault. Make a "Genius" appointment at an Apple Store to have the machine tested. If you can't get to an Apple Store, go to another authorized service provider.

IMac 21.5" boots to white screen with vertical blue lines/bars then locks up

iMac 21.5" (mid 2010) Intel Core i3 4GB RAM with Radeon HD 4670 boots to white screen with vertical blue lines/bars:
Then it locks up after a few minutes, at which point the screen changes to white with these blue symbol things all over the screen:
If boot to Safe Mode, it still has the white screen with blue lines/bars, but eventually loads the login screen and I can successfully login and get to the desktop, but even that has the bars/lines.
Eventually, after enough restarts or hard shutdowns it will boot normally with no video/display issues. I've run disk checks, did the SMC and PRAM resets, checked logs (that I know of), and have even taken it completely apart, cleaned it out, reseated everything, put it all back together, but no change. I've read a few other posts about similar issues (but not quite the same video issue as this) where people had the logic boars replaced or reinstalled OSX, but that didn't always fix it. Any ideas? Has anyone seen this issue before? Thank you.

crw4096 wrote:
Is this a dead disk?
Very well could be.
If you can not startup from the Hardware Test, in Safe Mode or from > OS X Recovery as discribed in the Support article's.
Dig out the original Install Disc set that came with the iMac and do one of the following.
1. Attempt to Repair the Hard Drive.
Start from your Mac OS X Install disc: Insert the installation disc, then restart the computer while holding the C key.
When your computer finishes starting up from the disc, choose Disk Utility from the Installer menu. (In Mac OS X 10.4 or later, you must select your language first.)
Important: Do not click Continue in the first screen of the Installer. If you do, you must restart from the disc again to access Disk Utility.
Click the First Aid tab.
Click the disclosure triangle to the left of the hard drive icon to display the names of your hard disk volumes and partitions.
Select your Mac OS X volume.
Click Repair. Disk Utility checks and repairs the disk.
2. Run the Hardware Test from the second Install Disc.
1. Insert Disc 2 and Startup holding the D key.
2. Select the Extended Hardware Test.
Then if you still can not get anything going, you need to contact your Local Apple Store or AASP and make a Service appointment.
see > Apple - Find Locations

Intel iMac with 10.5.8 - Grey Screen of Death but worse please help!

Okay, this has happened three times now in six months, and I'm about to go out of my mind. Everytime it's a little different but basically:
My iMac becomes unresponsive, whether by a system lock up, or I wake up in the morning (like this morning) to a black screen with the white light still on, as if it were asleep. Nothing I do wakes the computer or otherwise makes it respond, so I hold the power button down for a few seconds and it shuts off.
Now, when I boot up, I get a grey screen with the Apple logo with the spinning black/grey pinwheel.
Inserting a CD does nothing. In fact, now my only install CD of Leopard is stuck in the slot-loading drive. I've tried everything I can to eject it: hold down eject on boot, left mouse button on boot, option on boot, commandoption+pr, command+v, etc. etc. etc.
I'm a software developer for OS X and have extensive hardware knowledge, so I kind of know a bit about what I'm doing.
The iMac will not boot off of a CD. It doesn't even recognize the CD. I have an external USB 2.0 hard drive with a current Time Machine backup, but I don't think those are bootable.
Anyway, in the past, to resolve this issue, I've had to take the iMac apart, put the internal hard drive into an external enclosure, and mount the drive onto my MacBook Pro. Interestingly enough, when I do this the drive mounts perfectly fine and shows all files exactly as they should be. So it's something to do with Leopard destroying it's boot record, or some other system configuration.
Even worse, I cannot simply reinstall Mac OS X from the laptop, because the installer says the hard drive needs to be formatted before an install can occur. So either way I'm losing all my data (even though as I said I have a current backup).
Well this time I haven't taken it apart yet. But the install CD is stuck in the drive. Even if I got the hard drive out, and mounted on my MacBook, my other install CD is too damaged to use, so I MUST get this CD out of the iMac.
My questions are:
What do you do when the grey screen of death occurs, and the computer won't even boot off of the CD?
What do you do to get a CD stuck in an iMac out? Especially when the iMac is in the grey screen of death mode?
What in the world is causing this to happen EVERY 3-6 MONTHS??!
Someone please help... I'm going insane.

Hi I am having the identical problem with my 24" intel iMac 2007..... Did you ever figure out what the problem was? I'm on round 3 now and with a completely blank grey screen and it won't start up from the disk 1.. I also have diskwarrior and techtool pro as well as the osx leopard and snow leopard disk... The HD is new.. Replaced by apple 3 months ago.. Don't know the cause the first time this happened about 9 months ago.. 2nd time, 6 months ago it never rebooted from the office for mac 2008 critical update... Did a clean install after backing up to TC... Took it to apple replaced HD even though it appeared ok, they checked all hardware and I ran techtool pro daily ever since. Last week software update had several updates avail. Office for mac being one of them.. I updated and have never booted since.. . I swear to never ever use another Microsoft product as long as I live if I can just fix this once more... Help me please

Intel iMac hangs at startup on white screen, no logo

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for