Mac book won't boot

My Mac book pro makes start up noise, then goes to apple screen and thinking icon but won't go any further! Help

Well first order of buisness to make yourself a Snow Leopard Recovery Drive (or Lion) and get your files off the machine.
Then once you do that you can choose one of the restore options, like a simple overwrite of OS X, or a erase and install.
You can also perform some disk repairs, but you should concentrate on getting your files off first, everything else can be replaced but that.
Read here for more information
https://discussions.apple.com/message/16276201#16276201

Similar Messages

  • Mac book won't boot, flashing question mark

    i have a mac book, dont know what OS but it says 2007 model no. A1181 on the back.
    when i turn it on it just flashes with a picture of a file and a question mark inside it, it does not go away or boot up.
    i have read this: http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1440
    but it does not explain what i have to do if the OS does not boot after the question mark is displayed.
    what do i have to do to get it working again? if this is the wrong section please move it thanks.

    this shows up when a bootable drive cannot be found, the boot drive is damaged, or the internal drive doesn't have an os installed at all.
    how long have you owned the mac? pull the battery out & look for the serial tag in the battery bay. did you have a 60gb or 80gb drive?
    you can try the suggestions in that KB article, but I fear that the drive has totally failed on you. there was an issue with these hard drives, the heads ruin the surface of the platters, making the drive totally useless & data recovery impossible.
    hoping you had some sort of recent backup.

  • Mac book won't boot after security install

    I've experienced major issues ever since the update to 10.5.5. I've performed the disk repair a few times, but the computer kept freezing, or it would quit my application with no warning, so I did an archive and install. It seemed to be working fine, although safari wasn't showing some content, so I ran the software update to update the system to see if it would work better. It was closing safari a few times, but after the security update tonight, I cannot get the system to boot.
    I've held the shift key to try and start is safe boot... that worked once, when I went to restart it wouldn't start. I've tried to start form the DVD, it won't start by holding the c key at start up.
    I've tried the option key at start up and selected the DVD, won't start.
    Several times I'll get the gray screen with the apple for about a minute, then the computer just turns off.
    Any suggestions besides take it in to get serviced?

    Kimg wrote:
    I also tried the fsck thing..there were some errors showing.. and the end message said something like it cannot repair.. then exit 8.
    It's always better to boot into the Safe mode (hold down Shift key during boot) rather than manually run fsck. The safe boot runs fsck.
    I hope the Apple Care will take care of the issue.
    It may not be your HD. It could be that all your data are intact but that a controller or some other hardware is bad.
    Whenever we install software, updates, etc., we use areas of the HD that were unused. This is why it's not a coincidence that many failures occur during a software install/update. Updates exercise hardware much more than do many standard apps. Even when storing a large file, a failure does not do much damage, but when installing a system program or update, any HD failure can result in disaster.

  • My Mac book won't turn on. All I get is the apple logo and a loading icon and bar, then it just shuts down. What do I do?

    My Mac book won't turn on. All I get is the apple logo and a loading icon and bar, then it just shuts down. What do I do?

    What OS are your running?
    Mavericks 10.9.4 boot into recovery and run the DiskUtility >Repair Disk
    Recovery  http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4718

  • Mac mini won't boot anymore

    My Mac mini won't boot anymore. It's been running fine for months.
    It's running Leopard Server 10.5.2 Build 9C31
    It starts to boot, I get the first spinning gear with the gray screen, then the blue desktop blinks, then a second spinning gear on a gray screen and it appears to hang (the gear stops spinning).
    I booted off the install DVD, ran disk utility, repaired the HD, repaired the permissions: the behavior is the same.
    Safe mode doesn't work (same hang as above).
    Single user mode does work.
    I can connect to it via Server Admin while it appears hung.
    The last few lines of the system log are:
    May 15 18:38:58 server emond[67]: SetUpLogs: uid = 0 gid = 0
    May 15 18:38:58 server emond[67]: SetUpLogs: opening /Library/Logs/EventMonitor/EventMonitor.error.log
    May 15 18:38:59 server kextd[23]: writing kernel link data to /var/run/mach.sym
    May 15 18:39:09 server KernelEventAgent[59]: tid 00000000 received unknown event (12)
    May 15 18:39:20 server kernel[0]: display: Not usable
    May 15 18:39:20 server com.apple.KerberosAutoConfig[126]: Kerberos configuration is up to date
    May 15 18:39:20 server com.apple.ATSServer[125]: FODBCheck: New annex file created
    May 15 18:39:21 server ARDAgent [130]: ******ARDAgent Launched******
    May 15 18:39:21 server com.apple.KerberosAutoConfig[132]: Kerberos configuration is up to date
    May 15 18:39:22 server ARDAgent [130]: call logout from LoginLogoutProxyCallBackFunction
    May 15 18:39:22 server com.apple.launchd[1] (com.apple.RemoteDesktop.agent): Throttling respawn: Will start in 9 seconds
    May 15 18:39:24 server loginwindow[58]: Login Window Started Security Agent
    May 15 18:39:29 server servermgrd[53]: servermgr_calendar: created default calendar virtual host
    May 15 18:39:31 server ARDAgent [146]: ******ARDAgent Launched******
    May 15 18:39:32 server ARDAgent [146]: ******ARDAgent Ready******
    May 15 18:39:33 server mdworker[109]: (Error) SyncInfo: Boot-cache avoidance timed out!
    May 15 18:39:54 server Python[47]: CGImageSourceCreateWithData data parameter is nil
    May 15 18:39:54 server com.apple.wikid[47]: Thu May 15 18:39:54 server.jeff.carpenter.name Python[47] <Error>: CGImageSourceCreateWithData data parameter is nil\n
    May 15 18:39:56 server kernel[0]: AppleYukon2 - bad packet received. length: 1440, packet status bits: MII error
    May 15 18:39:56 server kernel[0]: AppleYukon2: 00000000,00000001 sk98osx sky2 - - sk98osx_sky2::replaceOrCopyPacket tried N times
    May 15 18:49:54 server kernel[0]: serialnumberd 194 FSWRITEDATA SBF /dev/dtracehelper 13 (seatbelt)
    May 15 18:49:54 server kernel[0]: serialnumberd 194 FSREADDATA SBF /dev/autofs_nowait 13 (seatbelt)
    May 15 18:49:54 server kernel[0]: serialnumberd 194 FSREADDATA SBF /usr/sbin 13 (seatbelt)
    May 15 18:55:12 server kernel[0]: AppleYukon2 - bad packet received. length: 23, packet status bits: MII error
    Any ideas?

    Yes, it's been running Server since I purchased it.
    I doubt the serial number is in use elsewhere: I purchased the 10-user version at a retail store in a sealed package and I've only installed it once.

  • Mac Mini won't boot up.

    Mac Mini won't boot up! Just getting blank white screen, any ideas why? No apple, just a blank screen. It worked fine last night.

    Have you tried booting into the Recovery HD by pressing/holding COMMAND+R at system start or the Option/Alt key and choosing Recovery HD to boot into?
    If you can get into the Recovery HD, open Disk Utilities and Verify Disk. Repair if necessary.

  • I have a mac book pro with Boot Camp that also runs windows.  I upgraded to Lion and somehow it crashes the mac side peridoically.  I am told I need to "clean" it and reinstall lion using the recovery drive.  will that delete the windows partition too??

    I have a mac book pro with Boot Camp that also runs windows.  I upgraded to Lion and now the mac side crashes/freezes periodically, especially iphoto.  I am told by the genius' that I probably need to "clean" it and reinstall lion using the "recovery drive" which resets everything back to default and reinstalls the lion operating system.  My question is will this also delete the "windows" partition drive and all that data too.  If so that will be a huge pain in the ___ to back up and reinstall boot camp and windows. I want to shoot the lion.

    There is no system like Acronis for the Mac platform. You can try using the buiilt in Disk Utility to create an Image of the complete Mac drive but I have found that this does not work very well as on tryiing to restore it gives errors sometimes.
    You can use SuperDuper or Carbon Copy Cloner to create a bootable Clone of your system partition. But that is only for the System partition and not the complete drive.
    If you use Boot Camp to install Windows on your Mac neither of those two programs will clone the Windows side.
    Neither will Disk utility as Mac's can not create or write to a NTFS partition. So some other program is need for that.

  • Mac Book Pro on boot up, the apple sign will appear with the spinning wheel.  After some time, a grey screen wil appear with a movable mouse, but will not boot up.  Help!

    Mac Book Pro on boot up, the apple sign will appear with the spinning wheel.  After a period of time the screen will turn grey, but the mouse will still operate, but not boot up.

    If it was purchased brand new then it's running a version of Lion, so to reinstall Lion:
    Reinstalling Lion Without Erasing the 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 the Hard Drive and Permissions: Upon startup select Disk Utility from the main menu. Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions as follows.
    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 click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the main menu.
    Reinstall Lion: Select Reinstall Lion and click on the Continue button.

  • Power Mac G5 won't boot with Lion?

    After installing Lion, my early Intel 2010 Power Mac G5 won't boot. There were no problems for the first 2 days. The third day my G5 wouldn't boot at all. Not using Lion's recovery function, many attempts to boot from a previous system disk, and firewire target mode. The keyboard seems to be dead after attempting to boot except for the DVD eject key. All I get is a grey screen with an icon of a folder with a question mark within the folder. This icon blinks on and off continuously. Since the keyboard isn't working, I can't reset the PRAM, start in safe mode, or any other keyboard commands. The failed boot doesn't even get far enough for the Apple window to open. I replaced the hard drive and accomplished nothing except for spending even more money and time.
    This is VERY frustrating! Has anyone else had a similar problem with booting after Lion't installation??
    Thanks.

    1) you have a Mac pro Early 2009, remember this. It avoids confusion here in forum
    2) you're HDD's OS cannot be found by the firmware of the Mac hence it results to a question mark
    perform the following(recommended to use a USB keyboard)
    a) startup manager
    press and hold option on startup. Do u see your HDD?
    b) if you have a back up of your data then you can boot to the install disk and perform an erase and install
    repairing the permission will not work since the disc's OS is different from the HDD's OS.

  • Mac OSx won't boot up after update to 10.6.7?

    Mac OSx won't boot up after update to 10.6.7?

    Hi Mike
    This is called a kernel panic, similar to s 'blue screen of death' on Windows. When you say you reinstalled 3 times, do you mean the OS or the Update?
    When does this kernel panic appear? You may have a hardware issue if it's happening on boot.
    Taylor

  • Mac Mini won't boot after failed XP installation

    Recently upgrade HD to 320GB 7200 rpm and 3GB ram. Running 10.5.8 fine.
    I tried to install Windows XP through Boot Camp, but wasn't successful, I terminated the installation. Then Mac Mini won't boot up. When powered on, you heard the chime, then grey screen showed and stayed. Tried starting with "C" (boot from CD), "OPT" (boot option), "T" (target), and reset PRAM. None of them worked.
    What should I try next?
    Thanks
    Message was edited by: Yijian Cao

    If you install XP on Bootcamp, your startup disc will be changed to XP Windows partitioned you did. To restore your startup disc back to Mac OS, make sure your Mac is turned off. 1. Plug the power back and press the power button ON. When you hear the power On sound, press and hold the ALT key on your keyboard until you see the hardrives. 2. Select the HD that says MAc OS, then your mac will boot back to Mac OS.
    Let me know if you have more problems, maybe I can help.
    Abel

  • My 5 year old Mac book won't turn on. It seems to be holding a charge. In the past 3 months I've replaced the power source, battery, & had a full diagnostic run on it.

    My 5 year old Mac book won't turn on. It seems to be holding a charge. In the past 3 months I've replaced the power source, battery, &amp; had a full diagnostic run on it.

    Tanks dominic23, do you think that the dead battery can affect the macbook performance? I do alot of video work, and since the battery died i cannot do a smooth preview of my videos in premiere cs6, seems like a memory problem but it worked fine before the battery issue.
    Regards

  • Im unable to quit safari by cmd q or any other method as a result my mac book won't close down

    Im unable to quit safari using CMD Q or any other method as a result my mac book won't close down, any suggestions?

    Hold down Option  Command  Escape  at the same time, In the window that Appears  choose  Force Quit Safari...
    Or you can click on the Apple Icon (top left) > Force Quit > Safari

  • The 2012 MAC book doesn't boot

    the 2012 MAC book doesn't boot, grey screen with the apple in the middle and the progress bar when it reaches the end it shuts off

    Try SMC reset.
    Shut down the computer.
    Plug in the MagSafe power adapter to a power source, connecting it to the Mac if its not already connected.
    On the built-in keyboard, press the (left side) Shift-Control-Option keys and the power button at the same time.
    Release all the keys and the power button at the same time.
    Press the power button to turn on the computer. 

  • Replaced Optical Drive now Mac book will not boot up

    I bought a second hand Mac Book Pro A1150 model.  It did not have an optical drive so I bought one, installed it and now my Mac Book will not boot up.  When I take the drive out the Mac Book boots up fine.  I was told that the optical drive although used was tested and work when it was shipped out.  I'm a little new to Macs but not new to working on computers.  Is it common for a possible defective optical drive to casue a Mac Book pr to not boot up or does this sound like an issue with the optical drive cable, or possibly the logic board?

    That is true.  I cannot think of any way to test the Optical Drive without swapping it into a known correctly operating MBP.
    A thought which probably may not be an issue.  When I installed an Optical Drive in my old (2006) MBP, I remember seeing in the instruction manual an item called a grounding pad (which looked like a tiny steel brillo pad with out soap) which was missing in mine.  The MBP worked and I essentially ignored it.  Perhaps that may not be case with your situation.
    My thoughts are that the Optical Drive is malfunctioning and the cause of your problem.  Perhaps you should consider getting a new replacement from OWC.  But that entails a $100 risk with no guarantees of success.
    Ciao.

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