Mac stuck at startup screen after snow leopard install went bad

I have an iMac running on 10.4. I have all the requirements to install 10.6.
i bought the $30 cd to install it, put in the cd and chose install. It went to screen with the black/purple space background and a window that had me choose where to install it to. I think I booted from the install CD.
Chose english, it prepared installation, clicked continue on the install mac os x window. Then i had to choose where to install it. There was only one option (the hard disk) but when i clicked on it, it said i couldn't install it. So I clicked back but I couldn't quit the installation.
When I restarted the computer, it just kept going to the installation and I kept ending up in a dead end. So, I browsed for my available options to restart my computer running on my old OS. I clicked utilities > startup disk > then clicked the hard disk. I thought this would just restart the iMac normally.
The computer restarted, but now its stuck on the start up screen. I turn it on, stays on the apple logo, then it shuts itself off within 2-5 minutes.
Am I screwed? Did I lose all my files that were on the computer? I know I'm an idiot for not backing up all my files on an external hard drive.
How do I get out of this and just use my computer?

Which specific model of iMac do you have? If the installer refused to install, then there must be a reason, such as lack of hard disk space, RAM, etc.
Did you eject the DVD, or is it still in the optical drive? If it's still in the drive, you should try booting from it by turning on the iMac and holding down the 'C' key until you see the spinning radian and see if it will boot from the DVD.
Post back with more info and results.

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Mac stuck on startup screen after Mountain Lion install

After installing Mountain Lion my Mac restarted and has been on the startup screen (apple logo with loading icon spinning) for the last hour... I'm assuming this means my hard drive crashed during the install? What ***** is this happened when I installed Lion the first time. Wasn't a cheap fix and lost everything.

Similar if not the very same issue with my late 2009 iMac since upgrading to Mountain Lion.
First time I've seen actual script - DOS-like text (well, Linux or UNIX or whatever it is) that only seems to appear from a cold boot.
First time this happened I held down the power button until the system restarted.
Second time around - and from a cold boot - I entered "/exit" at the prompt and the system appears to have continuted the boot process.
Someone in another post added the following:
Open console in Applications>Utilities, check the system log for the date/time of the last problem startup for clues.
...but from this I still coudn't see where the error lies. :/

White Screen After Snow Leopard Install

I just installed Snow Leopard on a late 2007 MacBook. Verified the disk before and got all updates after. Now, whenever the machine goes to sleep, it wakes up frozen. Restarting produces a plain white screen. If left, it will eventually show a folder with a question mark, like it can't find the startup disk. It needs to be restarted several times before booting up again. The startup disk has been selected in System Prefs more than once.
I've found several references to this being an old problem, but I have not found a solution. Has this problem been solved?

R C-R wrote:
I suggest that you run the Apple Hardware Test in extended mode to see if it finds anything wrong with the hardware.
Thanks, I'll try that. But I doubt this is a hardware issue. I'm pretty sure this is a Snow Leopard issue, since many others have had this same problem after upgrading.

Mac stuck at grey screen after rebooting to install windows 7

My mac refuses to start installing Windows 7 from a disc after I finish going through the "Install Windows 7" option of Bootcamp assistant. I have not got any special devices plugged in during the reboot, just a screen. What do I do with the Drivers on the flashdrive? Please someone help me.

Which specific model of iMac do you have? If the installer refused to install, then there must be a reason, such as lack of hard disk space, RAM, etc.
Did you eject the DVD, or is it still in the optical drive? If it's still in the drive, you should try booting from it by turning on the iMac and holding down the 'C' key until you see the spinning radian and see if it will boot from the DVD.
Post back with more info and results.

TS3243 My Desktop Mac won't startup, it turns on to the grey screen flashing question file. I have been able to startup from the snow leopard install cd but once I try to repair within DU the disk never appears in the side panel. The only thing there is "

My Desktop Mac won't startup, it turns on to the grey screen flashing question file. I have been able to startup from the snow leopard install cd but once I try to repair within DU the disk never appears in the side panel. The only thing there is "Media"... What can I do? Help!

If Disk Utility cannot see your drive it doesn't look good.
You could try DiskWarrior. It is expensive but can often fix directory structures where DU cannot.
Replacing the drive is also a strong likelihood. If you don't have a fairly recent backup, then it might be worth buying DiskWarrior
additonal notes;
Gray screen appears during startup

HP Photosmart C6300 printer/scanner not working after Snow Leopard install

HP Photosmart C6300 printer/scanner not working after Snow Leopard install
Reinstalling etc does not work - does anyone else have the same problem or a clue as to how to fix this?

Keith,
I got a C6280 and the scanner does not work anymore. I am for 6 days in contact with HP. The last printer driver install form the apple web site does not open the image of HewlettPackardPrinterDrivers.dmg because of an invalid checksum. The skipping of the validation gives and error in the install.

Text messages in Safari are garbled on Mac Pro after Snow Leopard install

When reading or composing my Yahoo mail text messages in Safari on my Mac Pro after Snow Leopard, the wording is very garbled. Looks like o's, s's, c's, some caps, with lots of spaces intermixed. Messages look ok on Firefox, on same machine. New messages and reading sent messages look ok on my MacBook and MB Air. When cutting and pasting into something else (like this window), the text looks fine. I can compose and send messages that look garbled, but the right words and letters go out. HTML messages look ok. Any clues for solution?

I have this happening in bunch of different HTML pages. Here's a screenshot of the same page in Safari (Version 4.0.3 (6531.9)) and Mac OS X 1.6.1 side by side with Camino:
https://dl.getdropbox.com/u/362958/miscwebimages/Screen%20shot%202009-09-22%20at%2018.35.47.png
Camino renders the page correctly. Safari is really unusable with this problem. Tried switching to and from 64-bit mode in Safari, didn't help either.
Message was edited by: Attila Szegedi

TS3479 quick time not working after snow leopard install?

Made video's on my iphone and loaded them to my imac. Video did not work in iphoto. No Quick time pop up. what happened? Snow leopard install.

You need to re-install iPhoto because it's missing bits of itself:
Library not loaded...
Reason: no suitable image found.
Looking at the missing files it's possible that it's missing from the OS. But start with re-installing iPhoto, and if that fails you'll ned to re-install the OS.
To re-install iPhoto
1. Put the iPhoto.app in the trash (Drag it from your Applications Folder to the trash)
2. Go to HD/Library/Receipts and remove any pkg file there with iPhoto in the name
3. Re-install.
If you purchased an iLife Disk, then iPhoto is on it.
If iPhoto was installed on your Mac when you go it then it’s on the System Restore disks that came with your Mac. Insert the first one and opt to ‘Install Bundled Applications Only...’
Regards
TD

Can't get some websites to work after snow leopard install, java maybe?

I'm a day trader. I use TD Ameritrade every day to work on. I believe the real time streamer and level 2 quotes are all java based.
This past weekend I did the Snow Leopard install on my computer. Until this morning it seemed like all was well.
I go to ameritrade and try to log in and it keeps saying it doesn't recognize my log in. I called them and they are able to log into my account so its my computer. I went to the java preferences and there use to be a lot of java types there now there are just 2, could that some how be it?
Any suggestions?
Susan

Safari is a 64 bit application, is it worth starting the app in 32 bit mode and testing if it is any better.
use finder and highlight Safari in the applications directory, do a get Info (cmd i) and tick the 32 bit mode box and restart Safari.
If it does not help remember to revert back to 64 bit mode.

IPhone 3GS doesn't sync after snow leopard install

Since installing snow leopard, iTunes does not sync with my iPhone when I connect it to the computer. iPhoto automatically opens to sync, but iTunes is dormant, and does not list my phone under the devices menu.....help!!

This same thing happened to me today. Snow leopard install and now itunes cannot find any of our iphones. It might be nice IF APPLE ADDRESSED THIS ISSUE HERE ON THE THREAD. We also have a brand new iphone and can't even get it synced, which really really *****.
It bothers me that apple is not responding immediately to this issue.

Mac stuck at grey screen after startup sound. Help

Help

Take each of these steps that you haven't already tried. Stop when the problem is resolved.
To restart an unresponsive computer, press and hold the power button for a few seconds until the power shuts off, then release, wait a few more seconds, and press it again briefly.
Step 1
The first step in dealing with a startup failure is to secure the 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 the last backup, you can skip this step.
There are several ways to back up a Mac that is unable to start. You need an external hard drive to hold the backup data.
a. Start up from 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.” The article refers to starting up from a DVD, but the procedure in Recovery mode is the same. You don't need a DVD if you're running OS X 10.7 or later.
b. If Step 1a fails because of disk errors, and no other Mac is available, then you may be able to salvage some of your files by copying them in the Finder. If you already have an external drive with OS X installed, start up from it. Otherwise, if you have Internet access, follow the instructions on this page to prepare the external drive and install OS X on it. You'll use the Recovery installer, rather than downloading it from the App Store.
c. If you have access to a working Mac, and both it and the non-working Mac have FireWire or Thunderbolt ports, start 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.
d. 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
If the startup process stops at a blank gray screen with no Apple logo or spinning "daisy wheel," then the startup volume may be full. If you had previously seen warnings of low disk space, this is almost certainly the case. You might be able to start up in safe mode even though you can't start up normally. Otherwise, start up from an external drive, or else use the technique in Step 1b, 1c, or 1d to mount the internal drive and delete some files. According to Apple documentation, you need at least 9 GB of available space on the startup volume (as shown in the Finder Info window) for normal operation.
Step 3
Sometimes a startup failure can be resolved by resetting the NVRAM.
Step 4
If a desktop Mac hangs at a plain gray screen with a movable cursor, the keyboard may not be recognized. Press and hold the button on the side of an Apple wireless keyboard to make it discoverable. If need be, replace or recharge the batteries. If you're using a USB keyboard connected to a hub, connect it to a built-in port.
Step 5
If there's a built-in optical drive, a disc may be stuck in it. Follow these instructions to eject it.
Step 6
Press and hold the power button until the power shuts off. Disconnect all wired peripherals except those needed to start up, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards. Use a different keyboard and/or mouse, if those devices are wired. If you can start up 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.
Step 7
If you've started from an external storage device, make sure that the internal startup volume is selected in the Startup Disk pane of System Preferences.
Start up in safe mode. Note: If FileVault is enabled in OS X 10.9 or earlier, or if a firmware password is set, or if the startup volume is a software RAID, you can’t do this. Post for further instructions.
Safe mode is much slower to start 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 the login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin.
When you start up 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, the startup volume is corrupt and the drive is probably malfunctioning. In that case, go to Step 11. If you ever have another problem with the drive, replace it immediately.
If you can start and log in in safe mode, empty the Trash, and then open the Finder Info window on the startup 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 restart as usual (i.e., not in safe mode.)
If the startup process hangs again, the problem is likely caused by a third-party system modification that you installed. Post for further instructions.
Step 8
Launch Disk Utility in Recovery mode (see Step 1.) Select the 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 restart as usual.
Step 9
If the startup device is an aftermarket SSD, it may need a firmware update and/or a forced "garbage collection." Instructions for doing this with a Crucial-branded SSD were posted here. Some of those instructions may apply to other brands of SSD, but you should check with the vendor's tech support.
Step 10
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 11
Do as in Step 9, but this time erase the startup volume in Disk Utility before installing. The system should automatically restart into the Setup Assistant. Follow the prompts to transfer the data from a Time Machine or other backup.
Step 12
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 13
If you get this far, you're probably dealing with a hardware fault. Make a "Genius" appointment at an Apple Store, or go to another authorized service provider.

Mac stuck on white screen after software update

I updated to snow leopard and then then to 10.6.8. After the updates had installed, my computer restarted and now it's stuck on a white screen. No key shortcuts work at all, I've tried. None of them work. Every time I try to turn it on it's just frozen on a blank white screen. Twice it's gone to the apple logo and been able to start up after 20 or so minutes of being on the white screen but each time it froze. I don't know what to do.

There have been problems with the Apple servers not linking to support articles, so some links may not load the first time.
Startup - Gray, Blue or White screen at boot, w/spinner/progress bar
Startup – Computer Stops or Delays
Startup Issues - Resolve
Startup Issues - Resolve (2)

Mac stuck at startup screen

I have a MacBook pro with lion installed on it. I was doing one of apples software updates which takes you into an install screen and the progress bar froze. This led to me restarting the computer at which time it got stuck in the boot screen with the apple logo and spinning wheel.
I've tried resetting it. I've tried going into disk utility and repairing the Mac hd and permissions and I've tried holding command, option, p and r on startup. None of these seemed to do the trick.
Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

Solution that worked for me: Power down your system. Now press and hold the "option" key and the power key at the same time. Hold both until you get to the hard disk icons. Click on the one on the right that reads: Recovery HD. You will then be taken to Mac OS X Utilities screen. Now click "reinstall Mac Os X".
When I did this, a progress bar showed that it will take about 16 hours. Just leave your moniter in the open position. When I woke up, I clicked the trackpad and my keyboard lights come on but my screen was black. I just hit the F2 button to increase brightness, and there was my desktop!
I powered down to see if it would reboot correctly and it did. Problem Solved.
This is for the late 2011 MacBook Pro. The problem began after I did a software update for Office for Mac 2011.
Hope this helps,
Good Luck!

Mac will not boot after Snow Leopard install

I recently had a HD crash. Replaced the HD and installed Snow Leopard from a image file on an external HD. Install went great. I copied over data files and things seems just fine. My first reboot after the install and the Mini won't boot. I am stuck with the Apple Logo and a spinning wheel. I ran disk utility and the new HD checks out fine. When I boot with the external HD, it still sees my Mini HD. I tried restarting with Command/Option/P/R but that didn't do anything. Any advice?

I'm in a slightly similar spot- no crashes, but-- What I want to hopefully do is run my Tiger ppc apps (3) for CAD on my New- 5 weeks old) Lion Factory Installed machine. The ( November) First Aid Issue of Mac Life mentions a way
way to get external boots, UNLESS they are the Factory installed ( Lions). In the meantime----
Johnny

Mac stuck on white screen after SMC reset

My late 2011 17' MacBook Pro running Yosemite loads about 35% in the loading bar at the start up and then goes to a white screen. I've loaded using verbose mode and haven't seen anything odd; I've attempted to boot to safe mode but it just gets stuck at a white screen--the same goes for recovery mode; I've reset the PRAM and nothing happens; I've also reset the SMC and nothing happens. I went into single user mode and my volume is said to be OK after I run the fsck - fy command. The problem started right after I initially reset my SMC (I wanted to cure the problem of my Mac restarting randomly). At this point, my main concern is being able to back up my drive if possible since a have months have elapsed since my last backup. What else can I do?

Hello zacmon,
Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.
From your post I see that your Mac will not boot past the gray screen, even after doing the troubleshooting steps you've mentioned. There are still some steps to complete in the article linked to below, starting with removing any third-party RAM.
Mac OS X: Gray screen appears during startup - Apple Support
Have a great weekend,
Alex H.

Mac stuck at startup screen after snow leopard install went bad

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