Mac won't startup past the startup screen

Hello everyone,
I recently purchased a new Seagate internal hard-drive, replaced the existing Seagate hard-drive in the second SATA slot, partitioned it and successfully uploaded several files to the drive. I'm not sure if this is relevant to the problem, but the following happened the next day:
My Power Mac G5 has been known to freeze when it goes to sleep. Usually, when this happens, I just have to perform a hard restart and everything boots like normal. This morning, encountering the same problem, I tried restarting it with the power button, but the startup process gets stuck on the startup screen with the Apple logo and the spinning loading graphic. Sometimes, the Apple logo turns into a distorted square graphic and still will not load into OS X. I removed the new hard drive, unplugged all of the USB devices besides the keyboard, pressed the PMU button on the logic board (suggested by someone on these boards), but the problem persists.
Any ideas?

It's not getting far enough along to get info from your keyboard. I've had this problem myself but I can't remember how I corrected it, or even if I did. On my third G5 myself you see...
Anyway, try giving this a go. With your Mac shut down, start it up and keep your finger depressing the power button until you hear a tone and then release. That may get you through, or your next start up may work. If that doesn't work I don't know. Perhaps taking out and reseating your RAM and/or taking out and reseating your video card. In sounds like your Mac is in limboland as it can't find a system to start from. Are your fans going at full blast after a little while?
Here's the document my advice refers to. It's not all that explicit so I condensed it:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2322
Ah, one more thing before you try that... Shut down the Mac, pull the plug from the wall, pull the plug from the mac. Wait 4-5 minutes. Then plug everything back in again. Believe it or not that sometimes works. Resets NVRAM, I believe. Good luck!

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Mac won't go past the white screen and apple logo

My one year old mac won't turn on, it comes up with the white screen with the apple logo, after a few seconds a loading bar comes up and after it finishes loading the mac just turns off. When I turn it back on it just does the same thing. I tried resetting the pram (it even chimed twice) but it still did the same thing. The problem began with the power cord being accidentally unplugged, when I plugged it in and turned on the mac the grey screen came up asking for my password, it then began to load but after about 5 seconds went back to the grey screen. I tried logging in over ten times and after failing turned off the mac, now it's doing the loading thing...
Oh and I don't know if this is relevant but I had a mountain lion update that needed to be done?

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 Recovery by holding down the key combination command-R at the startup chime, or from a local Time Machine backup volume (option key at startup.) Release the keys when you see a gray screen with a spinning dial. When the OS X Utilities screen appears, launch Disk Utility and follow the instructions in the support article linked below, under “Instructions for backing up to an external hard disk via Disk Utility.”
How to back up and restore your files
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 by holding down the key combination command-T at the startup chime. Connect the two Macs with a FireWire or Thunderbolt cable. The internal drive of the machine running in target mode will mount as an external drive on the other machine. Copy the data to another drive. This technique won't work with USB, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth.
How to use and troubleshoot FireWire target disk mode
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.* The instructions provided by Apple are as follows:
Shut down your computer, wait 30 seconds, and then hold down the shift key while pressing the power button.
When you see the gray Apple logo, release the shift key.
If you are prompted to log in, type your password, and then hold down the shift key again as you click Log in.
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.
*Note: If FileVault is enabled, or if a firmware password is set, or if the boot volume is a software RAID, you can’t boot in safe mode. Post for further instructions.
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 damaged 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
Boot into Recovery again. When the OS X Utilities screen appears, follow the prompts to 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.
Note: You need an always-on Ethernet or Wi-Fi connection to the Internet to use Recovery. It won’t work with USB or PPPoE modems, or with proxy servers, or with networks that require a certificate for authentication.
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 backup.
Step 8
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.

G5 Power Mac won't boot past the white screen w/ the grey Apple logo

Ok trying this again. Thank you in advance for any help. My dual 2 gig proc power Mac froze during a movie. I shut it down restarted it but it hangs at the apple logo and the fans slowly build speed until it sounds like the box is take off for flight
What I've done:
No single user mode. I restart with cmd+s and it it hangs on the black screen w/ white lettering. The last thing it says is Dart enabled. There is a cursor box but it won't allow my to type anything
I can get into the open firmware mode and it works
I reset the nvram and the pram. I removed the battery and put it back in
I pulled all hard drives and attempted single user mode again nothing
I ran an apple diagnostic disc. All hard ware checks out fine. When I try to run the os diagnostic on the disc it hangs at the apple logo still
I rearranged the ram nothing going. Pulled all the ram and replaced one set at a time still nothing
Any ideas?

See if you can get it to run long enough to get/install some of these...
Get Temperature Monitor to see if it's heat related...
http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/12381/temperature-monitor
iStat Menus...
http://bjango.com/mac/istatmenus/
And/or iStat Pro...
http://www.islayer.com/apps/istatpro/
If you have any temps in the 70°C/160°F range, that's likely it.

When I start up my Mac it won't go past the grey screen. Any suggestions?

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Reset PMU and Powerbook won't boot past the blue screen with "Mac OSX" box

Hi-
Problem: I tried to reset my PMU, and now when my computer restarts it won't go past the blue screen with the "Mac OSX" logo in the box (and progress bar, that never fills up). I then also tried to reset PRAM, but it still won't boot properly.
Backstory--
I've had my 12-inch Powerbook G4 for about 3.5 years already, so things are starting to get a bit out of whack. I replaced my battery about 3 months ago, which has been great, but recently my power-cord has been wonky (having to unplug it and replug it in to make sure it actually charges the computer, the light flickers on and off, etc). Today it actually started producing SPARKS at the place where the thin white wire meets the white plastic power brick, so I decided it was time to get a new one. Brought it home, plugged it in, and since it seemed like the battery indication icon on the menu bar was all out of sync with the powercord colored-light, I tried restarting it a few times, but still the same. Then, I decided to reset the PMU, which may have been a huge mistake. And now it won't boot past the blue screen... Any advice? I'm going to try restarting it in "safe" mode, but I'd be so grateful for any recommendations. Hope I haven't done something irreversibly stupid with the PMU reset.
Thanks,
Samantha

Hello all,
Thanks for all of your great suggestions and info-- here are a few responses.
1) The disk I just borrowed from my friend appears to be the full retail version-- it looks just like the links that Ali B sent, and is in a large box saying "Mac OSX Tiger, version 10.4"... will this be the proper disk to do an Erase and Install? The only other disks I have came with my Powerbook when it was originally purchased, when it came Panther (I think, 10.3?). Would I use both sets of these disks to do erase and install? Or only the Tiger OSX disks?
2) I get the sense that Disk Warrior or Tech Tool might be necessary, but does it make sense to TRY to do erase-install before buying them? Also, are there any downloadable (for pay) versions of this, or would I need to track down the actual physical disks in Hong Kong or wait for them to be shipped?
3) I haven't yet tried the S.M.A.R.T. test, should I do that first? What is the procedure? Are there any results or ways to know if the drive is too far gone (so that I might instead replace the internal hard-drive) instead of pay 100 USD first to do the disk repair?
4) Cornelius said: "An alternative would be to completely reformat and erase the entire HDD, then re-install and restore your data from backup. If your backup is in the form of a bootable clone of the entire HDD, you can just clone it back." I use Super-Duper to back-up and the most recent one copied the whole thing-- what would be the later procedure of "cloning it back"?
5) As I'm able to use my computer pretty normally right now, but does it still mean that it might crash/die at any moment? Is there any way to tell?
Thanks so much!

My MacBook won't boot past the grey screen.. help!

Today I was having a problem with Safari. For some reason, it kept restarting. This annoyed me, so I restarted my MacBook. Unfortunately, it won't boot past the grey screen, with the thing spinning in the middle. I've been into disk utility and it says my HDD is fine. I restarted from this, and yet it still won't boot. Can anyone suggest what's wrong/what to do?
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Retrieving data using Target Disk Mode:
1) Shut down both computers
2) Connect the two computers using a Firewire cable
3) Start up the working computer.
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5) Your MacBook's hard drive should appear as an external hard drive on the working Mac. Drag & drop any files you want to save.
~Lyssa

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Urgent help!
Out of the blue my mac lost the mouse cursor even though it had connection so I rebooted only for the mac to make a loud beep on start up then get stuck at the blue loading screen. It won't load past the blue screen. I've tried to reboot holding down the shift key but no change. I've also shut down, unplugged the main for 15 seconds, re plug and wait 5 seconds before starting up again but no change. Does anyone have any suggestions?
PS: I'm not too sure which systems I am running without being able to check in about this mac. I bought my imac in January or February 2011 if that helps.

The power on self-test resides in the ROM of the computer. This test runs whenever the computer is turned on after being fully shut down (the power-on self-test does not run if the computer is only restarted).
If a fault is detected during the test, you will not hear a normal startup chime. Instead, the system will beep as explained below. If you experience one of these beeps, you may call your Apple Authorized Service Provider for additional troubleshooting assistance.
1 beep = no RAM installed
2 beeps = incompatible RAM types
3 beeps = no good banks
4 beeps = no good boot images in the boot ROM (and/or bad sys config block)
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http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1547

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This question was solved.
View Solution.

Take a careful look at the slot and see if any of the pins are broken or smashed to the bottom of the slot. Do you have another pci slot to try or just the one?
Reminder: Please select the "Accept as Solution" button on the post that best answers your question. Also, you may click on the white star in the "Kudos" button for any helpful post to give that person a quick thanks. These feedback tools help keep our community active, so you receive better answers faster.

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Hi guys.
I've had my MacBook Pro for 2 years now. Last night it suddenly kept glitching to a dark grey screen every now and then, then it would flash yellow / blue spots, and now it won't go past the grey screen even when I reboot it.
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If it helps, my camera light is still on, and it seems that my computer is working properly itself, but won't go past this grey screen.
I'm a college student and am really panicking about this - can anyone please tell me what to do?
Thank you & sorry for the long post.

What operating system are you running on it? (iOS 5.1 is for iPhone, iPad...not a Mac).

I updated my first generation iPad to version 5.1.1 and won't go past the setup screen that asks if I want to use the iPad locator. I can go back but can't get any further.

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I just updated my original iPad 32 GB WiFi to iOS 5.1 about fifteen minutes ago. But I did it with the system restore feature in iTunes. So it wiped out everything on my iPad. But it did work. Then I restored an earlier backup and all went fine. Maybe you could try backing up your iPad and then using Restore to get it back to factory settings to see what happens.

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You must have damaged your OS installation by putting the machine to sleep at the wrong moment. To fix that, you need to reinstall, but first you need to back up your data, if you haven't already done so. Have you?

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Which OS are you on.
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I called Apple and the support team had the same issue.
All you can do is be patient.

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The HD sounds like it has crashed, take it into your local Apple Store or Apple Authorized Service Provider (AASP), if you bought AppleCare this will be covered. If you don't have an Apple Store in your area and don't know of any AASPs then please click https://locate.apple.com/country to begin finding one.

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I have seen the older tiger os when it loads to just a folder with a question mark and it general means that the hard drive has gone bad. I would suggest calling up apple and seeing what they can do for you, most likely you will have to get the drive replaced.

My MacBook won't boot past the grey screen showing a folder sign with question mark, My MacBook won't boot past the grey screen showing a folder sign with question mark, My MacBook won't boot past the grey screen showing a folder sign with question mark

Hi, I need some serious help immediately. I have been using an external hard disc to watch movies and stuff on my MacBook. However last night I removed the external hard disc accidentally without closing the programs that were still using the data from the hard disk and hence the complete MacBook got hanged and nothing responded. I tried using command Q to shut down the program buy it didn't help either. So finally I gave up and shut down the MacBook manually by pressing the power on/off button.
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Awaiting quick response
Gratitude in advance
Regards
AJ

If you try booting your Mac holding down the Option key, you should see the icon for Macintosh HD. Try selecting that to boot. If you can get in that way, go to System Preferences > Startup Disk and select your Mac HD, then click Restart.
If you can't see the Mac HD, the volume may indeed need repair as Niel said.

Mac won't startup past the startup screen

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