Macbook 10.8.3 Won't boot past apple screen

My macbook has not been able to boot from being totally off without reinstalling OSX every time.
1. does anybody else have this problem?
2. is there a way to fix this on my current hardware without replacing stuff?
3. what is likely the problem?
4. will replacing the hard drive possibly fix this?

More details, please. You get a boot failure. You reinstall OS X. The next boot is successful. Then what?

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Powerbook won't boot past apple screen, disk utility can't repair

Last night I applied the most recent software updates, I don't remember exactly what they were but there was a Java update, a security update, a quicktime update and an itunes update. after the required restart, my powerbook g4 won't boot past the apple icon screen.
I can't boot it into safe mode or single user mode.
I can start it up in target disk mode and transfer a handful of files/directories at a time before it hangs.
When I try to run the repair in Disk Utility against the target disk, it gets about halfway before the following:
Verify and Repair disk “Macintosh HD”
Checking HFS Plus volume.
Checking Extents Overflow file.
Checking Catalog file.
Invalid sibling link
Volume check failed.
Error: The underlying task reported failure on exit
1 HFS volume checked
1 volume could not be repaired because of an error
the disk doesn't make any grinding or anything, just a few clicks when it tries to boot but nothing bad sounding.
Is my computer hosed? Is it worth bringing it to the genius bar?

Hi, Pat. How much time did you give DW to complete its work? Locating the data it needs to rebuild your directory can take a while — that's the step at which DW far outperforms other utilities. It digs deeper and tries harder than anything else, and that can take a long time. The longest successful DW "fix" I've seen reported here in the seven and a half years I've been participating in Apple Discussions was *14 days* of continuous work to find the necessary data and reconstruct a hard drive directory from it. That was after all other disk utilities had been tried and had failed; it was the user's last hope to save data that hadn't been backed up anywhere. If you haven't allowed DW at least a few hours to accomplish its task, give it another chance. And don't try to use the computer for anything at all while DW is working.

My iMac won't boot past grey screen and it didn't come with a os x disk

My iMac won't boot past grey screen with apple. I've tried booting in safemode but that didn't help and my iMac didn't come with a os x disk.

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 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.”
b. 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.
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
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 either of the techniques in Steps 1b and 1c 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 you use a wireless keyboard, trackpad, or mouse, replace or recharge the batteries. The battery level shown in the Bluetooth menu item may not be accurate.
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, or if a firmware password is set, or if the startup volume is a Fusion Drive or 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 10. 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
Reinstall the OS. If the Mac was upgraded from an older version of OS X, you’ll need the Apple ID and password you used to upgrade.
Step 10
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 11
This step applies only to models that have a logic-board ("PRAM") battery: all Mac Pro's and some others (not current models.) Both desktop and portable Macs used to have such a battery. The logic-board battery, if there is one, is separate from the main battery of a portable. A dead logic-board battery can cause a startup failure. Typically the failure will be preceded by loss of the settings for the startup disk and system clock. See the user manual for replacement instructions. You may have to take the machine to a service provider to have the battery replaced.
Step 12
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.

NAND script and won't load past apple screen

My I phone 5 has crashed won't load past apple screen and has a list of NAND scripts can anyone help or had this happen

Standard troubleshooting...
1. Remove apps from the Recently Used (multi-tasking) list...
- From any Home Screen, double tap the home button to bring up the Recents List
- Swipe up on the app preview card to remove it from the list
- Press the home button when done.
2. Restart by pressing the sleep/lock button until you see the slider. Slide to power off. Restart by pressing the sleep/lock button until you see the Apple logo.
3. Reset by pressing the home and sleep buttons until you see the Apple logo. Takes about 5-15 secs of button holding and you won't lose any data or settings.
4. Restore with your backup.
5. Restore as new, i.e. without your backup. See how it runs with nothing synced to it. You may need to try DFU mode (Google for it).
6. If still a problem, it's likely a hardware issue.

PowerBook G4 won't boot past blue screen

I've read a couple of posts with similar problems. The jist is, I did a security update/restart earlier and now my laptop won't boot past the blue screen after the white screen with the gray apple. I think I'm on Mac OS 10.4.11 but I had it on auto-update so that could be incorrect.
I've booted from the install disk and run a diagnostic from the First Aid bit in the Disk Utility. It says that there are no errors found and the S.M.A.R.T. status says "verified" as well. It won't let me boot into Safe Mode (although, I could be doing that wrong as I'm not exactly clear on how to do it - pressing S doesn't seem to do anything, but if I press Command + S it takes me to a text listy thing and I've run the "fsck -f" system check (which seems like the same as the disk utility check?) from there and also gotten the "volume is ok" message. There was also a suggestion to run some kind of diagnostic after booting with the D key from the install disk, but I was never able to get the disk to boot from the D key, only the C key.
I'm sure that this is kind of the "same song, different verse," kind of post, but I've not read about volumes registering as okay. I'm a little wary of a archive-and-reinstall as I've not ever done that before (so, if that's the suggestion you have, I would really appreciate loads of specifics on how that works so I don't mess up!)
I've read in several instances suspicion of a hard drive problem but I've not had any slow downs or any crashing. I did travel to the UK for about 10 days, but I didn't even change the time zone on my laptop while there, so I don't think that's it (but I suppose it could be.)
Lastly, I did recently replace my keyboard. A few keys had become non-responsive so I replaced it and have had the new keyboard for a bit over a month.
Suggestions? Ideas? Sorry if it's a repeat post -- just felt like the circumstance was a teensy bit different. And also, thanks very much for any info you can give.

Linsey:
If you can boot your computer into Firewire Target Disk Mode and you have access to a second Mac that supports firewire, you may be able to back up items that have not been backed up previously.
If you are able to back everything up successfully, and you have tested your backup to be sure it is sound, then we can proceed with re-installation of the OS. The best option is to completely reformat and erase the HDD and then install the OS from disk. (I will post complete step by step directions). This will enable you to start with a clean slate/HDD. Your other option would be to use the Archive and Install option. Think it over and let me know how you want to proceed.
cornelius

G4 Power Mac won't boot past gray screen

I have a mirror door g4 power pc that had been having some issues with not turning on, and after testing the power supply, it failed miserably. We placed a refurbished power supply in it from a company in New York and the computer was working wonderfully. I went on a cruise last week and went to turn the computer on for the first time in a week and a few days. The CPU turns on, the unit chimes, the fan turns on and the computer starts to boot up, but it won't boot past the gray apple logo screen.
Actually, the first few attempts to boot it resulted in a blue screen with gaint apple logo and spinner; it wouldn't advance further. After several restarts and resets, I got it to come up into the normal gray screen. On several attempts it wouldn't boot further than this. On two occasions now though, it has moved past the gray screen to normal operation (it takes about an hour for it to get to that point though) but with some kind of errors. I get the side bar, but the gray panel on to with "file" ect is gone and my HD icon never comes up. The icons on the sidebar do not respond when clicked.
The computer will not boot from the OS X disc.
What's going on, hard drive? Virus? Something else?

You likely have hard drive directory issues or worse.
Virus is just a hopeful whimsy.
No virus.
I hope that you have a backup of your data.
Try a Safe Mode boot. This forces system repair of the directory (if possible).
Hold Shift while starting to enter Safe mode. Be patient, as it can take several minutes to complete.
Failure to boot to the OS X disc is not good. A severely damaged drive can prevent boot while connected.
Disconnect your boot drive and try booting to the OS X disc.

Ideapad K1 won't boot past Lenovo screen

HELP! My IdeaPad won't boot past the lenovo splash screen. Here's what happened...
It has an AOSP version of Android on it which has been running fine for over a year - never had a problem with it. Yesterday, I tried to awake it from sleep but nothing happened. So I held the power button down until it switched off. I then restarted it and got to the password screen. After entering my password it became unresponsive - it just stalled with the desktop screen on. I gave it 10 minutes but it never became responsive again.
I reset it by holding the power button again until it switched off then I switched it back on. It has never got past the Lenovo splash screen. I've tried booting it loads of times, giving it a full charge, taking the SD card out, giving it a rest, leaving it booting for the whole night...nothing has worked, same result.
I also tried connecting it to the computer and using NV-Flash to put a new image on. It seems to work okay but when it re-boots it still won't get paast the Lenovo splash screen.
I'm desperate for anyone to give me some hints and tips as to where to go from here. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Hi,
I am having a similar problem. My 3 month old ideapad u510 froze last night while surfing the internet. nothing worked as far as getting shutdown menu in windows 8 to even work (just froze), so pushed power button till it turned off. immediately afterward, tried to boot by pushing power button and it just stopped booting at lenovo screen.
i've tried to boot a few times since and sometimes i see progress thing (circle of lights...similar to status bar) going other times not. i am not sure what key it is but can get to bios screen sometimes too. was hoping there was safe mode boot in bios but doesn't appear anything thats useful so didn't change anything. it just doesn't boot to windows after exiting bios.
my hunch is that i need a bootdisk or sort. importantly, would like to avoid resetting or refreshing, etc.. until have opportunity to get data off harddrive if possible. some important stuff on there that need to get off first.
Help is very much appreciated.
Thanks,
J

Cisco UCS C220 MS SFF won't boot past BIOS screen with 2x1.2TB SAS drives installed

We have been running a few of these servers with only a 500GB 6GB SATA 7.2K drive installed with all VM's (Hyper-V) sitting on an attached SAN.
For various reasons we needed some local storage on the server and installed 2 1.2TB SAS drives (10K 2.5"). They hot installed okay but the server had to be brought down to enter the MegaRaid software to configure the RAID.
Unfortunately with the drives installed, the server won't boot past the initial BIOS screen and certainly doesn't get to the RAID screens.
Does anybody have any idea why this would happen? Is there some BIOS update required to support these drives and/or MegaRaid software upgrade?
The servers are up and running at the moment so I can't find the version of the RAID software running.
Thanks
Larry

Hi Lauren,
If you don't have a PCI or a mezzanine based controller and you are using the embedded raid controller you need a chip for the embedded raid controller to support SAS drives. By default the embedded controller only supports SATA drives. See page 9 of the link below
Please let me know if you are not using the embedded controller
http://www.cisco.com/c/dam/en/us/products/collateral/servers-unified-computing/ucs-c-series-rack-servers/C220M3_SFF_SpecSheet.pdf

IPod Nano Won't Boot Past Apple Logo...

Sup all?
...Got an interesting problem here. Replaced an LCD in a Nano for a friend, installation went smooth & without problems (or so I thought). After installation was complete, I put the Nano back together & started loadin' & playin music on the Nano. About 2 days later, I decided to update it w/the new iPod Updater (can't remember the date). Now the iPod Nano won't boot past the Apple Logo. I can tell that the "menu" has been loaded 'cuz you can hear the clickin' sound when you operate the wheel.
I've tried reformatting the iPod Nano (quick & full) & then trying to restore it, but it won't boot past the logo (after successful restoration?). Now I'm going to run the battery dead & then try to restore it again.
Any suggestions/comments on this?

The solution I see in your case is to go back and download an older iPod Updater.
See this link -> iPod Updaters
I suggest taking either the January 2006 iPod Updater, or March 2006 iPod Updater.
IMHO, Some of these freezing issues occur because of a fault in the latest iPod Updater.
I suggest going back to March (or January), and the nano could possibly work again for you.
-Kylene
If any post helps or solves your issue, please mark it that way accordingly. Thank you for helping the boards!

IPod Video Won't Boot Past Apple Logo

I've had my 5th Generation iPod Video (80 GB) for about 1 1/2 years. I was using it the other day and it froze in the middle of a song, so I used the reset function to reboot it. Now it won't boot past the Apple logo; it just stays there (until the battery runs out).
I definitely can't use the iTunes "restore" function, since I've been unable to get my computer to acknowledge when it is plugged in.
I'm guessing this means my hard drive is done for? If so, I'm comfortable replacing it myself, but I could use some advice regarding a good (and economically priced) replacement drive. After a quick look inside my iPod, it appears the hard drive model is a Toshiba MK8010GAH.

You might try forcing the iPod into disk mode first, then connecting it to your computer and see if that makes it show up in iTunes...
Putting iPod into Disk Mode
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=93651
Patrick

G5 won't boot past grey screen

G5 2.0 Dual will not boot past grey screen. Running 10.5.8 on an old maxtor 160gb drive, drive is available as a startup disc in StartUp disk in system preferences. But when it is chosen the machine shuts down in the usual manner then switches to the maxtor disk and only gets to the grey screen with the apple log no progress clock appears. Using disk utility from install disk reports that drive is ok, running techtool pro 4.6.2 reports the drive is fine and all file structures, volume structures and directories are fine. So of course i am keen to find out what the issue is and wether it can be resolved without resorting to a clean install. When booted from another internal drive the icon for the errant drive is visible and all files and folders are visible and readily accessable.
It would be great to get back to booting from this drive as it is the main drive I use and has so much more on it than the secondary drive.
Any help will be of immense use
Thank You

I assume you have already tried a PRAM reset. If so, then the following three items may yield a clue.
Number one thing to try is a Safe Boot by holding the shift key down at boot. You may have a something in the non-minimal Apple kext set that is causing the hang. (If it safe boots, you may have a problem in kext caches which can be cleared. See below.)
Second is to disconnect all peripherals except monitor, keyboard and mouse and see if something there is contributing to the hang.
Third is to use verbose boot (hold down cmd-V at boot until you see a black Unix terminal screen come up) and see where the system is hanging.
Clearing the kext Caches (if indicated)
This is probably easiest done booted from the other drive, so I'll describe that method.
Open the Maxtor's System folder, then open the Library folder and drag the following two files to the trash:
Extensions.kextcache
Extensions.mkext
Empty the trash.
Open a Terminal session from the Terminal application in the /Applications/Utilities folder.
Type cd followed by a space in the command line and then drag the icon for the Maxtor into the window, which will put a properly formatted Unix path into the command line, then press the return key. Type the following three commands
cd System <cr>
cd Library <cr>
sudo touch Extensions <cr>
then give your password when requested and close the terminal session. Select the Maxtor as the statrup drive in System Preferences and give it a go.

Computer won't boot past gray screen

I can't get my computer to boot past gray screen. It keeps showing the apple logo and the spinning wheel. What can I do to get into my system?

Startup - Gray, Blue or White screen at boot, w/spinner/progress bar
Startup - Gray Screen
Startup Issues - Resolve
Startup Issues - Resolve (2)

Mid 2010 MacBook Pro won't boot past blue screen

I've been having problems booting up my MacBook. I can't get past the blue screen. It went from booting slow at the grey apple logo screen to not booting up at all. Is it a problem with my hard drive? I also have boot camp running as well, but I can still see the boot camp drive for windows and my OS X drive, as well as my installation disk when I have it inserted when I hold the option key at start up.
I'm still able to run windows on it without any problems when I pick the windows drive. I tried different methods from different forums but I'm just not getting through. I tried holding 'c' to boot up from cd and I let it run over night but it never got past the grey apple screen with the gradient wheel (still spinning). I had already used time machine to back everything up before this happened since I was able to boot up properly (but slowly). Can anyone help? It's driving me nuts, and I can't remember what os/firmware version I'm running.

n your signature you said you are running 10.6.3. So let’s assume you are running Snow Leopard.
It sounds like your diagnosis of disk problems is correct. The OS X partition may be corrupt.
Try booting in Safe Mode.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1564
Try again to boot in normal mode.
If it will boot in Safe Mode but not in normal mode then you could have some 3rd-party software preventing the boot or you could have a corrupt disk or OS.
Boot as from the startup manager (Boot - option) and then select the installation disk.
Hopefully that will work better than starting with the Boot-C option.
Then try to repair the system disk.
Start the Disk Utility.
Perform the steps in http://support.apple.com/kb/PH5836.
If it repairs OK but still won’t boot reinstall OS X.
Installing Mac OS X 10.6 SnowLeopard
http://kb.iu.edu/data/akav.html

Macbook Pro won't boot past grey screen with Apple logo and then shuts off

This is a long story...
This morning, I would turn it on and it'd go to the grey screen with the Apple logo for a few seconds and then go to the icon that is a circle with a line through it. After reading online, I was able to boot it up in Safe Mode. I messed around a little bit in system preferences thinking I could fix it on my own, not really knowing what I was doing (I'm a *******). I went to Startup Disk in Preferences. I chose the MAC OS X, xxxx and then clicked the lock to prevent further changes and then clicked restart.
Now when I turn on the macbook, it goes to the grey screen with the Apple logo for at least two-three minutes and then just shuts off. Won't boot into Safe Mode now. Please help. I already tried the Command-Option-P-R keys trick like five times.

If you have a full retail DVD for 10.6 you can boot from that by holding the C key during startup...but you will then be in install mode if that is what you want to do. At least go ahead and see if it will boot ok from the 10.6 disk and then you can decide what you want to do further.
Apple does not have 10.5 for sale anymore from what some other users have said on here so if you want to go that route you will have to find a copy for sale such as from eBay or one of the Mac resellers.
Before taking the machine to someone, try booting from 10.6 and see if that works...that way you can narrow down problems the machine may be having.

Macbook won't boot past gray screen.

Macbook will not boot past the gray screen with the Apple logo. I tried booting in Safe Mode... tried booting to the Leopard install DVD (can hear it spin)... tried resetting the PRAM... all to no avail (hangs on the gray Apple screen... no progress indicator). I am able to connect to the hard drive via Firewire from my MacPro no problem. Just to make sure, I also tried swapping the hard drive for the original hard drive that it came with (upgraded hard drive 2 yrs ago) but it did not make a difference, still did not boot.
Not sure what else to try, any suggestions?

Thanks for all the replies. I do think it is probably the logic board. Unfortunately the nearest Apple store is about 3.5 hours away from me and from what I've read online the price to put a new logic board in by them is around $700... that's about $300 shy of a NEW 13" Macbook! I am finding used or new logic boards for sale online for around $350 to $450.
The reason it seems that it is the logic board is like I previously said in the opening thread that it would not boot to two different hard drives that I put in the Macbook, nor would it boot to the install disc that I put in the Superdrive.... "tried booting in Safe Mode... tried booting to the Leopard install DVD (can hear it spin)... tried resetting the PRAM". Being able to connect to the Macbook's hard drive from a MacPro via a Firewire gives me reason to believe the hard drives are not the problem.
Now I guess I'll have to make a decision as to whether or not to shell out cash during this weak economy for a new Macbook or scrounge for components for a 4yr old laptop.
Any final last words for me?

Macbook 10.8.3 Won't boot past apple screen

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