MacBook Air boots only to gray screen after OS X 10.8.2 upgrade

I upgraded my MacBook Air 13in (purchased new in mid 2011) from OS X 10.8.1 to 10.8.2 today. As it was restarting, it hung at a gray screen that had only a Mac icon on it. I let it stay there for about 15 minutes before I forced it to tun off by holding the power button down for several seconds. Starting up again, it plays the startup sound and immediately displays a completely blank solid gray screen, no icons. I've shut it down and started it up again trying many different key combinations. The only one that seems to do anything is cmd-opt-p-r (pram). Others that I've tried at startup are shift, shift-cmd-v, cmd-v, cmd-r, opt. With an osx lion install USB in a USB port, I've tried booting with opt and with c, to try to boot from the USB stick. All of these attempts are met with the same result. A solid gray blank screen.
Is there anything else I can try on my own? I have a recent time machine backup and a 15in 2010 MacBook Pro.

Sandra, I am aware of that... I have found the following regarding this issue: In my deep despair, I have connected a wired mouse (feeling reeeally strange with that, since I use gestures a LOT)... I begin to work that way a few minutes ago, and tired of the mouse, I have tried to use the trackpad (not expecting much) with the mouse connected to the usb port and the trackpad is now working as expected. I don't wan't to understand this, as this seems very odd, but it worked for me!
Is not a proper solution, but it is best than waiting for a fix, or downgrading...

Similar Messages

MacBook Air Boots to OS, then screen goes dark.

I have recently been working on an older style (A1304) MacBook Air with the 128GB SSD. I've been working on Mac's for years, and have worked on hundreds, but this is the first time I've ever come across this particular issue.
Liquid damaged MacBook Air. Keyboard and Trackpad mainly took the brunt of the spill. Popped off the keys, cleaned it all up. Button for the trackpad no longer works, but everything else does. Entire computer was disassembled, no other liquid was found.
MacBook Air boots up normally, and I was using it for a few hours to make sure everything was working fine. Left it to charge. Came back two hours later, and the screen was dark (but the image was still visible, as if the backlight was not on). Could see the mouse pointer moving, but backlight won't come back on. Turned off computer, turned it back on. Backlight works just fine, and it boots to the OS. Within 10 seconds of booting to OS, the screen goes dark (screen goes completely black with no image). Couple seconds later, light on the front starts to "breathe" indicating it's sleeping. Wake it back up, and image appears on the screen, but no backlight. Then it "goes to sleep" again.
Boot computer to a Flash Drive with Snow Leopard Installer and once the blue screen comes on as if the installer is just about to pop up, it "goes to sleep" immediaetly. Though, the backlight and computer will stay on in the Apple Hardware Test for as long as I want. (ran it several times, "no trouble found". Also reset the PRAM, nothing helps.
I was wondering if anyone has ever come across this. Completely baffled on whether it's a software or hardware (or combination of the both) issue I'm having.

The keyboard and trackpad reside on top of the motherboard and all the components of the computer. The keyboard and trackpad are not liquid proof. It is VERY likely that the liquid made its way to the motherboard and has affected those components. If EVER there is liquid spilled on a computer, the last thing you want to do is A. Turn it on to make sure it is working.. and B. Plug it in and charge it. Do the EXACT opposite. Unplug and turn off all power, and, if possible, remove the battery from it. The liquid itself doesnt do the damage...the damage is done when the liquid comes in contact with the circuits and shorts out the contacts and components. You could try to connect to an external monitor, if you have the means to do so, to see if it makes a difference, but it probably will not. I seems that the motherboard is not functioning correctly.

Macbook Pro boots to blank gray screen and cursor

Hello,
I downloaded the "time machine update" and now my macbook pro will not boot, it stops at a gray screen and cursor.
I have tried safe boot, Disk Warrior, clearing NVPRAM or whatever.
Any ideas on anything else?
Question, how long does a time machine restore take?
Thanks

elipsis1 wrote:
I downloaded the "time machine update" and now my macbook pro will not boot, it stops at a gray screen and cursor.
I have tried safe boot, Disk Warrior, clearing NVPRAM or whatever.
Assuming the TimeMachine updte came from Apple correct?
Disconnect the TM drive and any other hardware to return the machine back to factory as possible.
Run through this fix list
Step by Step to fix your Mac

MacBook starts only to gray screen

This 3 year old MacBook opens to a gray screen after a normal startup chime (No Apple, No spinning gear).
Attempting to reset PRAM does not work (only one chime).
Attempting to startup in Single User mode gives gray screen only.
Attempting to startup in Target Disk Mode gives gray screen only.
Attempting to startup holding the Option key gives gray screen only.
I'm not a hardware guy, but this seems to me that the motherboard is hosed.
What else could it be?

Maybe, but most likely the OS is blown. However, try running the diagnostics:
How to run hardware diagnostics for an Intel Mac
Boot from your original OS X Installer Disc One that came with your computer. After the chime press and hold down the "D" key until the diagnostic screen appears. Run the extended tests for a minimum of two or three hours. If any error messages appear note them down as you will need to report them to the service tech when you take the computer in for repair.
Some "common" error indicators:
SNS - sensor error
MEM - memory error
HDD - hard disk drive error
MOT - fan error
If there are no reported problems then do this:
Repairing the Hard Drive and Permissions
Boot from your OS X Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Installer menu (Utilities menu for Tiger, Leopard or Snow Leopard.) 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 installer. Now restart normally.
If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior and/or Tech Tool Pro to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X.
If there are no problems but the computer still will not boot, then you will need to reinstall OS X.

Gray Screen after I log in to MacBook Pro

Hello,
I have got MacBookPro 2009 Model.
It was running fine till yesterday. I was watching a youtube video and I paused it and went away. After I came back the screen froze so I did the restart.
Initially, there was some issues with booting up. I used Use Single-User Mode to check disk, and disk is working fine.
But now after I log in I only see gray screen. No icon no logo nothing.
Help Please...

riteshkadu,
which version of OS X is on your MacBook Pro? Do you still have the two grey installation DVDs that originally came in the box with your MacBook Pro?

MacBook Pro hangs in gray screen after security update

I just allowed software update to download and install the latest Safari update and Security update 2009-6. During the restart my macbook just hung on the gray screen with the spinning gear.
I've tried starting in target disc mode but the iMac doesn't register the MacBook's HD.
I started from the install disc (10.4.5) and launched disk utility but it won't read the HD either.
I tried Safe Start-up, resetting PRAM but still the hang.
HELP

If not for the coincidence of a restart after those software updates, I'd say
you need to get a correct version of Disk Warrior and see if it can repair
or rebuilt the hard disk drive's Directory; since that is a likely item to have
been corrupted somehow. And corruption of data, including the System,
is a serious matter. A near-capacity or over-full hard disk drive can cause
odd issues including corruption; so there may be more going on in the Mac.
Other third party disk utilities may be able to help get into the failed computer
and the problem is likely the hard disk drive. Sometimes, a software issue in
a drive can related to a hardware failure; so to consider a strategy that may
include a new drive for the computer and an external enclosure for the drive
that is now in the failed computer, to then maybe further your recovery of data
if it comes to that.
Good luck & happy computing!

I am trying to install windows 8 at my macbook air boot camp

I am trying to install windows 8 at my macbook air boot camp but Boot Camp Assistant i showing an error that the disk cannot be portioned because some files cannot be moved. Back up the disc and use disk utility to format it was a single Mac OS Extended (journaled) volume. Restore your information to the disk and try using Boot Camp Assistant Again.
I had already installed teh first time Windows on my MacBook Air and Mac Book Pro. Actually I had more issues to install on the pro than Air.
But my Macbook Air had an issue on November 2013, 3 weeks after buying it and Apple gave me a new MacBook Air but they only transferred the information on my mac and the windows partion was lost according to them, they could copy it in to my new MacBook Air. Now that I am trying to install my windows I can not access to the aprtion section and get the error message from above.
What can I do to to install it? I am using a 32GB USB and OEM Windows 8 at USB External Drive. The same I used before. I dont know understand what changed if I did it before?
Please advise..

I think there's some remmants left over from when Apple transferred stuff over. We can try a quick fix, but if that doesn't work, I think the only option is to clean install OSX and then install Windows.
open disk utility, confirm that you only have 1 partition (mac journaled)
restart and PRAM reset
open disk utility and repair permissions twice
restart boot camp assistant
Does it work?
If not, I would boot holding command+R, choose disk utility from the menu and completely erase your HD (formatting it as mac journaled again). Then, install OSX on this HD. Once OSX is installed, don't copy your files over from the backup yet. Instead, start boot camp assistant and see if you can get Windows installed. You can copy back your other files after we get Windows installed.

Gray screen after loading Yosemite

Hi. Have problem with Yosemite after 10.10.2 update from appstore. My MacBook restart and on 30-50% l see gray screen and no more, it's freeze after login or before. I can't go to recovery mode, can't install/ reinstall Yosemite.
On cmd+r - didn't see anything, just load
on shift - the same
on alt+cmd+r+p - restart and again great freeze screen
on alt - I see my hdd and ssd, if I input usb with Yosemite , I see this usb, no more.
On click on usb with Yosemite I see loading and gray screen after all of this..
If I inset second monitor, on MacBook freeze I see vertical lines. Red-green-blue-white vertical lines on all monitor
Please help me. I need work...

Install Mavericks, Lion/Mountain Lion Using Internet Recovery
Be sure you backup your files to an external drive or second internal drive because the following procedure will remove everything from the hard drive.
Boot to the Internet Recovery HD:
Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND-OPTION- R keys until a globe appears on the screen. Wait patiently - 15-20 minutes - until the Recovery main menu appears.
Partition and Format the hard drive:
Select Disk Utility from the main menu and click on the Continue button.
After DU loads select your newly installed hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed. Quit DU and return to the main menu.
Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion. Mavericks: Select Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion, Mavericks and click on the Install button. Be sure to select the correct drive to use if you have more than one.
Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet if possible because it is three times faster than wireless.
This should restore the version of OS X originally pre-installed on the computer.

Gray screen after login - Cinnamon 2.2/Nvidia 334

I did a -Syu, saw the new Cinnamon. I then proceeded to snapshot my btrfs root vol, and went ahead with the upgrade. Rebooted, no desktop, just a gray screen with the pointer. I then booted off my install media, and mv'ed my snapshot back to replace my /
Unfortunately, that still somehow didn't fix it, which makes me think a conf is borked in my home dir (not in the snapshot). Nothing in the system journal.
Any ideas?

So, I added the following to pacman.conf -
IgnorePkg = cinnamon* muffin* nemo*
and this is the list of packages I allowed to upgrade -
:: Synchronizing package databases...
core is up to date
extra is up to date
community is up to date
multilib is up to date
infinality-bundle is up to date
infinality-bundle-multilib is up to date
Foreign packages: / 29 / 29
==> Package upgrade only (new release):
core/libsystemd 212-2 2 -> 3
core/systemd 212-2 2 -> 3
core/logrotate 3.8.7-1 1 -> 3
core/mlocate 0.26-1 1 -> 3
core/shadow 4.1.5.1-7 7 -> 9
core/systemd-sysvcompat 212-2 2 -> 3
extra/mesa 10.1.0-4 4 -> 5
extra/pango 1.36.3-1 1 -> 2
extra/clutter-gst 2.0.10-1 1 -> 2
extra/gthumb 3.2.7-1 1 -> 2
extra/libreoffice-en-US 4.2.3-1 1 -> 2
extra/libreoffice-common 4.2.3-1 1 -> 2
extra/libreoffice-base 4.2.3-1 1 -> 2
extra/libreoffice-calc 4.2.3-1 1 -> 2
extra/libreoffice-draw 4.2.3-1 1 -> 2
extra/libreoffice-gnome 4.2.3-1 1 -> 2
extra/libreoffice-impress 4.2.3-1 1 -> 2
extra/libreoffice-math 4.2.3-1 1 -> 2
extra/libreoffice-writer 4.2.3-1 1 -> 2
extra/pkgstats 2.3-3 3 -> 5
extra/polkit 0.112-1 1 -> 2
==> Software upgrade (new version) :
core/glib2 2.38.2-1 -> 2.40.0-1
core/device-mapper 2.02.105-2 -> 2.02.106-1
core/iproute2 3.12.0-1 -> 3.14.0-1
core/linux 3.14-4 -> 3.14.1-1
core/lvm2 2.02.105-2 -> 2.02.106-1
core/man-db 2.6.6-1 -> 2.6.7.1-1
extra/at-spi2-core 2.10.2-1 -> 2.12.0-1
extra/atk 2.10.0-1 -> 2.12.0-1
extra/at-spi2-atk 2.10.2-1 -> 2.12.0-1
extra/gobject-introspection 1.38.0-1 -> 1.40.0-1
extra/gdk-pixbuf2 2.30.6-1 -> 2.30.7-1
extra/cogl 1.16.2-1 -> 1.18.0-1
extra/json-glib 0.16.2-1 -> 1.0.0-1
extra/clutter 1.16.4-3 -> 1.18.0-1
extra/gtk-update-icon-cache 2.24.22-1 -> 2.24.23-1
extra/libcups 1.7.1-4 -> 1.7.2-1
extra/gtk3 3.10.7-1 -> 3.12.1-1
extra/clutter-gtk 1.4.4-4 -> 1.5.2-1
extra/cups 1.7.1-4 -> 1.7.2-1
extra/dconf 0.18.0-1 -> 0.20.0-1
extra/gnome-icon-theme-symbolic 3.10.1-1 -> 3.12.0-1
extra/gnome-icon-theme 3.10.0-1 -> 3.12.0-1
extra/libsecret 0.16-2 -> 0.18-1
extra/gsettings-desktop-schemas 3.10.1-1 -> 3.12.0-1
extra/evince 3.10.3-1 -> 3.12.1-1
extra/file-roller 3.10.2.1-1 -> 3.12.1-1
extra/fontsproto 2.1.2-1 -> 2.1.3-1
extra/gcr 3.10.1-3 -> 3.12.0-1
extra/gtksourceview3 3.10.2-1 -> 3.12.1-1
extra/libpeas 1.9.0-2 -> 1.10.0-1
extra/pygobject-devel 3.10.2-2 -> 3.12.0-1
extra/python-gobject 3.10.2-2 -> 3.12.0-1
extra/gedit 3.10.4-2 -> 3.12.1-1
extra/gnutls 3.2.13-1 -> 3.3.0-1
extra/glib-networking 2.38.2-1 -> 2.40.1-1
extra/gnome-common 3.10.0-1 -> 3.12.0-1
extra/gnome-keyring 3.10.1-2 -> 3.12.0-1
extra/gnome-screenshot 3.10.1-1 -> 3.12.0-1
extra/gnome-themes-standard 3.10.0-1 -> 3.12.0-1
extra/libsoup 2.44.2-1 -> 2.46.0-1
extra/xorg-server-common 1.15.0-5 -> 1.15.1-1
extra/xorg-server 1.15.0-5 -> 1.15.1-1
extra/nvidia-utils 334.21-7 -> 337.12-1
extra/nvidia-libgl 334.21-7 -> 337.12-1
extra/webkitgtk 2.2.5-2 -> 2.4.0-1
extra/gtk2 2.24.22-1 -> 2.24.23-1
extra/gucharmap 3.10.1-1 -> 3.12.0-1
extra/gvfs 1.18.3-3 -> 1.20.1-2
extra/libplist 1.10-1 -> 1.11-1
extra/libimobiledevice 1.1.5-2 -> 1.1.6-1
extra/gvfs-afc 1.18.3-3 -> 1.20.1-2
extra/gvfs-mtp 1.18.3-3 -> 1.20.1-2
extra/gvfs-smb 1.18.3-3 -> 1.20.1-2
extra/lcms2 2.5-2 -> 2.6-1
extra/imagemagick 6.8.8.9-1 -> 6.8.9.0-1
extra/js 17.0.0-1 -> 24.2.0-1
extra/libgee 0.12.0-1 -> 0.14.0-1
extra/libgnome-keyring 3.10.1-2 -> 3.12.0-1
extra/libtracker-sparql 0.16.4-1 -> 1.0.0-2
extra/nvidia 334.21-4 -> 337.12-1
extra/python2-gobject 3.10.2-2 -> 3.12.0-1
extra/python2-atspi 2.10.0-2 -> 2.12.0-1
extra/upower 0.9.23-2 -> 0.99.0-2
extra/usbmuxd 1.0.8-2 -> 1.0.9-1
extra/vte-common 0.34.9-1 -> 0.36.0-1
extra/vte3 0.34.9-1 -> 0.36.0-1
extra/webkitgtk2 2.2.5-2 -> 2.4.0-1
extra/xproto 7.0.25-1 -> 7.0.26-1
community/cjs 2.0.0-1 -> 2.2.0-1
community/python2-pillow 2.3.1-2 -> 2.4.0-1
multilib/lib32-pcre 8.34-1 -> 8.35-1
multilib/lib32-glib2 2.38.2-1 -> 2.40.0-1
multilib/lib32-nvidia-utils 334.21-5 -> 337.12-1
multilib/lib32-nvidia-libgl 334.21-5 -> 337.12-1
aur/jdk7 7.51-2 -> 7.55-1
==> New package :
extra/libinput 0.1.0-1 (required by clutter)
extra/libusbmuxd 1.0.9-1 (required by libimobiledevice)
extra/js17 17.0.0-1 (required by polkit)
and I still had the same issue with the gray screen after login.
Last edited by madscience (2014-04-16 15:02:33)

My macbook pro crashes showing a gray screen

i use my Macbook pro with logic pro and a usb keyboard and a external firewire soundcard MOTU 828 mk3.
Of late my macbook just shows a silver gray screen saying please hold down the power button to shut down your comp.Very annoying please help as iam a proffessional music programmer.
THIS IS A VERY RANDOM OCCURENCE........Mani

Reinstalling Lion/Mountain 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/Mountain Lion: Select Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion and click on the Continue button.
Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet if possible because it is three times faster than wireless.

My Macbook Air 2011 got a white screen and a folder with a question mark. I tried to press option+r and try to install the OS X Lion but it didn't show the disk Macintosh Hd

My Macbook Air 2011 got a white screen and a folder with a question mark. I tried to press option+r and try to install the OS X Lion but it didn't show the disk Macintosh Hd

You are using Snow Leopard so you have no OPTION+R shortcut. You need to boot the computer from your Snow Leopard DVD or USB flash drive.
Reinstall OS X without erasing the drive
1. Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions
Boot from your Snow Leopard Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu. 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 installer.
If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior and/or Tech Tool Pro to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X.
2. Reinstall Snow Leopard
If the drive is OK then quit DU and return to the installer. Proceed with reinstalling OS X. Note that the Snow Leopard installer will not erase your drive or disturb your files. After installing a fresh copy of OS X the installer will move your Home folder, third-party applications, support items, and network preferences into the newly installed system.
Download and install Mac OS X 10.6.8 Update Combo v1.1.

Mac Pro (early 2008) wont boot pat the gray screen

First, my mac pro has three hard drives, bay 1 is time machine, bay 2 is empty, and bay 3 is A new Disk, running a newly installed 10.6.4. The computer was running great, then one morning I turned it on and the computer never got passed the gray screen after the chime and fan noise. I did a hard restart, holding down the power button, the computer booted normally to bay 3. This has happen twice. I have notice that if I restart from the OS it boots to bay 3 with no problems. It seem to only happen when the computer has been off for several hours.
Thanks for any help on this!

One thing at a time, and while I would hope you would use DW 4.2 on regular basis, plan for the worst and hope for the best, no reason to jump off the deep end and no, not processors or logicboard.
DW may not be able to boot your system from its CD, which I never use, just copy latest 4.2+ version to your boot volumes.
A printer or its cable, scanner, consumer USB device is much more likely, or drivers.
But, need to have a clean install of OS X (20GB volume) and a full boot image to play with first.
You can also use OS X DVD.
Safe boot mode - for when there isn't any other option and to do light maintenance.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1564

My early 2008 Macbook Pro is suffering from black screen after Yosemite update

My early 2008 Macbook Pro is suffering from black screen after Yosemite update. It ran beta 5 great but failed on restart after beta 6 install. There is no cursor but I can hear the HDD spooling up. I have tried booting in safe mode, PRAM reset and SMC reset but nothing works. After the first 5 days of every now and then trying to start it, it started fine. I used the machine all day with no problems, it had rolled back the install and was back on beta 5. I decided to try the update again, the same thing happened and it has stayed black for over a week now. It wont work with a monitor either. Help!

Hello Adam,
I would try instead of installing the beta software, to install the official build of OS X Yosemite from the Mac App Store to see if that gets you passed the no video issue when updating the beta software.
How to install OS X Yosemite on your Mac
http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT6412
Regards,
-Norm G.

Only a gray screen, cmputer will not start up

Only a gray screen, computer will not start up, a few weeks ago my computer crashed had to do a erase and install since everything was clean I purchased OS 10.4 bundle since I have an ibook too. everything has been working fine for about 7 days now, but now have just a gray screen. I booted up from the OS10.4 disk opened the disk utility and this is what it said.
Verifying volume
volume check failed
1 HFS volume checked
volume needs repair
next I ran repair and..
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

Had posted two questions for same problem and the other one was answered and so this one is answerd too.

Hey guys. my macbook air wont get past the screen with the apple on it during start up. how do i fix this? i have a paper saved on my laptop on need to get at it. thanks guy!

hey guys. my macbook air wont get past the screen with the apple on it during start up. how do i fix this? i have a paper saved on my laptop on need to get at it. thanks guy!

Your boot drive is damaged in some way. If you have an original installation disc, you can boot from that and run Disk Utility. From DU you can select your internal hard drive ("Macintosh HD" is the name Apple puts on it - you may have renamed yours) and select "Verify Disk". If errors come up, try "Repair Disk". If it repairs, then you should be able to restart and boot from it. If it doesn't show up or won't repair, your drive is probably hosed.
Clinton

MacBook Air boots only to gray screen after OS X 10.8.2 upgrade

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