Macbook Boot Issue

When trying to reboot the macbook, it gets hung on a blue screen, it flashes intermittently, shows the spinning dial in the middle of the screen and continues on, back and forth. Booted in Safe mode - nothing; Cleared PRAM - nothing.
So I booted up using Leopard Install DVD, ran Disk Utility. Ran Verify Disk and Repaid Disk, no problem. Ran both Verify and Repair Disk Permissions - problem, error reads: "The underlying task reported failure on exit". I open Disk Image, see all the folders etc. Any suggestions before I boot in Target mode, save files, and reinstall Leopard? Thanks in advance.

Agreed on the backing up, and diskwarrior being a possible solution (back up first) but I would also check to make sure that the internal drive isn't failing. (If you have Apple Care, the disk you received with Tech Tool Deluxe on it should have drive tests including SMART and surface scan) While it is possible that disk corruption occurred with the drive being fine, it is often a side of impending failure, in which case you may reinstall, but it may fail again in a few weeks. I've also seen this behavior when someone preformed an OS upgrade and had software launching at login that was incompatible with the new OS.
Good luck!

Similar Messages

Macbook booting issues

my macbook pro starting running slow and froze so i restarted it, apon rebooting it sat at the grey screen and the wheel span for a good while. so i shut it down and came back a while later and tried booting into safe mode, it got to the desktop but nothing would work. so i restarted it again and it went into recovery mode and i tried the reinstall lion but when it gets to selet device it says that my HD is locked.

Here are the steps to unlock your external drive:
1. Boot to the Recovery Partition of your hard drive. (To so so hold option upon start-up)
2. Open the Terminal app.
3.In Terminal, type in the following (depending on your drive name) and press Enter:
“sudo chflags nouchg /Volumes/Drive_Name”
If your drive name has a space in it then you will need to type a space as “\ “
For example: “/Volumes/Drive\ Name”.
4. You will need to enter your password and press Enter.
It won’t show any characters when you type.
If you do not have a password then set one first.
5. Now type in the following and press Enter: sudo chmod 1775 /Volumes/Drive_Name
6. The lock on your drive should now be removed
If this doesn't work my best recomendation to you is to call Apple Care at: 1-800-275-2273 or make an oppointmant at your local Genius Bar. This is a serious situation, where you could loose all of your data if you have not already.

Eternal Boot of Firewire drive seems impossible on MacBook- Major Issue?

I have just purchased my MacBook and guess what I cannot boot off the external firwire drives.
I have made sure the external FW drives are OSX 10.4.8 (both the Lacie and the Maxtor) These same drives work pefectly booting external to a PowerBook G4 17" and a G5 2 gig.
So imagine you want to upgarde the MacBooks internal 80gig drive to a new 120 gig (as I do) I run Retrospect to backup the 80gig internal to the FW external. I then want to change the laptop drive to the 120gig drive, boot external to the FW drive and then run Retrospect to restore the original data to my new drive in the MacBook. No Way. You cannot boot of an external FW drive on a MacBook.
So boot internal, run Retrospect on the FW drive and try to restore over my MacBook boot drive. It starts but crashes leaving your HDD totally ruined. Back to install CD's to get operational but still no data moved accross to the new drive. What a mess. This makes the MacBook a real pain in the proverbial to work with. In fact it make it impossile to do backups using a FW drive and Retrospect. What is the value in that I ask?
Can anyone shed some light on this?
MacBook Intel Mac OS X (10.4.8) 2gig RAM and 120gig HDD

Yes, if you use the GUID partition scheme the drive will no longer boot a PowerPC Mac. The following article explains a way to get around this and create bootable partitions on one drive: http://www.macosxhints.com/article.php?story=2006061610374449.
There are currently two different versions of OS X: one for PowerPC and one for Intel Macs. They are not interchangeable. A universal version will not be out until Leopard (10.5) is released next year.
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The Mac HD has booting issues - how do I make a clone that is free of these?

I spilled water on my MacBook Air (10.6.8) and now it has booting issues.
When I shut it down, the power button doesn't work to boot it. But when I close the lid, it powers up. However even when I shut it down AND close the lid, it keeps booting up and staying on.
So I have to send it for repairs.
I cloned the Mac HD using Carbon Copy Cloner and put the clone using Migration Assistant onto the new machine (MacBook Pro - 10.7.2). Now the MacBook Pro won't boot at all. Before this, it was working fine.
So I want to know how to make a clone of the Mac HD of the MacBook Air that won't have booting issues when I migrate the clone to another machine.
I have to make a clone of the MacBook Air before I send it off for repairs as the last back up is quite old and out of date.
Also the fact that the Mac HD of the MBA has booting issues affects the ability to access the Boot Camp (Windows 7 partition) as now I can't even boot the new machine. (But I am asking about Boot Camp in another section.)
It seems like a catch-22 situation. I can't fix the booting problem until I send it off to the repair center to get the computer fixed. And yet the booting problem is preventing me from making a usable clone of the Mac HD.
I think the booting problem is a software problem because the MacBook Pro was working perfectly before I migrated the Mac HD of the MBA onto it, The MBP is only two days old. I migrated another Mac HD backup (one I made before the booting issues came up) onto the MBP on the first day I bought it and the MBP worked fine.
Do you think I will just have to clone things separately manually? I mean should I format an external hard drive, plug it in the USB port, and transfer the files I need to save? What files/folders should I save? Can I move folders or do I have to move files? I have many files in Desktop, Downloads, Documents. I also want to save my applications. I want to save the BookMarks of Opera, Firefox.
Will this take a long time? I have used about 200 GB of the MBA's hard drive.
Any advice? Thanks.
I don't use Time Machine and am not confident about using it. Will it be substantially different to CCC in the way it clones files? Will a Time Machine clone after migration contaminate the second computer with booting issues?
I am not so worried about the booting issues on the second computer. I know it's from the faulty clone and nothing to do with the machine itself. I can take it to Apple Genius Bar and they will probably be able to reinstall a new operating system on the machine and I can start from scratch, I think. I am more worried about how to save and restore my data from the old machine. Thanks for any advice.

applecore_eater wrote:
I cloned the Mac HD using Carbon Copy Cloner and put the clone using Migration Assistant onto the new machine (MacBook Pro - 10.7.2). Now the MacBook Pro won't boot at all. Before this, it was working fine.
Ok, you used Migraine Assistant to try to transfer the account from the clone drive to the MBP and it didn't work, that's ok, it can be fixed by command r booting into Lion Recovery and simply erasing and reinstalling Lion from Apple's servers. (AppleID)
I suggest you transfer the account data manually because the clone is a copy of a failing drive/corruption, use the same name in System Preferences >Accounts, drag and drop files transfer and hold option key, click on Purchases in crapStore to redownload to the new machine, install other programs from fresh sources. Cleaner machine that way. So that shoudl fix the MBP.
in the future, try to avoid Apple's "answers" like Migraine Assistant as much as possible, it's really not reliable in any sense in actuality.
So I want to know how to make a clone of the Mac HD of the MacBook Air that won't have booting issues when I migrate the clone to another machine.
You can't boot a clone of OS X from another type Mac on another type Mac, only the same exact machine model.
In your case the Migraine Assistant didn't work, so you'll have to manually install.
Also the fact that the Mac HD of the MBA has booting issues affects the ability to access the Boot Camp (Windows 7 partition) as now I can't even boot the new machine. (But I am asking about Boot Camp in another section.)
Well it's possible that Windows or something messed up the GUID partition map of the Mac, why it has booting issues. Likely why Migraine Assistant didn't work.
You'll have to set up BootCamp again on the new MBP machine, talk to Microsoft about validation on the new machine and return your Windows files, programs from fresh sources.
Likely you got malware and it was trying to write to the boot sector of the Mac, mistaking the MBR portion of the GPT for a full Windows one. This also happens when Mac users try to install Linux on their Mac's.
Unless you need full hardware performance, you really should look at virtualization software like VMFusion, Parallels Desktop or even VirtuaBox (might be outdated) and run Windows in a window on OS X instead. Much easier to recover from malware that way.
It seems like a catch-22 situation. I can't fix the booting problem until I send it off to the repair center to get the computer fixed. And yet the booting problem is preventing me from making a usable clone of the Mac HD.
Well if you make a clone, it's going to be junk any.
What you need to do is fix the new MBP machine first then use Firewire Target Disk Mode (firewire 800/400 cable and adpater if needed) and grab a copy of your files off the sick Mac or off the sick clone.
The drive is likely fine, it's just not booting and that could mean some sort of malware/drive/data corruption.
You'll have to install third party software on the new fixed MacBook Pro to read the NTFS drive format of the Windows 7 bootcamp parittion when the sick MacAir is in Firewire Target Disk Mode.
http://www.paragon-software.com/home/ntfs-mac/
https://support.apple.com/kb/HT1661

Boot issues

When I boot my computer (MacBook Pro, 15", Early 2010, 4GB RAM, 320GB HD, 2.4GHz Intel Core i5), it does nothing for quite awhile, and eventually gives me the folder with the question mark on it, signifying it can't find a startup volume. I think I know why, but this has not helped me fix the problem.
I used Disk Utility to partition the internal hard drive so I could install Linux (Ubuntu 10.10) and dual-boot. I used Linux to reformat the partition and used one of the 134MB spaces between partitions (the one at the end of the drive) as Swap space for Linux. I installed Ubuntu, and it worked fine. I could use the built in boot manager (holing down the option key at startup) to boot into either operating system.
That was last night. This afternoon, I booted up the computer, and it gave me the flashing question mark folder and wouldn't boot. I connected it to my iMac (20", Early 2009, 2GB RAM, 320GB HD, 2.66 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo) via a FireWire 800 cable and started the laptop up in Target Disk Mode. I started my iMac up holding down the option key to get it to look for the (possibly) bootable hard drive of the laptop. It did not find it, but displayed only the boot volumes normally available to it (Mac OS X 10.6.7, Windows 7 Ultimate, Mac OS X 10.5.8). I then shut down the laptop and proceeded to start it back up. Miraculously, it booted of its own accord into Mac OS X (10.6.7). I later booted the machine into Linux and began dinking around with some settings to get the illuminated keyboard to work. I did not entirely succeed, but the laptop was still working fine. I shut the clamshell to put it to sleep (while in Linux), and about an hour later, upon opening the clamshell, all I got was a black screen and the mouse pointer (as if it was stuck trying to get me to enter a password to unlock the screen). On rare occasions, this happens to me under Mac OS X as well, and I have usually been able to resolve it by shutting and opening the clamshell. After waiting a few minutes, I tried this, and when it failed, I decided to force shut down the machine, as I have had to do sometimes when this has happened under Mac OS X. Upon restarting the computer, I got the flashing question mark once again. I tried holding down the option key on startup, but only got a mouse pointer against a blank grey screen (like the boot loader screen, but without any icons). I tried zapping the PRAM, starting up in Safe Mode, starting in Verbose mode, holding down the x key, then Command-Option-O-F (then realized that wouldn't work since Apple doesn't use Open Firmware anymore), and also tried Command-Option-V-R, but that also appeared to do nothing. I just got the question mark folder each time (except for resetting the PRAM: that worked, but then I got the question mark folder).
I repeated the same steps as before (Target Disk Mode, etc) to see if they would miraculously fix the problem a second time (I still don't know how they did the first time), but to no avail. I fully booted my iMac with the laptop connected as a FireWire disk to attempt to use Disk Utility on it. Disk Utility did not recognize the drive. I checked System Profiler. It recognized that there was a Target Disk device attached to my iMac, but it did not list any hard drives under it. I proceeded to boot my laptop from its install DVD, which worked. However, Disk Utility on the pseudo-OS that is on the install DVD failed to recognize the internal hard drive. I checked under the Serial-ATA section of System Profiler. It showed two connections, one for the DVD drive, and I presume the other for the hard drive, but the hard drive one showed nothing connected to it. It simply listed a few specs on the SATA port.
I decided to boot my laptop from my iMac's internal drive. I reversed the roles of the machines, my iMac now being in Target Disk Mode, and the laptop trying to boot from its hard drive. I held down the option key at startup so I could choose what to boot from. I choose Mac OS X 10.6.7, and the machine started to boot. Just before it should have gotten to the brief blue screen before the login screen, it had a kernel panic, and the grey came down the screen and told me to restart the computer. I did, tried again, got the same kernel panic, so I decided to try Windows 7. When I selected Windows from the boot manager, it seemed to try to start up in Mac OS X (10.6.7, because 10.5.8 wasn't connected), but never got past the grey Apple icon. After a while, it started occasionally flashing a circle with a line through it, and sometimes the question mark folder, but always switched back to the Apple icon quickly. After at least 10 minutes, I decided to shut down the computer. I then tried booting Mac OS X 10.6.7 in Safe Mode. After showing the progress bar (it only got about half completed before it vanished, but it took a long time to get halfway) for awhile, it eventually successfully booted to the login screen. I signed in, and opened Disk Utility. Nothing. I checked System Profiler and got the same result I had from the install DVD. I shut down the computer, and tried to boot it normally one last time. Nothing.
Does anyone have a clue what's going on? I can understand why the computer would be having boot issues, with my shaky installation of Linux, and all, but I can't understand why nothing will recognize that the computer's internal hard drive exists.
I do have AppleCare for the laptop, unless I've voided the warranty by installing Linux. Should I send the computer in? (I'm over 250 miles from the nearest Apple Store). Is there anything I could do by opening up the computer (I know that would void the warranty if I haven't already). I do have a backup of most of the data, but the backup excludes some video files because of their size. Luckily, I do still have them on MiniDV tape if I have to reimport them.
I feel like I've tried everything, but I wouldn't be surprised if I've missed something obvious…
Thanks in advance for any ideas, suggestions or answers!

Update 2: That successful boot seems to have been one of about four flukes. For some strange reason, my computer will successfully boot into Mac OS X and Ubuntu, but only on rare occasions. There seems to be no pattern, but every once in a while, the computer will decide to recognize it has a hard drive.
Any thoughts?

Macbook Startup Issue - Help!!!!!!!!!!!!

My 2006 mac book had a start up issue a couple of years back, I'd boot her up to be greeted with a screen displaying a start up failed message in three different languages on a grey screen. http://www.minneapolispcrepair.com/images/mac%20error%20screen.jpg
Looking into the issue I noticed this model of Macbooks had issues with their hard drives and they could be replaced under warranty. Brilliant, booked myself into see a Genius and ha presto a few weeks later my hard drive had been replaced. However a couple of weeks after the replacement the issue started happening again but after a few attempts the Macbook would fire up so it wasn't really an issue just a pain in the butt!! Now 18 months down the line its becoming a real issue again, it must take 7 or 8 attempts to fire the blasted thing up, 25 is my highest so how.
My question is, what could be causing this start up issue, could it be the hard drive again???? as replacing the hard drive previously didn't really solve the issue in the first place?? Would apple replace this hard drive again????
The MB is a late 2006 model with Dual Core run Snow Leopard
Hope someone can help :o(
Thanks
Deano

This looks like a kernel panic. Try to startup the mac in safe mode (http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1455) and observe for a few startups whether the problem occurs again or not.
If this solves the problem then you may have a problem with your software installation. Consider reinstalling os x or take a look at your system log file and search for kernel panics (http://support.apple.com/kb/TS3742).
If the problem persists you may have an issue with your hardware. I would recommend to take it to an Apple Genius to have the system checked (free of charge afaik).

My macbook boots up get a screen picture then screen goes blank, when boots up I get the sound then a screen then screen goes black is this a battery problem or something else?

my macbook boots up, I get a screen picture then screen goes blank...I get the start up sound, then a picture, then the screen goes blank but computer is still on..does anyone know what the problem is...do I need a new battery or am i just screwed.

Hello nosaint1961,
It sounds like you are unable to successfully boot your computer to your desktop. I would use the troubleshooting from the following article to help troubleshoot what is happening named:
Troubleshooting: My computer won't turn on
http://support.apple.com/kb/ts1367
If your computer won't turn on, try each of these steps:
Verify you have a good connection from your Mac to the wall outlet by confirming the power cord and adapter if present are securely connected and plugged in. To check if the wall outlet is working, plug in a lamp or other electrical device.
If the wall outlet is working and you continue to have no power try another power cord or adapter if available. If it works you may need a replacement cord or adapter.
Note: See Apple Portables: Troubleshooting MagSafe adapters for further troubleshooting with MagSafe adapters.
Disconnect all accessories that are plugged in to the computer, such as a printer, hub, or other mobile device.
If your Mac supports user-installable memory, solid state drive, or hard drive, and you recently installed any of these, make sure they are installed correctly and are compatible with your computer. If possible, reinstall the original memory or drive into the computer to find out if the behavior persists afterwards.
MacBook Pro: How to remove or install memory
MacBook: How to remove or install memory
Mac Pro: How to remove or install memory
Mac mini: How to remove or install memory
iMac (27-inch, Late 2012): Installing or replacing memory
iMac: How to remove or install memory
Reset the SMC.
If you are still unable to start up your computer after trying each of these steps, visit an Apple Store or Apple Authorized Service Provider (AASP) for further diagnosis. If you plan to visit an Apple Retail Store, make a reservation at the Genius Bar using http://www.apple.com/retail/geniusbar/ (available in some countries only).Note: Diagnostic fees may apply for issues not covered under warranty or the AppleCare Protection Plan (APP).
Thank you for using Apple Support Communities.
All the very best,
Sterling

RAM Bezzel; Possible Boot Issue

On the MacBook Pro. I have noticed now 2 times on 2 books; That initially the MacBook Pro will not boot.
Removed Battery.
Remove 3 Screws covering RAM Bezzel.
Remove Top RAM Card.
Re-connect Battery and the MacBook Boots. <shutdown>
Re-connect Top RAM Card. MacBook Boots AGaiN. And will continue to boot, IF, you do not tighten the 3 screws ALL the WaY.
My Conclusion.. THe Area where the RAM Bezzle is located is getting hot and crimping the ribbon connecting RAM to MB. Losening the Screws keeps the ribbon from being crimped and regains connection to MB.
The Question(s) Is(are)?
Can anybody confirm this?.. Can you better explain this issue? ..
Lastly...
If I do this on Dead Mac Books in House, Does it void our Warranty?

Jeremy Lee wrote:
William Rivas wrote:
griszi_93 wrote:
On the MacBook Pro. I have noticed now 2 times on 2 books; That initially the MacBook Pro will not boot.
I have seen this issue:
Make sure the Memory Bay cover is "seated all the way" into the recess on the upper most part of the MBP. And tighten the screw only "hand tight" NOT torked on.
You can do it over and over again and still not have the memory bay cover on right. It must be completely flush and almost "snap" into place.
William
Can you tell me if I ran into the same issue? I have a MBP 2.2 G Santa Rosa. I ordered 2x2G sticks from OWC (always good stuff there). I opened up the RAM compartment, removed the 1G sticks, and put in the new RAM.
Closed it all up, replaced the battery, plugged in the power. Tried to restart, and got nothing- no boot sound. Only the "Sleep" LED flashing 3 times, pause, repeat. On the Apple website, they say it's due to "Marginal" Ram.
So- I take it all apart again, put back in the original RAM. Boots fine.
I put one 2G stick in the top slot (an original 1G in the lower). Boots fine. Do the same with the other stick- fine. Then I put a 2G stick in the lower slot- boots fine. Both 2G in the slots and close it all up- fine.
Now it's running with both 2G sticks, System Profiler tells me it has 4G ram (yay!) and so far Rember is looking good.
But the "Marginal Ram" warning has me a bit worried. Was it because I somehow didn't seat the chips or cover properly? It all seems to be working great now, but I don't want to be stuck away from home without my screwdrivers and the MBP not boot or something.
When you've seen this before, was it accompanied by the 3 Flashes syndrome?
Thanks!
Jeremy
Jeremy,
Funny thing you mention this! I had the exact same problem. I had some really expensive RAM I bought for my original 2.16 MBP 17". I recently sold it to upgrade to the SR 2.4 15" Glossy which I love.
I popped in the RAM and I get the exact same problem you described. I compared both RAM sticks and I see the old RAM says 5300 and the one that came with the newer Mac says 5300S.
I am wondering if that makes the difference.
Seems the RAM you have and that I have is just not compatible.
William

Booting issue on a new installation on Acer Aspire 4752 laptop.

Hi All,
     I have done a new installation of OS on a Acer laptop stated above. However, due to some reason, during the booting up process, it will always stuck at screen right before it enter into the logon screen. I will have to press
Enter in order to move it, as if there is a "press Enter to continue...".
     After this "enter" key, everything else works normally. However, this is pretty annoying and I could not sent this laptop back to my enduser because of this trivial issue.
     Some other information as below:
This is a new OS and no other apps is installed. Though now it is patched (with Microsoft patches). But it happens since the first boot after install.
In according to Device Manager, all drivers are in place. No exclamation mark and error.
Event Viewer shows no error for the boot up.
Safemode (command prompt) shows that it is stuck at loading "classpnp.sys".
     My questions:
It will be good if there is already a resolution. :)
How to diagnose, or identify which apps actually waiting for that "enter" to move on?
     Thanks!
wsn

Hi,
For the boot issue, first I suggest you use startup repair if you have an installation disk, check if it can detect and fix some certain problems.
Or run sfc/scannow in command prompt in recovery console, check if it can make any difference.
If doesn’t work, then try “Enable boot logging”, then check the log called ntbtlog.txt, usually located in system drive\Windows.
Advanced startup options (including safe mode)
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-in/windows/advanced-startup-options-including-safe-mode#1TC=windows-7
You can also share a screen image with us about the “stuck” screen.
Regards
Yolanda
TechNet Community Support

Windows 8 Laptop Boot Issue (and other related problems)

My Toshiba Satellite S855D-S5148 laptop was bought about a month ago, but it's been giving me issues for the last week.
The most significant one was a boot issue, where out of nowhere, the PC would not start, and after a hard restart, I received an error message saying Windows was not able to start. So I called tech support and they guided me through a PC refresh. That seemed to have solved the issue until twenty minutes later, when my system froze and I could not move the cursor let alone use any applications. So I did a hard restart again, and tried to do another PC refresh until the laptop 'clicked' and shut off. I restarted again, and my system seemed to be working normally until two days later (I did not shut it off or restarted it during this period, only kept it in hibernate when not in use).
Upon trying to use my laptop, it said Windows was reconfiguring. Afterwards, I received an error message saying that Windows had to restart due to 'this problem,' though the problem was not specified. The error message included a list of file addresses that presumably contained a description of the problem, but I can't access the files because they don't show up when I search their addresses. They are .dmp and .xml files, respectively.
Is anyone familiar with this problem? I wish I could return the laptop but it's a couple of weeks shy of the return period (Staples has a measely 14-day return period, but I didn't think I'd have to use it). I don't want to go through the hassle of shipping it off to Toshiba for repairs. Would reformatting the laptop solve the problem? I wish I could attach the .dmp and .xml files to this post but I can't locate them. I'd try using the recovery disks, but they were recently destroyed in a flood.
Any comments, advice, and/or suggestions are very much welcome!

Happy to learn the hardware is fixed.
I was told they could not do so without the product key. ... Any ideas as to how I can get my product key?
Everybody should know by now that there is no product key for preinstalled Windows. The OEM has it locked into the motherboard.
As I've said over and over, recovery media will restore the hard disk to its original out-of-the-box contents. Windows will be activated.
Windows is not installed during this process. Everything on the hard drive is restored. It's an important distinction.
-Jerry

Safe boot issues tried everything

Howdy From NZ
I have a MBP with a bad case of safe Boot Issues
Things I have tried:
Disk Repair
Checked S.M.A.R.T status of HDD under linux and run a full surface scan to check HDD is fine
Replaced SATA Cable
Reloaded OSX (upto yosimite)
tried another hdd just in case
replaced top panel (thought maybe it was holding down the shift button)
and a few others I cannot remember at the moment
i'm Thinkin' it's motherboard related but would like a second opinion from the forum guru's
Also I've taken it to the closest apple authorised repair store, and they said it was the HDD, but clearly it isnt as I have replaced it with a brand new one and the sata cable
interestingly enough, If i 6 second death it, upon reboot it works fine, but if i restart normally it hits this problem, I'm thinking maybe its doing some sort of start up check thats causing it?, it seems to work fine if you boot with verbose mode every time without fail, so is verbose mode disabling something upon startup?
I run a repair store here, but im not apple authorized, but as stated before, have gotten further than the people that are.... any help will be greatly appreciated

Good Timing,
I was heading to Christchurch (the only town in the south island with an "apple genius store")
they told me it was the HDD again, even after telling them I have put a new HDD in and also changed the Sata cable!!!
Clearly this isn't going anywhere fast, and although I appreciate the help you have given me, I'm going to nut this one out by myself.
***update***
I borrowed a mates mac that was the exact same model and swapped the Motherboards over, worked straight from the get-go
Thank for the help, it was appreciated in making me think I'm not crazy.
Scott

Mac Pro Boot Issue

Mac Pro - "Quad", 2 X 2.66Ghz; 5GB RAM; OS X 10.5.6
Mac Pro will not boot. It powers up to the grey Apple logo screen. The progress circle spins for about 3 seconds, then powers itself off.
This past week I came back from two weeks off. The first morning back I noticed my Mac was sluggish at times and freezing for a few seconds here and there. When Time Machine backups would kick in, the whole system would be unresponsive for minutes at a time. After turning off all other equipment in my office, I could detect a tell-tale "click click, spin" type noise coming from one of my two internal drives (one for OS and a second for backups).
I tracked the noise to the boot drive and guessing it was about to go out, I ordered a replacement Samsung Spinpoint 750GB. Good thing, because the next day when I came in to work my machine was having worse problems. IF it would boot, it would hang after a few minutes of use. If it would not boot, it would power up to the grey Apple logo, the progress circle would spin a few seconds, the power itself off.
I waited another day and the new drive arrived. I pulled the old OS drive, installed the new one, then dumped our standardized clone image on the drive (using CCC). After the clone was complete, I booted up on the drive, tested it out for a couple of hours and verified that it was working as expected. Next I copied data over to my drive from my backup drive. Everything looked fine.
Three days later, I come in to find my Mac will no longer boot. Grey Apple logo, spinning, etc.. I power off and boot from my external diagnostic drive (OS X 10.5.5). It will not boot. I remove both internal drives and try another boot from the external diagnostic drive. It boots up fine. Shutdown. Remove the backup drive (drive bay 2) and try to reboot from the diag drive once again. It will not boot. Remove the OS drive (drive bay 1) and it boots to the diagnostic drive fine (note: no internal drives are installed at this point). Shutdown. Install the OS drive into drive bay 2 and it then boots to the diagnostic drive just fine.
So now I have booted to my external diag drive and can see that the OS drive is showing on the Desktop; however a pop-up error stating there is a problem has appeared. I try to verify the OS drive using Disk Utility and it stops about 2 seconds into the process with a "Filesystem verify or repair failed" error. The OS drive will then not mount.
I restart booting back to the external diag drive. The OS drive shows up on the Desktop with the same pop-up error message as before.
I run Tech Tool Pro from the diag drive and it comes back with a File Structure error of "Type List Offset Is Invalid" and "No method for Tech Tool Pro to repair a corrupt file". I have a surface scan and drive hardware test running now, but on a 750GB it will be a WHILE.
So here is my predicament... I can understand my original OS drive having problems. It was at least 3 yrs old and has been run quite hard. But what are the odds that I would replace it with a brand new drive running a verified to be good cloned disk image AND have almost the exact same boot issues on the new drive that I had on the old one?
I have taken my original OS drive and hooked it up to external cases and sata-to-usb adapters to make sure that it was actually dead and it is. It will not spin up properly and makes lots of clicking noises. However, having a similar boot issue with a brand new drive has me worried something may be wrong with the Mac Pro hardware also. The new OS drive ran fine for a few days and only had these problems today.
Any guesses?

Here is my own "cookie cutter" template to this type of problem.
Insure your UPS is working properly and that you have 1300VA to start with.
Run Apple Hardware Test of course.
CCC has been updated so make sure latest (it auto checks probably already).
Do you have Windows? run diagnostics from there, much better.
I settled on WD drives and use WD Diagnostic and has saved a drive.
Avoid Barracudas, seems even their 1TB is also suffering early failures (the 1.5TB was suffering from firmware problem).
Check for reviews and drive upgrade DB on AccelerateYourMac.
http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/
I know the F1 got a lot of early praise but they aren't compatible with Apple Pro RAID card and may have other issues.
If you want a fast low-cost drive, WD Cavair 640GB $69.
http://www.barefeats.com/harper14.html
Hitachi E7K1000: http://techreport.com/articles.x/16130/10
http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/hdd-terabyte-1tb,2077-8.html
I have seen more than a couple of similar stories from people going away for 1-2 weeks and coming home to system that won't work properly. Hopefully people shutdown and unplug, or shutdown and have UPS, but it is strange to say the least.
Resetting SMC is a good idea but best done with 2008 model by leaving it unplugged for a full night 8-12 hrs. and not just 5 minutes. contrary to Apple tech article. For yours, there is a small physical button accessed by pulling drive tray #4 (easier to see if it is on its side and you have flashlight!)
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1806
http://www.apple.com/support/macpro/

Satellite L50D - Boot issues after Hard Drive replacement

I have just upgraded my hard drive from the pathetic 5400 crod they supply to an SSHD@7200rpm but now have a major issue.
I initially imaged the os from the old hard drive back to the new drive and have had chronic boot issues (1 in 3-4 boot attempts succeed else it fails at any point (often at the Toshiba startup screen)).
I've reinstalled from a plain clean Win 8.1 ENT disc (trying to avoid the bloatware) and this has the exact same issue and was what I used to format the laptop fine with previously and worked previously.
I've tried reformatting and reinstalling (deleting ALL partitions each attempt) in CSM, UEFI non secure and UEFI secure. CSM is a straight never works no go and both UEFI methods have the exact same outcome.
I've tried with the original restore discs and it seems to work (haven't had time to fully test) but I don't want the bloatware and this should not matter since if I were a customer who forgot to make the restore discs (happens too often) and just had to have a failed or killed hard drive replaced the laptop would now be a door stop.
This seems as bad as Apple for locking people in :/.
So I'd appreciate ideas from people please, I'm not sure if there is a prep program that is supposed to be run over a new drive like PS3's etc (I doubt it) but this is driving me up the wall and will be the last time I consider Toshiba as anything other than a joke if there is no fix.
I've had to replace hard drives a few times in my previous Toshiba laptops and had none of this crod, it has something to do with the UEFI which seems more of a nuisance than assistance at the moment.
TIA.

Hi
In my opinion you should check firstly if this booting issue is related to the new installed HDD or new installed system.
You said that the notebook fails to boot often at the Toshiba splash screen.
The splash screen appears while POST (power on self test) procedure. During this test, the hardware will be checked.
Im wondering if the hybrid SSD/HDD isnt recognized by BIOS during this particular step.
From my point of few this might be the reason why the system cannot be booted up.
Another important note:
The Win 8.1 requires enable secure boot as well as the UEFI boot mode.
Therefore you should enable both options in BIOS.
Last but not least check if you are using latest BIOS version as well as latest firmware for hybrid SSD/HDD

Anyone see an ios 7.1.2 boot issue AFTER updating?

From everything I read, I wonder if iOS 7.1.2 has a general boot issue. I have 4 devices, one of which locked on update. When i reset it and checked the crash log, my reset counter was zero and it said there was a boot failure. There was no indication of any application crash for the time in question.
I never reboot any of my devices, so I don't know, but it crossed my mind that perhaps the lockups on boot or booting into recovery mode has nothing to do with the update process, but is related to rebooting 7.1.2 in general. In other words, just because the devices are working fine now, is there still a chance that any of them can lockup or go into recovery mode the next time they are reset?

There appears to be a plethora of similar reports out there (I've been looking around). So we wait for Apple to provide a fix for this problem.
What I am most unhappy about is the inability to downgrade to, at least, the last known working firmware; in this case, 7.1.1. In situations like this, newly introduced problems become a corporate liability, more so on the part of end users that experience limited use of these expensive devices due to these newly-introduced problems. Then, there is the added liability of support calls, feedback/bug reports, etc.
I do not see any logic in the decision to disable downgrading firmware -- in this case, it's seems more paranoia (ie: jailbreak prevention) than a solid engineering decision, in my opnion.

Macbook booting with wrong keyboard layout.

hello all,
i've got a 15 inch macbook pro with the latest os x. every time i reboot, it resets the keyboard layout to american english even though i preset it to swiss german. this means that i always need to go to the language settings and change it to my layout, which is quite annoying.
any suggestions how to solve this?
thanks a lot in advance and kind regards
jurg

I posted the same question on stackexchange as well: http://apple.stackexchange.com/questions/111460/macbook-booting-with-wrong-keybo ard-layout

Macbook Boot Issue

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