MacBook hanging on grey screen after SMC Firmware Update

Hi, I'd be very grateful if someone could offer some help with my current problem.
I have a black macBook to which this morning, I applied the SMC update. After restart, I heard a chime and the grey screen came up - all good so far......
.....except 20 minutes later, the grey Apple screen (with rotating progress thing) is still there, awaiting the lovely blue screen which just doesn't want to appear for whatever reason.
Tried resetting PMU, zapping PRAM with no joy.
Any help gratefully received.
iMac 20inch Rev. B and Black MacBook Mac OS X (10.4.7)

I had the same thing happen to me while updating my girlfriends macbook last night..
I started off by booting my 17" mbp via firewire from her machine, and repairing disk / permissions.. didnt work, I tried booting her HD from my MBP and it spun forever too. did the PMU reset and Pram too ( 3 times ), no change..
Solution: Archive and Install and then re-patched everything...
the macbook works now and the SMC firmware installed perfectly this time.

Similar Messages

After smc firmware update 1.1 fans keep running. Tried resetting but no luck.

After the update it shows as not installed and fans run continousl.

This is a major isssue for me as well. No fan noise whatsoever when I first got the machine and used for a few days. Right after the SMC firmware update fan runs continously at 1200RPM, but it is now auidble versus being virutally silent as before the update was applied.
Please let me know if you have contacted Apple regrading this issue and if so, what they have said.
I have started a thread on Macrumors where you can find out some further information.
http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=1669859

Macbook grey screen after SMC Update

My Macbook is experiencing a grey screen and unable to start after installing the SMC Update. The computer will also restart itself automatically while at this screen. Any suggestions?
Macbook

sounds like you need this:
http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/firmwarerestorationcd12.html

Macbook just getting grey screen after Itunes update

I have a macbook that won't boot up. It was updating some software, Itunes included and required a restart. Well, it never restarted, just a grey screen. Is this a known issue? I know my macbook is just out of warranty (of course). Is apple doing anything about this or is this just my computer? Please help, I'm freaking out!

A grey screen (no Apple logo) on startup, be it after an update or not is typically an indication of hardware failure on the machine. It's possible that the update "broke" a startup file, which would prevent you from booting into the OS but typically if that were the case the machine would get further into the startup sequence.
Do you have access to the system restore discs that came with your computer? If so, put the first one in, restart the computer and hold the "option" key. Are you presented with icon(s) that look like a HD or CD-ROM?

MacBook Stuck at Grey Screen - After Leopard Install!?!?!

I've had a MacBook for about 2 years now, everything is up to date blah blah...So I finally decided to make the jump to Leopard, now after installing the update OS, it restarted and the Macbook won't boot past the Apple logo with spinning dial and grey background?? What do I do??

This is horrible...I have papers due tomorrow and I'm out of a computer...The book says NOTHING about taking off software before updating...I can't even boot up my computer...Secondly I have no time capsule, even if I had any idea to format...and all my music is on the computer...
Nice Leopard experience here!
Message was edited by: Rav8e

Weird problems after SMC firmware update

Hi,
So I have a MacBook Pro bought in July 2007. I installed the new firmware update yesterday and noticed today that my computer gets a lot warmer. If I try to run an application that does more processing, some buttons on my screen turn black, I can't move windows and the backlight starts to flash like crazy giving me a nice disco effect if I turn the lights off.
/var/log/system.log will show stuff like the following:
Jun 2 20:33:59 edvard-fagerholms-macbook-pro kernel[0]: NVDA(OpenGL): Channel exception! status = 0xffff info32 = 0x1 = Fifo: Fifo Method Error
Jun 2 20:34:00 efagerhos-macbook-pro kernel[0]: 0000000b
Jun 2 20:34:15 efagerhos-macbook-pro kernel[0]: NVChannel(Display): Graphics channel timeout!
Jun 2 20:34:15 efagerhos-macbook-pro kernel[0]: NVDA(OpenGL): Channel exception! status = 0xffff info32 = 0x1 = Fifo: Fifo Method Error
Jun 2 20:34:15 efagerhos-macbook-pro kernel[0]: 0000000b
Jun 2 20:34:59 efagerhos-macbook-pro kernel[0]: NVChannel(Display): Graphics channel timeout!
All my problems started after trying an application written in Java, which seemed to require lot of processing power and made my computer very warm. After this I have also been unable to get my DVD drive to read any DVD. If it turns to be the update, I am pretty ****** of that they release an update that can physically kill a perfectly well working computer. Especially, when it's already out of warranty.
Does anyone else experience any similar problems?

I am pretty sure it's the graphics even though the Apple "genius" claimed it wasn't. The genius told me the RAM chips were broken. Ok, so I bought new RAM, the computer booted up, worked for about 30 minutes and the problem came back.
However, the computer boots up flawlessly to single-user mode by pressing apple-s during boot (even with the old RAM), so I can access the disk and use it as a typewriter in the console... I also coded a poor mans memory tester that allocated memory and wrote random stuff to it, and it worked fine with my old RAM chips. If I try to start the machine normally, then according to the logs, the computer freezes at the exact moment when it's starting up the login screen. If I assume correctly how OS X works, I would suspect that this is the moment it switches from some kind of a video BIOS framebuffer mode into an accelerated mode provided by the nvidia graphics driver.
I also noticed after using the root console in single-user mode for about 30 minutes (I was making a Linux USB stick to start it through rEFIt, to do some further diagnostics) that the black console background had these faint blue horizontal lines going from the top of the screen to the bottom. This is usually a sign that the graphics chip is busted.
It seems like it's time to get a new appointment in the Genius Bar.

MacBook Keys not working even after KeyBoard Firmware update

My friend's sister bought me a MacBook from the US last October. Fortunately, Apple announced the release of Leopard also on the same month and I got a free upgrade to leopard. I installed leopard about 3 months back. My keyboard was working fine when I had Tiger installed. After I installed Leopard, I remember installing a Keyboard firmware update once through the Software Update.
About two three weeks back, my MacBook started acting wierd. Some keys were not working (mostly 't', 'q', left shift, left command, zero which is not working even now. I couldn't close the last bracket because the key is not working. I am a php programmer and I can't think of living without the closing bracket and zero keys . But most of the keys works on and off.
After seeing on several sites that it is a problem with firmware, I once again downloaded the firware update, but couldn't install it since the installation wizard says that my system doesn't need it.
Can someone plz tell me what to do now? Will reinstalling help?
Thanks in advance.

The problem persists everytime I restart my system or wake it up from sleep. But each time different keys have problem. I am now downloading update 10.5.4. Can someone plz help me?

MBP 15" boots to grey screen after today's update

I have a 2-year-old MBP 15" running Mac OS X 10.7. It's been running without issue, though it gets heavy use so I do routine maintenance on it (every couple of weeks, I boot into recovery and run disk/permission repair, as well as running the rebuild function in TechTool Pro). The main partition is encrypted with FileVault 2.
Today, midway through routine activities, the keyboard and trackpad stopped responding. I forced a shutdown and rebooted. Now, the computer will boot to the FileVault password screen and accept the password, but after that the screen will stay a solid grey with a mouse cursor. The cursor can move around the screen without any hiccups, but of course there's nothing to click on. If I press any keys on the keyboard, nothing happens for the first 4-5 keypresses, but for additional keys the computer gives an error beep with each press.
I can force a shutdown and boot from another partition without trouble, and have run disk/permission repairs multiple times on the main partition, to no avail. I also reset the NVRAM and SMC multiple times.
The only OS/software changes made recently were updates from Apple itself, via Software Update, for iTunes and SSL and one other thing (I can't recall right now).
Any thoughts?

Indeed, restoring from backup was the only workable solution. I had hoped to avoid that, as it is a long, overnight process, but I couldn't find any files or caches or any other trigger that the Finder was tripping on.
I am practically religious about backups, as I have had serious data losses in the distant past. I'm very thankful for Time Machine in situations like this.

Im getting tree bings on a grey screen after the latest update

is any one else having this problem?

Hi, not quite sure what tree bings is?
Do you mean 3 beeps?
Can you count the beeps or flashes?
1 beep = no RAM installed
2 beeps = incompatible RAM types
3 beeps = no good banks
4 beeps = no good boot images in the boot ROM (and/or bad sys config block)
5 beeps = processor is not usable
In addition to the beeps, on some computers the power LED will flash a corresponding number of times plus one. The LED will repeat the sequence after approximately a 5-second pause. The tones are only played once.
Note: In this case, a flash is considered to be 1/4 second or 250 ms or greater in length.

Norton Live Update after SMC Firmware Update

It freezes my screen when it's trying to "update everything" (the cursor still moves but nothing can be clicked). alt + apple + esc doesn't bring up the force quit dialog, i have to manually press the power button to shut it off.
does it have anything to do with disk repair permission or something?
i don't have any trouble with boot and reboot though

Hi Resno,
Click the link and you'll be taken to MacFixIt, where you'll read that Symantec are aware of the crashing problem, and how they are in the process of fixing it. http://www.macfixit.com/article.php?story=20060517112611193&query=norton
With regards to anti-Nortoners (whose comments are actually amusing !), if Symantec is unfit for Macs, then why in the previous issue of MacFormat magazine, did they have a competition to win 1 of 20 copies of Norton AV 10 ? Also, why, in this month's MacFormat,the UK's best-selling Mac magazine, have they given a decent write-up about Norton AV ? A specialist Mac magazine favoring a, as what some have called, a 'virus' ?!
We are all entitled to an opinion and I am not having-a-go at people who dislike Symantec. However, Resno has a point when he queries if the anti-Norton brigade have actually installed and tried Norton AV, rather than just reading critisisms about it.
Once again, though, to all who hate Norton, with your slanderous attacks on the product, I would like you to know that your crazy comments bring a smile to my otherwise miserable face !
iMacIntel Mac OS X (10.4.6) 20-inch:2GHz Intel Core Duo, 1GB RAM.

My macbook pro screen remains grey after latest firmware update

i just had the update notification for the latest firmware, proceeded to do so, and the screen remains grey, its been more than one hour and still grey, since its a firmware update i don't want to disturb it, but could it be that is taking so long?

Reboot it by pressing the power button down hard to force a shutdown.
If your still having problems, take it to Apple. I hope you have AppleCare becuase if they can't fix it, it's a new logicboard.

After updating the MACBOOK AIR SMC FIRMWARE UPDATE 1.9 so many times still can see update? How to get rid of this one please help.

After updating OS X Mavericks MacBook Air SMC Firmware Update 1.9 so many times (restarted more than 10times) but then still cannot update? Please help.

Here it is...
/dev/disk0
   #:                       TYPE NAME                    SIZE       IDENTIFIER
   0:      GUID_partition_scheme                        *121.3 GB   disk0
   1:                        EFI                         209.7 MB   disk0s1
   2:                  Apple_HFS MACintosh HD            120.5 GB   disk0s2
   3:                 Apple_Boot Recovery HD             650.0 MB   disk0s3
do I need to disable the FlieVault?

My new MacBook pro is stuck on grey screen after loading kies, My new MacBook pro is stuck on grey screen after loading kies

My new MacBook pro is stuck on a Grey screen after I downloaded Samsung kies on it. How do I solve this problem?

Hi there,
You may find the troubleshooting steps in the article below helpful.
Mac OS X: Gray screen appears during startup
http://support.apple.com/kb/ts2570
-Griff W.

MacBook Pro SMC Firmware Update 1.3 update freezes mouse pointer

After installing the update released today 5/28 (MacBook Pro SMC Firmware Update 1.3) my mouse pointer stalls, freezes on occasion. Very annoying. Anyone seeing the same. Fixes ... ?

After applying the SMC Firmware update a few days ago, my keyboard and trackpad were acting erratic (freezing, hanging). It was immediately after the update and I had not had any problems with it before.
I have also had random crashes, inability to use the keyboard/trackpad ever since.
Today my keyboard and trackpad are completely unusable, external mouse works fine.
I will take it to an Apple store tomorrow, hopefully my firmware can be reverted.
Sounds like a lot of other people are having problems with this update. http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=9549034&tstart=0#9549034

Hello my MBP 15" stops at grey screen after apple logo disappears

hello, my MBP 15" stops at grey screen after apple logo disappears, what can i do about this? ive tried booting into safe mode but screen turns blue with black lines also tried resetting NVRAM and PVRAM but still stops at grey screen, also tried using applejack, it shows no problems at all, says my disk volume is ok but the screen still stops at grey during start up, havent tried the installation disk thing because i dont have my installation disk with me

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.

MacBook hanging on grey screen after SMC Firmware Update

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for