MacBook Pro Stuck on Gray Screen

My MacBook Pro is stuck on the grey screen and won't move past it. I have tried safe startup, resetting the NAVRAM, I am currently in the disk utility and when I verify disk permissions, it says this:
- user differs on .ds_store, should be 0; user is 501
- group differs on .ds_store; should be 80; group is 20
- permissions differ in .ds_store; should be -rw-rw-r-- ; they are -rw-r--r--
- unable to set owner and group on .ds_store; error 22: invalid argument
- unable to set permissions on .ds_store; error 22: invalid argument
- user differs on Applications/.DS_store; should be 0; user is 501
Specs:
System Version: 10.8.5
System Build: 12F45
I honestly don't remember the year.
Also, no backups at all. I checked my box for original install disks and don't see any so I assume they don't come with any, anymore. Any help is appreciated!

Mac OS X: Gray screen appears during startup - Apple Support

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Macbook Pro Stuck at Gray Screen When Entering Boot Options

Hello apple community,
I have a 15 inch MacBook Pro 2008, and I decided recently to replace the 250 Gb hard drive with a new WD Black 500 Gb hard drive. I backed up all the data onto my external hard drive and replaced the hard drive. Now I am trying to enter the disk utility to boot from the disk utility by holding the option key. When I turn on the computer and hold the option key it gets stuck on the gray screen. Does anybody have any idea why this is happening? Thanks.

OK. When you say it doesn't work does that mean you cannot see the drive in Disk Utility? Of course that means you need to boot from another drive such as your external backup. If you happen to have a Snow Leopard DVD to boot your computer then you could try with that. But there isn't much you can do if you don't have another bootable drive in an external enclosure or other form of hookup like a universal drive adaptor.
Your model is not new enough to use Internet Recovery. I don't know what more to offer. You cannot even verify that the new HDD is OK by putting it in an external enclosure.

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Macbook pro stuck at gray startup screen w/ apple and spinning dial

Hi, every time I try to start my computer, it gets stuck at the gray screen w/ the apple logo and the dial just keeps spinning and spinning like it is loading or something, but nothing changes and I've waited for an hour. What should I do?

First,
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 and 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 shutdown the computer for a couple of minutes and then restart normally.
If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior (4.0 for Tiger, and 4.1 for Leopard) and/or TechTool Pro (4.6.1 for Leopard) 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 this doesn't help (and it probably will not) then quit DU and return to the installer. Proceed with the OS X installation until you reach the screen where you select a destination drive. Select your hard drive then click on the Options button. Select the Erase and Install option then click on the OK button. Finish installing OS X.

My 2014 MacBook Pro stuck on grey screen since trying to update software over an hour ago

My 2012 MacBook Pro has been stuck on the grey screen for more than hour since I tried updating the software.

Take each of these steps that you haven't already tried. Stop when the problem is resolved.
To restart an unresponsive computer, press and hold the power button for a few seconds until the power shuts off, then release, wait a few more seconds, and press it again briefly.
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.” The article refers to starting up from a DVD, but the procedure in Recovery mode is the same. You don't need a DVD if you're running OS X 10.7 or later.
b. If Step 1a fails because of disk errors, and no other Mac is available, then you may be able to salvage some of your files by copying them in the Finder. If you already have an external drive with OS X installed, start up from it. Otherwise, if you have Internet access, follow the instructions on this page to prepare the external drive and install OS X on it. You'll use the Recovery installer, rather than downloading it from the App Store.
c. 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.
d. 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 the technique in Step 1b, 1c, or 1d 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 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 11. 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
If the startup device is an aftermarket SSD, it may need a firmware update and/or a forced "garbage collection." Instructions for doing this with a Crucial-branded SSD were posted here. Some of those instructions may apply to other brands of SSD, but you should check with the vendor's tech support.
Step 10
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 11
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 12
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 13
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 Pro stuck at loading screen

Hi ,
My Macbook Pro is stuck at the loading screen with the apple logo and a spinning wheel!
I Have tried CMD and R
i have also tried the Option button
PLEASE HELP!!!!

Hi there lukeoli10,
I would recommend taking a look at the troubleshooting steps found in the article below if your computer is unable to boot past the Apple logo.
Mac OS X: Gray screen appears during startup
-Griff W.

2011 Macbook Pro Stuck on White Screen and Won't Shut Down

Greetings,
I just received a 15 inch Macbook Pro with a 2.2 i7 processor earlier today. On my previous computer, a 2009 MB P with a Core2Duo, I've had a shutdown issue on it for the past week or so: when I click the power button, and confirm the shutdown, the computer would start shutting down as normal, however once it reached the white screen with the spinning loading symbol at the bottom, it just got stuck on that. As I've transfered my old data to my brand new computer, I'm still having the same issue with it. I was wondering if this was due to a worm, or some software incompliancy? If anyone could shed any light, I'd be greatful.
Thanks.

thecloakedone wrote:
I'm running the old Final Cut Studio (2) (still have to enter my serial), and am also running these apps which could be considered out of the ordinary: *VLC
                                                  *Audacity
                                                  *CleanMyMac
                                                  *Mirage
                                                  *Handbrake
                                                  *MiroVideoConverter
                                                  *RecBoot
                                                  *SuperDocker
                                                  *PlistEditPro
That's all. Everything else is either from Apple, Adobe, or is downloaded from the app store.
Were you using any of them when the issue occurred (or just prior to it)?
Have you looked for updates on all of them?
If you want to do some digging, open Console and look at the logs at, and just prior to, the time of the issue.

MacBook Pro 15in showing gray screen on start-up

Okay, so basically trying to format my Macbook pro, I guess I deleted the software on my computer as well. Stupid me, didn't back my computer up. All that shows, is a gray screen with a folder with a question mark on it. I have the OS installation disk on an external CD-ROM drive and all that pops up when it's plugged in is the apple logo. Ive tried CMND-R, CMND-C, CMND-V, and just simply pressing the option button at startup and nothing has seemed to work, i end up at the same screen. When I just did the option, it gave me the opportunity to use the disk, but it goes right back to the apple screen. If anyone could help, that'd be FANTASTIC. Please!!

You have a Retina model MBP. It did not come with installer discs. You would use Internet Recovery:
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.

Macbook pro freezes with grayed screen

MacBook Pro 5,5; OSX 10.6.8
Repeatedly crashes with a translucent gray veil that moves down the screen, and a message box in the middle of the page saying you have to turn off the computer by holding down the power button and then restart.
I think this happens almost always in Safari or Thunderbird - the programs most used.
Here is the text of the report sent to Apple following the last incident:
Interval Since Last Panic Report: 159767 sec
Panics Since Last Report:          4
Anonymous UUID:                    53BBF2EA-8F1B-449D-B186-254D4ED2B53D
Wed Dec 12 09:23:14 2012
panic(cpu 1 caller 0x2abf6a): Kernel trap at 0x01790207, type 14=page fault, registers:
CR0: 0x8001003b, CR2: 0x390b3d54, CR3: 0x00100000, CR4: 0x00000660
EAX: 0x00000000, EBX: 0x09827804, ECX: 0x08a1a020, EDX: 0x00000004
CR2: 0x390b3d54, EBP: 0x590b3df8$ ESI: 0x08a1a004, EDI: 0x0889e004
EFL: 0x00010202, EIP: 0x01790207, CS: 0x00000008, DS: 0x00810010
Error code: 0x00000002
Backtrace (CPU 1), FRame : Return Address (4 potential args on stack)
0x590b3b08 : 0x21b837 (0x5dd7fc 0x590b3b3c 0x223ce1 0x0)
0x590b3b58 : 0x2abf6a (0x59e3d0 0x1790207 0xe 0x59e59a)
0x590b3c38 : 0x2a1a78 (0x590b3c50 0x843a96c 0x590b3df8 0x1790207)
0x590b3c48 : 0x1790207 (0xe 0x6a0048 0x590b0010 0x2a0010)
0x590b3df8 : 0xb0e258 (0x8a1a004 0x889e004 0x0 0x0)
0x590b3e38 : 0x9dde2b (0x8a1a004 0x889e004 0x0 0x0)
0x590b3ed8 : 0x553ec7 (0x0 0x9afa880 0x1 0x6)
0x590b3f28 : 0x552ea6 (0x9afa880 0x0 0x97f64b0 0x0)
0x590b3f88 : 0x552eea (0x8de2100 0x8de2100 0x0 0x52b2d000)
0x590b3fc8 : 0x2a179c (0x8de2100 0x0 0x10 0x8b41684)
      Kernel Extensions in backtrace (with dependencies):
         com.apple.nvidia.nv50hal(6.3.6)@0x1664000->0x1a78fff
            dependency: com.apple.NVDAResman(6.3.6)@0x96e000
         com.apple.NVDAResman(6.3.6)@0x96e000->0xc5bfff
            dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOPCIFamily(2.6.5)@0x928000
            depdndency: com.apple.iokit.IONDRVSupport(2.2.1)@0x961000
            dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOGraphicsFamily(2.2.1)@0x93f000
BSD process name corresponding to current thread: kernel_task
Mac OS version:
10K549
Kernel version:
Darwin Kernel Version 10.8.0: Tue Jun 7 16:33:36 PDT 2011; boot:xnu-1504.15.3~1/RELEASE_I386
System model name: MacBookPro5,5 (Mac-F2268AC8)
System uptime in nanoseconds: 142110528626
unloaded kexts:
(none)
loaded kexts:
com.seagate.driver.PowSecLeafDriver_10_5          5.2.3
com.seagate.driver.PowSecLeafDriver_10_4          5.2.3
com.seagate.driver.PowSecDriverCore          5.2.3
com.apple.driver.AppleHWSensor          1.9.3d0 - last loaded 51020409549
com.apple.filesystems.autofs          2.1.0
com.apple.driver.AppleTyMCEDriver          1.0.2d2
com.apple.driver.AGPM          100.12.31
com.apple.driver.AppleMikeyHIDDriver          1.2.0
com.apple.driver.InternalModemSupport          2.6.2
com.apple.driver.AppleHDA          2.0.5f14
com.apple.driver.AppleUpstreamUserClient          3.5.7
com.apple.driver.AppleMCCSControl          1.0.20
com.apple.driver.AppleMikeyDriver          2.0.5f14
com.apple.driver.AudioAUUC          1.57
com.apple.driver.SMCMotionSensor          3.0.1d2
com.apple.Dont_Steal_Mac_OS_X          7.0.0
com.apple.driver.AudioIPCDriver          1.1.6
com.apple.driver.AppleIntelYonahProfile          14
com.apple.driver.AppleIntelPenrynProfile          17
com.apple.driver.AppleIntelNehalemProfile          11
com.apple.driver.AppleIntelMeromProfile          19
com.apple.driver.ACPI_SMC_PlatformPlugin          4.7.0a1
com.apple.GeForce          6.3.6
com.apple.driver.AppleLPC          1.5.1
com.apple.driver.AppleGraphicsControl          2.10.6
com.apple.driver.AppleBacklight          170.0.46
com.apple.kext.AppleSMCLMU          1.5.2d10
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBTCButtons          201.6
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBTCKeyEventDriver          201.6
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBTCKeyboard          201.6
com.apple.driver.AppleIRController          303.8
com.apple.iokit.SCSITaskUserClient          2.6.8
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBCardReader          2.6.1
com.apple.iokit.IOAHCIBlockStorage          1.6.4
com.apple.BootCache          31.1
com.apple.AppleFSCompression.AppleFSCompressionTypeZlib          1.0.0d1
com.apple.driver.AppleSmartBatteryManager          160.0.0
com.apple.driver.AppleFWOHCI          4.7.3
com.apple.driver.AirPortBrcm43xx          423.91.27
com.apple.driver.AirPortBrcm43224          428.42.4
com.apple.driver.AppleAHCIPort          2.1.7
com.apple.nvenet          2.0.17
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBHub          4.2.4
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBEHCI          4.2.4
com.apple.driver.AppleEFINVRAM          1.4.0
com.apple.driver.AppleRTC          1.3.1
com.apple.driver.AppleHPET          1.5
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBOHCI          4.2.0
com.apple.driver.AppleACPIButtons          1.3.6
com.apple.driver.AppleSMBIOS          1.7
com.apple.driver.AppleACPIEC          1.3.6
com.apple.driver.AppleAPIC          1.4
com.apple.driver.AppleIntelCPUPowerManagementClient          142.6.0
com.apple.security.sandbox          1
com.apple.security.quarantine          0
com.apple.nke.applicationfirewall          2.1.14
com.apple.driver.AppleIntelCPUPowerManagement          142.6.0
com.apple.driver.AppleHDAHardwareConfigDriver          2.0.5f14
com.apple.driver.DspFuncLib          2.0.5f14
com.apple.driver.AppleProfileReadCounterAction          17
com.apple.driver.AppleSMBusController          1.0.10d0
com.apple.driver.AppleProfileTimestampAction          10
com.apple.driver.AppleProfileThreadInfoAction          14
com.apple.driver.AppleProfileRegisterStateAction          10
com.apple.driver.AppleProfileKEventAction          10
com.apple.driver.AppleProfileCallstackAction          20
com.apple.iokit.IOFireWireIP          2.0.3
com.apple.iokit.IOSurface          74.2
com.apple.iokit.IOBluetoothSerialManager          2.4.5f3
com.apple.iokit.IOSerialFamily          10.0.3
com.apple.iokit.IOAudioFamily          1.8.3fc2
com.apple.kext.OSvKernDSPLib          1.3
com.apple.driver.AppleHDAController          2.0.5f14
com.apple.iokit.IOHDAFamily          2.0.5f14
com.apple.iokit.AppleProfileFamily          41
com.apple.driver.IOPlatformPluginFamily          4.7.0a1
com.apple.driver.AppleSMBusPCI          1.0.10d0
com.apple.nvidia.nv50hal          6.3.6
com.apple.NVDAResman          6.3.6
com.apple.driver.AppleBacklightExpert          1.0.1
com.apple.iokit.IONDRVSupport          2.2.1
com.apple.driver.AppleSMC          3.1.0d5
com.apple.iokit.IOGraphicsFamily          2.2.1
com.apple.driver.BroadcomUSBBluetoothHCIController          2.4.5f3
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBBluetoothHCIController          2.4.5f3
com.apple.iokit.IOBluetoothFamily          2.4.5f3
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBMultitouch          207.7
com.apple.iokit.IOUSBHIDDriver          4.2.0
com.apple.iokit.IOSCSIMultimediaCommandsDevice          2.6.8
com.apple.iokit.IOBDStorageFamily          1.6
com.apple.iokit.IODVDStorageFamily          1.6
com.apple.iokit.IOCDStorageFamily          1.6.1
com.apple.iokit.IOUSBMassStorageClass          2.6.7
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBMergeNub          4.2.4
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBComposite          3.9.0
com.apple.iokit.IOAHCISerialATAPI          1.2.6
com.apple.driver.XsanFilter          402.1
com.apple.iokit.IOFireWireSerialBusProtocolTransport          2.1.0
com.apple.iokit.IOFireWireSBP2          4.0.6
com.apple.iokit.IOSCSIBlockCommandsDevice          2.6.8
com.apple.iokit.IOSCSIArchitectureModelFamily          2.6.8
com.apple.driver.AppleFileSystemDriver          2.0
com.apple.iokit.IOFireWireFamily          4.2.6
com.apple.iokit.IO80211Family          320.1
com.apple.iokit.IOAHCIFamily          2.0.6
com.apple.iokit.IONetworkingFamily          1.10
com.apple.iokit.IOUSBUserClient          4.2.4
com.apple.driver.NVSMU          2.2.7
com.apple.driver.AppleEFIRuntime          1.4.0
com.apple.iokit.IOUSBFamily          4.2.4
com.apple.iokit.IOHIDFamily          1.6.6
com.apple.iokit.IOSMBusFamily          1.1
com.apple.kext.AppleMatch          1.0.0d1
com.apple.security.TMSafetyNet          6
com.apple.driver.DiskImages          289
com.apple.iokit.IOStorageFamily          1.6.3
com.apple.driver.AppleACPIPlatform          1.3.6
com.apple.iokit.IOPCIFamily          2.6.5
com.apple.iokit.IOACPIFamily          1.3.0
I hope someone has a suggestion about fixing the problem!

Remove the battery to find your serial number in the battery bay. Then you can look your MBP up on EveryMac.com:
http://www.everymac.com/ultimate-mac-lookup/
That will give you all the information on your Mac.
This is assuming that you have the MBP with the removable battery and not the unibody. The unibody has different graphic chips.
Good luck!
Message was edited by: S.U.

Macbook Pro 2009 has gray screen, safe mode won't work

I have a Macbook Pro 2009, with a new hard drive installed in August of 2013. I opened my computer a couple days ago to a gray screen with a prohibitory sign and a spinning gear that will not disappear. I have no backup and tried to backup my hard drive to an external drive in Recovery Mode, but I got an error message and the backup did not work: the image could not be created. So I decided to try Safe Mode, but the Macbook will not enter safe mode. Is there any way to get onto the computer just to backup a handful of files onto an external drive before I format my drive and start over? Am I doing something wrong by trying to enter safe mode? (I held down the Shift key after the chime and released it when the Apple logo and the gear appeared) Any help is appreciated. I've read all the topics in the forums I could find on this issue, but none of the directions seem to help. Thank you.

LisaLoParo,
no, you’re not doing anything wrong in trying to boot into Safe mode.
I can think of three possible alternatives to Safe mode to try:
If you have an external disk, you could boot from the grey Mac OS X Install DVD which came in the box with your MacBook Pro, and try copying files from your internal disk to the external disk;
If you have a bootable external disk, you could boot from it using Startup Manager, and try copying files from your internal disk to the external disk;
If you have access to a FireWire 800 cable and a second Mac with a FireWire 800 port, you could try booting your MacBook Pro into Target Disk mode so that it can be used as an external disk from the second Mac, and try copying files from your MacBook Pro to the second Mac.
You’d only need to try one of these three alternatives; if you try one of them and it doesn’t work, then you’d get the same result by trying either of the other two. Good luck.

Mack Book Pro Stuck on Gray Screen

My Mac Book Pro is stuck on the gray screen. I have done the following
-Start computer using shift- nothing happens
-Started computer with option + R, when asked where I want to instal the Mac OS Lion it gives me two options Mac HD and Recovery HD but I cant click
on either because they say they are "locked"
-Started my computer by pressing option- attached a recovery disk I created- clicked recovery disk- clicked reinstall- clicked disk where I want it installed and it says- this disk does not use GUID Partition Table Scheme. Use disk utitlity to change the partition scheme. I CANT ACCESS DISK UTILITY!!!!!!
FYI I did create the utility disk using my MAC that has mountain lion on it.
HELP!!!!!

Vivian1220 wrote:
My Mac Book Pro is stuck on the gray screen. I have done the following
-Start computer using shift- nothing happens
Safe Mode is not working, thus it's not a thrid party kernel extension file problem.
-Started computer with option + R, when asked where I want to instal the Mac OS Lion it gives me two options Mac HD and Recovery HD but I cant click on either because they say they are "locked"
You mean command option r and that's Internet Recovery and it installs the OS X version that came on the machine, in your case it's 10.7, not 10.8, this is why you get the "Locked"
Obviously you can't install a older OS X version over a newer one or it's RecoveryHD partition without first erasing the ENTIRE drive (and losing all your programs and files)
this disk does not use GUID Partition Table Scheme. Use disk utitlity to change the partition scheme.
FYI I did create the utility disk using my MAC that has mountain lion on it.
You didn't correctly format the drive to be bootable first.
OS X can only be hold option/alt key bootable from GUID and OS X Extended Journaled formatted drives, then if OS X is installed by a OS X installer or cloned there to "bless it" to make it bootable.
Most commonly used backup methods

Macbook Pro stuck at white screen on startup. HELP!

Right when i turn on my macbook pro, it plays the startup sound and gets stuck on the white screen. I can hear it running my cd right when the computer starts up. no matter what i do, i cannot get out of the white screen. it just stays there. same thing every reboot. Whats going on???
HELP ME!

Hi, I had this exact same problem with my 15in mbp just before Christmas. I shut it down one afternoon, and then later in the day switched it back on. It wouldn't boot past the white/grey screen. It wouldn't even get as far as the apple symbol. I tried to start it up several times, but to no avail.
I called up apple support, and they had me run through various keyboard combinations at start up. Nothing worked. According to my observations and the apple telephone operator's knowledge, it was as if the keyboard wasn't booting up at all during the startup sequence, hence it was not responding to the key combinations. There was no fix available over the phone and the advice given to me was to take it to an Apple Store to have the keyboard replaced. Living in Prague Czech Rep, as I am, there is no apple store, only one reseller, which I resolved to take my mbp to the next day.
However, before the night was up, I decided to to do one more thing. According to my (less-than-Vulcan) logic, since I was taking it to be opened up, and knowing that since the dawn of time, hitting machines has seemed to give them a new lease of life, I decided to see what a sharp thump to the side of the computer might do. It wasn't overly forceful, just enough to make me feel satisfied. Would you believe it, the **** thing started up the next second I pushed the power button!
Well, I had many weeks of uninterrupted, blissful computer use until a few days ago. If you haven't heard, quite a few mbp users have been reporting cases of unresponsive keyboards and trackpads whilst running leopard, leading to kernel panics and I have now unwillingly joined their ranks. I am in no way an authority on computers (I think that's rather obvious from my repair technique mentioned above) but I have a suspicion that my little episode last Christmas is related to the current issue of the internal keyboard and trackpad becoming unresponsive, so I'd watch out for that in the future once you're able to get your laptop up and running again. There doesn't seem to be much information as to why this is happening, but for my part, I've found that it's more frequent if pressure is placed underneath the battery, and less frequent under Tiger than Leopard.
I really hope, you're able to get your mbp up and running again. I know how utterly frustrating it is when it's not working and you have no idea why.

Macbook pro stuck at white screen.

My macbook pro is stuck at a white screen and doesnt boot. I tried resetting, tried to safe boot by pressing shift, nothing works,. It is stuck in white screen. Pls help.

If you cannot select Recovery HD at startup, problem is serious enough to take the MBP
to the nearest Apple store. They will help to resolve the issue.
Have you tried pressing option key down while starting the MBP?
Probably that has been tried already.
Best.

MacBook Pro Stuck At Login Screen Showing White Screen.

Hello.
I recently got a MacBook Pro 13" with Mac OS X Lion.
After I installed some updates and software, i rebooted and now its stuck
at the login screen with a white screen. I can still move the mouse but nothing happens.
I tried to restore my Mac, but it requires an internet connection. My network
is setup as non-DHCP. I have to setup a manual IP address, but there aren`t any settings to do that.
Is there any way to restore Mac OS X without an internet connection?
Thank you for your answers.

The only way to use Lion Recovery is with an internet connection.

MacBook Pro Stuck on Gray Screen

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