MacBook Pro stuck on grey gear screen

I have a 2011 MacBook Pro. I downloaded the newest update of Mountain Lion today. After downloading and restarting, my MacBook stayed on a grey screen with an unmoving gear symbol towards the bottom. It has been like this for almost two hours, and I feel like something is wrong. Any advice?

It sounds like the update was not able to get installed completely. I would start with an SMC reset, by following the directions listed on this page: http://support.apple.com/kb/ht3964
If that doesn't take care of things, it sounds like you should try a manual shut down and boot into the recovery partition, by holding command + r when you hear the start up chime.
Once you're in the recovery partition, open disk utility and select repair disk permissions and verify disk. If prompted, select repair disk.

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MacBook Pro stuck on grey loading screen, MacBook Pro stuck on grey loading screen

My MacBook Pro is stuck on this loading grey screen I have tried everything but nothing works I pressed option command + P + R the shift key everything PLEASE HELP! I'm going crazy and apple support won't help me over the phone

Grey Screen and spinning wheel at startup
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH11044
Repair Disk
Steps 2 through 8
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH5836
Reinstall OS X
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH10763?viewlocale=en_US
Additional Steps
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH10929

Macbook pro stuck/hangs at login screen ??

Macbook pro stuck/hangs at login screen and no any controls while i restart last time..3 days before i found many solutions but no one is perfect like PRAM/SCM format command option+p+r and other many but no any perfect solution which can fixed my issue..please help me asap i am so much upset for that coz i am developer and there is many of the data , i also run windows on it win 7 so now i am running with that i have latest 2011 mac OSX 10.7.5 with Core i5 ,4GB, 320 GB so please help me to resolve this issue i am waiting thanks in advan
Regards,
Muneeb
Developer
<Email Edited by Host>

Macbook pro stuck/hangs at login screen and no any controls while i restart last time..3 days before i found many solutions but no one is perfect like PRAM/SCM format command option+p+r and other many but no any perfect solution which can fixed my issue..please help me asap i am so much upset for that coz i am developer and there is many of the data , i also run windows on it win 7 so now i am running with that i have latest 2011 mac OSX 10.7.5 with Core i5 ,4GB, 320 GB so please help me to resolve this issue i am waiting thanks in advan
Regards,
Muneeb
Developer
<Email Edited by Host>

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 on grey screen with Apple logo

Macbook Pro was purchased in mid-late 2009 and is running on OS X 10.6. Today is suddenly stopped responding and so I turned it off. When I turned it back on it opend to the grey screen with the Apple logo and the loading icon and that is where it stayed. I have been searching for the answer on different forums but have yet to find a solution. My hard drive is appearing in the Disk Utility but not in the box when I try to reinstall OS X. Any suggestions on what to do?

Create a data recovery, undelete boot drive
dustysjuls wrote:
Will that erase all of the files on my hard drive? Or will it just erase and reinstall the operating system? I do not have my files backed up.
A #18 Reinstall Just OS X, details here:
Step by Step to fix your Mac

Macbook pro stuck on grey screen and making buzzing noise

hi,
Lately my mac has been playing up (1 year old), ever now and then it would make a funny buzzing noise, coming from the left side.. and i noticed it was running slower than usual. Im Running Mountain Lion and have 566GB of disk space left... after using it for about 5 minutes the buzzing noise would start and it would become unresposive with the spiral beach ball. So i would have to hard restart it. Now ever time i turn it on it gets to a grey screen and doesnt load further. eventually the sound starts again!! i have tried starting it in safe mode and verifying my disk in utilities where everything "seems to be ok" !! someone please help!!!

Ethan997,
define “an average disk”.
Your question regarding fault is akin to asking “is it my fault or the car maker’s fault that my spark plugs no longer work?” — disks, like spark plugs, don’t last forever, and fault doesn’t come into it. Similarly, the fact that your disk (or spark plugs) worked yesterday and doesn’t work today is not a sudden “breakage” — by their nature, they have a finite, variable amount of time in which they do work. This is why (in the case of disks) making regular backups is important; when the disk stops working, you’ll have an easy way to recover from such a situation.
That being said, if your MacBook Pro is still under warranty, you should be able to get a replacement disk from Apple. And even if it isn’t, you could still try reformatting your current disk, to see if you can squeeze some more use out of it — but if the reformatted volume keeps needing to be repaired (and you have the patience to deal with recovering from the same situation again and again), that’s a sure sign that a new disk would be your best option.

MacBook Pro stuck at grey screen after Yosemite upgrade

upgraded to yosemite yesterday. Reboot and stuck at grey screen(login in page) when i log in there is some codes thing at the left top corner of the screen. and then it reboots again. Which means I can never log onto the computer. what should I do

If you can't start up and log in in the usual way, try in safe mode.
During startup, you’ll see a progress bar, and then the login screen, which appears even if you normally log in automatically. You must know your login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin.
Log in as an administrator to carry out these instructions. If you have only one account, you are the administrator.
☞ If you don't see any reports listed, but you know there was a panic, you may have chosen Diagnostic and Usage Messages from the log list. Choose DIAGNOSTIC AND USAGE INFORMATION instead.
Safe mode is slower than normal, and some things won’t work at all.
Note: If FileVault is enabled, or if a firmware password is set, or if the startup volume is a software RAID, you can’t start in safe mode.
If you're able to log in, launch the Console application in any of the following ways:
☞ Enter the first few letters of its name into a Spotlight search. Select it in the results (it should be at the top.)
☞ In the Finder, select Go ▹ Utilities from the menu bar, or press the key combination shift-command-U. The application is in the folder that opens.
☞ Open LaunchPad. Click Utilities, then Console in the icon grid.
In the Console window, select
DIAGNOSTIC AND USAGE INFORMATION ▹ System Diagnostic Reports
(not Diagnostic and Usage Messages) from the log list on the left. If you don't see that list, select
View ▹ Show Log List
from the menu bar.
There is a disclosure triangle to the left of the list item. If the triangle is pointing to the right, click it so that it points down. You'll see a list of reports. A panic report has a name that begins with "Kernel" and ends in ".panic". Select the most recent one. The contents of the report will appear on the right. Use copy and paste to post the entire contents—the text, not a screenshot.
I know the report is long, maybe several hundred lines. Please post all of it anyway.
In the interest of privacy, I suggest that, before posting, you edit out the “Anonymous UUID,” a long string of letters, numbers, and dashes in the header of the report, if it’s present (it may not be.)
Please don’t post other kinds of diagnostic report.

Macbook pro stuck on grey apple logo screen - HELP! I've tried everything

I've looked through the forum for help and I think I've tried everything short of erasing and reinstalling mac os x -
- I've done an fsck (got "invalid volume count", "invalid node structure", "volume check failed" errors)
- booted from install disk and tried to verify disk (same errors as above)
- tried to "archive and install" mac os but got error saying "the destination disk must be erased for installation"
I tried T-starting my laptop connected to another mac (a powerbook g4) to try to backup my files before erasing and reinstalling mac os - but the mbp hard drive won't mount on the powerbook.
My latest idea is to try installing mac os x onto an external drive - and then booting my macbook pro from the external drive... and see if I get anywhere. my only concern is, I have to make SURE the option saying "Install Mac OS X - Installs Mac OS X for the first time" does NOT delete the contents of the external drive (it is a client's and cannot be erased!). I know there is also the option that says "Erase and Install" -- but I just want to make sure the first option will NOT delete the contents of an external drive.
Anyone know for sure? Or have any other suggestions? I have some work on my macbook pro that I cannot lose. Unfortunately I have not been backing things up... big mistake that I will not repeat.
Thanks in advance.

DiskWarrior is the answer, as sig has suggested. It can sort out directory damage that is well beyond Disk Utility's repair capabilities. If you already had a bootable external hard drive of your own, I'd urge you to buy and download DiskWarrior and install it on the bootable external drive, then run it from there to rebuild the directory on your internal drive. I have to say that using a client's hard drive to solve your own problem would be appalling and unconscionable, and I hope you'll forget that idea.
If you can't see your way to buying an external hard drive along with DiskWarrior, you'll have to buy DW on a bootable disc, or order one online and wait for it to arrive.
If you can buy an external hard drive of your own in addition to DiskWarrior — and I can't think of any better use for a credit card, if cash is short — then you'll be able to boot your MBP to a Leopard installer disc, install Leopard on the new external drive, and then buy DiskWarrior as a download (rather than on a disc) and use it as I described above. After sorting out the internal drive with DW, clone the internal to the external drive with SuperDuper or Carbon Copy Cloner, and there's your backup from now on.
I should add that although Western Digital external hard drives seem to be available cheaply everywhere, I strongly recommend against buying one. Seagate drives are also widely available, and would be a better choice.
Message was edited by: eww

Why is my macbook pro stuck on a blue screen

I was downloading a program that was put onto a disk image, then my macbook battery died (forgot it was unplugged). When i plugged it back in and booted it back up, it did the usual tone and apple logo/spinning gear. Shortly after it would go to a pale blue screen and occasionally have a spinning gear, but no matter how long i wait it stays on the same screen.
i have tried everything here: http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2570
except i't wont let me start from the install disk (it just goes to the blue screen)
i have the mac os x install disk one and two, but im also not sure what one to put in and if these are the right ones anyways.
I also have a windows xp partition that i CAN access without getting stuck on the blue screen.
So, is the hard drive corrupt even though i can access the windows partition?
Do i need to replace the hard drive?
i cant go to an apple store and get it fixed, i just dont want to drive there (but i will if i need a new hard drive)
this is my first mac and i have only basic knowledge of the operating system.
i think it was running on 10.6 (snow leopard), but i only have the install disks that came with my mac.

To fix your issue is too complicated and lengthy to go into all of it here as it sounds like a hardware issue, it will require the services of person very familiar and experienced with Mac's to first recover your data and then restore OS X back to a functional state which may or may not require new hardware/software installed.
If your under warranty or AppleCare, take it in for service.
You can also hire the services of a local Mac computer support technician experienced in these matters.
Have them look at your Wifi, RAM amount, extra storage and computer backup proceedures in the process.
Good Luck.

Macbook pro stuck at gray apple screen with spinnning wheel

My Macbook pro is stuck at the gray apple scrren with a spinning wheel. I noticed the internet was not working yesterday so I restarted and now can't get in.

Gray, Blue or White screen at boot, w/spinner/progress bar
Create a data recovery/undelete external boot drive

Macbook Pro stuck on boot-up screen

When I woke up this morning, I found that my Macbook Pro has turned off while I was sleeping (I have it on constantly for convinence sake because it takes to darn long to boot-up), So I didn't think about it. Untill I found out that it would not boot on. Let me explain what happens
1) Presses power button
2) No boot-up sound
3) Loads up Apple logo
4) Shows update bar and loading wheel at bottom of the screen
5) After a few seconds, the bar dissapears.
6) After a second or two, the wheel stops turning.
7) Macbook Pro boots off.
I would really like somebody to help me out.
Note: I've tried to go into safe mode, but it doesn't want to boot up from that mode either.

ShadowofColosuss708,
you can try this: boot your MacBook Pro into Recovery mode by holding down a Command key and the R key as it starts up. Once the OS X Utilities menu appears, select Disk Utility. On the left-hand side of the Disk Utility window, select your internal disk’s boot partition (typically called “Macintosh HD”). On the right-hand side, press the Verify Disk button if it’s not greyed out; if it is greyed out, or if it reports that errors were found, press the Repair Disk button. Once the verification/repair is completed, exit Disk Utility and select Restart from the Apple menu to restart in normal mode. Does it reach the login screen now?

MacBook pro stuck on white loading screen, help please.

Hi guys, yesterday I was playing on my MacBook pro and all of a sudden the screen went black and it turned off. Once trying to turn my laptop back on it was just stuck on the white loading screen with the appe logo and loading wheel. I've been surfing around the forum and tried some things that others have said worked for them but none seems to work for me, so I decided to create a question so I can get more personal help. I don't have any installation CDs for the MacBook, either which I know makes things more difficult but hopefully ill be able to solve this some other way. Please help if you can!

jenan123 wrote:
I have the same problem. We need hellp here.
I can't help the other person, it's a old post and it sounds like they had a hardware issue anyway, which we can't fix here.
If you can start a new discussion in the MacBook forum and describe your problem in detail, perhaps we can assist.
The system works via email responses/notification and rewards points, but only for the original poster.
jenan123 wrote:
WHy is this forum if noone seems to care to answer
We are other Mac users who volunteer our time, we recieve nothing from Apple.
Sometimes if the poster posts at the wrong time of day (not day time USA/Europe, their post can drop off or be missed.

Macbook Pro stuck at the login screen

This morning I dropped my laptop by catching the charging cable the laptop fell on the floor but everything seemed to be normal.
I then decided to back up straight away so I started time machine. I stupidly started doing some user instensive things on my mac whilst this was going on e.g. playing a game which can sometimes crash. When it did crash I left it for half an hour or so to see if it would bring up force quit or switch out of the crashed programme. This didn't happen so, like i've done in the past, I hard reset holding down the power button.
When I turned on the mac everything seemed normal I got to the login screen and it offered to startup the computer as it was before I restarted. This was a bit odd as I normally get this message when i've actually logged in. My Backup drive also asked for a password which was also strange for the same reason. I then attempted to login to the computer I typed my password in. It was accepted and the screen went white and then went back to the login screen.
I repeated this a few times, restarting etc before I tried using disk utility in recovery mode. When verifying the disk no problems were found. Disk permissions found two problems, which unfortunately I can't remember (1 was to do with the library), I then repaired disk permissions. I tried to start again but got the same problem.
I then stared in safe mode. I'm now meant to be in safe mode but i'm not 100% sure as everything seems the same except everythign is very slow.
Midbackup my computer crashed so i'm wondering if there are any problems there (especially as it was the first backup I made on my new external HD). I'm now trying to backup in safemode but i'm not sure if that's the best thing to do (as not everything might not copy over and I could potentially ruin the first backup to my new external HD). Can anyone give me any advice on what to do next, tell me where I can test whether i'm in safe mode or not and let me know if I should be backing up in safemode.
Thanks in advance
Alex
Macbook Pro August 2011 13 inch
500GB HD
4GB RAM
2.3 GHz Intel Core i5
Lion 10.7.3
UPDATE
After entering successfully what appeared to be safe mode, I restared the computer and tried logging in normally. I got the white screen (as normal) before I reached the login screen, and after entering my password it eventually did log me in. Everything seems normal but I still want to be sure. My computer seems very slow. I only have 1.25GB/4GB free of RAM and I only have two safari tabs open. I'm backing up now but i'm still a bit concerned.
Message was edited by: Alexander Richardson

there is no installation cd, i have hit the command r function and attempted to reinstall from the recovery option stored on the computer. I am connected to the internet. It keeps saying downloading extra components and then once completed just goes b ack to main screen with my old log in informaiton as if nothing has happened. I also attempted to try to do a back up from a restore log and nothing on that as well.

New Macbook Pro stuck on transferring information screen?

I just purchased a MacBook Pro and attempted transferring my information from my old Asus laptop running Windows 7. I downloaded and installed the Windows Migration Assistant, and about half an hour into the transfer a screen came up on my Asus saying that the connection had been lost. After waiting about an hour with no success, I closed the window on the Asus and decided I could transfer the information at a later time. However, the transferring information screen on my Mac is still up, and I can't get it to close. I would prefer fixing the problem to transfer all of my files now, but I also don't mind simply closing the program entirely and transferring everything later. However, I don't know how to get out of the transfer screen on the Mac. I don't really want to manually shut down the computer, as I haven't entirely finished the setup process. Any ideas? Thanks!

Welcome to Apple Support Communities
If your Mac and PC are connected by Ethernet, unplug and plug that cable again. If not, you have to turn off the MacBook by holding the Power button.
In the next startup, try to transfer your files again. It's important not to interrupt the transfer process, because in most cases, you will stop it and you won't be able to resume it

MacBook Pro Stuck at Grey Apple with New 8GB of RAM

So I recently purchased 8 GB of RAM to upgrade my 2010, 13", Intel Core 2 DUO, 2.4GHz with Lion MacBook Pro from the original 4 GB it had. But once the new RAM sticks were installed. The computer proceeds to but to the Grey Apple logo during boot and freezes every-time the wheel begins to spin. From that point I decided to put one of the original 2 GB sticks back into the computer and leave one of the new 4 GB sticks in as well. Guess what, the computer booted fine.
This makes no sense to me as I know this computer can take 8 GB of RAM but yet it will only work when I have one of the original sticks in making my total RAM 6 GB. Any ideas how to fix this issue?
Here is the exact RAM stick I ordered:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B002YUF8ZG/ref=pe_175190_21431760_A1_cs_sce_dp_1

Welcome to Apple Support Communities.
I hope you have return privileges.
Macs are notoriously 'picky' about RAM. Just because modules are advertised as meeting the specs doesn't mean they will work reliably.
I learned the hard way with a RAM upgrade from a manufacturer who did not guarantee Mac compatibility. They did replace them once, yet the RAM still didn't work without frequent Kernel Panics.
RAM from Apple, Crucial, and OtherWorldComputing (www.macsales.com) seems to work well for most people who discuss it here in the forums. With other brands, sometimes it works, sometimes it does not.

MacBook Pro stuck on grey gear screen

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