MacBook Pro won't boot into Snow Leopard

Hello all,
I've been running Snow Leopard for a few weeks now with no problem, but today my laptop refuses to boot into the Snow Lepoard partition, it is stuck on a grey screen with the logo and a spinning wheel.
I have tried booting into safe mode with no luck. Also I have a Windows boot camp partition which I can boot to and work properly, and finally I have booted from the Snow Leopard disk and run disk utility, the HDD can be verified and the only warnings I get when repairing permissions are about SUID files being modified and will not be repaired. I don't know if that s the root of my problems, any advise will be greatly appreachiated (sp?).
Thanks

Thanks for the help, but I would like to know what went wrong and how to avoid this in the future.
I've usually found that such problems are accompanied by hard drive damage, but you say it's testing fine, so that's obviously not it. But sometimes vital files get corrupted somehow and you never know why, unfortunately. It could have its roots in some application crashing a year ago.

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Macbook Pro won't boot into safe mode or via bootable USB key

Hi,
Am running OSX Lion latest version on my Macbook Pro 4,1 and can't get the thing to boot from any source. Always get's stuck at the grey screen with apple logo. Have tried all the following...
- Straight Boot (power on)
- Boot via Recovery HD (hold option on bootup then select)
- Boot via Safe Mode (Holding Shift on bootup)
- Boot via Safe Mode Verbose (Shift, Command, V)
- Boot via bootable Lion USB Key (Hold option, and choose the USB drive - not the same USB key works on my other macbook pro)
On every one (except verbose) it just get's stuck on the grey screen with spinning timer thingie.
I have done PVRAM reset, SMC reset and have reseated the RAM and all to no avail. I'm pretty sure the problem was caused by removing battery at wrong time (device not responding after sleep mode started and I plugged in power - should have been more patient!)
I have a Time Machine backup but it's a bit older than I thought and very much want to get my newer photos off it before rebuilding - not that Time Machine would work in current state anyway.
So what are my remaining options? Will I have to open it up and remove the HD as next step or is there anything else left to try? Can I remove the HD and connect it via a USB caddy to my existing Mac to recover info (hardrive spins and sounds ok to me)?
Any advice appreciated...

ds store wrote:
Yes, once the data is off you can use Disk Utility to Erase the entire drive (Lion + Recovery) with the Zero option (one selection below 7x) then use the Lion USB to install it fresh and stick it back into the machine.
Thanks for the info - I removed the HD and data is all ok on there so very happy about that. Before I wipe the data (all backed up now) I thought I would try booting the mac without any harddrive installed - using a OSX Lion bootable USB. However, still can't get past the grey apple screen and circle icon whirling away. I know the USB works ok, as tried it in my 2011 Macbook Pro and it boots absolutely fine.
I am happy to wipe the HD now and start again, but seeing as the DVD Drive is broken I'll probably need a USB drive boot to install OSX onto the wiped HD anyway. I'm a bit lost as to what to try now.

Macbook pro will not boot after snow leopard upgrade

My GF has had a macbook pro since mid 2008. It's been running like a champ since I've known her for the past 3 years with no issues. It has/had OSX 10.5.8 installed. We tried to consolidate all our pictures from all our apple devices and realized she didn't have an icloud on the old 10.5.8 OSX. So I called apple and they told me to order and install the snow leopard OSX 10.6 first and then upgrade to lion etc after that, Well we got the disk yesterday popped it in to install and it's been a disaster.... the computer shutdown for what looked like a normal restart during the installation process and never booted back up. Attempts to manually reboot leave us locked on a grey apple logo screen with spinning gear indefinately whith the Snow Leopard disk installed during boot up. With the disk removed I get the flashing file folder with a question mark. I called apple support we tried all the PRAM and SMC resets and then decided that we should go to the Genius Bar once all those failed. After an hour and a half drive to the nearest genius bar we were told that the we suddenly had a hardware issue which just happened to coincide with the new OS installation.... I'm not buying it and am looking for some help. The macbook was running like a champ until we inserted a disk recommended by apple... Any takers?

You have a five year old computer, so a failing hard drive at this point is not so strange. You have a couple of options you can try. Start with this one, but if it does not work you will have to erase the hard drive. I hope you have a backup of all your files.
Reinstall OS X without erasing the drive
1. Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions
Boot from your Snow Leopard Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the installer.
If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior and/or Tech Tool Pro to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X.
2. Reinstall Snow Leopard
If the drive is OK then quit DU and return to the installer. Proceed with reinstalling OS X. Note that the Snow Leopard installer will not erase your drive or disturb your files. After installing a fresh copy of OS X the installer will move your Home folder, third-party applications, support items, and network preferences into the newly installed system.
Download and install Mac OS X 10.6.8 Update Combo v1.1.

MacBook Pro Won't Sleep after Snow Leopard Install

Neither closing the computer, or selecting Sleep from the menu will allow my computer to enter slumber. Shorty after closing its eyes, my computer will make that unsettling grinding noise and wake up.
I've reset the PRAM, the PMU, turned off bluetooth, airport, all running applications. This only started happening after installing 10.6.
I found a thread on MacRumors discussing this problem, but there was no fix yet. So I bring it here. Can anybody guess what's up, or should I just take it in to the Apple store?

Don't bother taking it to the Apple Store. They won't be able to help. This is a bug in Snow Leopard. I don't know of any workaround or any way to make it stop. It doesn't happen all the time. Usually shutting down the machine will fix it. Sometimes, it will fix itself after a while.
It is important that you never assume a machine is going to go to sleep successfully. Always wait for the pulsating light. If it does go to sleep, chances are it will stay that way. I used iLid Preference Pane to make sure that my machine doesn't accidentally wake up while it is in a bag or something.
I've already filed a couple of bug reports about it. You can help you sending your feedback to Apple.

MacPro3,1 won't boot into Snow Leopard 64-bit mode

I'm baffled by this. All the compatibility lists I've found online state the MacPro3,1 (early 2008) models are 64-bit compatible.
I have a 3,1 mac pro, single 4-core Xeon, 8GB RAM at work, and it boots into 64-bit mode just fine.
I have the exact same machine at home, except just 4GB RAM, and it will not boot into 64-bit mode.
I have not found any documentation on this, but my only hunch at this point is that not only does 64-bit mode enable more than 4GB of addressable RAM, but could it be that it requires more than 4GB?

OK, I got it. added "arch=x86_64" to com.apple.boot.plist and it is now booting into 64-bit mode. Its just strange that holding down 6 and 4 during boot didn't work on this machine, when it worked fine at the office.
Hope this helps somebody.

I have a MacBook Pro 15" and my warranty just ran out! I partitioned my harddrive into two partitions, one with Snow Leopard and the other with microsoft.This morning I turned on my Macbook Pro and it will not boot into Snow Leopard.

Good Morning,
I have a MacBook Pro 15" and my warranty just ran out! I partitioned my harddrive into two partitions, one with Snow Leopard and the other with microsoft.This morning I turned on my Macbook Pro and it will not boot into Snow Leopard. I shut it off took out the battery, reinstalled the battery. Then I put in the Snow Leopard CD and booted up to disk utility and The Snow Leopard partion would not show up?? I do see the microsoft partion.
I also rebooted holding down the shift key and still no Snow Leopard
Could you please tell me what I can do, what keys do I press on restart any advice to get Snow leopard back.
thank you.

Have you restarted holding down the Opt key? That procedure should give you a gray screen with all of the partitions that exist. Then select the SL partition for boot. Also go to System Preferences and Startup Disk, unlock the lock and select the SL partition as the default boot partition, then relock.

My MACBOOK Pro turned out to be Snow Leopard, and later upgraded to LION. And update the EFI, I would like to replace the Snow Leopard, EFI can not boot, how do? How to use the Snow Leopard install disk to reduce EFI?

My MACBOOK Pro turned out to be Snow Leopard, and later upgraded toLION. And update the EFI, I would like to replace the Snow Leopard, EFIcan not boot, how do? How to use the Snow Leopard install disk to reduce EFI?

Do you mean some of your software does not work in Lion? Do you want to return to using Snow Leopard? If so, then do this:
Downgrade Lion to Snow Leopard
1. Boot from your Snow Leopard Installer Disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu.
2. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Note the SMART status of the drive in DU's status area. If it does not say "Verified" then the drive is failing or has failed and will need replacing. SMART info will not be reported on external drives. Otherwise, click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
3. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed.
4. Quit DU and return to the installer. Install Snow Leopard.
This will erase the whole drive so be sure to backup your files if you don't have a backup already. If you have performed a TM backup using Lion be aware that you cannot restore from that backup in Snow Leopard (see below.) I suggest you make a separate backup using Carbon Copy Cloner 3.4.1.
If you have Snow Leopard Time Machine backups, do a full system restore per #14 in Time Machine - Frequently Asked Questions. If you have subsequent backups from Lion, you can restore newer items selectively, via the "Star Wars" display, per #15 there, but be careful; some Snow Leopard apps may not work with the Lion files.

How do I partition my MacBook Pro so I can keep Snow Leopard and also install Mountain Lion?

How do I partition my MacBook Pro so I can keep Snow Leopard and also install Mountain Lion?
I want to install the latest OS, but I already know that I will lose a lot of my software unless I can partition the hard drive and have two "bootable" drives.
How do I retain everything I have, partition the drive, then reloa the software I own according to which OS it will work under?

msmedia wrote:
I do not currently own OS X ML.
I am currently running OS X (10.6.8 Snow Leopard) on my MacBook Pro. It has a 2.8GHz Intel Core 2 Duo Processor. I want to upgrade to Mountain Lion, but many of my software titles will not operate with ML and I cannot afford to replace some of them (Adobe Creative Suite, for e.g.)
After I back-up my HD and then partition the HD, how do I use the back-up to reinstall what I want to the SL partition, and then place the rest on the ML partition.
I have not done what you want to do, so can only offer some general thoughts in support. Take value from the following where you can. No guarantees.
If it was me, I would use a disk clone utility (e.g. Carbon Copy Cloner) to image the existing Snow Leopard disk to an external drive. Then verify that the external drive would boot and run Snow Leopard normally.
I would then purchase and download the Mountain Lion upgrade installer, but not run it. Use Lion Diskmaker to make a bootable USB stick, and perform a clean install of Mountain Lion, replacing the Snow Leopard on your MBP. This way, you make absolutely certain that no third-party drivers or other SL cruft remains to make Mountain Lion unstable. Update to latest ML point release. Fix permissions. Let TimeMachine make a full backup of your ML installation to a different external drive. Then turn of Time Machine.
In Disk Utility, use the + sign at the bottom of the ML partition to add another GUID, HFS+ Journaled partition for Snow Leopard. Resize to taste. Name it differently from your ML partition. Exhale.
Now ideally, you would like to reverse the external clone and put it back into the new SL partition. Then fix permissions. And demonstrate that you can boot into individually stable OS X installations. This would save you alot of work. Resist copying your home directory into ML just yet.
If you cannot successfully achieve the preceding paragraph, you will be faced with a full SL and application reinstall.
The ~/Library contents for SL and ML are sufficiently different that you do not want to mix them. You may want to salvage Safari bookmarks.plist. And, ML created folders in the home directory may have different permissions or ACL settings than in SL. So, my rule of thumb would be to copy folders that you created in SL, and only the contents of matching named OS created folders such as Music, Pictures, Downloads, etc.
For each operating system, you probably want the Time Machine settings to exclude the opposite OS X partition. If you use the same host name in Sharing prefs, then you will mix SL and ML backups on the same Time Machine back up drive. If you use different host names, they will be distinct folders in the Time Machine backups.backupdb and allow discrete restores per host. You may also want to gag Spotlight from indexing the opposite OS X partition.

2012 Macbook Pro won't boot from CD and freezes in single user mode

I'm rebuilding a macbook pro. Everyting was fine until I tried to install Snow Leopard from the disk. It goes to the Apple symbol no spinning wheel and you can hear the drive working for a few seconds but then stops. I've also tried booting to sinlge user mode but it just freezes after Loading System\Library\Caches\com.apple.kext.cahces\Startup\Extensions.
I've tried resetting the PRAM as well.

If you have a 2012 MacBook Pro, you can't install Snow Leopard because it's not compatible, so it's normal that you can't start OS X.
Now, you have to install OS X Lion or Mountain Lion again. Hold Command, Option (Alt) and R keys while your Mac is starting to start into OS X Recovery, and reinstall OS X. After reinstalling OS X, you will be able to use your computer.
You can't run an older OS X version than the one that came with your computer, because of some reasons:
1. The hardware isn't compatible.
2. The firmware restricts the installation of older versions on the computer.
3. It's illegal: Apple doesn't allow you to install an older OS X version than the one that came with your computer, and it doesn't mind the method you use (a "normal" installation or a virtual machine)

MacBook Pro won't boot after trying to install 10.7.3 update. Start up stalls at Apple logo and spinning gear.

MacBook Pro won't boot after trying to install 10.7.3 update. Start up stalls at Apple logo and spinning gear. Computer won't even start in safe mode.

My daughter's MacBook Pro was doing exactly the same thing. I don't know if it had anything to do with the latest update. She called me about a week ago saying that her MacBook began running slower by the day . She then called me Friday and told me that it wouldn't get past the gray screen and the gear just kept on spinning. I did everything I could over the phone including Safe mode which it wouldn't go into and thought maybe it was the hard drive. She took it to the Apple store. Originally, they also thought it was the hard drive. It ended up being a corrupted operating system (Lion). Apple genius simply re-installed Lion and she's back up and running. Good thing she backed up right before it crapped out. She'll be restoring everything tonight. Don't know if re-installing Lion will help your situation, but it did the trick for my daughter.

Upgraded my macbook pro to mountain lion from snow leopard does this mean i can upgrade my imac as well for the same price? And will it mess it up?

upgraded my macbook pro to mountain lion from snow leopard does this mean i can upgrade my imac as well for the same price? And will it mess it up?

You can upgrade the iMac for no extra charge - sign into the App Store there, download and install 10.8.
I recommend that you make a backup (Time Machine is probably the easiest method) before you install, and make sure that you are not using any applications that are incomptible with 10.8 (eg Office 2004) - other than that, it should go smoothly.
Matt

I have a macbook pro and the software with snow leopard only has upgraded to 10.5.8, do I need to purchase mountain lion to upgrade to 10.6.8?

I have a macbook pro and the software with snow leopard only has upgraded to 10.5.8, do I need to purchase mountain lion to upgrade to 10.6.8?

Your machine likely can't handle Mountain Lion 10.8 nor 10.7, if it does it will run slow and very higly likely a lot of your third party software and drivers for printers and scanners won't function anymore.
It's because your 10.5 era (or earlier) machine is rather dated, hardware has advanced and is faster, the newer OS X versions have gotten bloated.
I do recommend you call Apple via phone and order the 10.6.3 white retail disks, backup your personal data off the 10.5.8 Mac to a external storage drive and when the disk arrives, stick it in and run the upgrade installer.
Once that's finished, reboot and use Software Update to get to 10.6.8 and stay there. You can buy stuff from AppStore, just don't upgrade to 10.8 (or 10.7) as thats when you'll have issues.
10.6 should run your currrently installed PPC software and hardware drivers. But 10.7/10.8 will not.
10.6 is receiving security and other updates from Apple as more than 50% of OSX users are still on it.
Most commonly used backup methods
Things to consider before upgrading OS X

My 2007 MacBook pro won't boot up beyond a White screen any ideas what to do?

My 2007 MacBook pro won't boot up beyond a White screen any ideas what to do?

Odd how this hasn't been archived yet.
I'm getting the same thing with my Macbook, but can't boot past the white screen. An Apple store in KS suggested I needed a new hard drive, but I've already put two in there and it's still doing the same thing. I really don't want to buy another motherboard like I had to a couple of years ago.
My choices are either buy a cheap drive to boot from and remove the current one to put into an external case, or save the money by not buying a new motherboard and putting it as a down payment toward a Mac mini.

How do I create more room on my MacBook Pro so I can install Snow Leopard? It says it needs 5GB and I have 4.something.

How do I create more room on my MacBook Pro so I can install Snow Leopard?
I've only got 4.something GB left and it says it needs 5 GB?
Which then begs the question, will I be able to do anything with the computer.
I think I need to get some stuff off, but do not know where to look up what is taking up the most room.
I have an extra hard drive.
I have iDisk.
I have a Time Machine, but it backs up one of my three Macs.
Thanks.

A utility like GrandPerspective is a good one for seeing what is taking up space on your hard drive.
Video and photo files tend to take up a lot of room.

!!!HI, SO I BOUGHT MOUNTAIN LION ON MY MACBOOK PRO TRYING TO UPGRADE FROM SNOW LEOPARD, AND WHILE TRYING TO REINSTALL THE OS SETUP AS IT SHOWED IT COULDNT BE VERIFIED, I CROSSED OUT MOUNTAIN LION FROM MY PURCHASES, ITS NOW GONE, DO I HAVE TO BUY IT AGAIN?

HI, SO I BOUGHT MOUNTAIN LION ON MY MACBOOK PRO TRYING TO UPGRADE FROM SNOW LEOPARD, AND WHILE TRYING TO REINSTALL THE OS SETUP AS IT SHOWED IT COULDNT BE VERIFIED, I CROSSED OUT MOUNTAIN LION FROM MY PURCHASES, ITS NOW GONE, DO I HAVE TO BUY IT AGAIN?

Please google search for "Mountain Lion disk crash" before upgrading you mac pro. You might need to replace you Mac hard drive after the upgrade.So many people had the same problems including me.
Be aware of the Mountain Lion upgrade problem.

MacBook Pro won't boot into Snow Leopard

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