Macbook Pro won't bootup past grey spinning wheel, disk repair done

Hi,
Earlier today I tried to install something and found that for some reason whenever I clicked on the lock there was a slight flicker but no password box came up. I checked all my admin settings but again I was unable to do anything. So I restarted, and then my headache really began. The laptop would not boot up past the grey spinning wheel screen. I performed all the steps that are suggested elsewhere on here, tried resetting PRAM etc etc. I then managed to boot up in disk mode, opened disk utility and verified my hard drive, it said there were issues so I repaired. Thinking everything was all good to go I restarted but got the same issue again. Went to disk mode again and verified my HD just to make sure, again it said the disk was fine yet it still won't go past the grey spinning wheel screen! Please help...

Sounds like it's time for an Archive & Install of your OS. If you were able to boot at all, I'd suggest applying the OS X 10.6.4 Combo Update in hopes of overwriting whatever file(s) is/are damaged with new copies of them, but since you can't boot, that's not an option.

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TS1367 I have a A1046 Powerbook G4. It won't start past the spinning wheel. I don't have the disks. Any suggestions?

I have a Powerbook G4, A1046 model. It won't boot past the spinning wheel. I have tried booting in open firmware, after I type mac-boot, it goes back to the spinning wheel. I need help

Tough without the Install disc, but some things to try...
Does it boot to Single User Mode, CMD+s keys at bootup, if so try...
/sbin/fsck -fy
Repeat until it shows no errors fixed.
(Space between fsck AND -fy important).
Resolve startup issues and perform disk maintenance with Disk Utility and fsck...
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106214

MacBook Pro won't get past grey startup screen

I have a late 2011 15 inch MacBook Pro running Mavericks. Around a month ago, maybe more, it began to sometimes completely freeze or just turn off while Inwas using it. Sometimes it would start up again, sometimes it wouldn't and would beep three times. Eventually it wouldn't start up at all and would just beep. I started it up in recovery (holding command +R) and ran a disk repair, it said the disk couldn't be repaired. I had it backed up on Time Machine so I replaced the HD and restored from Time Machine. It was fine for a couple days after that, then the old symptoms returned. I took the RAM out and replaced them with some RAM of the same size (2 chips, 2GB each) taken out of a Windows laptop that I had. Again, it was fine for a few days then started turning off and beeping. Then it would turn on but not boot up, i.e. get stuck on the grey screen with the spinning circle. I tried booting in recovery, booting into safe mode, holding option and choosing a disk; in all cases it would just stay stuck on grey screen with the spinning thing. I tried PRAM and SMC reset, no result. At one point, it got through boot up in safe mode but took like an hour to do so. I restarted from safe mode and it took another hour and booted up normally. Then it turned off again and wouldn't turn back on. I opened it up, reseated the RAM and cleaned he fans, which were filled with dust and build up. It turned on and ran normally for a couple days in which I wasn't doing much on it, just watching stuff on VLC or reading, so not really using it and clicking and stuff. Next day, I open it (from sleep, it hasn't been shut down at all since I got it to run again), and try to open Firefox and actually work; it keeps freezing and being incredibly slow, to the point where it was totally frozen and I couldn't force quit or anything. So I held the power key to shut it down; since then it's back to not getting past the grey screen, even when I leave it for over an hour. No idea what to do, anyone have an idea? Thanks in advance.

You have to use Mac specific RAM chips.
You have to buy new RAM modules, I guess.
If you have extended AppleCare, contact Apple.
Best.

Macbook Pro won't boot past grey screen with Apple logo and then shuts off

This is a long story...
This morning, I would turn it on and it'd go to the grey screen with the Apple logo for a few seconds and then go to the icon that is a circle with a line through it. After reading online, I was able to boot it up in Safe Mode. I messed around a little bit in system preferences thinking I could fix it on my own, not really knowing what I was doing (I'm a *******). I went to Startup Disk in Preferences. I chose the MAC OS X, xxxx and then clicked the lock to prevent further changes and then clicked restart.
Now when I turn on the macbook, it goes to the grey screen with the Apple logo for at least two-three minutes and then just shuts off. Won't boot into Safe Mode now. Please help. I already tried the Command-Option-P-R keys trick like five times.

If you have a full retail DVD for 10.6 you can boot from that by holding the C key during startup...but you will then be in install mode if that is what you want to do. At least go ahead and see if it will boot ok from the 10.6 disk and then you can decide what you want to do further.
Apple does not have 10.5 for sale anymore from what some other users have said on here so if you want to go that route you will have to find a copy for sale such as from eBay or one of the Mac resellers.
Before taking the machine to someone, try booting from 10.6 and see if that works...that way you can narrow down problems the machine may be having.

MacBook Pro won't reboot. Get spinning circle even after hard drive replaced at Apple Store

MacBook Pro won't reboot. Have to reinstall OSX each time I shut down in order to get it to start up. What could be wrong? I had the hard drive replaced already.

You shouldn't be using the disc at all. I thought I had made that clear. Boot from your recovery partition and run Disc Utility. If you get the same result -- the internal drive can't be repaired -- then you should consider replacing it. No storage device can be trusted, in my opinion, after throwing an error like that. But whether you choose to replace it or erase it, you have to get the data out first.
There are several ways to back up a Mac that is unable to fully boot. You need an external hard drive to hold the backup data.
1. Boot from your recovery partition (10.7 or later), a local Time Machine backup volume (10.7.2 or later), or your installation disc (10.6.8 or earlier.) Launch Disk Utility and follow the instructions in the support article linked below, under “Instructions for backing up to an external hard disk via Disk Utility.”
How to back up and restore your files
2. If you have a working Mac, and both it and the non-working Mac have FireWire ports, boot the non-working Mac in target disk mode by holding down the key combination command-T at the startup chime. Connect the two Macs with a FireWire cable. The internal drive of the machine running in target mode will mount as an external drive on the other machine. Copy the data to another drive.
How to use and troubleshoot FireWire target disk mode
3. 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.

Macbook Pro won't load past a grey screen on startup!

I apologise for what will most likely be an essay ahead.
I have a Macbook Pro (2.16ghz) that is just over three years old. It is running on Leopard with all the up to date patches / updates. Over the past week or so, it has been 'playing up' in the sense that the spinning loading icon would appear at random intervals and stay there for a good 20 to 30 seconds or so, not allowing me to do anything. If I would be listening to music, the music would pause and then come back on.
It would normally appear when something was trying to load. For example, the final straw was when I was using Adobe Bridge and it was taking an extremely long time to load up the photos I had imported and in the end I gave up. Speed has never been an issue before and my MBP has 2GB of RAM.
So I backed up what I needed and proceeded to do an 'Erase and Install(Leopard) format. Once formatted, the MBP booted up and I completed the registration, took my User picture blah blah etc. Once done, the MBP booted into OS X - this is where the problems occurred. The spinning loading icon appeared and after about 30 seconds or so, the Finder window / toolbar at the top disappeared, as did the Macintosh HD icon on the desktop. All I was left with was my wallpaper and Dock with icons in. However, if I clicked on any of the programs, nothing would happen.
Naturally, I tried restarting it and the same thing happened again. I figured that because my MBP was connected to a second Dual monitor, that this might have been the issue so I decided to boot from the OS X Leopard CD and do another 'Erase and Install'. I once again got past the registration screen, but this time, instead of booting into OS X my MBP stuck itself on a grey screen. It would not go any further.
I then decided that the spinning loading icon issue may be a RAM problem. When I first got my MBP, I upgraded the RAM so I knew how to take it out and replace it. So I tried taking out the RAM stick (1GB) I put in orignally and booting it with the original 1GB stick. The same problem occurred. I tried the other way round, putting in my 1GB RAM stick and taking the original out - nothing worked. I tried every possible combination, even swapping the sticks around.
Eventually my brother tells me he has some spare RAM which I also try and once again, this does not solve the issue. So I figure it cannot be a RAM problem.
So next I try booting from the OS X Disc on startup and run Disk Utility. I verify and repair the Mac HD which comes up fine. No errors, no issues, nothing.
I finally scour the internet for info on what could be the cause of the problem and the biggest suggestion seems to be formatting. So I once again try formatting my MBP for a third time - however this time, I get the original problem. It boots up into OS X but then the Finder toolbar and Mac HD icon disappear, leaving me with Dock and Wallpaper.
The final thing I try is resetting the MBPs PRAM on startup. This does not solve the issue.
So here I am. If you could be bothered to read all of that, well done haha I'm not sure if I could have.
If anyone has ANY suggestions or advice, please post!
I do not have Apple Care so if I was to take it to the local Genius bar, would they look at it for free and diagnose it? Or would that cost me? I have never had to take my MBP in before.
Thankyou again

I just skimmed over this because the post is like a small novel! lol Try a Apple Hardware Test. I think it's probably a bad logic board.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1509
Don't take it to a Genius Bar until you've done this, saves time and you might have a little more info to give them. Also that way you won't feel pressured into anything. It's out of warranty, so sometimes I've noticed they can be a little pushy especially on a very high dollar replacement such as a new logic board on an out of warranty item. Also the "enhanced diagnostic" is around $100, so you might have to at least fork over a hard earned Benjamin and not get anything fixed. And whatever you do, DO NOT, I repeat, DO NOT tell them you upgraded the RAM yourself. If they are feeling in a good mood and decide to knock off any money or waive any sort of fees, this will kill it instantly. RAM is considered "user serviceable," but they normally try to plead "the part you installed is not Apple Authorized" or the "installation caused the issue and was not an ACHT." Put back in the original stick and leave it alone. Hope this helps you out!

Brand new MacBook Pro doesn't get past grey screen (with spinning gear)

Hello,
I'm a new Apple customer - I bought a new 15" MacBook Pro during the Black Friday sale last week. Since purchase, I've installed the software I needed (Office, CS4) and have used it to browse the web and write emails.
Today when I tried to use it, I simply got to the grey screen with the Apple logo on it and the spinning gear device underneath - got absolutely no further.
I have done the following (running from mains adaptor - but the battery indicator is reporting 7 lights anyhow):
1. Boot from the OSX Install Disc, and run the disc repair utility. It reported no problems found. Restarted... same problem.
2. Boot holding down SHIFT to go into safe mode. Underneath the spinning gears, a progress bar filled up to 100% and then disappeared; leaving the grey screen, logo, and spinning gears. Nothing further.
3. Boot holding Option, P, R as per the manual to reset the PRAM. According to the manual there should have been a chime/beep - there wasn't. It just sits on the grey screen, logo, spinning gears. Nothing further.
Right now I've got a £1300 MacBook Pro less than a week old and it appears to have just packed up.
Am I missing anything here, or should I just return it?
Thanks,
Chris

Definitely take it back!
My friend bought a new iMac from the Regents St. store a few weeks ago, just before the update to the new models came out, and after a week she couldn't get it to boot. I felt very embarrassed as I had persuaded to her to switch to Mac after years of PC woes, so a broken mac after a week didn't look do me any favours. The genius guys didn't mess around, they took back the dead one and gave her a new one, this time she got the new version, they also threw in iWork free as a good will gesture. New one is running fine.
If you haven't already got Applecare, I highly recommend buying it within the next 12 months. I have needed it on a couple of occasions after the standard warranty ran out and the tech support has been brilliant, got me working again no quibbles.

Macbook Pro won't start past spinning gear - keyboard unresponsive

So, the subject pretty much says it all. I have a Macbook Pro that was purchased in March, 2008, and is running Leopard 10.5.8 (I believe). It will not start up past the apple logo with the spinning gear below it.
I've tried everything that I've been able to find in these forums and others - safe mode, firewire link (T), starting from disk (C) - the issue is that the keyboard seems to be completely unresponsive. I press and hold T at startup, with the macbook connected via firewire to my iMac, and nothing... spinning gear. I hold down Shift during startup for safe mode... nothing.. spinning gear for hours. I hold down C with the install CD in the drive... nothing.. spinning gear continues forever.
I'm not sure what the issue is, and I am unaware of a workaround. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Just bumping this again to see if anyone has had a similar issue, or a way to resolve it. I've got a $2000 brick sitting on my desk at the moment.

Macbook pro won't go past start up screen

i started up my macbook pro today and it opened but couldn't scroll with the trackpad. force quitted (start button) it and then tried to start up again. this time i didn't get past the start up screen (with the apple logo and spinning timer). i then tried to reset pram (cmd+option+p+r), safe mode and a number of other possibilities to no avail. next step was using the instal disc and running disc permissions + repair. again to no avail. i even tried the terminal and tried fixing the disc repair report that it was a invalid sibling link. here's a link to the procedures; http://hints.macworld.com/article.php?story=20070204093925888. i got the message from terminal that the disc is corrupted and i've now run out of tricks/options to get my macbook pro up and running. has anyone here in the community know any other avenues i could travel down. all help of course would be much appreciated. the computer affected is my new 13 inch 2.3 ghz i5 macbook pro.
cheers, Jan

instal disc and running disc permissions + repair.
You need to boot from the install disc and run Disk Utility to verify and if necessary, repair the startup disk.
Insert your install disk and Restart, holding down the "C" key until grey Apple appears.
Go to Installer menu and launch Disk Utility.
(In Mac OS X 10.4 or later, you must select your language first from the installer menu)
Select your HDD (manufacturer ID) in the left panel.
Select First Aid in the Main panel.
(Check S.M.A.R.T Status of HDD at the bottom of right panel. It should say: Verified)
Click Repair Disk on the bottom right.
If DU reports disk does not need repairs quit DU and restart.
If DU reports errors Repair again and again until DU reports disk is repaired.
When you are finished with DU, from the Menu Bar, select Utilities/Startup Manager.
Select your startup disk and click Restart
While you have the Disk Utility window open, look at the bottom of the window. Where you see Capacity and Available. Make sure there is always 15% free space.

My Macbook Pro will not load past grey Apple screen...

Last night my Macbook Pro froze so I closed it and went to bed. Today when I opened it, it was still frozen, so I held down the power button and rebooted it. It got as far as the grey Apple screen with the spinning wheel and will not load any further than that. I've rebooted a couple times since and it continues to do the same thing, stays on the grey screen forever.
I searched this problem on the Apple Support Communitites and none of suggestions (holding Shift after the startup tone, holding Command+R) have worked so far. Is there any way to fix this problem without losing my data or having to pay to talk to Apple Support? PLEASE HELP! :(

Zzoozu wrote:
None of that made sense to me or helped me. Anyone else? Maybe someone who has answers dor someone not a computer genius?
Then we can't help you as we need you to be able to help yourself and the instructions are complicated and long to paste here over and over again for the same proceedure.
Hire the services of a local Mac computer repair before you delete your data by accident.
You can jump down and do #8, that might clear the issue right away, but some programs are not going to work and require updating or reinstalling again.
..Step by Step to fix your Mac

Mac book pro won't go past grey start up screen

Went to turn on my Mac book pro 2011 or 2012 and it went to the grey loading screen with an apple, spinning gear and a loading bar. Once the loading bar completes my Mac book just turns off. It just keeps doing this, I tried to do a safe boot, but once it was done that it turned off and continues to do this circle of grey screen loading than turning off. Please help!

Hi ANaomi,
If you are having issues with your MacBook Pro not booting past a grey screen, and/or shutting down during the boot process, you may find the troubleshooting steps outlined in the following articles helpful:
Mac OS X: Gray screen appears during startup
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2570
OS X: When your computer spontaneously restarts or displays "Your computer restarted because of a problem."
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT200553
Regards,
- Brenden

MacBook Pro Won't Boot Beyond Grey Apple Screen - Mystery Partition Found

My MacBook Pro, which suffers from appalling overheating (94 degrees C in each core last week) won't boot beyond the grey apple splash screen. I booted from a Developer's disk and ran Repair Disk/Disk Permissions. Both verified AND said the repairs failed. The drive (as opposed to the volumes) said it had no valid files and thus couldn't be repaired even though it verified. I target-disked it to one of my G4s and took off a bunch of apps and lightened its load, waited a while and tried again--it's been grey screen gear turning for 20 minutes now. I have Remote Desktop but it won't respond to that. Of course, Windows XP boots up perfectly normally on its Boot Camp-created partition, dumbly unaware of the general chaos on the other side.
While I had the Disk Utility from the boot disk on, I noticed my partition scheme had changed somehow. The big partition with the system was now in position #2, set between #3 (Windows--formerly #2 of 2) and a new one of only 200MB called #1 which is formatted OS X Journaled. I didn't make that partition and it couldn't be erased. I think the cpmputer is looking in the #1 spot for a system and can't find it because some renegade partition with no brain has pushed its way to the front. How do I annihilate that thing and get on with it? How did it get there?
Has anyone tried that alter the Apple Blower/Fan hack said to turn the fans on permanently?
For the record, I'm in L.A. and the ground has been rocking and rolling for the past 3 minutes on and off.
MacBook Pro 2.0/2GB/100GB Mac OS X (10.4.8) TiBookG4 1.0/512K/60; PowerMacG4 Quicksilver 933/1G/160; PowerMacG4 450/512K/30

I called Apple's Tech Support and they had me do perform sevral procedures I had done already, none of which worked. They suggested that the mystery partition (which has since ceased to reappear in the Disk Utility's view of the partition scheme) was an anomaly caused by the still-Beta Boot Camp--nothing was said about Windows XP booting, but I think you're right because whenever installing Windows, it always reserves a small "free space" on the PC's drive for its own purposes. Anyway, I'mre-installing now but very unhappy to hear I have suspected all along--the overheating is killing the computer. I know this from experience because Ihad a Powerbook G4 with a at-that-time-not-yet-recalled battery that overheated to such an extent that it fried the logic board and the harddrive. After a year of arguing with Apple, they replaced the computer with this MacBookPro--and overheating laptop that also had its battery recalled, has already been sent back to Texas for over heating (they replaced the superdrive which of course had no effect on the heat issue) and now has hard drive problems. I have two old PowerMac G4s sitting here plugging along--maybe I'm over laptops. Thanks
MacBook Pro 2.0/2GB/100GB Mac OS X (10.4.8) TiBookG4 1.0/512K/60; PowerMacG4 Quicksilver 933/1G/160; PowerMacG4 450/1GB/100

Macbook Pro won't load past white loading screen when turned on after kernel panics

Hello,
I have a Macbook Pro and recently its been having repeated kernel panics. In the past few days its been turning off every few minutes or so. yesterday it had one and now when I try to turn it on it doesn't load. I get the white loading screen with the apple logo and a loading bar underneath. But after the bar fills about 5% of the way (if that) the bar just disappears and the spinning loading icon just keeps going without anything happening (however long I leave it).
Please can someone give me some suggestions to fix this. Just a few things to note:
a) I'm not great with computers so any fixes please explain in the most simple terms
b) I have VERY important work files on there that are NOT backed up (big mistake I know), so please only suggest fixes that will not remove these Microsoft Word files. Guaranteeing the safety of my work is paramount with any suggestions.
c) I may not have any of the disks which came with the Macbook Pro originally (though I may somewhere)
d) I've read some other forum posts and it seems that I need to know the details of my operating system. I don't know these and have no way of accessing them on the computer (for obvious reasons). Its a late 2011 Macbook Pro if that is of any help.
A massive thank you to anyone who can suggest a fix to these, I shall be eternally grateful.

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 boot failure is to secure your 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 your last backup, you can skip this step.
There are several ways to back up a Mac that is unable to boot. You need an external hard drive to hold the backup data.
a. Boot into 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, boot 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. The easiest way to deal with the problem is to boot from an external drive, or else to 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 boot 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 boot, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards. Use a different keyboard and/or mouse, if those devices are wired. If you can boot 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 booted from an external storage device, make sure that your internal boot volume is selected in the Startup Disk pane of System Preferences.
Boot in safe mode. Note: If FileVault is enabled, or if a firmware password is set, or if the boot volume is a software RAID, you can’t do this. Post for further instructions.
Safe mode is much slower to boot 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 your login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin.
When you boot 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, your boot volume is corrupt and the drive is probably malfunctioning. In that case, go to Step 6.
If you can boot and log in now, empty the Trash, and then open the Finder Info window on your boot 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 reboot as usual (i.e., not in safe mode.)
If the boot 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 your 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 reboot as usual.
Step 9
Reinstall the OS. If your Mac was upgraded from an older version of OS X, you’ll need the Apple ID and password you used to upgrade.
Step 10
Repeat Step 9, but this time erase the boot volume in Disk Utility before installing. The system should automatically reboot into the Setup Assistant. Follow the prompts to transfer your 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 boot 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 Pro won't get past Apple logo during boot

Hey, recently while I was using on my MacBook Pro (note: just simply browsing the internet), the battery ran dry and the computer shut down almost immediately. When I plugged it in and turned on the computer again, the familiar Apple logo appeared and looked as though it would start up normally. However, an unfamiliar grey progress bar appeared and the usual grey gear started spinning. The progress bar looks as though it reaches up 10-15% completed but the computer just shuts down after that every time. I know it has nothing to do with the charge in the battery as I tried doing it plugged in and even waiting overnight for the battery to charge fully with the plug plugged in.
So, I tried using Disk Utility on the Snow Leopard Install disc (my original MacBook Pro install discs had Leopard on it so I just used the Snow Leopard discs instead). After using the "Verify Disk" command on the Macintosh HD volume, it stated that 'Invalid node structure' and then stated that the disk could not be verified and needed repair. I then proceeded with using 'Repair Disk' and it did say 'Volume repair complete' but then stated 'Updating boot support partitions for the volume as required.' This was when an error popped up and said "Error: Disk Utility can't repair this disk" and then told me to back up my files and reformat the disk.
I'm hoping that I don't have to reformat the disk as I haven't backed up in a while. I do have a separate partition on the hard drive that has Windows 7 on it that I can boot to. At least that means my hard drive hasn't completely died on me. However, I'm unsure what to do at this point to fix the computer. I tried to Safe Boot but it didn't change the outcome of start up.
Any ideas as to what I can do? I appreciate any help.

Thanks for the replies! Anyway, I gave DiskWarrior a try and it failed to work. The first time I tried it, I put the disc into the drive of my MacBook Pro and booted it from the disc. After going through the rebuild process it told me that due to a hard drive malfunction it couldn't append any changes to the drive. I then tried putting the disk into my iMac and used my MacBook Pro in Target Disk mode. This wouldn't even attempt to rebuild my drive saying that there was a hardware failure.
So, I booted into Windows 7 and saw that Windows was able to access the drive and read the files perfectly. All the files were in tact. I don't understand why disk warrior had a problem with it. Anyway, what I can do is reinstall Mac OS X Snow Leopard onto the hard drive again after moving the data onto an external hard drive using Windows. The only problem is that I would have to reinstall all of my programs while reimporting all of the settings and data that I can from the external hard drive. What I want to know is can I make an image of my hard drive (with SuperDuper?), and append that back onto my Mac's hard drive? Would that work again after reformatting the disk or would it just give me the same problems as before? Would it be better or easier to just start new and reinstall everything? Thanks!

MBP won't boot past grey spinning gear screen

I tried to turn on my computer the other day, it turns out it wont boot up past the grey spinning gear screen.
First thing I did was reboot from SL install disk, I ran disk utility and tried to verify and repair my HD, both came back with errors... uh oh
I then tried to back up the hard drive by creating a new disk image of my HD and placing it on my USB external, came up with and I/O error... oh sh*t
I tried reinstalling snow leopard and it could not be installed... F*CK!
I tried starting it up single single user mode to see what was happening, turns out it get to the line "dis0s2: I/O error blah blah blah" and then keeps iterating it indefinalty, leading me to believe my hard drive is dead or dying.
so now for the question:
Is it still possible to backup my hard drive in this state? I know, I know, should've been backing it up all along but I'm stupid and didn't. I don't really care about my user setting or anything like that but I use this computer for college and have tons of documents on it that I need.
Also my applecare has expired so i would like to stay away from those genious bartenders.
Any suggestions?

If you have access to another Mac with Firewire then you can connect the two via Firewire cable. You can then attempt to boot your computer into Target Disk Mode. If that's successful then boot the other computer normally. If your drive is accessible it will appear on the Desktop of the other computer. It may then be possible to copy your files if the drive is at all intact. If not you may be able to use recovery software to restore your files. If the drive is not accessible even to recovery software, then you would have to send it to a business that specializes in drive recovery. These are very expensive alternatives - $500 minimally.
You can also try third-party disk repair software. The best of the lot is Disk Warrior, but if the drive has a hardware failure preventing access, then I'm afraid there's little you can do to recover your files beyond sending the drive to a data recovery service.
General File Recovery
If you stop using the drive it's possible to recover deleted files that have not been overwritten with recovery software such as Data Rescue II, File Salvage or TechTool Pro. Each of the preceding come on bootable CDs to enable usage without risk of writing more data to the hard drive.
The longer the hard drive remains in use and data are written to it, the greater the risk your deleted files will be overwritten.
Also visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQ on Data Recovery.

Macbook Pro won't bootup past grey spinning wheel, disk repair done

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