Macbook stuck on grey screen

If you don't have a backup of your files off the machine, try holding the Shift key down on a wired/built in keyboard and boot the computer (you can do a hard shutdown by pressing and holding the power button)
This will hopefully allow you to get into the machine in Safe Mode and backup your user file folders (Music, Pictures, Movies, Documents) to a external storage drive (not only TimeMachine!)
Most commonly used backup methods
If Safe Mode (Shift Key) doesn't work, then you can follow these directions to attempt to get your files off. However it's not necessary as the repair step shouldn't affect it.
Create a data recovery/undelete external boot drive
If you have a backup off the machine and or want to continue with the repair, do the #8 Reinstall Just Only OS X + Software Update procedure here and other Steps as required.
..Step by Step to fix your Mac
#8 will replace the OS X with a new copy overwriting the old one and removing anything installed in OS X itself from third party software makers.
Some programs might not function, you first need to find out if there is a update and compatible with your OS X verison before reinstalling them.
Run through the other Steps to make sure your machine is working as intended.

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MacBook stuck at grey screen

My MacBook is stuck at the grey screen. I'm running OS6. My mail crashed twice earlier today, so I did a restart. It stuck at the grey screen. How do I get past this, and what's causing it to happen?

I suspect your problem is a bad sector(s) on the hard drive.
In rare circumstances the normal mapping off process doesn't work, like it can't read the destroyed data, or your one of those people who are moving their laptop while it's in operation, which causes the heads to strike the platters and ruining data your machine requires to operate.
What your going to have to do is remove all your personal data off the drive.
Then command r boot the machine into Recovery HD, use Disk Utility to Erase (middle selection, important) the Macintosh HD partition, it will take some time to complete.
When finished quit and reinstall OS X from Apple's servers.
Your problem should be resolved, but if it returns, your likely going to need a new hard drive as it's failing.

Macbook stuck on grey screen during software update reboot

After I run my software updates, it tells me that I need to reboot to install them. However, it gets stuck on a grey "Software Update" screen. It will not allow me to force quit. I've even left the computer on overnight, still there. I have to do a hard shut down. Also, when I do boot it up and continue normal activity and attempt to do a normal shut down it takes me back to that grey Software Update screen. Even if I didn't try and run it for the day. Each time, hard shut down.
I took it to Geek Squad 2 weeks ago for this issue and a kernel error. They shipped it to Apple repair. They fixed the kernel error, but I cannot get this to update or remove the grey screen. I dread having to take it back in...but my warranty will expire next month. Any ideas? I am not getting the continuos spinning circle at that page or the Apple logo that I've read about.
Thanks!

Check out KB Article: Mac OS X: Gray screen appears during startup

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

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

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

My macbook pro is stuck on grey screen with apple symbol in center with the progress circle under it continusly spinning. After I had turned it on. Prior to turning it on I had to force close and shut down a few hours prior. Please Help?

My macbook pro is stuck on grey screen with apple symbol in center with the progress circle under it continusly spinning. After I had turned it on. Prior to turning it on I had to force close and shut down a few hours prior. Please Help I have tried everything I know to do

Unfortunately this means that there is a problem in the boot sector of your hard drive. It might be indicative of a fundamental corruption in the coding that allows your computer to boot your operating system from your hard drive. I had this problem twice and it resulted in me having to get a new hard drive and restore my data.
In other words, your computer can't talk to your operating system so you can't access your data.
Here is my advice: DON'T CALL APPLE TECH SUPPORT though they are kind and usually helpful it will take you an hour just to explain the situation and they will only tell you to do what I'm gonna say here.
First: Shut down your computer completely
Two: boot up while holding down the following keys: command, option, p, and r. The computer will reboot 3 times. This solution will likely fail so if you're frustrated skip to the next step.
Three: Boot up while holding down the option key. Select recovery drive. Select your default language. Select disk utility, click on Macintosh HD, and select "verify and repair volume." Likely the verification will produce some line like "unused node not erased." Or something like that. If anything using the words "node structure" comes up, you need a new hard drive.
If after verification and repairs you still can't boot I sincerely hope you have apple care because you will need a new hard drive. Set up an appointment to come in to the apple store, they will tell you to go and get data recovery, just ask them to give you the old hard drive. Unless you have an up to date backup in which case you can just restore from that. If you're lucky the only issue is with the boot sector which means that if you ask them to give you the old hard drive, you can buy an enclosure and you have effectively been given a free external hard drive. It still works to store data just not to load an operating system.
If you have a back up drive bring it to the apple store and they'll do the whole thing right there, it should take around an hour and a half but may take longer.
Hope this helps, it's annoying but it's your safest bet.
All the best.

I have snow leopard installed as an OS. When trying to reboot a MacBook Pro I am getting stuck on grey screen with apple logo and rotating symbol. What can I do?

I have snow leopard installed as an OS. When trying to reboot a MacBook Pro I am getting stuck on grey screen with apple logo and rotating symbol. What can I do?

Maybe this might help.
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2570

Macbook pro model A1278 wont boot osx stuck at grey screen

I have had my mbp for about 3 years now and has worked great. Just today i got home from work and when i opened the macbook which was already running I was in OSX but it was frozen with colored wheel spinning. I had never experiened this before but I didnt think too much of it and held down the power button to reset it. Now i am stuck at the grey screen with the Apple Logo and spinning wheel and cant get back into OSX at all. So i started googling (on another computer obviously) and tried:
1. boot in safe mode. Didnt work, still stuck at grey screen
2. boot in safe mode with "commd-shift-v" to see info. stuck in "dos" looking screen. see pic at bottom.
3. tried resetting VRAM w/ "commd-opt-p-r". did not work, still stuck at grey screen.
4. got original OSX install DVD. Was able to boot to disc and make it to disk utilities. went to repair and got error "unable to unmount disk"
5. ran "repair permissions" and completed that. ran "verify disk" and got green "disk ok" message. then re-ran repair and got same "unable to unmount disk"
so know i am worried. my main concern is the 80 GB of music I have on this computer (and dont currently have backed-up {que back-up lectures}) and my pictures. Does it sound possible to recover music and pics based on this little bit of info? Im willing to take it to the Apple store and pay the price if it sounds like I can recover it. I am pretty computer savy but am reluctanct to just start trying anything that could lose my music/pics. I cant try just deleteing and restoring OSX to factory settings and losing all that music/pics.
so...what is best approach to access and back up these files myself? I do have another macbook with a firewire connection but am not familiar with that process. I will get a external HD immediatly (now ofcourse)...can I backup my files from disc utility?
Thanks for any help.

Sorry about specs...i entered in drop box menu but realize doesnt show on thread:
MacBook Pro "Core 2 Duo" 2.53 13" (SD/FW)
2.53 GHz Core 2 Duo (P8700)
Intro Date:
June 8, 2009
Disc Date:
April 13, 2010
Order No:
MB991LL/A
Model No:
A1278 (EMC 2326*)
Subfamily:
Mid-2009 13"
Model ID:
MacBookPro5,5
Std RAM:
4 GB
Std VRAM:
256 MB
Std Storage:
250 GB (5400 RPM)
Std Optical:
8X DL "SuperDrive"
I was running the last vesion of snow leopard (10.6.8 i think).
I picked up a firewire today and am going to attempt to make "broken" macbook target and pull files onto other macbook. Will give an update tomorrow after attempt. Thank you for fast response.

Macbook air Lion stuck at grey screen and spinning wheel

HI
I have a Macbook air with Lion installed. I pressed the On button, but it gets stuck at grey screen, apple logo and spining wheel. I then managed to get it to startup in Safe Mode.
How can I find out what the problem was?
Please could you let me know if there are some simple steps to fix this?
Thank you in advance.

Please carefully read Gray screen appears during startup, Apple will tell you how to trouble shoot the issue. I suspect your HD has crashed, not a big deal if you have been backing up. However if you haven't then you're probably about to learn a lesson on why backup is critical.

My MacBook is stuck on grey screen with rotating circle

My MacBook is stuck on grey screen with rotating circle

See this Apple note on dealing with that. If you have OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion, this is the equivalent note, howver, it's not as detailed.

Macbook does not boot. stuck at grey screen. have tried single user mode, but text stops at AppleIntelCPUPPowerManagement: initialization complete, without anymore prompts. no

macbook does not boot. stuck at grey screen. have tried single user mode, but text stops at AppleIntelCPUPPowerManagement: initialization complete, without anymore prompts. no hash key appears that will allow me to type in: fsck -fy
have my trials for IB in one week and my history notes are all on my hard drive, that has not been backed up. help please =(

macbook does not boot. stuck at grey screen. have tried single user mode, but text stops at AppleIntelCPUPPowerManagement: initialization complete, without anymore prompts. no hash key appears that will allow me to type in: fsck -fy
have my trials for IB in one week and my history notes are all on my hard drive, that has not been backed up. help please =(

Downloaded OSX Mountain Lion on MacBook now stuck on grey screen with spinning wheel HELP?!?!

Downloaded OSX Mountain Lion on MacBook now stuck on grey screen with spinning wheel. What can I do, will I loose everything on my laptop?

ashg23 wrote:
Thank you, I have restarted but it is still stuck at the grey page with the spinning wheel? Any idea?
Have you started up holding down Command + R and attempted to install again?
Pete

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 retina 2012 mid year stuck on grey screen

Hi everyone.
I've just update for the lastest mac os x mountain lion update, when half way the progress and it goes stucked. All the function are unable to function, so i've force shut it down. After mac shutted down and i tried to boots it back it stuck on grey screen which below apple logo forever loading icon. i've tried Reset the PRAM, but it still not working for me. Also, i tried when when start up hold with cmd + r to reinstall the os x , but it just won't let me to reinstall it , it wrote you can't upgrade this version of OS X because a newer version is installed?
Help please! need a solution that wont delete all my files at the same time

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
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.
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.
Step 3
Boot in safe mode. Note: If FileVault is enabled on some models, 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 5.
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 4
Sometimes a boot failure can be resolved by resetting the NVRAM.
Step 5
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 6
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 7
Repeat Step 6, 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 8
This step applies only to older Macs (not current models) that have a logic-board ("PRAM") battery. Both desktop and portable Macs used to have such a battery. The logic-board battery is separate from the main battery of a portable. A dead logic-board battery can cause a gray screen at boot. Typically the boot failure will be preceded by loss of the startup disk and system clock settings. See the user manual for replacement instructions. You may have to take the machine to a service provider to have the battery replaced.
Step 9
If you get this far, you're probably dealing with a hardware fault. Make a "Genius" appointment at an Apple Store to have the machine tested. If you can't get to an Apple Store, go to another authorized service provider.

STUCK ON GREY SCREEN! !PLEASE HELP!

!!HELP!! STUCK ON GREY SCREEN
I have a MacBook 10.5. Its a few years old anyway it seemed to be working fine up until a couple of weeks ago then it started taking ages to startup.
I started it in singlemode then typed /sbin/fsck -fy then a message came up "harddrive appears to be ok" next i typed "reboot" and the system started booting.It started as normal with the apple logo and spinning chime,next the screen turns blue where the login screen normally appears but then the screen turns grey with no logo with just the pointer arrow on it and it doesn't seem to load past that point.Can anybody please help me solve this problem i have my kids photos and stuff on it that are unreplaceable.
Hopefully there's a command line that can help also I don't have a installation disk so is there a way I can download 1 onto USB??
THANKS HEAPS!!!!!

Hi Eug07349,
Thanks for visiting Apple Support Communities.
It sounds like you may be experiencing a software issue. I'd suggest trying the first two steps in this article (Disconnect, test peripheral devices and network cables, Perform a Safe Boot):
Mac OS X: Gray screen appears during startup
http://support.apple.com/kb/ts2570
Best,
Jeremy

10.6 won't boot; stuck on grey screen

I know this is covered here to some degree, at least, but I haven't been able to find a complete solution/answer, so here goes:
(Please, redirect me to the right source of information, if you know where to look, but not before reading through my post. Thanks! Oh, and I'm no computer expert, so, please, bear with me.)
First of all, my equipment: 17" iMac (serial #: w86262cru2n, emc #: 2104), running (ran?) 10.6 (w/updates)
So, as my title says, my iMac won't boot up and gets stuck on the grey startup screen with the  and the spinning wheel. I can wait and wait, but it never gets past this point.
Here are some things I've tried (nothing has worked so far; "no success" = stuck on grey screen). These steps are also laid out here.
- Tried normal startup (no success)
- Tried Safe Boot (no success)
- Tried booting without connected peripherals (no success)
- Tried alternate outlet (power source) (no success)
- Tried resetting PRAM & NVRAM (no success)
- Tried boot from 10.6 Install Disk (no success)
- Tried replacing original RAM (no success)
- Tried mounting internal drive as Target Disk on my 10.5 MacBook (mounts fine; used 10.6 install disk to verify, says disk is "ok")
- Tried booting to MacBook via Target Disk (i.e. iMac is external drive connected by FireWire) (no success)
- Tried booting from cloned copy of 10.6 disk on an external USB drive (yes, this can be done; I've done it before). This drive was verified "ok" in the same way the internal disk was (see above). (no success)
My next step appears to be to erase the original internal HD and reinstall 10.6. This is where my my ignorance begins to rear it's head. Since I can seem to boot from the iMac, can I do this through my MacBook, viz. mount the original, internal, 10.6 disk on my MacBook and erase it and install 10.6 from there (e.g. through Disk Utility on the 10.5 MacBook)?
Assuming this is possible, can someone step me through the process?
Assuming this last step isn't possible, does this all point to a faulty logic board (sounds like a 'worst case' to me)?
Any ideas? Suggestions?
Many, many thanks, BTW, to all who have posted here and whose help I've availed myself of anonymously many times. And thanks in advance to anyone with helpful ideas.

Try a SMC reset and follow the steps again in the support doc for grey screen
https://support.apple.com/kb/ht3964
https://support.apple.com/kb/TS2570
Your 10.6 install disk seems unreadable if it won't "hold c or option" boot.
Clean the bottom with a alcohol and a very soft cloth and lightly polish until there is no streaks.
Don't touch the bottom or place the disk onto something that will mar the bottom.
If the disk still fails to work, get a replacement, as your going to need it. Get a jeweled plastic case for it.
To make copies of your Snow Leopard install disk, follow these directions.
http://www.walterjessen.com/make-a-bootable-backup-snow-leopard-install-disc/
Once you can hold c and boot off a working 10.6 install disk, simply reinstall OS X without using Disk Utility to Erase and Format the drive, this will replace the OS X installed (and bundled programs) with the disk versions, then reboot and immediately use Software Update to get current.
Your user files, third party programs will remain untouched, except for ones installed in OS X/root system files, those will have to be reinstalled with updated copies.
All else fails:
Grab a copy of your recent user file folders via FireWire target disk mode first or from a hold option bootable clone on a external drive
If you have to completely erase and reformat the drive, reinstall 10.6, there are some things you need to know.
1: The free iLife that came with your 10.5 install disks are not on the 10.6 retail disks
So to get that you need to select the drive makers name in Disk Utility, erase and install with the 10.5 disks first (warning, wipe entire drive)
2: Name the boot drive the same name as before in Disk Utility when formatting.
3: When you go through inital "Welcome to Mac" setup, use the same username as before, (different password)
4: Once in OS X 10.5 stick a working 10.6 installer disk in and upgrade. Once rebooted, immediately Software Update to current version.
5: Install programs from fresh sources next and update.
6: Finally, return the backup copies of your user file folders (Music, Documents, Pictures, etc., not Library) to their respective folders on the new configuration. Because you used the same hard drive and user name as before you should have little complications with things like iTunes song locations/playlists and other hard references to files on your drive.
By installing the OS first, then upgrading, then programs, then finally user files last, keeps the drive optimized as the drive is faster on the data installed first than data installed later. Since users files change size often, having them towards the end where they can grow or shrink keeps the performance of the computer up as much as possible for the OS and applicaitons. Eventually though with OS X updates it can get a bit more defragmented, but not much.

Macbook stuck on grey screen

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