MacBook won't boot... No safe mode.

I've had my new MacBook for a few months now, and it hadn't caused me any trouble. I received a MacBook from my college (even though I already had one), and it was mandatory that I use the MacBook the university supplied me. The MacBook has BootCamp on it, but I've only used Vista a few times.
I installed a few programs last night--CandyBar to customize icons, and Paragon to be able to customize the icon for the Windows disk on the desktop (you have to have read and write access to NTFS partitions in order to do so). After customizing some icons using CandyBar, I restarted my computer, but it wouldn't boot. I might add that I changed access privileges to a few of the files (the Users file, and a subfile in that folder) from "no access" to "everyone" in order to customize those icons.
The gray screen with the Apple logo and the pinwheel appears for a few seconds, and then it stalls at the Blue Screen of Death, alternating between the blue screen and a slightly lighter blue screen with the pinwheel. The pointer flashes periodically.
I've tried starting in Safe Mode (holding Shift after the start-up chime), but it stalls at the blue screen. I've used suggestions from Apple Support (http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1411?viewlocale=en_US#symp3), but to no avail. I'm clueless as to what could be causing the problem, as I'm relatively new with Macs (two years or so of experience).
Any suggestions? I'll try to provide as much info as possible, but you may need to walk me through it.
-----Edit-----
I just tried to boot Windows by holding down option at startup and selecting the Windows disk, and got this message:
Checking file system on C:
The type of the file system is NTFS.
Volume label is Windows.
One of your disks needs to be checked for consistency. You may cancel the disk check, but it is strongly recommended that you continue.
Windows will now check the disk.
After it reaches 100%, it reboots, but just goes to the blue screen again.
I also booted from the installation CD and ran Disk Utility. After trying to verify and repair the Macintosh disk, I receive the message, "The volume Macintosh appears to be OK." Verifying and repairing the Windows disk is not enabled.
Message was edited by: Jbarber
Message was edited by: Jbarber
Message was edited by: Jbarber

I feel like an idiot, but I'm too happy to be down on myself. While in DiskUtility from the Installation DVD, I repaired the disk permissions (which I had overlooked earlier). That did it. Everything is working fine now.

Similar Messages

  • Mdworker deny mach-lookup. But macbook won't boot in safe mode

    I have a common problem, I get theese messages every now and then in console:
    2/8/13 6:38:24.000 PM kernel[0]: Sandbox: sandboxd(793) deny mach-lookup com.apple.coresymbolicationd
    2/8/13 6:38:24.534 PM sandboxd[793]: ([791]) mdworker(791) deny mach-lookup com.apple.ls.boxd
    2/8/13 6:38:24.556 PM sandboxd[793]: ([792]) mdworker(792) deny mach-lookup com.apple.ls.boxd
    There is a solution, which should resolve it, like here https://discussions.apple.com/message/19750564?searchText=mach-lookup%20com.appl e.ls.boxd#19750564
    I have just boot in safe mode. (holding Shift during boot)
    but my macbook won't boot in Safe mode. It just freeses with a grey screen for hours and wont boot.
    I tried to leave it overnight to boot, but it didn't.
    Please help me make my macbook to boot in SafeMode.
    my configuration is the following:
    MacBookPro8,1
    OSX 10.8.2

    There is a bug in fsck_hfs that is affecting a bunch of people.  Basically as your comptuer starts in safe mode, it runs a file system check (fsck) against your hard drive, it gets to a certain point and... just sits there.  No one knows why outside of apple.
    Lots of info here, including a way to get around it by tricking the system to think fsck had been run, though the fsck will not be complete so it is not a good solution.
    https://discussions.apple.com/message/21389737?ac_cid=tw123456#21389737

  • 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 Won't Boot in Safe Mode...it also won't stop trying to boot in safe mode

    I was having an issue with Finder crashing on my Macbook Pro.  After startup Finder would give me the spinning wheel of death if I clicked "about this Mac."  To try to resolve this issue, I attempted to boot in Safe Mode, but it basically died each time when the progress bar reached around 20%.  I was able to get into the Disk Utility and attempt to repair, but I learned that I need to back up and restore.  (I tried this twice.)  However, my machine will now only attempt to boot in Safe Mode (at which point it reverts to dying at around 20%).  How can I back up my machine if I can't boot into either safe mode or regular mode?
    (P.S., If you can't tell, I'm not hyper computer literate, so simple explanations will be most helpful.  Thanks!)

    dullman82,
    as you’ve discovered, the option to back up is currently unavailable to you with your disk in its current condition. You can try these two possibilities:
    Install OS X onto an external disk, boot from your external disk, run Software Update to get it up-to-date in its version, and try backing up your internal disk when booted from your external disk;
    Boot into Recovery mode, and select Reïnstall Mac OS X to reïnstall OS X on your internal disk (which should leave your other files there untouched) to see if that will fix your Finder problem.

  • MacBook Pro won't boot - tried safe mode but it went to black screen after trying.

    my MacBook Pro froze after the fan was running very loudly. I turned it off and try to reboot but just got a gray screen. I tried to boot in safe mode but that did not work.any other thoughts on what might help?

    Reinstalling OS X Without Erasing the Drive
    Boot to the Recovery HD: Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the menu screen appears. Alternatively, restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears. Select the Recovery HD and click on the downward pointing arrow button.
    Reinstalling OS X Without Erasing the Drive
    Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions: Upon startup select Disk Utility from the main menu. Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions as follows.
    When the recovery menu appears select Disk Utility and press the Continue button. After Disk Utility loads select the Macintosh HD entry from the the left side list.  Click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If Disk Utility 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 Disk Utility and return to the main menu.
    Reinstall OS X: Select Reinstall OS X and click on the Continue button.
    Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet if possible because it is three times faster than wireless.
    Alternatively, see:
    Reinstall OS X Without Erasing the Drive
    Choose the version you have installed now:
    OS X Yosemite- Reinstall OS X
    OS X Mavericks- Reinstall OS X
    OS X Mountain Lion- Reinstall OS X
    OS X Lion- Reinstall Mac OS X
         Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet
                     if possible because it is three times faster than wireless.

  • How do I stop my MacBook from ONLY booting in Safe Mode

    I have a new Intel MacBook with 512 Mhz of Memory. My granddaughter loaded about 8 programs from the dock all at the same time. Now, the computer will only boot up in safe maode. Does anyone know how I can get the machine to boot up properly? And yes, I have turned it off and on normally to see if this would fix the problem - but no luck. Help!!
    MacBook   Mac OS X (10.4.8)  

    "Now, the computer will only boot up in safe
    mode."
    In my earlier response I assumed that you booted into
    safe mode by holding down the Shift key during
    startup.
    Upon reconsideration, I'm wondering if you meant
    instead that the computer boots into safe mode by
    itself, without your holding down the shift key. If
    so, this would indicate that the computer suspected
    some inconsistency in the filesystem and is booting
    into safe mode in an attempt to repair the damage.
    This repair can take some time. Are you allowing it
    10-20 minutes to finish the task?
    If so, and it still won't reboot into regular mode,
    then you probably should start the computer from the
    Installation Disc by inserting the Disc before
    shutdown and then holding down the C key during
    startup.
    Don't actually install anything, but use the menu at
    the top to run DiskUtility on the hard drive. Tell it
    to "Repair Disk".
    Sorry I didn't see this post before I responded to your first one. Yes, this is exactly what is happening. I am not holding down any key to force it into safe mode - it's doing that all by itself. I will try the 10 - 20 minute repair time as you suggested. What will I see happening after this period of time has elapsed? Does it matter if my screen goes into "sleep mode" before the 10-20 minute time is up? And then, if this doesn't work, I'll try your other suggestion using my installation disc.
    Thank you!!!!

  • MacBook Pro only boots in safe mode with pink vertical stripes across screen.

    So on Friday night I was using Chrome on my MacBook Pro, when all of a sudden little squares of light flashed randomly across the whole screen and everything but the mouse froze. I thought that was weird, so after a few minutes I forced my computer to shutdown. I waited a little and then turned it back on, and opened Chrome again. The same thing happened again, so I forced shut down, backed up Time Machine and ran a virus scan. Nothing came up, so I put it to sleep and and went to bed.  Then Saturday morning I went to open my laptop and it was off, which was weird, so I went to turn it on. After the apple logo and spinning gear went away, it booted to a light blue screen and stayed there. Again I waited and nothing happened, so I held the power button down until it turned off. I tried again but the same thing happened, so I booted in Safe Mode.
    This time there were inch long vertical bars of horizontal lines, kind of confusing but here are two pictures I took of the screen that hopefully help. http://imgur.com/oj2WbZL and http://imgur.com/O1hwJ1B . When it finally loaded I had another issue, I had 6 pink vertical bars across the screen and a box of pink horizontal stripes around my pointer, http://imgur.com/BJBzu74 . I performed an extended Apple Hardware Test and after 17 minutes it found no issues, and as it performed the test the lines got whiter and made the screen harder to see http://imgur.com/XahBD3s .
    I got my laptop June 2011, so it's not that old. I just want to know what this problem could be. I don't know if it's the connection from the screen to the computer, the hard drive, the logic board or something else. I'm really worried that it's something major, so any help is greatly appreciated.
    Thank you in advance!

    This is a GPU problem. It's normal that you see that the problem is random, but the fact that your Mac is only starting up in safe mode indicates that your Mac can only start up if the VGA driver is used. Moreover, if you open Console, you should start seeing "GPU Debug Info Start", which indicates a GPU failure.
    As you have a backup, take the MacBook to an Apple Store or reseller. In the case of the MacBook Pro, the GPU is soldered onto the logic board, so the whole logic board has to be replaced, being a very expensive repair.
    If a post solved your question or helped you, mark it as solved or helpful before posting a reply. Doing this, you will avoid that your own post is marked as solved or helpful. You won’t receive any point if you mark your own post as solved or helpful. Also, you won’t be rewarding the user who solved your question and you will help other users find the answer if you mark the correct reply

  • Macbook won't boot in any mode

    It started playing up last week but I booted it with command s and it's been fine, today it's done the same and I've tried rebooting it with every different key combination I have seen on discussions online and it either just keeps thinking on the apple logo page or goes blue. If I try to boot in safe mode the progress bar never fully finished, it stops halfway and goes to the blues screen. I've not made any changes or updates to the macbook? Model is a1181. Can I get a recovery disk or software disk to reboot it as I don't have one of those either? This is my first mac so I don't know much about them? All I know is I'm deployed in afghan with a broken laptop lol. Ta for your help

    He  tried booting it in safe mode and from an external drive, neither of which worked. He said that he could hear the hard drive spinning and it didn't sound right (when I held my ear next to it, I couldn't hear anything).
    He spent most of the time working in the back room and didn't give me much information. He simply said that I needed to swap out the internal drive and that should fix the problem.
    Obviously it didn't, so I have no idea where the problem could really be.
    I do know that my drive is bad, because I put it in my mom's macbook (we have the same kind) and it didn't boot in there.
    However, I cloned my mom's working drive on my blank ssd and tried putting it in my macbook, but that didn't work either.
    The computer won't respond to any commands - it won't even eject the install disk I put in.
    I am at a loss as to what to try next, and I can't find a similar situation addressed on any forums.

  • Macbook Pro only boots in Safe Mode

    Hello,
    I've read a few discussions about MacBooks only booting in Safe Mode, but my circumstances are a bit different.
    Yesterday I installed a new piece of RAM. The installation was careful and went well. When I went to restart the computer, however, it would not load after the gray screen with the apple appeared. So I restarted it in Safe Mode and it worked fine (abeit there is no sound, can't use the disc drive, etc.)
    The interesting part is that while in safe mode I clicked on the apple in the top left corner, clicked "About This Mac," and it appears that the computer accepted the new ram (I originally had two 2-gig sticks [4 gigs total], and I swapped out one of the sticks for the new 4-gig stick [therefore I have 6 gigs total]). So the computer recognizes the new RAM, which is good news, but I've still got a problem.
    I've tried rebooting several times, and have even tried the Apple Hardware Test, but it froze shortly after I started the test (the same thing happened about 4 times).
    Any help would be greatly appreciated!
    Here's the specs of my Macbook:
    MacBook Pro, mid-2010 edition
    Mac OS X, version 10.6.8
    2.4 GHz Intel Core i5 Processor
    6 GB 1067 MHz DDR3 Memory

    The RAM you received was bad, return it. That brand of RAM seems to pop up a lot here as a problem for Mac's.
    According to MacTracker the Mid 2010 models with i5 processors can accept 8GB of RAM.
    Maximum Memory
    8.0 GB
    Memory Slots
    2 - 204-pin PC3-8500 (1066 MHz) DDR3 SO-DIMM
    Amazon and eBay are not good sources of top tier reliable and tested RAM, your just going to be spending more money returning it.
    Crucial.com or OtherWorld Computing will make sure the RAM they sell you works correctly in your model/year of machine.

  • Win2003 SP2 VM won't boot to safe mode

    I have a Windows Server 2003 SP2 VM set up in Hyper-V on my Windows Server 2008 R2 server.  The VM was created as an export from AppAssure 5 export to Hyper-V Virtual Standby.  This particular server won't complete the boot but "sits"
    at the Windows splash screen indefinitely (I've let it run for two hours with no change).  I specifically use the work "sits" vs. "hangs" because the progress bar continues to move and the CPU usage fluctuates between 20 and 30%.
    AppAssure T3 support want me to try to boot into safe mode but I'm unable to do so.  I'm connecting to the VM through Hyper-V manager on my local Windows 7 PC.  I have inserted the integration services disk in the vmguest and it shows that keyboard
    input is being captured but it doesn't seem to recognize the F8 keystroke.
    Before I try to run startup recovery from install I was hoping someone here might be able to offer insight into why I'm unable to boot to safe mode.  I do have one other VM server created through the AppAssure export and I can boot normally or into
    safe mode with that one.
    Thanks in advance for any insight provided.

    Thanks for the reply.  I'm currently into the 5th hour of the boot process and no joy yet.  I'll let it go for a little bit longer before stopping to so I can re-enable my protection of the server.
    Yesterday, I tried mounting the drive to see if any errors were being registered in the event log that might not be causing a bsod or other start up error but kept getting an error when trying to read the event logs through my win 7 pc.  It said
    it wanted to convert them to .evtx and I said ok then would get an error that the log was corrupt or unreadable.

  • Hard drive won't boot into safe mode

    My mid 2010 Macbook Pro has suddenly decided to not boot up after installing BitDefender and running a scan.
    I installed it on a whim when I saw minor malware that hijacked Safari, and decided to run a scan. While I was working on Photoshop, the scan must have finished because all of my windows disappeared and I was left with my desktop and the spinning gray loading at the bottom of my screen. I waited 20 minutes, realized it wasn't going anywhere and force shut down the Macbook by power button.
    Now, I cannot successfully get it past the grey apple loading screen. Attempting to boot into safe mode still leaves it at the same screen. Tried to reset the PRAM, still can't get past the loading screen. I still have my OS disk, however it is Snow Leopard and my current is Mavericks and I'm unsure if it is a wise idea.
    15 inch mid 2010 Macbook Pro running OS X Mavericks, how dead in the water am I and how much would this cost me to "fix"?

    Use the original Snow Leopard installation disk and start the MBP as if you were going to reinstall the OSX.  Early in the process you should see a menu bar on the top of the display.  Click on UTILITIES and from the dropdown menu select Disk Utility.  Run Disk Utility>First Aid, Verify and Repair.  If it is not successful, the HDD will have to be replaced.
    Ciao.

  • Won't boot into safe mode

    My 2012 iMac 27" was randomly rebooting itself, while in Sleep. I assumed this was due to the cheap 32 GB memory I bought, but before I could change it back to the original memory, to test, the Mac booted into Safe Mode (I assume - a progress bar showing at the bottom of the boot screen, below the Apple logo), and did not get further than a half the way, and then shut down. I swapped the memory to the original 8GB. I tried booting again, no buttons held down, as then it wouldn't get further than a quarter of the way. Further attempts to boot do not work, even when holding down Option to choose the boot disk, pressing Shift for Safe Mode, or Option-S for Single User Mode. I assume it's trying to boot in Safe Mode, but failing?
    I also tried using a good Mac with the bad Mac as the Target Disk boot mode - the good Mac does not see the bad Mac...
    I have an external DVD drive, but that isn't an option as I can't go into boot drive select mode. What are my options, apart from sending the iMac back?

    Booting into the Recovery HD should allow you to effect repairs - that's the point of it, so it's a bit concerning that it won't allow you to. The Recovery HD is a partition on the internal drive that should allow you to effect repairs to the Macintosh HD, albeit part of the same physical disk.
    I'm no expert, but I'd be concerned that the hard disk is on the way out. Do you have backup of everything - Time Machine or a bootable clone, perhaps?
    Maybe have another try with Command+r. If it fails I'm not sure what would be the best next step - it depends if you have a full and up-to-date backup of your disk so that you can restore.
    One of the options of the Recovery HD is to allow you to re-install the OS, which won't delete your data.
    The more extreme step would be Internet Recovery which would involve erasing everything and re-installing via the internet.
    Worth reading this carefully before proceeding: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4718
    Disk Warrior from Alsoft (not cheap) is another possibility for recovering damaged disks, although it's not a guaranteed solution.

  • Help! MacBook Pro only boots in Safe Mode and runs extremely slow (bonus: happened in Brazil and there are no Apple stores here - I need you guys!)

    It's a MBP mid 2010. Last year it had some problems and an Apple authorised shop changed the HD and upgraded the OS from Snow Leopard to Lion. After that it seemed fine. Recently it started getting very slow and apps (e.g. Chrome, Flash) would crash. At some point it seemed stuck so I gave it a hard shutdown - bad idea. After that it would only boot in Safe Mode. I ran repar disk and repair permissions from the Disk Utility and it booted normally again but extremely slow. I upgraded to OS X 10.8.2, but didn't solve it. I tried booting with Command D to have a hardware diagnostic - it wouldn't boot and now it only boots in Safe Mode.
    All data is backed and I have an external HD (but not an OS X Disc). Ready to anything. Help please!
    Utility Disk Logs
    Repairing permissions for “Macintosh HD”
    Group differs on “Library/Java”; should be 0; group is 80.
    Permissions differ on “Library/Java”; should be drwxr-xr-x ; they are drwxrwxr-x .
    Repaired “Library/Java”
    Warning: SUID file “System/Library/CoreServices/RemoteManagement/ARDAgent.app/Contents/MacOS/ARDAg ent” has been modified and will not be repaired.
    Permissions differ on “System/Library/Frameworks/CoreGraphics.framework/CoreGraphics”; should be lrwxrwxrwx ; they are lrwxr-xr-x .
    Repaired “System/Library/Frameworks/CoreGraphics.framework/CoreGraphics”
    Permissions differ on “System/Library/Frameworks/CoreGraphics.framework/Resources”; should be lrwxrwxrwx ; they are lrwxr-xr-x .
    Repaired “System/Library/Frameworks/CoreGraphics.framework/Resources”
    Permissions differ on “System/Library/Frameworks/CoreGraphics.framework/Versions/Current”; should be lrwxrwxrwx ; they are lrwxr-xr-x .
    Repaired “System/Library/Frameworks/CoreGraphics.framework/Versions/Current”
    Permissions repair complete
    Verifying volume “Macintosh HD”
    Checking file systemPerforming live verification.
    Checking Journaled HFS Plus volume.
    Checking extents overflow file.
    Checking catalog file.
    Checking multi-linked files.
    Checking catalog hierarchy.
    Checking extended attributes file.
    Checking volume bitmap.
    Checking volume information.
    The volume Macintosh HD appears to be OK.
    Verifying and repairing partition map for “ST9500325AS Media”
    Checking prerequisites
    Checking the partition list
    Adjusting partition map to fit whole disk as required
    Checking for an EFI system partition
    Checking the EFI system partition’s size
    Checking the EFI system partition’s file system
    Checking all HFS data partition loader spaces
    Reviewing boot support loaders
    Checking Core Storage Physical Volume partitions
    Updating Windows boot.ini files as required
    The partition map appears to be OK

    See this for incompatible log in items
    https://support.apple.com/kb/TS4348
    Also you can perform #1 and #2 as these occur before Safe Mode, so you just reboot again with Shift key if you need to enter Safe Mode again.
    At this point it sounds like your hard drive is dying or some sort of other hardware issue which I can only advise this.
    Try to install OS X on a external drive and boot from it, if it's fine then you know your internal boot drive is dying.
    Create a data recovery/undelete external boot drive
    You can replace your internal drive yourself.
    OtherWorld Computing is pretty good about providing drives and tool kits to perform that function yourself.
    Install/upgrade RAM or storage drive in Mac's

  • Won't boot in safe mode

    Hi,
    I can't get my PowerBook to boot in safe mode. I hold the shift key after the startup chime, then release it when I see the gray apple and progress spinner; but the spinner spins for a while and eventually the computer shuts off. I can boot up normally, but I'm trying to boot in safe mode to rectify a problem I have updating Office 2004. I tried zapping the PRAM, but that didn't make a difference.
    Thanks,
    Michael

    Well, according to DiskWarrior my news isn't good: "DiskWarrior has successfully built a new directory for the disk named “Macintosh HD.” The new directory cannot replace the original directory because of a disk malfunction. A disk malfunction is a failure of or damage to any mechanical component of the disk device, or any component connected to it."
    So I suppose my HD is on its way out, although it's not exhibiting much in the way of problems yet, and the S.M.A.R.T. status is still verified. And, rather interestingly, I can no longer use Disk Utility to Verify or Repair disk when I'm booted up from an external drive. I get this message:
    Repairing disk failed with error Could not unmount disk
    Which just seems weird, since this is the same way I'm running DiskWarrior.
    I love this PowerBook but I'm not sure I want to invest the time or expense in replacing the HD in a PowerPC-based machine. I assume new apps will soon be demanding more than that chip can handle. Does this message of doom from DiskWarrior generally reliably indicate the drive is beyond repair?
    Thanks, Carolyn, and to anyone who wants to chime in.
    Michael

  • MBP Won't Boot - No Safe Mode

    Hey everyone, I have a late 2011 MBP, 15" with i7 processor.  Factory 750GB HDD.  OS 10.9.?
    When I try to boot, it goes to the gray login screen as usual.  When I login, I would get the "trouble" screen (gray) with the spinning wheel and the progress bar across the bottom indicating that there was a problem and it was checking things.  This runs for about 10 minutes, the progress bar moves all the way to completion, disappears like it's going to boot, then all goes black and it's dead.
    So I tried to boot to safe mode by holding shift down after "the sound".  However, I wasn't getting "the sound" at all, and it would never go to safe mode.
    So then I reset the NVRAM / PRAM per the recommended steps.  Now I get "the sound" but still no safe mode.
    So then I tried to boot into single user mode, which took a few tries, but then it went there.  I ran "/sbin/fsck -fy" at the command prompt and was told a few times that there were incorrect numbers of records and eventually that the disk could not be repaired after 3 attempts.
    My backup setup is like this....  I have two 3TB drives that each have a bootable clone of the main HDD via SuperDuper on one partitiion (750GB) and the remaining space is a time machine drive.  (I swap them out once a week or so with one being kept offsite.)
    I then plugged my backup drive in and tried to boot to the clone (called "bootable 1") via the startup manager.  And I got the same exact boot sequence and black screen death as noted in the second paragraph above.
    So basically I can't boot to anything at this point.  I'm pretty good with my 20+ years of Windows experience, but I'm pretty new to Macs.  What on Earth do I do now?
    Thanks!

    I got my backup drive #2 today and booted into the "OS X Utilities" screen and went into the disk utility.  From within the disk utility, I can unlock drive #2 (it's encrypted like the others), and verify it, and it checks all OK.  So all seems to be well with this drive.
    However, when I exit the utility and select drive #2 as my boot disk, it tries but then I get the flashing folder icon with the question mark on it.  No prompts, no status bar, no nothing.  I let it sit like that for at least a half-hour or so and got nothing.
    I suspect that the file integrity on drive #2 is fine.  And I should theoretically be able to image from backup drive #2 onto a new internal drive.  But....
    1.  How can I do that if I can't boot to drive #2?
    2. Why can't I boot to drive #2?
    Other advice?
    Thanks!

  • OS hangs at grey startup screen, won't boot into safe mode

    I rebooted my G5 this morning and when it came back up, it hung on the grey screen with the Apple logo and the spinning 'gear' progress bar. I tried rebooting several times, but that didn't help. I tried booting from the install DVD (which it did) and ran disk utility (both verify & repair on the start up drive and on permissions. It claims to have found permission errors and fixed them.) I hunted for answers online and tried to boot into safe mode, which did not work.
    Someone mentioned booting into verbose mode and I saw that the load sequence was choaking on the login.
    What could the problem be and how can I fix it?

    Hi Yosarian,
    Minor permissions repairs are no concern: The good news is that your data is probably OK.
    Three things can be happening: Some of the machines boot settings are corrupted, or the OS files or settings are damaged, or there's a hardware problem.
    Resetting the machines power management chip, called a PMU or SMU, depending on your computer, and the PRAM will resolve machine boot settings problems. Run a google search for your model of Mac plus reset pmu OR smu for instructions. After that, reboot your computer and hold Option-Apple-P-R down as you power on. Hold all 4 keys until you hear the startup chime a second time.
    You can test your hardware with the grey disk that came with it that ays AHT in little letters. Boot from the CD and run the extended test. Be patient: AHT can take a long time to boot and run.
    If you reset your PMU and PRAM and pass a hardware diagnostic but still can't boot normally, in safe mode, or in single-user mode, the problem is system software. Reinstall from your latest installer, checking off Archive and Install and Preserve Users and Settings from the Options screen available at the screen where you choose which disk to install to.
    Good luck,
    John

Maybe you are looking for

  • Siebel Eligibility determination functionality throws rulebase errors

    Issue facing* Clicking on Eligibility button throws the following error +[1] Error running sub-process 'PUB Case Eligibility Determination Main' at step 'Subprocess - Eligibility Determination Workflow'.(SBL-BPR-00183)+ +[2] Error running sub-process

  • How can I get rid of the passcode to open my touch?

    I set a passcode to open my touch and now I wish I hadn't. Can I get rid of it? How?

  • Businessobjects Integration kit  for SAP

    Hi all, I am integrating BI with Xcelsius tool. For that I want Businessobjects Integration kit  for SAP in my client machine. I have reffered the following installation guide. [BusinessObjects Integration Kit for SAP - Installation and Configuration

  • Defining Organizational Structure

    Hi When we are implementing SAP HR in an organization, we have to define Org Structure and Enterprise Structure. I am kind of clear about the Enterprise Structure but I am little confused about the Organizational Structure. What are the things or par

  • Encore CS3 crashes on Mac

    I have a standard Intel Power Mac running Leopard, with latest upgrade for both Encore and leopard, also 3 gigs of memory and 3 7200 rpm hard drives for a total of 1.5T. I have been experiencing crashes at various times when using Encore. It frequent