MacBook won't boot past the apple logo screen!

So my MacBook started freezing up and I went to restart it and it wouldn't boot past the grey logo screen with the spinning gear. Its pretty old and therefor still has the Leopard operating system. I've been trying to run Disk Repair using a Snow Leopard install disc but it just gets about 30% done and then doesn't go any further. Eventually I stopped the disk repair and just tried installing OSX but when it asks me what drive I want to install on there are no options available to click. I've got alot of unsaved work on this old thing and would love to get it running soon! Any help would be extremely appreciated! Thanks

I've been trying to run Disk Repair using a Snow Leopard install disc
Install discs are "machine specific" .. you can only use the install disc that came with the Mac for repairing the hard disk.
You may not have enough free space on the startup disk.
Follow the directions for starting up in Safe Mode
A Safe Mode boot can take a little longer then a normal boot so be patient.
When you see the Desktop, right or control click the MacintoshHD icon. Click Get Info. In the Get Info window you will see Capacity and Available. Make sure there's a minimum of 15% free disk space.
If there isn't enough free space, help here > Freeing space on your Mac OS X startup disk
You can use Disk Utility to verify the startup disk from Safe Mode but you can't repair the disk. You will need the install disc that came with your MacBook for that. While you have Disk Utillity open check S.M.A.R.T. status at the bottom of the window. Make sure it says: Verified
When you are finished, click the Apple menu icon top left in the screen. From the drop down menu click Restart.
If you don't have the original install discs you may be able to request a replacement. You can get replacement System Install & Restore CD/DVDs from Apple's Customer Support - in the US, (800) 767-2775 - for a nominal S&H fee. You'll need to have the model and/or serial number of your Mac available.

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Macbook won't boot past grey Apple logo.

Hello! My mother's unibody white MacBook will not get past the grey apple and spinning gear when you first boot up the computer. This was after she opened a link in an email from a friend who had her email compromised. Now I'm getting spam emails with the same link from my mother's hacked email, and her computer won't even get to the login screen. I took it to the genius bar only to be told it was likely HD failure, but the windows partition works without a hitch! What could this be? A trojan? Is there any way to retrieve data (really just pictures) before I attempt to reinstall OS X?
Thanks!

P.S. The one or two times it did get past the mentioned screen, it moved it horribly slow speeds. It took near an hour to get the spotlight feature to open!

My macbook won't boot pass the apple logo and the spinning wheel

Some programs on my Macbook starting crashing so I tried restarting it. Now it doesn't load past the grey screen with the apple logo and the spinning wheel.
I've tried installing the Install disc, holding 'c' but nothing happens.
I've tested the hardware holding 'd' in the start up, in which the test can back clean, so I'm assuming it's a problem with the software.
I've followed almost all the troubleshooting solutions on the apple website including restarting the PRAM and SMC, with no success.
However I foolishly followed a solution that was meant for an earlier version of Mac OS X, which invloved starting up in single-user and entering some commands, this appears to have done nothing but i'm concerned it may have done some extra damage.
I have bootcamp installed and I can boot up windows with no problem and even access some of the files on the Macintosh HD.
My backup harddrive broke recently so I haven't got a back up of any of my files either.
My question is, is there any way of fixing this problem or even just saving all my files and data so I can format the hard drive and start again, other than finding someone with a mac and try using the firewire method?
thank you for your time and help.

There's a possible solution but you must have the proper installer DVD for the computer. Assuming you do:
How to Perform an Archive and Install
An Archive and Install will NOT erase your hard drive, but you must have sufficient free space for a second OS X installation which could be from 3-9 GBs depending upon the version of OS X and selected installation options. The free space requirement is over and above normal free space requirements which should be at least 6-10 GBs. Read all the linked references carefully before proceeding.
1. Be sure to use Disk Utility first to repair the disk before performing the Archive and Install.
Repairing the Hard Drive and Permissions
Boot from your OS X Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Installer menu (Utilities menu for Tiger, Leopard or Snow Leopard.) After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the installer. Now restart normally.
If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior and/or Tech Tool Pro to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X.
2. Do not proceed with an Archive and Install if DU reports errors it cannot fix. In that case use Disk Warrior and/or TechTool Pro to repair the hard drive. If neither can repair the drive, then you will have to erase the drive and reinstall from scratch.
3. Boot from your OS X Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When you reach the screen to select a destination drive click once on the destination drive then click on the Option button. Select the Archive and Install option. You have an option to preserve users and network preferences. Only select this option if you are sure you have no corrupted files in your user accounts. Otherwise leave this option unchecked. Click on the OK button and continue with the OS X Installation.
4. Upon completion of the Archive and Install you will have a Previous System Folder in the root directory. You should retain the PSF until you are sure you do not need to manually transfer any items from the PSF to your newly installed system.
5. After moving any items you want to keep from the PSF you should delete it. You can back it up if you prefer, but you must delete it from the hard drive.
6. You can now download a Combo Updater directly from Apple's download site to update your new system to the desired version as well as install any security or other updates. You can also do this using Software Update.

Won't boot past the Apple logo...

I have an '07 MacBook that was upgraded to Snow Leopard about 6 months ago. I've had it for about 3.5 years with no problems-- until now. Last night I turned it on and it booted fine. However, once it had booted, the spinning pinwheel would not go away when I was on "Finder". Despite this, Firefox loaded up fine. But I didn't want to do stuff on the computer when I knew something wasn't right. I tried to restart it, but it wouldn't shut down, so I was forced to cut it off with the power button. When i tried to turn it back on, it wouldn't get passed the white screen with the Apple logo and the little spinning load signal. Along with that, a load bar that I have never seen on that page before began to load up, but it disappeared after filling up to about 10%. I let it sit for a while before turning it off and trying again. By this point I was freaking out, because I have some valuable documents/files that I haven't backed up yet that I really need. I got on my sister's computer and began to research all the topics where people had the same problem. I did everything. I tried the verbose mode, but everything seemed to be okay. In verbose, I did the fsck -fy and reboot, but it still wouldn't start. I did the PRAM and SMC resets. I tried to open it in Safe Mode, but I couldn't get it to open. This morning, I got out my Snow Leopard disc and was able to boot that up. Unfortunately, I, stupidly, have not used time machine to back anything up like I should. I don't want to just wipe and restart everything because there are some files I really need to get. I'm trying disc utility. When I verify the disc, it says that the Sibling Link is invalid and it can't repair that. It tells me to back up as much as I can and then to wipe it and start over, but I don't know how to back stuff up from here. I've also tried "Permission Verify". It comes up with all this things that say either "Group differs on..." or "Permissions differ on..." and then it goes on with a long line of text starting with "Applications/Utilities/....etc. etc." and they all end with either "should be 0, group is 80(or 90)" or "should be -rw-r--r--, they are "-rw-rw-r--". But before it finishes verifying them, it stops loading with about a minute left and pretty much just freezes other than the mouse being moveable.
I'm out of town right now, but I'm probably just going to take it in to the local Mac store when I get home since there's not one around here. Of course, if this is something that I can fix, I'd prefer just to do that. Someone please put me out of my misery and tell me that my files are recoverable. When I'm in disc utility, it says I have the exact capacity I had when my computer was booting, so that gives me hope that all of my files are still there, not to mention the fact that I could see them in another program under "Utilities". Unfortunately though, I'm not computer-savy enough to know what to do. Sorry for all this writing, but hopefully this way all you tech-wizards' questions will be answered so that you know how best to help me.

Yes, I'm using my snow leopard DVD. I wrote all of this in my first post. I tried to boot safe mode from Terminal by doing the "sudo nvram boot-args="-x"" thing. Also in my first post, I said that i used Disc Utility and that it told me the Sibling link was missing or was wrong. Read my first post and you'll see everything that I've tried.
Also, an update on something, now when I upload in Verbose mode, it tells me the bugs; it didn't do that before.

Macbook flickering screen & freeze, then won't boot pass the apple logo

Hi Guys,
My macbook is driving me insane now. Just recently, my macbook has occasionally flickering screen and freezes after that. Yesterday, when I was watching youtube on fullscreen, it first has flickering screen, then freezes. So I hard booted it pressing the power button. Then, when I try to restart it, it won't boot pass the apple logo no matter what.
Here's my macbook spec
2007 Summer Macbook Pro 15"
Snow Leopard 10.6 OS X
I cracked my screen once, and got a replacement, don't know if that matters.
I've tried the following:
Safe mood reboot, the progress bar goes about half, then disappears and stalls again.
Booted in verbose mode but it gives a warning message:
'com.apple.driver. internalmodemsupport declares no kernel dependencies; using com.apple.kernal.6.0'.
Booted in Single user mood, and typed fsck for disk repair. After checking said the volume Macintosh HD appears to be ok. But still won't boot pass the apple logo after restart.
Boot with installation disk pressing C at startup. Success after a few try:
Opened Disk Utility and did disk repair (no problem found).
Reinstalled Snow Leopard OS X 10.6.
This time it booted with Finder and everything for a short while, then the screen flicker and freezes again (before I can backup anything!). Then, I can't reboot pass the apple logo again.
When I try to reinstall Leopard OS X 10.5 with installation disk, the macbook seems to try to read the disk, but won't boot. I've got a CD stuck in the optical drive now.
I've tried everything I can find online short of opening it up and send it into the oven for baking! I pray it's not a hardware problem, coz I'm no good at that. (QAQ~~~) Please help me!
Thank you very, very, very much!!!
ps. this is my first post. please let me know if I have missed anything.

starangelam wrote:
When I try to reinstall Leopard OS X 10.5 with installation disk, the macbook seems to try to read the disk, but won't boot. I've got a CD stuck in the optical drive now.
Reboot the machine holding the trackpad or left wired mouse button down, that shoudl force eject the 10.5 disk.
Reinstalled Snow Leopard OS X 10.6.
This time it booted with Finder and everything for a short while, then the screen flicker and freezes again (before I can backup anything!). Then, I can't reboot pass the apple logo again.
Ok, so your attempting data recovery efforts.
First get the 10.5 disk out of the machine, like above.
You can also boot into Single User mode, (command s at reboot) and enter
/usr/bin/drutil eject
then type
restart
Next hold c boot and use the 10.6 disk and create a data recovery drive here on a blank external drive, make sure you clean and polish the bottom of the 10.6 disk, if it's bad you will need to get a new one.
Create a data recovery, undelete boot drive
If your problems continue on this drive even with a clean or new 10.6 disk, it's likely a hardware issue with your Mac, not a issue with the drive.
I suspect a failing sector on your internal boot drive, you installed OS X right over the same spot perhaps, as you were obviously able to boot from the 10.6 disk to install it so it seems the hardware of the Mac appears to be working.
You might have other issues relateing to software perhaps, something your installing or running.
Step by Step to fix your Mac
Once you have gotten your files off the internal drive, you may want to look into doing a Zero Erase with Disk Utility before resintalling 10.6 again fresh install method.
Reducing bad sectors effect on hard drives
How to erase and install Snow Leopard 10.6
Look into making a bootable clone, it's easier to restore with and more options than Timemachine
Most commonly used backup methods explained

Macbook pro won't go past the apple logo (Lion)

I've installed Java Runtime, and after that tried to use "software update" but the application quit.
Tried to restart, but it stays stuck on the apple logo (with the wheel turning) for ages. Restarted in recovery mode, ran disk utility, repaired permissions and verified disk. no problems found. Restarted again, still the same thing - won't go past the apple logo.
If reinstall is the only way to go, is there a way to access this hard drive to back up files (it is a recent computer, still hadn't made any backups...)
Thank you all, help would be much appreciated!

Shut down and startup holding command-r keys into Recovery Disk from there choose Disk Utility and Repair Disk.
polymolly wrote:
I've installed Java Runtime, and after that tried to use "software update" but the application quit.
Tried to restart, but it stays stuck on the apple logo (with the wheel turning) for ages. Restarted in recovery mode, ran disk utility, repaired permissions and verified disk. no problems found. Restarted again, still the same thing - won't go past the apple logo.
If reinstall is the only way to go, is there a way to access this hard drive to back up files (it is a recent computer, still hadn't made any backups...)
Thank you all, help would be much appreciated!
Ooops you've been there, done that. You can use Target Disk Mode if you have another Mac.
EDIT: Was the Java Runtime from Software Update?

Power Mac G5 wont boot past the Apple Logo

Mac: Power Mac G5 2.7Ghz DP w/ 4gb RAM (2x1gb, 4x512mb), Leopard
Last week, I formated this computer and reinstalled OS X 10.5. I updated everything, reinstalled all my applications and replaced my documents. Everything was good for a couple days. I have and HP 1350 all-in-one printer (which HP no long has mac support for that model, so I can only use the scanner as a photocopier, but that's not the issue, it prints fine and I have printed files since the formatting) The printer is connect via USB to my Power Mac and then shared on my home network, wirelessly, with 2 other MacBooks and a 27" iMac. My roommate was trying to print something from his MacBook. In the printer queue on the MacBook, the file would say it was printing, but nothing would actually printer. When I went to the printer settings on the Power Mac, the dialog box said the printer was "in use." I reset the printer, nothing happened. I restarted the Power Mac, properly, and now the computer wont boot past the Apple logo. The spinning gear appears and spins for a minute or 2 and then it will just reboot on its own. It will just keep doing this in a continuous loop.
I've tried to boot into safe mode (holding shift) but it still does the same thing.
I manage to get the CD drive open by booting into open Firmware. I restarted the computer and was able to boot from the Leopard disc. I ran disk utility, and repaired the drive and the permission but everything was ok.
I've unplugged any USB device connect but to no avail.
I really don't want to reinstall Leopard again. it took almost 8 hours to install all the applications (such as Logic, Komplete 5, etc) and I had not setup time machine. There are some document files that I would prefer not to loose, but could deal with the loss.
any suggestions?

Ok, so I reinstalled Leopard, all my documents were in the "Previous Systems" folder, and the applications where present. I went to Software Updates to download all the need updates, which included 10.5.8, itunes, security fixes, etc. It notified my that I would have to restart. I click ok, everything was logged out and the updates started installing. As the computer restarted itself after the updates, i had the same issue again, where it would go to the Apple logo and then restart itself. The second time around, it just froze and the warning "You need to restart your computer" with the power logo in the background came up. So I manually restarted my computer and everything logged in correctly. I restarted it a couple time to see if I could duplicate the errors but everything keeps working properly. Now I'm kind of scare to restart my computer.
Any suggestions as to why this would be happening? Is this most likely a software issue or a hardware issue? This never happened before I formatted last week. The last time I formatted the computer prior to that was less than a year ago.

I have an old ipod touch which won't go past the Apple logo, all it does is show me a loading symbol, but will go no further, i have tried restoring it and i have, it conects to my itunes and computer, but just won't get passed the logo..what can i do? :/

I have an old ipod touch which won't go past the Apple logo, all it does is show me a loading symbol, but will go no further, i have tried restoring it and i have been successful. It connects and is recognised by my itunes and computer, but still after restoring it, it just won't get passed the logo..what can i do? what is the problem?

Try:
- iOS: Not responding or does not turn on
- Also try DFU mode after try recovery mode
How to put iPod touch / iPhone into DFU mode « Karthik's scribblings
- If not successful and you can't fully turn the iOS device fully off, let the battery fully drain. After charging for an least an hour try the above again.
- If still not successful that usually indicates a hardware problem and an appointment at the Genius Bar of an Apple store is in order.
Apple Retail Store - Genius Bar

PowerBook Won't Boot Past the Apple and Spinning Flower Screen...

I've been reading a lot of these forums, but still haven't figured out how to fix it on my laptop. So, I made my own topic.
Anyways. My dad gave me this laptop since he got a new one, so it's a hand-me-down which means I don't have this startup disk that I keep seeing talked about. I've tried Safe Boot, but when I do it with Command + V, it says all sorts of things that I just don't understand, and there is a lot of talk about the Apple Power Management? Such as:
com.apple.driver.AppleIntelCPUPowerManagement isn't a valid mach-o (magic is cefaedfe)
error mapping module file com.apple.driver.AppleIntelCPUPowerManagement
can't map com.apple.driver.AppleIntelCPUPowerManagement in preparation for loading
couldn't alloc class "AppleIntelCPUPowerManagement"
Etc, etc. And then the last lines that it ends with say:
BSD root: disk0s3, major 14, minor 2
[HCIController][configurePM] power parent ready after 1 tries
And it just stays there and doesn't boot up.
I honestly don't know what any of this means, or if it is even relevant to why my PowerBook won't boot past the Apple screen. If you have any information on how I could fix it, that'd be great. Also, if you have any questions that would help you figure it out, ask away and I will answer them.
Thanks a lot.
Message was edited by: MixtapeChick

MixtapeChick:
Welcome to Apple Discussions. Congratulations on your "new" PowerBook. I suggest that you begin with this combination procedure:
• Shut down the computer.
• Locate the following keys: Command, Option, P, and R. You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously later.
• Turn on the computer.
• Press and hold the Command + Option + P + R keys immediately after the startup chime.
• Hold keys down until you hear the startup chime for the third time.
• Release the keys and immediately hold down Shift key to start up in Safe Mode.
• Log in and empty Trash.
• Restart normally and log in.
Let us know how it goes.
cornelius

My early Intel iMac running Snow Leopard will not boot past the apple logo. I have tried holding the c key and inserting the install disk, but nothing. What do I try next?

My early Intel iMac running Snow Leopard will not boot past the apple logo. I have tried holding the c key and inserting the install disk, but nothing. What do I try next?

I have tried resetting PRAM and all other items listed in the Apple support site. This happened after an update to iTunes was added. Also this is happening to other people. Please help.

Macbook won't boot past main apple screen

I was using my computer this morning (13" black Macbook that I've had since December) and it was working fine until I closed it to go get something to eat.
When I got back and opened the lid again, the screen was black, as if it was off, but I could make out the outline of the Apple logo in the centre. So I turned it off, gave it some time and turned it back on. Now it won't boot past the main Apple screen, where the little timer thing spins and spins and spins while apparently nothing else happens.
I left it alone for a couple of hours, thinking maybe it was overheated, but that didn't make a difference. I tried taking the battery out and restarting it, but that didn't work either. I called Apple, but my parents opted for Future Shop's warranty instead of Applecare, so they told me to search the website as "the issue is well-documented," since I have no tech support with them.
I've searched around to see where this is posted or if it's been answered a billion times before, but it's 35C in here, and my rage/frustration are ruining my ability to be rational, haha.
Anyone experienced this before / is there a resolution that doesn't involve me being without my computer (which is like sweet, sweet crack to me) for an undisclosed amount of time?
Thanks in advance,
Emy
Oh, and I'm not sure about the operating system version beyond that it's OSX and I regularly install whatever updates they tell me to.

Maybe Disk Utility can repair the disk this way:
-Search your installation DVD's.
-Insert the disc 1 and sthut down your Mac
-Start your Mac again while holding down the C key
-Now your Mac should boot from the CD, this can take some time.
-After a while you will see a installation screen where you can chose a language.
-Chose English and continue.
-Then click some time's next and agree with the "Software Agreement".
-Open Disk Utility. Top menu bar --> Utilities --> Open Disk Utility.
-Select your hard disk in the list of disks and volumes on the left side
-Go to the First Aid (tab somewhere on the right).
-Click the button to verify the permissions.
-Then Click the button to repair the permissions.
-Click the button to verify the disk.
-Then Click the button to repair the disk.
-Exit the Disk Utility

My MacBook won't boot past the grey screen.. help!

Today I was having a problem with Safari. For some reason, it kept restarting. This annoyed me, so I restarted my MacBook. Unfortunately, it won't boot past the grey screen, with the thing spinning in the middle. I've been into disk utility and it says my HDD is fine. I restarted from this, and yet it still won't boot. Can anyone suggest what's wrong/what to do?
Thanks in advance

Retrieving data using Target Disk Mode:
1) Shut down both computers
2) Connect the two computers using a Firewire cable
3) Start up the working computer.
4) Once the working computer is ready, startup your MacBook with the T key held down.
5) Your MacBook's hard drive should appear as an external hard drive on the working Mac. Drag & drop any files you want to save.
~Lyssa

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I dropped my iPhone 3G and now it won't past the apple logo screen

I was listening music this morning and I accidentally dropped my iPhone 3G and hit the floor, it turned off in
that moment, and I tried to turn it on and didn't work, when I got home I connected to the
computer with the USB cable and the apple logo screen showed up but after aprox. 15-20 seconds
turns off, and iTunes doesn't recognizes it, is there any solution or do I need to take it to repair?

Reset, hold both Home and Power buttons until the iPhone begins to restart, usually takes about 10 seconds of holding both buttons. If still problem, Restore iPhone, connect iPhone to computer with iTunes 10.7 or 11 open, hold both Home and Power buttons for about 20 seconds until iTunes recognizes iPhone in Recovery Mode. Click Restore button of iTunes. If still problem perform DFU Mode Restore of iPhone.

My Macbook won't get past the start up screen

Hey everyone
I have a Macbook that's about 3 years old. I did an software update yesterday and since doing it the computer won't get past the start up screen. There's just the Apple logo and the rolling ball thing. It's been stuck there for around 30mins and nothing changes. I'm not really sure what has happened but I was wondering if there is any way I can fix it.
Thanks for your time.
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Hey Lyssa
I don't have a back up but I'm not to worried about that as it's my traveling computer and I only use it for the web and some word processing.
I don't have the disks with me right now as I'm away from home. I'm not sure what I had updated, I think there was a lot because I hadn't don't it in a long time.
If I can start it in safe mode what should I do?
Thanks.
Bevan

MacBook won't boot past the apple logo screen!

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