Macbook won't startup using DVD as Startup Disk

What gives?
Startup with 'C' key doesn't work.
Even using Startup Disk in System Preferences doesn't show slot drive as an option.
I'm trying to do a disc repair because of hourly computer freezes with Mail, Safari and others that have not been resolved within the applications. Disk Utility fails when run using the MacHD as the Startup Disc shows:
Verifying volume “Macintosh HD”
Checking HFS Plus volume.
Checking Extents Overflow file.
Checking Catalog file.
Checking multi-linked files.
Checking Catalog hierarchy.
Checking Extended Attributes file.
Checking volume bitmap.
Volume Bit Map needs minor repair
Checking volume information.
Invalid volume free block count
Invalid volume free block count
uld be %@ instead of %@)",2)
1990255
1990254
The volume Macintosh HD needs to be repaired.
Error: The underlying task reported failure on exit
1 HFS volume checked
Volume needs repair
Waiting for my new Diskwarrior but won't be able to rn it either if the computer won't start up from the slot drive.
Cheers

Have you tried booting up in Safe Mode? It will do a similar check and repair on your HD.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107393

Similar Messages

HT1349 when I start my macbook it shows STARTUP DISK FULL, and I cannot do anything else, it doesnt let me get into the computer to delete any programs,,,, What should I do ?

when I start my macbook it shows STARTUP DISK FULL, and I cannot do anything else, it doesnt let me get into the computer to delete any programs,,,, What should I do ?

Try starting in Safe mode which does not load all the software that is used in a regular boot. It also runs a disk check. After booting in safe mode transfer or trash stuff you don't really need so as to free up disk space. Be sure to hold the shift key down continously till a progress bar shows on the screen.
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1564
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1455

MacBook won't startup from HD or Install DVD

Girlfriend bought a new (used) unibody MacBook tonight off Craigslist and it won't turn on - Buyer beware... Anyway, here's what happens and what I've tried, either on my own or on the phone with AppleCare.
The seller reinstalled Leopard to it's default settings. First time we turned it on it went straight to a black screen with text that said "No bootable disk available. Please insert install disk." or something like that. (Later, on other restarts, we saw the similar folder with question mark.) Turning off the MB and restarting holding down "option" gave us the choice of choosing startup disk. Choosing Macintosh HD takes us to the desktop and all seems fine.
However, we wanted to reinstall Leopard to create a new profile, etc. Inserting the disk and clicking "Install" prompts a restart. Upon restarting, the MB does not go to the normal install screen, where you first choose your language, but continues to restart and restart. It sounds the normal dong, and goes to a bluish grey screen, but it never makes it to the grey screen with the grey  before restarting.
With AppleCare on the phone we tried a lot of things, like restarting holding down "c," selecting the startup disk in Sys. Prefs. then restarting, resetting the PRAM twice, etc. My first AC rep. sent me to a second and we tried a lot of the same things to no avail.
After hanging up with AC, I closed the MB lid and noticed that instead of going to sleep, the "snore" light remained solid and every ten seconds or so the MB tried to wake itself, almost like the continuously restarting it was doing. I let it do this for a few minutes and the MB starting getting quite hot.
Then I tried a couple things. First I replaced the HD with one from another MacBook with the same results. Then I removed and reinstalled the memory DIMMS, thinking maybe something corrupted was in memory (or startup memory?).
So, is there a place where Macs store startup info besides in memory or on the hard drive? It seems like the MB is getting confused or lost trying to find the startup disk.
Thanks for any and all help. Cheers!
Message was edited by: Jason Paul1

I don't know MacBooks really. Try running Apple Hardware Test by booting from the installer disc with the D key held down.
The Leopard disc either needs to be a retail version (black) or the one that came with the computer originally (gray) and will only work in the model with which it is supplied. Though unlikely, you might wish to double check that it really is the disc for that computer - it has been known before for people to get them mixed up if they own more than one computer.
As I suggested before, post this in the MB hardware forum since they are the ones with MB experience.

MacBook won't startup after latest security update

I Performed a Software update recommended security update this morning after backing up my Mac. It restarted and all was well, until I left this afternoon and then returned after my MacBook had gone to sleep. I attempted to wake it as usual, and the screen would not come back on. I forced it to shut down, and then restarted, but all I get is a white screen, then dark, no backlight, just nothing. I tried restarting in safe mode, resetting the PRAM, resetting the power manager, but all to no avail. I can get it to bong and light up with a forced restart, but nothing after that.
the MacBook was working perfectly before this update.
any thoughts as to what else I can do? I don't believe I have access to a startup disk To try.

Thanks for the advice, however, that startup command also provides no additional results. I've yet to find any key combination that advances the startup past the initial "bong", white screen to black/off.
The white "sleep" light stays on for a minute, then starts flashing as if sleeping. Only pressing the power button "wakes" it, but only the light stays solid for about a minute and then resumes. I must press and hold the power button to shut down the MacBook.
After about :10 last night I was holding the power button down well past the MacBook shutting down, then the "sleep" light flashed quickly and then the MacBook started up normally, as if nothing had happened. There was a dialogue box informing me the MacBook had shut down unexpectedly and Allowed me to send a report to Apple. Otherwise everything was normal. However, as soon as the MacBook went to sleep, I was unable to wake it again and I am back in the same boat I was before. I have not been able to reproduce the normal startup by holding down the power button either.
it appears the latest update may have totally screwed up the sleep process on my MacBook, or something related to that. Unfortunately, depending in the problem, it seems like I have no way to fix it myself now that Apple has moved to disk-less repair.

Help! MacBook won't start using 10.4.11

My MacBook ran fine using 10.4.10, no problems. Then I used Software Update to download and install new software, including the update to 10.4.11, iTunes 7.5, new iDVD, and one other item, can't remember. I left and when I came back, the screen just showed an empty desktop, and I had power down manually. Now, whenever I try to boot up, I get the light gray screen with the apple logo, the spinning circle with spokes, and that's it. Even after twenty minutes, it doesn't change. I've tried rebooting in safe mode, and using a Panther CD startup disk while holding down the C key. Neither do anything, and now the CD is stuck in the drive. All I can do is manually power it down. What should I do now?

To Make a Freezed Mac Working again the Recipie is Simple:
1. One Freezed Apple Macantosh
2. One Working Mac for downloading, Extracting and copying
2. A Freshly downloaded Combo update package of MacOsX 10.4.11 Intel (The simple (Non-Combo) update will also work).
3. One USB or External HD Volume
4. Software/Setup DVD (This comes with your Mac)
5. A whole lot of WILL
Method:
First of all extract the downloaded .dmg to .pkg and then copy the .pkg file to an USB or External HD from another Mac... Plug the USB or External HD in your Freezed Mac... then Boot your Mac with the Setup CD by Pressing C on the Keyboard... then Open the TERMINAL panel in the Utilities tab on the top of your screen, then type in the Terminal:
cd “/volumes/MacHD/”
(IMP Note: the MacHD must be replaced with your HD Name)
Then Type:
"/volumes/MacHD/usr/bin/open" /volumes/USB/MacOSXUpdCombo10.4.11Intel.pkg
(IMP Note: the MacHD must be replaced with your HD Name..
there is a space between open" and /volumes
USB is the name of my external USB... so change it to yours!
*DO NOT change /usr/ to your users name!*)
This will open the Update Install Window (GOOD NEWS for your MAC)
Choose your Macintosh HD as destination drive and install.
When install is finished click on reboot and wait... this will take some time, so don't WORRY.
When you're back in your System Reboot again.
Done.

What can I do when my macbook air says startup disk is full

What can I do and where do I look to offload things when my macbook air says my startup disk is full?
Thanks

Empty the Trash if you haven't already done so. If you use iPhoto, empty its internal Trash first:
iPhoto ▹ Empty Trash
Do the same in other applications, such as Aperture, that have an internal Trash feature. Then restart the computer. That will temporarily free up some space.
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. You also need enough space left over to allow for growth of the data. There is little or no performance advantage to having more available space than the minimum Apple recommends. Available storage space that you'll never use is wasted space.
When Time Machine backs up a portable Mac, some of the free space will be used to make local snapshots, which are backup copies of recently deleted files. The space occupied by local snapshots is reported as available by the Finder, and should be considered as such. In the Storage display of System Information, local snapshots are shown as Backups. The snapshots are automatically deleted when they expire or when free space falls below a certain level. You ordinarily don't need to, and should not, delete local snapshots yourself. If you followed bad advice to disable local snapshots by running a shell command, you may have ended up with a lot of data in the Other category. Ask for instructions in that case.
See this support article for some simple ways to free up storage space.
You can more effectively use a tool such as OmniDiskSweeper (ODS) or GrandPerspective (GP) to explore the volume and find out what's taking up the space. You can also delete files with it, but don't do that unless you're sure that you know what you're deleting and that all data is safely backed up. That means you have multiple backups, not just one. Note that ODS only works with OS X 10.8 or later. If you're running an older OS version, use GP.
Deleting files inside an iPhoto or Aperture library will corrupt the library. Any changes to a photo library must be made from within the application that created it. The same goes for Mail files.
Proceed further only if the problem isn't solved by the above steps.
ODS or GP can't see the whole filesystem when you run it just by double-clicking; it only sees files that you have permission to read. To see everything, you have to run it as root.
Back up all data now.
If you have more than one user account, make sure you're logged in as an administrator. The administrator account is the one that was created automatically when you first set up the computer.
Install the app you downloaded in the Applications folder as usual. Quit it if it's running.
Triple-click anywhere in the corresponding line of text below on this page to select it, then copy the selected text to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C:
sudo /Applications/OmniDiskSweeper.app/Contents/MacOS/OmniDiskSweeper
sudo /Applications/GrandPerspective.app/Contents/MacOS/GrandPerspective
Launch the built-in Terminal 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 Terminal in the icon grid.
Paste into the Terminal window by pressing command-V. You'll be prompted for your login password, which won't be displayed when you type it. You may get a one-time warning to be careful. If you see a message that your username "is not in the sudoers file," then you're not logged in as an administrator.
The application window will open, eventually showing all files in all folders, sorted by size. It may take a few minutes for the app to finish scanning.
I don't recommend that you make a habit of doing this. Don't delete anything as root. If something needs to be deleted, make sure you know what it is and how it got there, and then delete it by other, safer, means. When in doubt, leave it alone or ask for guidance.
When you're done with the app, quit it and also quit Terminal.

What does it mean when my macbook pro says startup disk is full?

When im on my macbook pro a message keeps poping up that says my startup disk is full.

First, reboot. That will temporarily free up some space. According to Apple documentation, you need at least 9 GB free for normal operation. You also need enough space left over to allow for growth of your data.
Use a tool such as OmniDiskSweeper to explore your volume and find out what's taking up the space.
Proceed further only if the problem hasn't been solved.
ODS can't see the whole filesystem when you run it just by double-clicking; it only sees files that you have permission to read. To really see everything, you have to run it as root.
First, back up all data if you haven't already done so. No matter what happens, you should be able to restore your system to the state it was in at the time of that backup.
Launch the Terminal 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.
☞ If you’re running Mac OS X 10.7 or later, open LaunchPad. Click Utilities, then Terminal in the page that opens.
After installing ODS in the Applications folder, drag or copy — do not type — the following line into the Terminal window, then press return:
sudo /Applications/OmniDiskSweeper.app/Contents/MacOS/OmniDiskSweeper
You'll be prompted for your login password, which won't be displayed when you type it. You may get a one-time warning not to screw up.
I don't recommend that you make a habit of this. Don't delete anything while running ODS as root. When you're done with it, quit it and also quit Terminal.

My MacBook air's startup disk is almost full, what do I do?

A message has been popping up that my startup disk is almost full and that I need to delete files. I've deleted items in my trash but I only have 8.66 GB available. I have gone through a lot of my files and when I go into my Macintosh hd it has those lines for what is taking up the most space and it is other. The blue audio says 3.48 GB the purple movies says 3.65 GB the orange (photos) says 780.5 MB the green (apps) says 4.29 GB and it says zero KB for back ups. So this other thing is taking up the most room how do I delete stuff from the other column. I would like to update my software but I need to free up space.

For information about the Other category in the Storage display, see this support article. If the Storage display seems to be inaccurate, try rebuilding the Spotlight index.
Empty the Trash if you haven't already done so. If you use iPhoto, empty its internal Trash first:
iPhoto ▹ Empty Trash
Do the same in other applications, such as Aperture, that have an internal Trash feature. Then restart the computer. That will temporarily free up some space.
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. You also need enough space left over to allow for growth of the data. There is little or no performance advantage to having more available space than the minimum Apple recommends. Available storage space that you'll never use is wasted space.
When Time Machine backs up a portable Mac, some of the free space will be used to make local snapshots, which are backup copies of recently deleted files. The space occupied by local snapshots is reported as available by the Finder, and should be considered as such. In the Storage display of System Information, local snapshots are shown as Backups. The snapshots are automatically deleted when they expire or when free space falls below a certain level. You ordinarily don't need to, and should not, delete local snapshots yourself. If you followed bad advice to disable local snapshots by running a shell command, you may have ended up with a lot of data in the Other category. Ask for instructions in that case.
See this support article for some simple ways to free up storage space.
You can more effectively use a tool such as OmniDiskSweeper (ODS) or GrandPerspective (GP) to explore the volume and find out what's taking up the space. You can also delete files with it, but don't do that unless you're sure that you know what you're deleting and that all data is safely backed up. That means you have multiple backups, not just one. Note that ODS only works with OS X 10.8 or later. If you're running an older OS version, use GP.
Deleting files inside an iPhoto or Aperture library will corrupt the library. Any changes to a photo library must be made from within the application that created it. The same goes for Mail files.
Proceed further only if the problem isn't solved by the above steps.
ODS or GP can't see the whole filesystem when you run it just by double-clicking; it only sees files that you have permission to read. To see everything, you have to run it as root.
Back up all data now.
If you have more than one user account, make sure you're logged in as an administrator. The administrator account is the one that was created automatically when you first set up the computer.
Install the app you downloaded in the Applications folder as usual. Quit it if it's running.
Triple-click anywhere in the corresponding line of text below on this page to select it, then copy the selected text to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C:
sudo /Applications/OmniDiskSweeper.app/Contents/MacOS/OmniDiskSweeper
sudo /Applications/GrandPerspective.app/Contents/MacOS/GrandPerspective
Launch the built-in Terminal 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 Terminal in the icon grid.
Paste into the Terminal window by pressing command-V. You'll be prompted for your login password, which won't be displayed when you type it. Type carefully and then press return. You may get a one-time warning to be careful. If you see a message that your username "is not in the sudoers file," then you're not logged in as an administrator. Ignore any other messages that appear in the Terminal window.
The application window will open, eventually showing all files in all folders, sorted by size. It may take a few minutes for the app to finish scanning.
I don't recommend that you make a habit of doing this. Don't delete anything as root. If something needs to be deleted, make sure you know what it is and how it got there, and then delete it by other, safer, means. When in doubt, leave it alone or ask for guidance.
When you're done with the app, quit it and also quit Terminal.

PB won't startup, Disk Utility won't recognize my HD (help).

So my Powerbook won't startup, goes to grey scren with sign saying I need to restart. I have a 1.2m PB 12" with 1gig ram. It's been slowing down for a week or so, and I can't trace the problem to some new installation or device. I've tried reseting PRAM, removing my extra RAM card, and used disk utility to verify & repair permissions & disk. No luck yet.
First of all, Disk Utility only recognizes the "55.9 gb Toshiba HD", and doesn't really recognize the "Macintosh HD" which is listed in grey, which seems strange (ie, bad). After Verify & Repair Disk, it lists these problems: "Invalid sibiling link, missing thread record - id=115279, invalid directory item count (should be 0 instead of 1), could NOT repair 1 volume."
So then I tried to reinstall Panther, but the installer doesn't list (doesn't recognize) any HD's into which it may install. This also seems strange (ie, very bad).
I have been unable to startup holding X, Shift, spacebar, or by reseting PRAM. I've recently backed-up my stuff, so I'm ready to wipe it all clean. But I'm running out of options, and I am in desperate need of good advice from wise Applers. Thanks in advance... -K

I had the same problem with my G3 Pismo last month; the hard drive wouldn't mount and wasn't recognized by disc utility. Luckily I had a "backup" OS on an external drive along with Disc Warrior, which would boot the Pismo.
What I was able to do was run DiscWarrior on the Pismo drive - which took about two days to complete - and build a replacement directory. Once that was done, and before I asked DiscWarrior to write the new directory, I mounted the replacement so I could pull most of the user data off of it. When that was done, I went ahead and asked DiscWarrior to try to write the replacement directory - which it refused to do as the drive's hardware had failed.

MacBook air says startup disk is full

What do you do when it says startup disk is full

Freeing Up Space on The Hard Drive
1. See Lion's Storage Display.
2. You can remove data from your Home folder except for the /Home/Library/ folder.
3. Visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQ on freeing up space on your hard drive.
4. Also see Freeing space on your Mac OS X startup disk.
5. See Where did my Disk Space go?.
6. See The Storage Display.
You must Empty the Trash in order to recover the space they occupied on the hard drive.
You should consider replacing the drive with a larger one. Check out OWC for drives, tutorials, and toolkits.
Try using OmniDiskSweeper 1.8 or GrandPerspective to search your drive for large files and where they are located.

MacBook Pro says "startup disk full" and that I have 58GB of photos, but folder appears empty

For the past couple of days, I've been getting the message that I'm unable to save/download something because the startup disk is full. I checked the storage and the main problem appears to be 58.7 GB of photos, even though I've deleted all photos I could find (including iPhoto). I checked all of the folders on Finder, only to find my picture one taking up most of the space, but when I tried to view what was inside it appeared empty, and it wouldn't let me move the folder to trash. Any help on how to delete the contents of the folder?
Thank you

just kidding i figured it out

Which ports on a macbook pro can be used for start-up disks?

I'm looking to buy a mac book pro, I'd like to know which ports can be used as an external startup disk, and how would tthe boot speed compare?
Firewire would seem as if it should boot twice as fast as an external usb2, but can firewire be used as a startup? Can Thunderbolt be used as a startup disk? I havent seen any devices with that interface, but that doesnt mean there cant be, or aren't curently...Any help? Thanks in advance
Jim

Just edited the question to reflect what I meant I thought I recalled creating a bootable SD card for my 13" MBP but couldn't be sure. I've tried so many different things and I'm terrible at documenting what I've done. After nearly 20 years in the tech biz you'd think I'd have learned.

Why won't my imac dvd drive accept disk?

My 21 inch iMac won't accept a dvd or cd. Is this a hardware or software issue, and what do I do?

Try these two things, the SMC reset will be most effective so follow that step closely.
SMC Reset:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964
PRAM:
i. Ensure the machine is powered off.
ii. Locate the following keys on your keyboard in preparation for Step 4:
‘command’ – ‘option’ – ‘P’ – ‘R’
iii. Press the ‘power on’ button.
iv. Immediately – and before the grey screen appears – hold down ‘command-option-P-R’ all together.
v. Keep them held down until you’ve heard the start-up chime twice. After you release them you should hear it again, and hopefully your Mac will boot up normally.

Macbook won't startup, problems installing OSX with Firewire

Hi,
I have a Macbook that has been unable to startup correctly for several months, and finally got around to taking a look at it. It usually stays at either the blue/grey loading screens, but occasionally it will make it to the login window, where it will then just stop functioning.
I was able to use a Firewire cable hooked up to my iMac, and when i turned on target disk mode, I was able to browse around some of the folders on my Macbook. Eventually, I will try to get into a folder, only for the connection to be timed out.
I don't care about the files on the Macbook (I've long forgotten them, and have done fine without whatever they were), so I tried popping in the OSX install CD into my iMac so I can install OSX on my Macbook via Firewire. I can't use the Macbook drive, because it has somehow become sunken into the case, and the slot for the drive is not lined up with the slot on the case.
I load up the OSX install CD application, hit the button to restart my iMac, and.... nothing. It just retarts itself every 15 seconds. If I pull out the Firewire cable, it still happens. I can't even get to gray Apple startup screen unless I take the install CD out.
Anyone got any ideas? I'm pretty poor right now, and would like to get this laptop running so i can give it to my sister.

If you want to use the iMac's DVD drive to reinstall OS X, this is the way to go:
Insert the install disc into the machine while it is running, then *shut down* the iMac.
Connect both computers using the Firewire cable.
Power on the iMac with the T key held down.
Power on the MacBook with the Option key held down.
You should see the iMac's hard drive & the OS X install disc as boot options. Choose the install disc.
From there, you can give reinstalling OS X another try.
~Lyssa

Mountain Lion on Macbook won't startup

Perhaps some guys have already asked many similar questions, but my case is slightly more awkward. So I decided to post a new thread and hopefully someone could help me out.
I started to experienced this wierd behavior of my macbook 13" last night. The symptom is like this:
When I powered on, I heard the start-up tone. But it sometimes remained black screen and sometimes showed me the apple logo without spinning gear.
What I have done so far is:
I power it off, unplug the power adapter, wait 15 seconds and attach the adapter, wait 5 seconds, then I press and hold power button for 5-7 seconds. The indicator blinks then the LED lights up (I don't really know what the term of this reset is). Now I see Apple logo and spinning gear.
The gear is spinning nicely first but stops soon. It looks like the system is not responding any more.
Then I have to press and hold power button and force it to shut down. I repeat step 1 and now I did a PRAM reset (option+command+P+R) before it shows me the apple logo. After the PRAM reset is done and it restarts again.
It shows me Apple Logo and spinning gear. Now the funniest thing happened. If I leave it spinning, it probably won't respond again soon. If I keep pressing some keys (e.g. up,down, left,right arrow keys), it will finally shows the login screen. I have tested a few times.
In addition, I have even start it in Verbose Mode, but the DOS-like screen stucks at "PCI configuration begin". I also tried to start it in safe mode but failed.
Conclusion
If I started it normally by pressing power button once, it sometimes remains black screen. Sometimes it shows Apple Logo without spinning gear.
If I use step 1 method, it aways shows Apple Logo and spinning gear. But it will probably stop responding soon.
If I am pressing random keys while spinning gear still animating, I will most likely get the login screen eventually.
Does anybody encountered this before? Your helps and suggestions will be highly appreciated.

Which version of OS X are you running? If Lion or Mountain Lion, have you tried booting into Recovery mode?
If you're running an earlier version of OS X, do you have the original install discs?
I think - perhaps - that your hard drive may be failing.
Call back...
Clinton

Macbook won't startup using DVD as Startup Disk

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