My computer won't load past the Gray screen with the apple, what do I do?

Does anyone know how to get my computer to turn on? I used it on Friday and had a normal shut down but when I went to turn it on yesterday, it gets the the gray screen with the apple and the loading bar and loads half way and then just stops and sits there until it eventually shuts itself off. I have tried turning it off and then back on and holding the D key but nothing happened.

Resetting SMC as well as NVRAM(PRAM) could solve the problem.
Intel-based Macs: Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC) - Apple Support
Mac OS X: Gray screen appears during startup - Apple Support

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My computer will not start up. It powers up I get the gray screen with the apple and get the loading progress bar it loads to 25% and the screen goes black

My computer will not start up. It powers up, I get the gray screen with the apple, then the loading progress bar starts loading to about 25% the the screen goes black. what can I try to get my computer up and running?

Carolyn Samit wrote:
iMac, Mac OS X (10.7.1)
Use Command + R for Lion Recovery
Try restarting, when you hear the startup tone hold down the Option key. Then choose the Recovery Partition.

My MacBook pro won't start. It is frozen on the gray screen with the apple. Please help?

My MacBook pro won't start. It's stuck on the gray screen with the apple logo.

Reinstall OS X:
Reinstall Snow Leopard without erasing the drive
Do the following:
1. Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions
Boot from your Snow Leopard 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 Utilities menu. 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.
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. Reinstall Snow Leopard
If the drive is OK then quit DU and return to the installer. Proceed with reinstalling OS X. Note that the Snow Leopard installer will not erase your drive or disturb your files. After installing a fresh copy of OS X the installer will move your Home folder, third-party applications, support items, and network preferences into the newly installed system.
Download and install the Combo Updater for the version you prefer from support.apple.com/downloads/.
Reinstalling Lion 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.
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. 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 main menu.
Reinstall Lion: Select Reinstall Lion and click on the Continue button.
Note: You can also re-download the Lion installer by opening the App Store application. Hold down the OPTION key and click on the Purchases icon in the toolbar. You should now see an active Install button to the right of your Lion purchase entry. There are situations in which this will not work. For example, if you are already booted into the Lion you originally purchased with your Apple ID or if an instance of the Lion installer is located anywhere on your computer.

My MacBook Air can't get past the gray screen with the apple logo. What's the fix?

My MacBook Air can't get past the gray screen with the Apple logo, so I can't login. Does anyone know the fix for this?

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 Recovery by holding down the key combination command-R at the startup chime, or from a local Time Machine backup volume (option key at startup.) Release the keys when you see a gray screen with a spinning dial. When the OS X Utilities screen appears, launch Disk Utility and follow the instructions in the support article linked below, under “Instructions for backing up to an external hard disk via Disk Utility.”
How to back up and restore your files
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 by holding down the key combination command-T at the startup chime. Connect the two Macs with a FireWire or Thunderbolt cable. The internal drive of the machine running in target mode will mount as an external drive on the other machine. Copy the data to another drive. This technique won't work with USB, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth.
How to use and troubleshoot FireWire target disk mode
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.
Before reconnecting 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.* The instructions provided by Apple are as follows:
Shut down your computer, wait 30 seconds, and then hold down the shift key while pressing the power button.
When you see the gray Apple logo, release the shift key.
If you are prompted to log in, type your password, and then hold down the shift key again as you click Log in.
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.
*Note: If FileVault is enabled, or if a firmware password is set, or if the boot volume is a software RAID, you can’t boot in safe mode. Post for further instructions.
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 damaged and the drive is probably malfunctioning. In that case, go to step 5.
If you can boot and log in now, 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 above for instructions.) 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 produces. Look for the line "Permissions repaired successfully" at the end of the output. Then reboot as usual.
Step 6
Boot into Recovery again. When the OS X Utilities screen appears, follow the prompts to 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.
Note: You need an always-on Ethernet or Wi-Fi connection to the Internet to use Recovery. It won’t work with USB or PPPoE modems, or with proxy servers, or with networks that require a certificate for authentication.
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 backup.
Step 8
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.

My MacBook Pro stated that it needed to be updated. I clicked yes to restart the computer and update but when it restarted it stays on the gray screen with the apple logo and then pops up, stating "unable to find driver for this platform." What do I do?

My MacBook Pro stated that it needed to be updated. I clicked yes to restart the computer and update but when it restarted it stays on the gray screen with the apple logo and then pops up, stating "unable to find driver for this platform." What do I do?

Boot into Recovery by holding down the key combination command-R at the startup chime. Release the keys when you see a gray screen with a spinning dial.
Note: You need an always-on Ethernet or Wi-Fi connection to the Internet to use Recovery. It won’t work with USB or PPPoE modems, or with networks that require any kind of authentication other than a WPA or WPA2 Personal password.
When the Mac OS X Utilities screen appears, follow the prompts to reinstall the Mac OS. You don't need to erase the boot volume, and you won't need your backup unless something goes wrong. If your Mac didn’t ship with Lion, you’ll need the Apple ID and password you used to upgrade, so make a note of those before you begin.
Don't install the Thunderbolt update -- it's defective.

My iMac won't boot up fully. It stays stuck in the gray screen with the pinwheel spinning, then after about 5 minutes just shuts itself off.

My iMac won't boot up fully. It stays stuck in the gray screen with the pinwheel spinning, then after about 5 minutes just shuts itself off.

Try SMC Reset (unplug it from the back of the computer for 10 seconds then plug it back. in)
Try PRAM Reset Cmd + OPtion + P + R on start up.
Try safe boot - hold down shift on start up.
Try booting to install dvd (C on start up) or recovery hd (CMD + R) and using disk utility to run a verify and repair. If you still can't boot after that reinstall the operating system. If you can't find the disc or it wont boot to the disc.
Try single mode which is cmd+S on start up. It will open with a terminal looking window in the terminal. type in /sbin/fsck -TL. If it returns *system has been modified* continue to type that command in until it comes back with macintosh hd seems to be ok. If after 5 tries it still gives you system has been modified. You may have to replace the hard drive.

My mac doesnt start. All i get is the gray screen with the apple and the loading icon but nothing more happens. I tried to start it in safe mode but it doesnt help. What can i do?

My mac doesnt start. All i get is the gray screen with the apple and the loading icon but nothing more happens. I tried to start it in safe mode but it doesnt help. What can i do?

If you have a external USB enclosure - trying installing your hard drive in that enclosure and connect it to your usb port - restart your macbook while holding down the options key. If you Macbook boots to your desktop then you have a faulty cable. If you get the same error, then your hard drive just died on you.
good luck.

Why is my laptop freezing on the gray screen with the apple logo when trying to power on?

In the last hour, one time it came on as far as the user sign in. But I wasnt able to click on a user, because the curser was constantly spinning. I have tried taking the battery out for a minute and putting it back in. Nothing. I have tried starting it while holding down the option key, and it pulled up a screen with a picture of my hard drive on it. So I clicked it, and it just goes to the gray screen with the apple logo, and does nothing else? Can anyone please help me? Are there any other keys that I can hold while turning it on?
Thanks

See Here for:
Frozen or unresponsive iPod touch
Reset your phone:
Press the sleep/wake button & home button at the same time, keep pressing until you see the Apple logo, then release the buttons...
The Basic Troubleshooting Steps are:
Restart.. Reset.. Restore from Backup... Restore as New...
Restarting your device
1) Press and hold the Sleep/Wake button for a few seconds until the red "slide to power off" slider appears, and then slide the slider.
2) Press and hold the Sleep/Wake button until the Apple logo appears.
Follow these steps to reset your device
Note: Reset your device only if it is no longer responding and the steps above do not work.
Press and hold the Sleep/Wake button and the Home button together for at least ten seconds, until the Apple logo appears.
iPhone Reset
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1430
Backing up, Updating and Restoring
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1414

My macbook pro will not get past the gray screen with the apple logo and a loading bar.

My macbook pro will not get past the grey screen with the apple logo after attempting to load for hours. I have already tried resetting the NVRAM/PRAM and a couple other tricks and no luck. Anyone out there have suggestions for my problem? Help would be much appreciated since i use my computer for everything at school and i am in desperate need to get this baby working again.

You didn't say which OS in your tag, but maybe you might find something here.
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2570
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH4191
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH7213
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4125
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2213

My apple wont turn on. it gets stuck on the gray screen with the spinning wheel and the apple on the screen

My macbook air turns on but not completely, it gets stuck on the grays screen.   It shows an apple an a spinning wheel and that is as far as it gets. sometimes I can get to an screen that shows macintosh hd and i clicked on it and the computer turned off.

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 startup failure is to secure the 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 the last backup, you can skip this step.
There are several ways to back up a Mac that is unable to start. You need an external hard drive to hold the backup data.
     a. Start up from 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.” The article refers to starting up from a DVD, but the procedure in Recovery mode is the same. You don't need a DVD if you're running OS X 10.7 or later.
b. If Step 1a fails because of disk errors, and no other Mac is available, then you may be able to salvage some of your files by copying them in the Finder. If you already have an external drive with OS X installed, start up from it. Otherwise, if you have Internet access, follow the instructions on this page to prepare the external drive and install OS X on it. You'll use the Recovery installer, rather than downloading it from the App Store.
c. If you have access to a working Mac, and both it and the non-working Mac have FireWire or Thunderbolt ports, start 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.
d. If the internal drive of the non-working Mac is user-replaceable, remove it and mount it in an external enclosure or drive dock. Use another Mac to copy the data.
Step 2
If the startup process stops at a blank gray screen with no Apple logo or spinning "daisy wheel," then the startup volume may be full. If you had previously seen warnings of low disk space, this is almost certainly the case. You might be able to start up in safe mode even though you can't start up normally. Otherwise, start up from an external drive, or else use the technique in Step 1b, 1c, or 1d to mount the internal drive and delete some files. According to Apple documentation, you need at least 9 GB of available space on the startup volume (as shown in the Finder Info window) for normal operation.
Step 3
Sometimes a startup failure can be resolved by resetting the NVRAM.
Step 4
If you use a wireless keyboard, trackpad, or mouse, replace or recharge the batteries. The battery level shown in the Bluetooth menu item may not be accurate.
Step 5
If there's a built-in optical drive, a disc may be stuck in it. Follow these instructions to eject it.
Step 6
Press and hold the power button until the power shuts off. Disconnect all wired peripherals except those needed to start up, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards. Use a different keyboard and/or mouse, if those devices are wired. If you can start up now, one of the devices you disconnected, or a combination of them, is causing the problem. Finding out which one is a process of elimination.
Step 7
If you've started from an external storage device, make sure that the internal startup volume is selected in the Startup Disk pane of System Preferences.
Start up in safe mode. Note: If FileVault is enabled, or if a firmware password is set, or if the startup volume is a Fusion Drive or a software RAID, you can’t do this. Post for further instructions.
Safe mode is much slower to start 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 the login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin.
When you start up 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, the startup volume is corrupt and the drive is probably malfunctioning. In that case, go to Step 10. If you ever have another problem with the drive, replace it immediately.
If you can start and log in in safe mode, empty the Trash, and then open the Finder Info window on the startup 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 restart as usual (i.e., not in safe mode.)
If the startup process hangs again, the problem is likely caused by a third-party system modification that you installed. Post for further instructions.
Step 8
Launch Disk Utility in Recovery mode (see Step 1.) Select the 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 restart as usual.
Step 9
If the startup device is an aftermarket SSD, it may need a firmware update and/or a forced "garbage collection." Instructions for doing this with a Crucial-branded SSD were posted here. Some of those instructions may apply to other brands of SSD, but you should check with the vendor's tech support.
Step 10
Reinstall the OS. If the Mac was upgraded from an older version of OS X, you’ll need the Apple ID and password you used to upgrade.
Step 11
Do as in Step 9, but this time erase the startup volume in Disk Utility before installing. The system should automatically restart into the Setup Assistant. Follow the prompts to transfer the data from a Time Machine or other backup.
Step 12
This step applies only to models that have a logic-board ("PRAM") battery: all Mac Pro's and some others (not current models.) Both desktop and portable Macs used to have such a battery. The logic-board battery, if there is one, is separate from the main battery of a portable. A dead logic-board battery can cause a startup failure. Typically the failure will be preceded by loss of the settings for the startup disk and system clock. See the user manual for replacement instructions. You may have to take the machine to a service provider to have the battery replaced.
Step 13
If you get this far, you're probably dealing with a hardware fault. Make a "Genius" appointment at an Apple Store, or go to another authorized service provider.

Macbook getting stuck on the gray screen with the apple

Please help!
I had to turn off my computer this morning manually becuase it froze and when I went to turn it back on, it just gets stuck on the gray screen at the beginning. It will have the apple logo on it for a while and then switch to a "folder" with a questions mark in the middle, then to circle with a line through it and will never actually boot up. Please, any thoughts would be wonderful!

Do you have your install discs with you? If so, insert Install Disc 1 into the optical drive and boot the computer while holding the C key. The OS X Installer should load. Choose a language to proceed. Once that window is gone, menus should appear at the top of the screen. From the Utilities menu choose *Disk Utility*. In the left-hand column, highlight your hard drive's icon--the one that lists the xx.x GB capacity/manufacturer. If you have installed Windows via BootCamp, choose the *Macintosh HD* icon. Choose the *Repair Disk* button. If anything cannot be repaired, post the error here. If nothing needs to be repaired, click the *Repair Permissions* button. Also check the *S.M.A.R.T. status* of the drive in the lower-right corner.
Best of luck!
~Lyssa

TS1411 my desktop Mac OS X is not starting, I get the gray screen with the apple logo and a bar below and then shot off by itself.

My Imac is not starting , I get a gray screen with the logo and a bar below and about one minute the bar desapier and shot off by itself. I try evething that I can think of and not luck. I did disconect all accesories and still the same, I use the start up disc and same.. now I can not get the disc out.
Please advise what I need to do to solve the problem. Recently this computer was upgraded from 10.4 to Mountain lion and add more memory.

Thanks for your help.
Same thing happen when I hold the button, it idle for a while and then turn off by itself. Any more suggestions?
I got the disc..

Computer won't load past start up screen

Every time I power up my Macbook, it starts to load with the apple on the screen. All of a sudden it stops loading and shuts off. I didn't drop it, get water on it or anything. Actually I even used it the day before and shut it down and now it won't start up. The battery is fully charged too.

If no success with this support information, make an appointment at an Apple store genius bar:
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1367
Ciao.

My iMac won't start up -- makes the usual start up sound, get the gray screen with the apple, and whirling icon goes endlessly below it. apple hardware test code is 4MOT/2/40000004:0x3d2fdb90

Prior to shutting it down, I had to force quit Safari. I has been running a little slow lately, but nothing major.
Apple Hardware Test code shows
4MOT/2/40000004:0x3d2fdb90
anyone know what that means?
I have a late 2006 intel-based iMac with the iSight camera, running Snow Leopard

Thanks SO MUCH! I am having nightmares about all that could be lost. If the fan can be fixed, then I can cope with the backing up and maybe relieve the hard drive so it gets faster. As Murphy's law would have it, I just bought an external drive but haven't had a chance to set it up to automatically back up. Your reply makes me feel much better... There is hope that I can lip along with this old iMac until I can afford a new one.

I have rebooted my computer over 20X and performed the soft reset and the option command p.r. my iMac still gives me the gray screen with the file and question mark.

I have been having issues with starting up my computer for the last 5 weeks it started with a loud clicking sound when starting up and it use to only take turning the computer off and on a few times to get it running. This week it has taken almost a day of me turning off the computer and turning it back on. Last night I did the soft reset and it did come on. I did not shut down the computer and when I returned to it this evening I had to force it to shut down because it was stuck.I have did the soft reset and sad to say it did not work.I decided to try the option command and pr to reset it it did not work do any one have any other suggestions?

You can get a decent new hard drive for $100, plus labor to install it if you're not comfortable doing it on your own. In contrast, a new computer will cost quite a bit more than that. Of course, if that iMac is very old at this point - like, say 6 or 7 years old - the new drive may be worth more than the computer, and you could use this as an excuse to buy a new one!

My computer won't load past the Gray screen with the apple, what do I do?

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