My G4 Apple PowerBook will not boot further than pale blue/grey screen displaying "flashing file symbol / flashing ?"

My G4 Apple PowerBook will not boot further than pale blue/grey screen displaying "flashing file symbol / flashing ?"
Last previous action: Used Firewire cable and "Target Mode" to copy files from G4 eMac to the PowerBook.
I worked from the eMac to the PowerBook, making the PowerBook the "Target". Files seemed to transfer OK. Won't boot from InstallDisc. Holding down T on startup results in Target mode screen. I have a G4 iMac and a G4 eMac. Can I use either of these with Firewire cable to boot-up my PowerBook ?
I'm new to using this Communities & Forums Help. Can someone please help me to get going again ! ! Thanks for your time. Graflood

Hello,
It sounds to me like the PowerBook is stuck in target disk mode.
It's expecting the iMac/eMac to be there when booting. Seeming it's not attached, it will show a flashing folder.
If your PowerBook internal drive is bootable, then simply hold down the option key when booting and select it's internal hard drive. That should boot your PowerBook into Mac OS X.

Similar Messages

My Macbook aliminium unibody from late 2008 will not boot. I reach the grey screen with the apple icon and the spinning grey gear. I used disk utility to boot it but it said integrity test failed. I don't know what to do can anyone please help?

My Macbook aliminium unibody from late 2008 will not boot. I reach the grey screen with the apple icon and the spinning grey gear. I used disk utility to boot it but it said integrity test failed. I don't know what to do can anyone please help?

Sounds like you may have a harddrive issue. You are probably going to need to get that changed out and then install the OS X again to get it going.

My macbook pro will not boot. It gets the grey screen with the apple until the bar is half way across and then shuts down. The only screen I can get to is in safe mode and I don't know what to do with that

my macbook pro will not boot. It gets the grey screen with the apple until the bar is half way across and then shuts down. The only screen I can get to is in safe mode and I don't know what to do with that

Mac OS X: Gray screen appears during startup - Apple Support

PowerBook will not load up OS X (blank grey screen)

I removed the hard drive of my girlfriends powerbook 12" (867) last night to run some diagnostics in another machine. When I replaced the hard drive again, (btw i used www.ifixit.com for a guide), it just displays the grey boot screen minus the apple sign or grey/coloured whizzy wheel. The hard drive engages, but then you cannot hear it loading the OS.
Does anyone know what could be the problem?
Any pointers? I didn't mess anything up with the change, and have done it with my 15" countless times.
Thanks for your help
Alex

Alex:
Welcome to Apple Discussions.
Removing the HDD and using it to run diagnoztics on another mac is a bit unconventional and very intrusive. Booting from the installer disk and running Disk Utility, or using a utility like Tech Tool Pro, Disk Warrior, or DriveGenius would be much safer and more effective. If you don't have either installer disks or the utilities mentioned, you could try starting up in Safe Mode or Resolve startup issues and perform disk maintenance with Disk Utility and fsck. If you have utilities on another computer you want to use, Firewire Target Disk Mode will accomplish the same thing without the risk and invasiveness.
Please understand that it is not my intention to lecture after the fact, but to offer safer, less invasive, more effective options for future use.
Now to the problem at hand. If the HDD worked well before removal, and if you are sure that the re-installation process was done properly, check to be sure that you do not have a pinched HDD cable, make sure that everything is tight, including the HDD connector. Try booting the computer from the install disk and see if it starts up properly. If you are able to do that, go to the Utilities menu and launch Disk Utility. See if the HDD shows up in the sidebar. If it does, select the HDD (Manufacturer ID), click on the First Aid tab and run Repair Disk.
Please do post back with further questions or update.
Good luck.
cornelius
Message was edited by: cornelius

My imac will not boot up... only grey screen and spinning wheel?

Can you help me get to the screen where I put in the mame and password?
I only see spinning wheel
boyd

Take each of these steps that you haven't already tried. Stop when the problem is resolved.
Step 1
The first step in dealing with a boot failure is to secure your data. If you want to preserve the contents of the startup drive, and you don't already have at least one current backup, you must try to back up now, before you do anything else. It may or may not be possible. If you don't care about the data that has changed since your last backup, you can skip this step.
There are several ways to back up a Mac that is unable to boot. You need an external hard drive to hold the backup data.
a. Boot into the Recovery partition, or from a local Time Machine backup volume (option key at startup.) When the OS X Utilities screen appears, launch Disk Utility and follow the instructions in this support article, under “Instructions for backing up to an external hard disk via Disk Utility.”
b. If you have access to a working Mac, and both it and the non-working Mac have FireWire or Thunderbolt ports, boot the non-working Mac in target disk mode. Use the working Mac to copy the data to another drive. This technique won't work with USB, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth.
c. If the internal drive of the non-working Mac is user-replaceable, remove it and mount it in an external enclosure or drive dock. Use another Mac to copy the data.
Step 2
Press and hold the power button until the power shuts off. Disconnect all wired peripherals except those needed to boot, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards. Use a different keyboard and/or mouse, if those devices are wired. If you can boot now, one of the devices you disconnected, or a combination of them, is causing the problem. Finding out which one is a process of elimination.
If you've booted from an external storage device, make sure that your internal boot volume is selected in the Startup Disk pane of System Preferences.
Step 3
Boot in safe mode. Note: If FileVault is enabled on some models, or if a firmware password is set, or if the boot volume is a software RAID, you can’t do this. Post for further instructions.
Safe mode is much slower to boot and run than normal, and some things won’t work at all, including wireless networking on certain Macs.
The login screen appears even if you usually log in automatically. You must know your login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin.
When you boot in safe mode, it's normal to see a dark gray progress bar on a light gray background. If the progress bar gets stuck for more than a few minutes, or if the system shuts down automatically while the progress bar is displayed, your boot volume is corrupt and the drive is probably malfunctioning. In that case, go to Step 5.
If you can boot and log in now, empty the Trash, and then open the Finder Info window on your boot volume ("Macintosh HD," unless you gave it a different name.) Check that you have at least 9 GB of available space, as shown in the window. If you don't, copy as many files as necessary to another volume (not another folder on the same volume) and delete the originals. Deletion isn't complete until you empty the Trash again. Do this until the available space is more than 9 GB. Then reboot as usual (i.e., not in safe mode.)
If the boot process hangs again, the problem is likely caused by a third-party system modification that you installed. Post for further instructions.
Step 4
Sometimes a boot failure can be resolved by resetting the NVRAM.
Step 5
Launch Disk Utility in Recovery mode (see Step 1.) Select your startup volume, then run Repair Disk. If any problems are found, repeat until clear. If Disk Utility reports that the volume can't be repaired, the drive has malfunctioned and should be replaced. You might choose to tolerate one such malfunction in the life of the drive. In that case, erase the volume and restore from a backup. If the same thing ever happens again, replace the drive immediately.
This is one of the rare situations in which you should also run Repair Permissions, ignoring the false warnings it may produce. Look for the line "Permissions repair complete" at the end of the output. Then reboot as usual.
Step 6
Reinstall the OS. If your Mac was upgraded from an older version of OS X, you’ll need the Apple ID and password you used to upgrade.
Step 7
Repeat Step 6, but this time erase the boot volume in Disk Utility before installing. The system should automatically reboot into the Setup Assistant. Follow the prompts to transfer your data from a Time Machine or other backup.
Step 8
This step applies only to older Macs (not current models) that have a logic-board ("PRAM") battery. Both desktop and portable Macs used to have such a battery. The logic-board battery is separate from the main battery of a portable. A dead logic-board battery can cause a gray screen at boot. Typically the boot failure will be preceded by loss of the startup disk and system clock settings. See the user manual for replacement instructions. You may have to take the machine to a service provider to have the battery replaced.
Step 9
If you get this far, you're probably dealing with a hardware fault. Make a "Genius" appointment at an Apple Store to have the machine tested. If you can't get to an Apple Store, go to another authorized service provider.

MacBook pro will not boot. I get the gray screen, an apple icon and spinning wheel. Tried to start in safe mode but get the same screen. The only thing different was that I loaded the zedge sync app yesterday. Now getting this problem.

Macbook pro will not boot. I get the gray screen, an apple icon and spinning wheel. I tried to start in safe mode, but get this same screen. The only thing different is that I added the zedge update app to do a sync for adding ringtones to my apple cell phone. How can I get a good boot. I am fairly new to apple computer.

Reset PRAM: http://support.apple.com/kb/PH4405 and then try a normal boot.
Run the Startup Manager to select Startup disk: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1310
If those did not work your disk may be sick or dying. The top priority at this point is to make a backup copy of your data.
Check the health of the disk. Boot in Recovery Mode (Boot, Command-R). Run Disk Utility. Click on the upper left disk icon. Does the S.M.A.R.T. status say “Verified”? If not the disk/SSD is unhealthy and needs to be replaced. Even if it does not show “Verified” you can still attempt a backup.
Click on the icon indented below, usually called “Macintosh HD” and Verify Disk. If it finishes with a green “OK” message then all is well with the disk. If it shows errors in red then you have found a problem to address once the system is backed up. Do not attempt software repairs until you have secured the data.
If the disk will not show up at all in Disk Utility as your ran the tests above then it may be dead or it may have a bad internal SATA cable. A trip to an Apple store for confirmation would be in order.
If you have an external disk drive you can use as a backup drive then do so. If not Google “Hitachi USB 3.0 external hard drive 1TB” to purchase one or go to a brick-and-mortar store (including an Apple store) to pickup one. Any 1 TB external drive will do.
Assuming it is still breathing you can try to recover the data without booting from the sick disk.
Reformat the external disk. (This will erase all data on the external disk.)
Boot in Recovery Mode. Start Disk Utility. Plug in the new disk. Select it’s disk Icon (the second one down, left justified). Select the Partition tab.
Partition Layout > Single Partition
Name: Emergency Recovery 1 (or whatever name you wish to use)
Format: Mac OS Extended (journaled)
Options… > GUID Partition Table > OK
Apply
Select the Restore tab.
Drag the old system volume (Macintosh HD) to Source.
Drag the new disk volume (Emergency Recovery 1) to Destination.
Click on Restore.
It may take a long time for the backup.
If that will not complete post back for other emergency data recovery methods, including those from a brody.
If the backup succeeds, use the First Aid tab in Disk Utility to select the old volume (Macintosh HD) and Repair Disk. If it does not finish with a green OK message try to repair it once or twice more. If it repairs with a green OK message, will it boot normally? If not, boot from the Recovery Partition and reinstall OS X.
If it is still not healthy, post back for further instructions.

I have reset my ipad using General Reset Erase All Content and Settings. And now it will not boot. All i see on screen is the Apple logo. What do i do?

I have reset my ipad using General > Reset > Erase All Content and Settings. And now it will not boot. All i see on screen is the Apple logo. What do i do?

When you restore, you can restore to factory settings or to a backup. Restoring to factory settings removes everything and takes you back to out of the box status and you start all over again. Restoring from your backup will replace all of your app data, bookmarks, email settings and things like that. You still may need to sync all of your purchased apps and music, photos and so on back to the iPad.
I assume you want to restore from your backup to put all of you data back on the device so connect the iPad to your computer, launch iTunes, right click on the device name on the left side under the devices heading and select restore from backup. After you restore from your backup, make sure that you sync all of your other content with iTunes.

My macbook pro running lion will not boot . it stays on the grey page with the cog spinning. I have tried all methods of booting to no avail. I have removed the bottom and taken out the battery and the ram . will this affect my applecare warranty.

my macbook pro running lion will not boot . it stays on the grey page with the cog spinning. I have tried all methods of booting to no avail. I have removed the bottom and taken out the battery and the ram . will this affect my applecare warranty. I had to try myself as I'm overseas for two months and nowhere near any sort of help .

there was a recent software update that seemed to screw HDV up. Do some searching here over the last month or 2 and you'll find a bunch of posts and some possible solutions.
Worst case scenario, do as Shane suggests. But might I suggest you take a look at the user tips section of the forum. there are some great tips on how to prevent these sorts of problems by cloning your startup drive, etc.

Windows 8 will not progress further than 66%?

Windows 8 Will not Progrees further thaan 66% on Bootcamp installation......any ideas?

maybe you made the partition too small?
maybe the dvd is corrupt ?

Yoga Tablet 2 Windows 8 will not boot up, stuck at a flickering screen

I was installing Lenovo's firmware updates from their page for my device and in the middle of installing the BYT Platform Drivers for Windows 8.1, the tablet started went black. Then it went into some kind of flickering screen like it was trying to turn on and off. I left it alone and the next morning it was working fine. But when I came back in the evening, it was completely turned off again. I tried to turn it on, got the Lenovo logo, then it went into flickering on/off again. It still will not boot up. Any suggestions?? Help!

"The drive where Windows is installed is locked. Unlock the drive and try again."
Background:
First encountered on Restore of backup image (ATI-WD) on RAID 0 Two drive [SSD] array
Fixed: Using WINDOWS 7 Installation Disc - Repair Option
Comment:
During many WIN 8/WIN 7 installations on 4 different drives (on my own computer) MULTIBOOT (up to 7 O/S's) with BACKUP/RESTORE operations - WINDOWS 8 Installation Disk Repair has NEVER solved a startup problem
MICROSOFT should be ashamed that a feature that WORKED with WIN 7 was not brought forward to WIN 8 Installation Disk. Those that don't have one, borrow one (Using repair should not infringe any rules)
My Hobby is installing O/S's:
One drive has WIN 8.1 PRO Preview, WIN 8 PRO, WIN 8 Release Preview-64, WIN 8 Release Preview-32, WIN 8 Consumer Preview- 64, WIN 7 - 32, WIN XP - 32 [EasyBCD ver 2.2 essential]
You need to be an enthusiast to install XP with SATA AHCI (Slipstream SP3, load AHCI driver on install)
Happy computing, WIN 8 Great, WIN 8.1 definitely worth having
Additional Note:
With WIN 8 PRO and WIN 8.1 Preview Installation Disks, one is presented with:
Repair Computer/Troubleshoot/Select OS to repair (Forced to repair one O/S at a time)
Result: Diagnosing your PC/Attempting Repairs - Where it hangs with dotty circle, going nowhere... [Requiring switch OFF - no ctrl+alt+del
With the WINDOWS 7 Installation Disk - All partition entries are Recovered (Except XP) in one operation and quickly
Repeat: What are M'soft thinking and doing about this anomaly?

PowerBook will not boot, Disk Utility does not see drive, HW Diag Pass

My PowerBook Ti will no longer boot. I am getting a flashing what looks like OS 9 face, and folder in the middle of the screen, and they alternate.
I have Tiger Disks so I tried booting from them and running the disk utility. The drive is not recognized.
I decided to run the PowerBook's hardware diagnostic disk. Both sets of test passed. I was expecting to see the mass storage one to fail, but it did not.
I am kind of stuck, does anybody have any kind of suggestion?
Thanks in advance,
Lee
PS Hitting apple S is not recognized during the boot.

Could this be a bad logic board????
Yes. Or a bad hard drive cable, or a poorly seated connection on either end of that cable.
The HD cable is fairly delicate and needs to be handled with care when connecting and disconnecting, as when you're replacing the HD. It's possible that your first HD failed, and then you damaged the cable when removing it or installing the new drive, so that even though the second drive is new and presumably in good working order, it can't be used because the cable is now bad. I would suggest investing a small amount in a new HD cable before replacing the LB or returning the new HD. Any of these parts vendors should be able to supply one:
http://www.pbparts.com (parts and repair work)
http://www.dttservice.com (parts and repair work)
http://www.powerbookresq.com (parts and repair work)
http://www.powerbookmedic.com (parts and repair work)
http://www.tekserve.com (parts and repair work)
http://www.ifixit.com (parts and excellent, illustrated online take-apart instructions)

White screen with apple logo - WILL NOT BOOT UP!

HELP!! My macbook is about 3 years old. I've already had the hard drive die on me once and I lost everything. This time is a little different.
I have been getting the colour wheel of death for quite some time now but my computer has continued to work, just slow and constantly shutting down programs. I thought I should restart so I did a force restart and when my computer came back on all it had was a white screen with the grey apple logo. That's it! It does nothing!!! It will not load past this screen. If I leave it on it will continually shut down and turn on to this page over and over every few min. I hear the fans and it sounds like something might be going on but still nothing! *All I see is a white screen with a grey apple logo. PLEASE HELP!* I don't want to lose all my personal items again
I'm not 100% sure of my operating system and I'm not to good with tech stuff so please make it so I can follow the instructions.
THANK YOU!

Hi cmiano and welcome to Apple Discussions!
Even more important than the steps listed by Dave is *make all efforts to back up your data NOW!* As your first hard drive failure might have indicated to you, drives are mechanical devices and are thus subject to failure. Computer people will tell you there are two types of hard drives: those that have failed and those that are going to fail. The only question is when. Keep a backup of your data current at all times. Important data should be backed up at least twice.
Having said that, in order to do it now you are going to need to do some work. I would remove the hard drive from your MacBook and put it in an enclosure. Connect this enclosure to another Mac and copy over all your important data.
After you have done this, put the hard drive back in your MacBook and do the steps that Dave suggested.
Best of luck.

Please Help! My Powerbook will not boot up and is SCREAMING at me!

I went to change my laundry and when I returned my mac was emitting a high pitched "scream" from the hardware (not from the speakers). It would not respond to any commands.
I removed the battery and now it will not start up...it will go to a grey screen and make that very loud screaming noise...it sounds like it is coming from a moving part (the hard drive or fan). What should I do?
Thank you all for your time!

hard drive is located in the lower middle of the case, under trackpad, if noise comes from that area could be failed hard drive.

Apple tv will not stream more than one song maybe two

Playing through apple TV. One or two songs play then the next comes up but will not load. Shows the album art and song etc. but the little load symbol just spins. Have restarted both airport and apple tv no luck getting past one or two songs? Any idea?

Hi frankie pancakes,
Thanks for visiting Apple Support Communities.
You may find some of the additional troubleshooting tips in this article helpful:
Apple TV (2nd and 3rd generation): Troubleshooting Wi-Fi networks and connections
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS4546
Best,
Jeremy

PowerBook will not boot

Hi all, I have a serious problem with my powerbook:
The last day or two the whole system has frozen (no cursor movement/no force quit) so I had to do a couple of hard resets (pressing the power button)
This morning a lot of white writing on black backing came up when the system froze and after shutting down using the power button when I try and boot it makes that noise (not the MacOS chime) but nothing displays on the screen.
Obviously this seems to be a serious problem, I am within my one year Apple warranty, is my only problem to take it back? If so what will they do to it?
Any help is much appreciated, Thanks,
Frankie

Yes, your diagnosis appears to be correct, and the lower RAM slot has failed. This will entail replacing the logic board. If you are lucky and your s.n. falls within a certain series, even if you are out of the limited warranty period, Apple will do this work for you at no charge. See this Kbase article for more:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=303173
Good luck!

My G4 Apple PowerBook will not boot further than pale blue/grey screen displaying "flashing file symbol / flashing ?"

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for