My Imac won't boot on apple OS

I'm having problems with my imac, i just got it a few days ago, I installed Windows XP, not because I wanted, but because I had to, I work with autocad.
I made a pertition so I could have both OS, but now I can't boot my computer on its original OS. It boots directly to Windows. Could you help me. I don't care if I have to erase everything on the Windows XP partition.
Thanks.

Restart with the X key held down, or press the Option key at startup and choose the Mac OS X system followed by pushing the button with the straight arrow.
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My iMac won't boot passed Apple logo..ideas?

My iMac has been out of commission for a few mow. It happened out of nowhere one day, I came home from work, started it up like I always do, and when Icame back into the room, it was booted to my desktop but everything was distorted and pixelated, colors skewed, lines all over. It worked enough for me to reboot it. From that moment on, I've never made it passed the Apple logo. The screen is distorted at the logo, with tons of blue vertical wavy lines. The spinning wheel just freezes. I've tried holding the button to boot from the install disk and all that does is bring up an error in a bunch of languages telling me to reboot or power the computer off. I've tried using the fsck mode to repair permissions, but that made no difference. I cannot boot in safe mode. I tried running the Apple Hardware Test by holding command+option+P+R and everything checked out okay. I even took out the two chips from beneath the screen, made sure everything was clean and reinserted them. I'm not helpless when it comes to computers, but hefty problems such as this stump me..even still, the DIY fix it methods I've read through are straightforward yet nonetheless not helpful for my problem. Various forum postings with similar problems led me to believe it may be the graphics card, but I wanted to check with you guys for myself..would the graphics card prevent it from booting completely like that, or does my problem lie elsewhere? My graphics card is NVIDIA GeForce 8800GT
Thanks in advance for taking the time to read this..I hope someone has some sort of insight or ballpark estimate of the damage ($$) for me!
-Lorenzo

With the pixelated disply, it sure sounds like Graphic card.
But not Safe Booting indicates a serious Hard Drive or other problem.
(Quartz is turned off in Safe Mode), but we can't do that test.
ballpark estimate of the damage ($$) for me!
If you no longer are covered by AppleCare, it may not be worth having it fixed, I'd pure guess around $1,000

My imac won't boot up. I get a white screen with the apple logo and the spinning spiral--any ideas?

my imac won't boot up. I get a white screen with the apple logo and the spinning spiral--any ideas?
I have started having trouble since i had to upgrade OS the latest in July 12.

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2570 Follow this article and when it gets to the part where you go into disk utility using your install disc, you'll actually boot up holding down Command and R

My iMac won't boot up past the white screen with a grey apple and spinning icon

My iMac won't boot up past the white screen with a grey apple and spinning icon...please help!

command R did not result in anything different - still the white screen, etc. I do you Time Machine with and external hard drive, but I unplugged that. I have the installation DVD, but it doesn't seem to be reading it either.

My Imac won't boot up. It is stuck on apple logo with spinning gear.

My Imac won't boot up. It is stuck on apple logo with spinning gear. It will not boot in safe mode, my install disc will not read and fsck wont fix it.. I can hear the hard drive spinning. So i know my drive is not bad.. Right before this happened i was low on space so i deleted a bunch of movies but for some reason i had to change my drive permissions to do so..

Is your data backed up? If not, see these means of data recovery: https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-1689 If it is backed up, then purchase Alsoft Disk Warrior. Boot it using the Option key of a wired Apple keyboard.

My iMac won't boot i get an apple logo

my iMac won't boot i get an apple logo

Hi Paul,
If your iMac won't boot past a grey Apple screen, you may find the following article helpful:
Mac OS X: Gray screen appears during startup
http://support.apple.com/kb/ts2570
Regards,
- Brenden

HT3964 my iMac won't boot up. I hear the chime and the Apple symbol appears but there is no whirling indicator that appears and after a while the computer screen goes black and the whole cycle starts again. There have been occasions when it has actually s

my iMac won't boot up. I hear the chime and the Apple symbol appears but there is no whirling indicator that appears and after a while the computer screen goes black and the whole cycle starts again. There have been occasions when it has actually started and I have the dashboard appear but then the screen freezes

Since you have Lion v10.7.4 installed, use Lion Recovery to repair the startup disk if necessary, or reinstall the Mac OS X.

My iMac won't boot past grey screen and it didn't come with a os x disk

My iMac won't boot past grey screen with apple. I've tried booting in safemode but that didn't help and my iMac didn't come with a os x disk.

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.”
b. 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.
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
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 either of the techniques in Steps 1b and 1c 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
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 10
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 11
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 12
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.

27" iMac won't boot from anything BUT the main drive

Hi all,
My lovely 27" iMac is in perfect working condition, but I thought I'd try to install a OS on a large SD card to see if I would gain any speed.
In the process of doing that (cause I never got that far) I discover that the iMac won't boot from the original install DVD. It simply spits out the DVD when I try to insert into the drive. I'v managed to make an image of the DVD (in a different mac) onto the SD card in order to try an boot from that. No luck. I've tried to insert a original install DVD from my Mac Pro into the iMac, which it reads fine and well, and when I tap the restart button it restarts, but stop with a white screen doing boot up.
If I try to hold down the option key during startup, the iMac WILL let me choose which OS to boot from, but if I choose anything else than the OS already installed it freezes.
I've even tried to boot my Mac Pro from the iMac install DVD - no problems.
I've even run a hardware test on the iMac - no problems.
I am running out of options fast! Please help a devoted Mac-friend.
Take care.
Peter

I WAS using the DVD that came with the machine, but I fear Apple may have sent me the wrong one?
In trying to solve the issues I'd tried other OS disc's (A Mac Pro install DVD and a OS X Leopard DVD) - but none of them would even boot, nor install of my iMac. I always end up with a white screen during boot up.
As I described, the original iMac install DVD would indeed boot my Mac Pro, do the disc seems ok?

IMac won't boot up after latest update. Any suggestions?

I just updated my software (the latest from apple), then my iMac won't boot again.

There you go. Your HDD is failing hence its not booting. You need reformat the HDD
To reformat, same steps: Boot to the install disc > get past the language selection > You will see Welcome to Blah Blah Blah > just hit continue > There should be something there called erase and install
BUT
1. if you are absolutely sure that Time machine has BACKED-UP all of your files then proceed above
2. If not, if you have another mac: connect it via firewire then google Target Disk mode. Basically you want to copy all your files from the damaged machine to the new mac to serve as a backup
3. if yo dont have another mac: get an external HDD, install Mac os X on it, boot to it then back up your files
to do this
a) Plug external HDD
b) Boot to the CD restart and hold C
c) Get past language selection and keep hitting continue
d) when it asks you where you want to install Mac os X > select the external HDD
e) once its installed. Restart the computer and hold "Option" key. You should now see your external HDD as one of the boot drives. Select that and you'll boot into it
f) once inside the external HDD OS, you will see the internal HDD(damaged drive)browse/navigate through it and start getting your important files

IMAC won't boot with USB card reader attached

My quite new 24" iMAC won't boot if I have a USB card reader attached:
I get to the white screen with the apple logo, but it gets stuck there and the little spinning gear below the apple logo never appears (I've waited several minutes). (In all my test cases, there is no card in the card reader.)
I've tried two different card readers with the same results ("iDOTconnect" brand and a brand new Apacer unit, both are USB2.0 multi-format card readers).
The 1st one I tried via a USB hub, the second one I tried via a new hub and also directly connected to the mac (both of those hubs work fine).
Anyone have any ideas?
Regards,
Strathglass
Message was edited by: strathglass

Hello strathglass
The same thing can also happen with other connected devices such as external HD's and iPods, the Startup Manager is lost and searching for a boot volume.
1. You may be able to fix it by going to: *System Preference / Startup Disk* and select the *Mac OS X 10.5.5 on Macintosh HD* then *Click the lock to prevent further changes.*
2. Leave those devices that cause boot issues disconnected until the iMac is up and running!
3. Only sleep the iMac, and be sure to disconnect those devices be for shutting down or updates that require a restart!
As a habit, I have always ejected and disconnected all mounted USB devices (flash driver, iPods, cameras, card reader, etc.) from my hub be for sleeping, restarting or shutting down...
Dennis

IMac won't boot after power outage

I got a power outage a couple of hours ago. And now my iMac won't boot. When I power it up, it gets pass the white screen with the apple logo. The screen than turns blue with a spinning cursor. The cursor spins for about 10-15 minutes and stops but the normal login screen never appear and it won't boot into the desktop either. I just got a blue screen.
I have boot into the install Disc1 and did the disk repair and premission repair but it didn't help.
Any idea?
Sidney

Oh man, what a disaster!
I tried to do an Archive and Install but the installation hanged at the end of disc 2 after running an iWeb script (according to the install log) with about one minute left. I have waited for two hours but it just hanged there with all the drives spin down.
To make the problem worse. There was no way to quit the install at that point because all the menu items were disabled. The only way out was to power off. But when I powered it back on, it booted right into install directly asking for the disc 2. If I put the disc in it will install again and hang at the same spot.
Disc 2 contains iLife. I know Apple wanted to make things simple but why can't they give me an option to skip it? After all, iLife was already installed.
I finally got it working by booting from disc 1 and did a clean install. It took me all night to re-download all the updates and reinstall many applications. Fortunately, I have my address book, calendar, and most of my works backed up to .Mac so it wasn't a total lost.
On the bright side. Now my iMac is working better than before. I used to have problem getting auto sleep to work but now it works perfectly. Safari also had problem accessing charts (but Camino was fine) in a few web sites like schwab.com. Now everything works.
Lenn and David. Thanks for all your helps.
Now I am looking for a better backup solution so that the recovery won't be this painful if disaster strikes again. Any suggestions?
Sidney

Imac won't boot - white screen

Ok, so now my imac won't boot. All I get is a white screen; I also can't boot from install DVD.

Hi David
Try booting the Install DVD holding the Option key or run the Apple Hardware Test as described in the following Apple article > http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1509
Dennis

IMac won't boot at first attempt

Hi
Recently I've been experiencing that my intel iMac won't boot at first attempt and I have to powerdown manually and then try again. Second time it boots just fine. It's usually in the morning (been shut off for the night), but not always. I've tried disc utility from the install dvd, have repaired permissions and reset the nvram and everything seems just fine. The thing is, this has happened after the 10.4.8 update as far as I can remember. Does anyone else see this or is it a coincidence and some other problem?
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Best regards
Rico
intel iMac 20" Mac OS X (10.4.8)
intel iMac 20" Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Oups, sorry about that wrong quote - I've been reading to many discussions lately
I've done all sorts of things today and I'm kind of curious to what is going to happen tomorrow morning when I boot up the mac. To sum up, here's what I've been doing:
Installed 10.4.8 manually, downloaded from: http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/macosx1048updateintel.html Read somewhere that the stand alone installer might help.
I ran repair permissions right after and got this:
Permissions differ on ./usr/standalone/i386/boot.efi, should be -r-xr-xr-x , they are -r--r--r--
Owner and group corrected on ./usr/standalone/i386/boot.efi
Permissions corrected on ./usr/standalone/i386/boot.efi
The privileges have been verified or repaired on the selected volume
Ran repair permissions again to check - all was good
Enabled automatically login in the accounts menu in user prefs - someone suggested me to do this, but I'm not sure what that might do, but hey, I'll give it all a shot.
Changed resolution and then back again to highest possible. Apple suggests this when the problem occurs on the 17" iMac.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=303870
Unplugged power cord for 30 secs and reset smu (G5 article/idea though)
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=301733
Used Onyx to delete the content of library > caches which I read somewhere could perhaps help.
I'll post again tomorrow morning, and hopefully with some positive news

My iMac won't boot. I only get a white screen. Won't open in safe mode or recovery mode. Any suggestions?

Hey, any help? My 24" iMac won't boot. I only get a white screen when turning on. It won't open in safe or recovery mode. Any suggestions?

If you can't boot from your installer DVD, then take it in for service.

My Imac won't boot on apple OS

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