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.

Similar Messages

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 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?

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

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.

TS2570 On start up of my new iMac it locks on the grey screen with the apple logo and the progress wheel spins. Boot up in safe and this is where it stopped at "BootCacheControl: Unable to open /var/db/bootcache.playlist: 2 no such file or directory. "

On start up of my new iMac it locks on the grey screen with the apple logo and the progress wheel spins. Boot up in safe and this is where it stopped at "BootCacheControl: Unable to open /var/db/bootcache.playlist: 2 no such file or directory. "

Reinstalling MacOS does NOT fix the problem for me. I'm still searching a solution !
Bernard

My imac won't load from the white screen with the logo on? What shall I do?

My imac won't load from the white screen with the apple logo and buffering sign? What shall I do..

Try any of the steps suggested in this article that you haven't already tried:
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2570?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US

I have a macbook and when I power it on and then select myself as a user...It won't power up. It stays in the white screen with the apple logo. I am online currently under 'guest user'. Is there anything I can do from the keyboard to fix this??? Help!!!

I have a macbook and when I power it on and then select myself as a user...It won't power up. It stays in the white screen with the apple logo. I am online currently under 'guest user'. Is there anything I can do from the keyboard to fix this??? Help!!!

Could you specify the model of MacBook and the OS X it's running, please? Some of the advice or references vary along with the system, so this could be helpful to formulate a reply. I've never used a Guest User selection, but do have more than one User.
If the computer does not have an optical drive, you may be able to boot it into a recovery disk mode or something; in an attempt to see what is wrong and maybe fix it.
Good luck & happy computing!

Hello. When I connect my imac Start, as usual, comes the start signal and then the white screen with the load signal then nothing happens. What could be the problem?

Hello. When I connect my imac Start, as usual, comes the start signal and then the white screen with the load signal then nothing happens. What could be the problem?

Presuming you get the chime, most of your Mac hardware is working and has passed the first part of the power-on self-test.
If the screen comes on, basic graphics is working.
The dark gray Apple is not present inside the Mac -- it must be loaded from a boot device. If the dark gray Apple appears, at least one of your boot devices has some capabilities. The flower petal/gear moves while Darwin is initializing and loading. If it stops immediately, something is terribly wrong.
When the screen turns blue, Mac OS X has loaded and your graphics card transitions to Interrupt-driven operation. LoginWindow task draws the login screen, and Mac OS X is ready for login.
What could be the problem depends on where in the process it stops, and whether the power light is blinking.

My MacBook Air won't start up. It's completely powered, yet when the white screen with the apple shows up upon me turning it on, it shuts right back off. Can someone help?

MacBook Air won't start up even though it's fully powered. The white screen with the apple logo appears when I turn it on, then it shuts right back down. Can someone help me?

Hey Msazama30,
First, I would start off your troubleshooting by following the steps in this link:
Mac OS X: Gray screen appears during startup
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2570
Then, if that doesn't work, try out the information in here:
Step by Step to fix your Mac
https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-3353
Welcome to Apple Support Communities!
All the best,
Delgadoh

I installed snow leopard which I now realise that it was the wrong one because it came out before my laptop and now it won't changed from the grey screen with the apple on it how do I fix it ???

I installed snow leopard which I now realise that it was the wrong one because it came out before my laptop and now it won't changed from the grey screen with the apple on it how do I fix it ???

MacBook Pro
Apple - Support - MacBook Pro
Mac OS Version builds
When did yours come out? what does the above show as model and minimum build?
You should have yoru OEM OS X DVD, not one from another Mac, or retail, though the last retail OS X DVD was a year ago 10.6.3.
If it installed, I don't see an issue unless the drive had corrupt directory etc.
What you need to do is repair your boot drive or restore from backup.

I have a iMac (20-inch, Mid 2009). On start up It will sit at the White screen with the logo and the wheel that spins under it. It will not go past this point? Any ideas?

I have a iMac (20-inch, Mid 2009). On start up It will sit at the white screen with the logo and the wheel that spins under it. It will not go past this point? Any ideas?

Question (?) Mark, Blinking Folder, or Gray Screen at Startup
These are related but not identical issues. Their causes are outlined in Intel-based Mac- Startup sequence and error codes, symbols. Solutions may be found in:
A flashing question mark appears when you start your Mac
Mac OS X- Gray screen appears during startup
In most cases the problems may be caused by one or more of these:
a. Problem with the computer's PRAM - See Resetting your Mac's PRAM and NVRAM.
b. Boot drive's directory has been corrupted - Repair with Disk Utility.
c. Critical system files are damaged or deleted - Reinstall OS X.
d. The disk drive is physically non-functional - Replace the hard drive.
Note that the information I have provided is what Apple recommends, If other users suggest different solutions than found here, then be sure what they recommend does not impact on your warranty, if any, or ability to get continuing Apple service.
Please don't start removing drives or changing cables unless you know what you are doing and have exhausted other non-invasive alternatives outlined here. If you perform any work yourself that is unapproved by Apple, then you will void any warranty you may have and lose all further Apple Support.
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.
The main difference if you are using Lion or Mountain Lion is that you must first boot from the Recovery HD. Simply boot from the Recovery HD to perform the above.
Reinstall Snow Leopard Without Erasing The drive
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 Mac OS X 10.6.8 Update Combo v1.1.
Reinstalling Lion/Mountain 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/Mountain Lion: Select Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion and click on the Continue button.
Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet if possible because it is three times faster than wireless.

My macbook pro won't turn on. it just stays stuck on a white screen with a little circle spinning around and around when you power it on.

my macbook pro won't turn on. it just stays stuck on a white screen with a little circle spinning around and around when you power it on. i don't know how to get it to progress past this loading page.

Resetting your Mac's PRAM and NVRAM
Intel-based Macs: Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC)
Restart the computer in Safe Mode, then restart again, normally. If this doesn't help, then:
Reinstalling Mavericks, Lion/Mountain 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/Mountain Lion, Mavericks: Select Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion, Mavericks and click on the Continue button.
Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet if possible because it is three times faster than wireless.
If you are not using Lion, Mountain Lion, or Mavericks then use the following procedure:
Resetting your Mac's PRAM and NVRAM
Intel-based Macs: Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC)
Restart the computer in Safe Mode, then restart again, normally. If this doesn't help, then:
Reinstall OS X without erasing the drive
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 Mac OS X 10.6.8 Update Combo v1.1.

I turned off my iPod touch and when I tried to turn it back on, it won't load and just sits on the black screen with the Apple logo.... HELP!!!):

I turned off my iPod touch and when I tried to turn it back on, it won't load and just sits on the black screen with the Apple logo.... HELP!!!):

Try a Reset...
Press and hold the Sleep/Wake button and the Home button at the same time for at least ten seconds, until the Apple logo appears. Release the Buttons.
Restart / Reset
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1430

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.

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for