My Imac won't start, just get the chime and white screen.

I tried holding command R but nothing happens, just a white screen! What can I try next?
I don' t know what model or OS I have...should dig out my paperwork...

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.

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HT1379 i tried to update and there was an error, i tried again. when i tried to start, i get the chime and a progress bar that goes about 25% then disappears and the computer turns off. nothing works. it does this every time i try to start

i just received a mac book pro from my dad. while trying to get used to it i tried to upgrade the os which failed because of an error. i tried again. when i tried to start later, i get a chime, and progress bar, and a spinning wheel. after 1 minute the bar is only progressed 25% then it disappears and the screen goes black. none of the keys work. I tried to re boot and the same thing happens. what do i do?

If it's new and you don't have anything on it yet, you can reinstall the OS from scratch. You don't say what OS or model, but try booting while holding down the Command and R keys. If you get the recovery partition, use Disk Utility to reformat the disk then reinstall.
This will wipe out everything on the drive though.

IMac won't start... Stick on white screen

Hi,
My Late 2009 iMac won't boot. It switches on, chimes and that's it. There is no apple logo, and flashing folder.
I have reset the SEC and PRAM several times.
I have tried booting to a CD, it does not work.
It will not run the hardware test, either from the HD or from CD.
Does anybody have any suggestions?
Regards Lee

Thanks for your advance, before I got chance to try it I have done the following;
I had stopped my original HDD out for a SSD a few months ago. Decided to the old HDD back in, that still had a copy of Lion on it. It now boots up and seems to be working fine. I'm doing a n extended hardware test now to see if it picks anything up.
I have a external FireWire HDD caddy, I'll test the SSD in that once the extended hardware has finished.
The plot thickens... But at least it's working again!!

HT201177 I get a chime and white screen, but after a few minutes the screen goes black. Help!

I came out to a black computer screen. I can see the mouse arrow but otherwise nothing. I disconnected the computer and tried turning it back on. It starts up like usual but bar going across under the apple freezes and the screen goes black. I can hear the computer running. Help!

That's just the iPod's backlight timer going off, signaling the iPod's backlight to turn off to conserve battery power.
B-rock

I would just get the Photosho and illustrator , what should I do ?

I would just get the Photosho and illustrator , what should I do ?

Subscribe to the two plans Creative Cloud pricing and membership plans | Adobe Creative Cloud

IMac won't start up passed the grey screen

Last friday my iMac (late 2006, 24", 2.33 duo core Intel, OS 10.6.8) gave me the spinning beach ball.
Restarting resulted in: first the apple screen with the progress indicator, followed by grey screen..
That was it. It hangs at the grey screen.
I've been busy this weekend testing all kinds of ideas to get my imac to fully start up again.
I checked the RAM, it's fine.
I flushed NVRAM, wild guess, but nothing changed.
Starting up in safe mode doesn't work.
Starting up in recovery mode doesn't work.
On the upside, I was able to start my imac up in Target mode. Using the host computer and Disk Utlity I can see there's nothing wrong with the HD. All the data is still there!, so later today I'll make a copy of the complete HD, hoping/thinking that I won't copy whatever is wrong.
I had Disk Utility repair all the permissions.
I've used the host computer to reinstall the OS on my imac.
But on start up my beloved iMac still won't get passed the grey screen.
I'm thinking something goes wrong before my Mac even gets to the HD. Maybe it's the firmware, but I'm not really sure that firmware matters in this case. And I wouldn't know how to reinstall the latest version of firmware because my imac won't start up from it's disk drive
I'm thinking maybe something could be wrong with the graphic card's RAM, though on start up I can see the apple logo just fine.
I'm not able to start up from CD, I've tried that because I wanted to reinstall my OS (before I figured out how to do that in Target Mode) by putting the OS disk in my imac's own disk drive. Staring up with the C key still gets me the grey screen. Staring up with Option key shows no other option but the HD.
So is there anybody out there who has an idea that could help me further along?
Any help is greatly appreciated!
Frank

Hi Jan,
If you have another firewire Mac you can check if the HD of your Mac is OK by connecting them with a firewire cable and use target-mode. That way I found out my HD was just fine.
It also offers you the chance to run a diagnostic program to check if anything else is fine. I used TechTool to do that. But everything checked out fine.
In the end I decided the problem is probably hardware. Some electronic part that broke. Very frustrating that some small transistor or so is keeping me from using my otherwise fine iMac.
I contacted a repairshop that also works for the local Mac retailer. They told me my iMac was concidered 'classic' and therefor it wasn't economically not worth the trouble trying to repair it.
I gave up, took two weeks to mourn the loss of my beloved iMac, and bought a Mac mini.
FrankV
Judging by your name I'm guessing I could've anwered this in Dutch.

IMac won't start- just spinning pinwheel

iMac was working fine. Got unplugged and now won't start-up. Just get the spinning pinwheel with Apple icon on screen
Any thoughts or suggestions?
Thanks
Joe

Read this: http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1547 You most likley have a problem with your ram

I cant get the black and white apple screen off

every time its not being used or chraged, it goes to a black and white screen with an apple on it.
its not at hold and it is responding but how do i get it off of the screen?
its not working for me at all.
oh... and when ever i try to update my ipod, it never works.
only when i have the cd in there, and i redownload it.
is there any way to skip around any of these steps?
because i really dont want to go through the complicated prosses of downloading the softwear every time the softwear refuses to work.
if you can contact me at my screen name
aim = aheaheahe X core
thanks.
-christan
nano

Welcome to Apple Discussions!
Try these...
iPod Only Shows An Apple Logo and Will Not Start Up
iPod Only Shows An Apple Logo
Or, is something else happening?
btabz

IMac won't start just the fan

Ok I have the dreaded black screen when I turn on my iMac but unlike most of the posts regarding this topic the HD doesn't seem to spin up. All I can hear is the fan, and no other activity.
It started with my screen freezing and the only thing I could do was to turn off the computer. This has happened a few times in the past and turning off and on always seemed to resolve it. But this time when I turned it on all I got was the fan noise. No chimes, nothing. I've tried resetting the PMU and removing the extra ram but know luck.
Most people seem to think this is a logic board fault, but then they seem to have an active computer just with no display. Any ideas greatly appreciated ?
Many Thanks
Mark
iMac G4 1.25GHz iBook G4 1.33GHz Mac OS X (10.4.6)

MarkWelcome to Apple Discussions.
Sounds like you've done your reading!
Given that your hard drive doesn't spin up I would be very suspicious. Could you confirm that your iMac shows any signs of life?
Does the caps lock light work?
Do you get the start-up chime (or beeps)?
Do you have the display adaptor to see connect your iMac to a TV and test it?
When you said 'started with the screen freezing' do you mean Kernel Panic, blank screen or the SBBOD?
I regret When I had similar symptoms a new logic board was required (at £325 plus fitting).
To answer your question on Part No.s:
Unfortunately doumentation on the iMac G4 20" is sadly lacking as they only existed for a few months (Nov 03 - Jul 04). The 20" was just a heavy version (heavy so it doesn't topple over) of the 17". I guess the larger display may require a larger PSU though.
Just done a search on AMP.co.uk and it came out with this part number: (661-3104)which is different to the 17"/15" PSU part number.
HTH
mrtotes

Used iMac won't start up past the flashing folder or spinning loading wheel

Hey guys, I just bought a used iMac 24" with mountain lion of eBay. (first mistake) its the late 2008 model.
got it home started fine. started moving files across and it froze, couldn't force quite or anything so I turned it off at the back.
Tried turning it back on and I got the folder with a question mark flashing at me..
tried safe booting and I just get white screen with a movable mouse pointer..
tried force restarting using option>Command>R>P. and get either the folder flashing ? or the apple symbol with the spinning loading symbol under it not going away.
I've left it over night and it often turns on for about 5 mins in the morning and then freezes.. and the cycle repeats..
I do not have the install disks as it was used.. and I'm really stuck.
Anyone got any good ideas?
Thanks

If you boot holding the alt/option key, that should give you a choice of source to boot from. Assuming that works, go into System Preferences and set your boot source so it will proceed normally after that.
If that doesn't work, either buy Snow Leopard (in US call the Apple online store at 800-MY-APPLE to order) or take it to your local Apple Store to have them boot to a Snow Leopard disk and run a disk repair and permission repair on your hard drive.

I may have deleted some system files from my computer due to my antivirus and now my imac won't start. Actually it does, and then there is a blank screeen with the apple logo and it shuts down right away. is tehre a possibility of recovering my files?

Hello
I was having some problems with my Imac, for a while it was slow and often disconneceted from my wifi, while this one worked perfectly (tested with other devices)
I thoug i might have a virus, so i downloaded an antivirus (mac keeper) and started checking.
I also did a scan of my computer using Console or something from the utilities, and then a folder popped witha file I had canceled a while ago. I canceled the file and then my Imac continued to be slow.
i then restarted my Imac, but when it started, the usual grey logo of Apple appeared, and then it shut down suddently.
I tried to reboot it holding the command key and R but nothing, and then i tried holding the shift key and a bar appeared, and at half of the bar it sut itself down again.
I think it is probably a preoblem because I may have cancelled some of the system files from a folder called "private" in the "documents" folder.
Is there any way I can recover some of my files? maybe all of them? I hope so because I have some important files there
Is this a thing I can do myself or do Ineed to go to a MacStore to repair it? Will I need to change HD or just to format it and reinstall? also if there is any way i can recover some of my files that would be great.
Thanks
Ludo
P.S. problems appeared when i installed the Mavericks version.

If MacKeeper corrupted the Recovery partition then even I underestimated its potential for damage. Garbage "cleaning" apps will cause misery but I have not found that the Recovery partition to have been affected by using MacKeeper or anything like it. I doubt that it did so, but I have learned not to underestimate the potential for such things to result in system corruption.
Before concluding your Mac has a hardware failure, try booting OS X Internet Recovery by holding command option r on startup (three fingers). That will force your iMac to bypass the Recovery partition altogether, and convey the ability to create a new one.
An Internet connection will be required (wired or wireless).
At the Mac OS X Utilities screen, select Disk Utility. Select your startup volume (usually named "Macintosh HD") and click the Repair Disk button. Describe any errors it reports in red. If Disk Utility reports "The volume Macintosh HD appears to be OK" in green then you can be reasonably (though not completely) assured your hard disk is in good working order.
Assuming the HD remains usable you can then use Disk Utility to erase it. Reinstall OS X, restore your essential software and other files, and don't reinstall the junk.

My imac won't start up past the grey screen, apple and spinning clock

Hi there. First time posting - usually either apple support website or previous threads solve the problem. Alas, not this time.
I have an intel imac - can't tell you much about the details as I can't get any info out of it. I installed snow leopard about a year ago - no issue since then other than occassionally the screen goes black but nothing major.
Yesterday, I backed up to my usual passport backup and then today, it froze. I couldn't turn it off or restart at all so resorted to the power button. Since then, I can turn it on, it goes to the grey screen (no blue screen) and I get the apple logo and the spinning clock/wheel. For hours and hours....
So, I tried one of the apple support pages and worked through - peripherals, safe boot, NVRAM, PRAM, tried to reboot with mac osx disc (the original not snow leopard) - nothing. Absolutely nothing changes - same old grey screen, apple logo and spinning clock/wheel.
HELP - do I try and reboot with the snow leopard disc? I don't know what to do next - I am no techie so half the threads don't even sound like English to me.
Thanks in advance, hope you geniuses out there can help me out.
abcvic

Thanks for the reply.
I had tried to reboot with the original disc but it never worked. The imac just spits out the disc and eventually, I am back at the grey screen, apple logo and wheel spinning. I tried it one more time following your reply. Same outcome.
My instal disc 1 had the instruction re hardware test which I have also tried with no success. I can't remember if it came with a disc 2 though I seem to have a couple - I also have a macbook and that seems to be still alive even if it is slow.
I tried to reboot with Snow Leopard disc - power on, chime then hold down C key. Same old - grey screen, apple logo and wheel spinning. Disc spat out eventually.
Any other suggestions welcomed or I am off to Apple tomorrow.

My iMac doesn't start. Get the apple on the screen, nothing more happens. Any clues?

Rebooted - get the apple on the screen - but nothing more happens. What to do?

Take each of these steps that you haven't already tried. Stop when the problem is resolved.
To restart an unresponsive computer, press and hold the power button for a few seconds until the power shuts off, then release, wait a few more seconds, and press it again briefly.
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 a desktop Mac hangs at a plain gray screen with a movable cursor, the keyboard may not be recognized. Press and hold the button on the side of an Apple wireless keyboard to make it discoverable. If need be, replace or recharge the batteries. If you're using a USB keyboard connected to a hub, connect it to a built-in port.
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 in OS X 10.9 or earlier, or if a firmware password is set, or if the startup volume is 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 11. 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.

HT201177 My iMac won't fire up. It shows a white screen and the apple with little dial going around but won't complete start up

I rebooted my iMac this morning and now it won't come back on. It shows a white screen with the apple and a spinning wheel. Do I need to take it in?

More details needed, such as computer and OS. Step one is to restart—hold down the power button until it shuts off, push it again, and hold down the SHIFT key until it starts in Safe Mode. Report back.
As for taking it in, if this doesn't work, contact Apple Service, iMac Service or Apple's Express Lane. Do note that if you have AppleCare's protection plan and you're within 50 miles (80 KM) of an Apple repair station, you're eligible for onsite repair since yours is a desktop machine.

IMac won't start up all the way

Okay, so I was updating the iMac, it was either on the quicktime update or the 10.4.7-10.4.8 update, I'm not sure.
When i restarted the computer (it prompted me to) and it started up the upper most bar wasn't there and none of the programs will start up and there are no icons on the desktop... Any ideas? I already started up from the install disk and repaired the disk and repaired permissions...

Thanks for your quick response.. I don't have a 6 pin to 6 pin firewire cable though. I can burn the file to a disk, the problem is in executing it, because the media doesn't show up on the mac, so is there a way I can execute it in single user mode via command line?

My Imac won't start, just get the chime and white screen.

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