My MacBook Air 11" freezes at startup. Just get Apple logo and a spinning wheel. Help!!

I've drained my MacBook Air's battery but manage to shut down properly. When I restart all I get is the Apple Logo and a spinning gear.
I've tried pressing Option, Command & Esc key but it's not working.
Please help!!

Similar Messages

My macbook won't boot pass the apple logo and the spinning wheel

Some programs on my Macbook starting crashing so I tried restarting it. Now it doesn't load past the grey screen with the apple logo and the spinning wheel.
I've tried installing the Install disc, holding 'c' but nothing happens.
I've tested the hardware holding 'd' in the start up, in which the test can back clean, so I'm assuming it's a problem with the software.
I've followed almost all the troubleshooting solutions on the apple website including restarting the PRAM and SMC, with no success.
However I foolishly followed a solution that was meant for an earlier version of Mac OS X, which invloved starting up in single-user and entering some commands, this appears to have done nothing but i'm concerned it may have done some extra damage.
I have bootcamp installed and I can boot up windows with no problem and even access some of the files on the Macintosh HD.
My backup harddrive broke recently so I haven't got a back up of any of my files either.
My question is, is there any way of fixing this problem or even just saving all my files and data so I can format the hard drive and start again, other than finding someone with a mac and try using the firewire method?
thank you for your time and help.

There's a possible solution but you must have the proper installer DVD for the computer. Assuming you do:
How to Perform an Archive and Install
An Archive and Install will NOT erase your hard drive, but you must have sufficient free space for a second OS X installation which could be from 3-9 GBs depending upon the version of OS X and selected installation options. The free space requirement is over and above normal free space requirements which should be at least 6-10 GBs. Read all the linked references carefully before proceeding.
1. Be sure to use Disk Utility first to repair the disk before performing the Archive and Install.
Repairing the Hard Drive and Permissions
Boot from your OS X 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 Installer menu (Utilities menu for Tiger, Leopard or Snow Leopard.) 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. Now restart normally.
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. Do not proceed with an Archive and Install if DU reports errors it cannot fix. In that case use Disk Warrior and/or TechTool Pro to repair the hard drive. If neither can repair the drive, then you will have to erase the drive and reinstall from scratch.
3. Boot from your OS X Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When you reach the screen to select a destination drive click once on the destination drive then click on the Option button. Select the Archive and Install option. You have an option to preserve users and network preferences. Only select this option if you are sure you have no corrupted files in your user accounts. Otherwise leave this option unchecked. Click on the OK button and continue with the OS X Installation.
4. Upon completion of the Archive and Install you will have a Previous System Folder in the root directory. You should retain the PSF until you are sure you do not need to manually transfer any items from the PSF to your newly installed system.
5. After moving any items you want to keep from the PSF you should delete it. You can back it up if you prefer, but you must delete it from the hard drive.
6. You can now download a Combo Updater directly from Apple's download site to update your new system to the desired version as well as install any security or other updates. You can also do this using Software Update.

After installing the latest update for Mavericks and restarting, my Mac just displays the Apple logo and the spinning wheel. What can I do to fix this?

I installed the latest update of Mavericks from the App Store today and after restarting my system it doesn't go beyond the Apple logo and the spinning wheel. I tried resetting the NVRAM but it still has the same problem.

1. Startup in Safe Mode
    http://support.apple.com/kb/PH14204
2. Repair Disk.
    Steps 1 through 7
    http://support.apple.com/kb/PH5836

MacBook will not turn on. I get Apple fiqure and then the wheel just spins. What can I do

MacBook will not turn completely on. I get Apple fiqure and then the wheel just spins.

Reinstall OS X. Either use your installer DVD or do a network restore if you are using Lion or Mountain Lion.

My Macbook will not boot the operating system. It just goes to a blue screen after the apple logo and the spinning wheel goes off. I took the battery out and held the on/off button for five seconds and reset the PRAM. I have the old mac os disk.

My macbook will not boot. It goes to a blue screen after the logo and wheel goes off. I have taken the battery out and held the on/off button for five seconds and reset the PRAM. I have the the original os disk but have not put it in for fear of losing un backed op data.
Thanks
Rich

You won't lose any data unless you erase your hard drive.
Put your install DVD into the optical drive and reboot. As soon as you hear the boot chime, hold down the "c"key on your keyboard (or the Option key until the Install Disk shows up). That will force your MacBook to boot from the install DVD in the optical drive.
When it does start up, you'll see a panel asking you to choose your language. Choose your language and press the Return key on your keyboard once. It will then present you with an Installation window. Completely ignore this window and click on Utilities in the top menu and scroll down to Disk Utility and click it.When it comes up is your Hard Drive in the list on the left?
If it is then click on the Mac OS partition of your hard drive in the left hand list. Then select the First Aid Tab and run Repair Disk. The Repair Disk button won't be available until you've selected the Mac OS partition on your hard drive. If that repairs any problems run it again until the green OK appears and then run Repair Permissions.

MacBook Pro - just get apple logo and spinning icon

Reinstalled the OS wirelessly, trying to restore Time Machine backup from a Seagate USB drive. Goes OK for about 45 minutes, then progress bar disappears, leaving only apple logo and spinner. What to do?

Reinstalled the OS wirelessly, trying to restore Time Machine backup from a Seagate USB drive. Goes OK for about 45 minutes, then progress bar disappears, leaving only apple logo and spinner. What to do?

My iMac is stuck at startup where the apple logo and the spinning thing are

I have Leopard, and have recently tried to change my dock. After i added spaces, i found i could not delete them, for some reason. I tried restarting my iMac and i am stuck at the spinning thing right after the blank white screen. My guess is maybe I screwed something up while working with CoreServices (System/Library/CoreServices). Also, when i downloaded the DockChanger app, I tried to change the Dock back to default. It said i didn't have the files to run the default Dock, even though when i changed my dock, I saved those files, put them on my Maxtor external HD, and then put them back into CoreServices when i wanted to change it back. I have no idea what happened. Right now I can't start up my computer, and am typing this from someone else's. I even tried reinstalling Leopard, but it said i needed Tiger first. Please help!

All right! I got it to work! I just inserted the leopard disk and chose restore system from Time Machine. It worked liked a charm. Thanks apple for Time Machine!

Mac mini updated now just get blue screen and a spinning wheel

Mac Mini ppc with tiger.
Updated today (safari, OSX and itunes) after freeing up some space by copying files off to a USB drive. After reboot it gets to a blue screen with a spinning "wheel" and stays there for hours, never gets any further. Will boot to command prompt, target disk mode and a set of DVDs borrowed from work (which won't install as they are for iMac!) but not to anything GUI from the hard disk as far as I can tell atm. Disk utility on the DVDs reports no errors on the internal disk.
All was well before the updates. There was one "funny" but I'm not sure if its relevant. During use today the desktop appeared to get bigger than the screen when changing the screen saver to a snow flake one I used last Christmas (with no problems). As the mouse moves around the screen the screen scrolls in the opposite direction (only about 5 pixels) as used to happen in the old days on my PC when the graphics cards supported higher resolutions than the screen did.
Of course, as luck would have it, I can't find my original tiger disks!
Help!

Safe mode likely won't help, but it is achieved by holding the Shift key down during reboot - press and hold down when you hear the chime. It takes a while longer to boot into safe mode than booting normally, and it loads only core MacOS modules.
One issue that was a perpetual risk with installing updates in versions of MacOS X prior to Leopard was the possibility of disrupting prebinding. Prebinding is the process whereby library files are linked to executables, and problems can occur is applications are running (and in active use) during the installation of updates. If prebinding is disrupted, the system can fail to boot after an update, and the blue screen is a common symptom.
IF prebinding is a problem and you can't boot into safe mode, boot into single user mode (hold Ctrl-S during boot from hearing the chime) and then at the prompt, type 'sudo update_prebinding' (no quotes of course) and hit enter. Enter your admin password when requested, and sit back and wait for the command prompt to reappear, at which point the prebinding update is complete - it could take several minutes.
If that doesn't help, your initial post implies you do not have your original install disks - you may however need them, or a retail MacOS installer, because it may be necessary to perform an archive and install on the hard drive.

My MacBook Air will not turn on. I get a white screen with the apple logo and a spinning star that just does that for hours

My MacBook Air will not turn on. I get a white screen with the apple logo and a spinning star (search icon). It will spin for hours and never go away unless I power off.

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.

MacBook won't start up it shows the apple logo and just keeps the "wheel" spinning

MacBook won't start up it shows the apple logo and just keeps the "wheel" spinning

Usually means that critical system files are corrupted. Start by:
Boot into Safe Mode if possible. If it boots into safe mode, then restart the computer to see if it will boot normally. Otherwise, reinstall OS X. Unfortunately, you've not provided any information in your profile about what version of OS X you have installed.

I'm having issues booting up my MacBook Pro. When I turn it on, I get the sound and the apple logo with the spinning wheel, then a loading bar appears, then after about 30 seconds it shuts off. Suggestions?

I believe it's OSX 10.7.5 or .4, can't check now. I'm not able to boot up past the login screen. A bar comes up below the apple logo as if it's installing an apple update, but doesn't make any progress. Eventually, the bar goes away and just the apple logo and spinning wheel are there, then it just shuts off soon after. I've tried holding shift key on power up to enter safe mode, but nothing happens. Any help/ suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

You can't backup without booting the computer unless you remove the drive. But it may be you have a more serious hardware problem, so I think you may be better off taking it in for service.
But here's what you might try since you now have an external drive.
Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions - Lion/Mountain Lion
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
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 drive's main entry (topmost one) and click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. This will fix the boot block if it's damaged. Next, select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) 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 then click on the Repair Permissions button.
If you have no problems with the above, then quit DU and return to the Main Menu. Select Restart from the Apple menu. See if the computer will boot properly.
If you get this far you should backup the drive ASAP. You will need to prepare your external drive:
Drive Preparation
1. Open Disk Utility in your Utilities folder.
2. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.
3. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed.
4. Select the volume you just created (this is the sub-entry under the drive entry) from the left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.
5. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Security button, check the button for Zero Data and click on OK to return to the Erase window.
6. Click on the Erase button. The format process can take up to several hours depending upon the drive size.
Steps 4-6 are optional but should be used on a drive that has never been formatted before, if the format type is not Mac OS Extended, if the partition scheme has been changed, or if a different operating system (not OS X) has been installed on the drive.

Error 3194 still presist while restoring ipod touch 4g, just shows apple logo and wont start

Method 1: i have tried almost everything, 'hosts' file editing (adding and deleting that ip gs.apple.com thing)
Method 2: redsnow, snowbreeze,ireb (custom ispw and fetching thing)...
now my ipod is in dead case, it just gives apple logo and wont start.
Method 3: TS 3.0 and 1.0 checked, certificate xyz... uncheked from intertnet explorer-> internet option -> advanced -> security
Method 4: netsh xyz (comand) in cmd...
Please Help thank you.
"Details:
ipod touch 4g
ios 6.1 installed (lastly)
jail broken but deleted cydia from it
then tried to restore it always gave Error 3194,
then restored it from its backup file after that it didnt opened or just showed apple logo thats it."
my itunes on dignostic gives this report,
Microsoft Windows 7 Business Edition Service Pack 1 (Build 7601)
Hewlett-Packard HP xw4400 Workstation
iTunes 11.1.1.11
QuickTime not available
FairPlay 2.5.16
Apple Application Support 2.3.6
iPod Updater Library 11.1f5
CD Driver 2.2.3.0
CD Driver DLL 2.1.3.1
Apple Mobile Device 7.0.0.117
Apple Mobile Device Driver 1.64.0.0
Bonjour 3.0.0.10 (333.10)
Gracenote SDK 1.9.6.502
Gracenote MusicID 1.9.6.115
Gracenote Submit 1.9.6.143
Gracenote DSP 1.9.6.45
iTunes Serial Number 001AB71808E6CBD8
Current user is not an administrator.
The current local date and time is 2013-11-29 04:19:21.
iTunes is not running in safe mode.
WebKit accelerated compositing is enabled.
HDCP is not supported.
Core Media is supported.
Video Display Information
NVIDIA, NVIDIA GeForce 8400
**** External Plug-ins Information ****
No external plug-ins installed.
iPodService 11.1.1.11 is currently running.
iTunesHelper 11.1.1.11 is currently running.
Apple Mobile Device service 3.3.0.0 is currently running.
**** Network Connectivity Tests ****
Network Adapter Information
Adapter Name:    {BC8F9388-D244-4F12-92A3-A26318EE6C52}
Description:    Broadcom NetXtreme Gigabit Ethernet
IP Address:    192.168.1.102
Subnet Mask:    255.255.255.0
Default Gateway:    192.168.1.1
DHCP Enabled:    Yes
DHCP Server:    192.168.1.1
Lease Obtained:    Fri Nov 29 04:16:55 2013
Lease Expires:    Fri Nov 29 06:16:55 2013
DNS Servers:    192.168.1.1
Active Connection:    LAN Connection
Connected:    Yes
Online:        Yes
Using Modem:    No
Using LAN:    Yes
Using Proxy:    No
Firewall Information
Windows Firewall is off.
Connection attempt to Apple web site was successful.
Connection attempt to browsing iTunes Store was successful.
Connection attempt to purchasing from iTunes Store was successful.
Connection attempt to iPhone activation server was successful.
Connection attempt to firmware update server was unsuccessful.
The network connection timed out.
Connection attempt to Gracenote server was successful.
Last successful iTunes Store access was 2013-11-29 04:18:45.

lllaass thank u bro, but none worked for me
i have tried all these methods n above which i mentioned before....
- Powering off and then back on your router.
- iTunes for Windows: iTunes cannot contact the iPhone, iPad, or iPod software update server
- Change the DNS to either Google's or Open DNS servers
Public DNS — Google Developers
OpenDNS IP Addresses
- For one user uninstalling/reinstalling iTunes resolved the problem
- Try on another computer/network
- Wait if it is an Apple problem
in the end i went ot market n paid him 1.94$ and he restored it to 6.1.5... and said apple has closed other ios updation except 6.1.5 ...but still thank u soo much learned some new stuff from u...

MacBook won't boot - stuck showing the Apple logo and the spinning circle.

Hi.
My MacBook suddenly froze when I was using it today. Displaying the spinning beach ball.
It never came out of it, fan running at max speed, so I tried to force restart it (Control-Command-Power), but that didn't work, so I forced the MacBook off (holding the power button pressed.)
When trying to start the MacBook again it couldn't boot. It kept displaying the grey screen, with the Apple logo and the spinning circle below the Apple logo.
I left the MacBook like this for 10-15 minutes, but nothing happened.
Went on to try the following.:
*- Removed the AC-adapter and battery for 5 minutes.*
*- Command-Option-P-R (Resetting PRAM and NVRAM).*
*- Resetting System Management Controller (SMC).*
*- Command-S (singleuser boot)*
And checking the HDD with sbin/fsck -fy
= "The volume ** appears to be OK."
*- Command-V*
Stops on the following line, and fan ramps up to full speed.:
DNSServiceRegister("ssh.tcp."): -65537)
Force reboot didn't work. Had to force it off.
But, nothing helped.
It simply won't boot.
I also tried to boot Ubuntu 7.10, but it hangs after a short while displaying "Kernel panic".
Force reboot didn't work. Had to force it off.
Also tried the option to boot from the first HDD (in the boot menu on the Ubuntu 7.10 disc), but that didn't work either. Only got a black screen, with a blinking cursor top left, and fan ramping up to max.
Again, force reboot didn't work. Had to force it off.
The only thing that has worked so far is exiting the Ubuntu 7.10 CD boot menu, and pressing enter on the prompt that appears.
But, after rebooting, the MacBook still refuses to boot into Mac OS X.
I left the MacBook alone, hoping it would work its way out of the spinning circle, but after 2 h 38 min nothing had happened.
Does anyone know how to fix this?
:. nattugglan

This happened to me last night.
I was updating my iPod and I got a message saying that it needed to do an update. I installed the update and went on ahead putting new songs on my iPod. When it was finished i ejected as I usually do and closed down.
When I went to check me e-mails this morning the Macbook would not boot. It sticks on the grey screen with the Apple and the spinny disc underneath, then it restarts and sticks on the same screen. The last software to be onstalled was Norton 11 on Monday but I have used the Macbook since. I cannot think why it will not boot.
I am loathed to do a reinstall as I have some things on the Macbook that I had not yet backed up.
Any advice?

I am trying to download snow leopard, but with around 46 mins to go, a message appears saying, my coup is going to restart,it does but with just the apple logo,and white screen, nothing else,can anybody help? jib.

i am trying to download snow leopard, but with around 46 mins to go, a message appears saying, my coup is going to restart,it does but with just the apple logo,and white screen, nothing else,can anybody help? jib.

I think we need more clarification.
What do you mean by "download"? Only updates are available as downloads, the System software has to be installed from a DVD.

Macbook won't boot past grey screen with Apple logo and spinning wheel.

For some reason, after about 1 year and 10 months of owning my Macbook, it decided this morning not to load past the grey screen with the Apple logo and spinning cog/wheel.
I used it for a couple of hours beforehand, and it was working fine. Software Update prompted me of about about 4 or 5 updates; I can't remember exactly what was downloaded, but I think there was a Security Update and iTunes among them. I restarted, left it to install with no errors, but when I logged in, Safari and iTunes were running incredibly slowly. I also noticed that the volume keys weren't responding, as well as the power key to bring up the "Sleep, Restart, Shutdown, etc" dialog box. I forced shutdown, hoping a restart would solve my problem, and that's when my troubles started. I originally just left it, but after about an hour the wretched thing was still spinning.
So far, I have done a number of troubleshooting tips on a variety of websites. I have tried taking the battery out and holding down power for 5 seconds, resetting the PRAM with option, cmd, p & r, and holding down power until the sleep light flashes rapidly and the computer lets out a large "BOOOP".
I have booted off my Leopard install disk with both option and c, repaired the hard drive a number of times, with there being no errors whatsoever. I have tried repairing permissions, but everything seems to freeze up, except the mouse.
For some reason my computer will not boot into safe mode, either, and holding cmd & s at startup doesn't get me to the stage where I can enter commands with the keyboard.
Unfortunately, because of my puny 60GB hard drive, I only have 1GB of free space left and cannot reinstall Leopard without wiping my hard drive.
I would greatly appreciate it if anyone could assist me with this unfortunate dilemma. It's such a shame that my computer has been fantastic for so long and now decides to play up. (Maybe it's just Apple trying to get me to buy a new 2.4Ghz aluminium Macbook sooner than I was planning...)
Thanks very much.

Hi ds,
Sorry to hear you're having such trouble!
Unfortunately, the best thing you can do at this point is reinstall Leopard (and then attempt to install the combo updater, too). If you don't have a backup of your machine, you could boot it into Target Disk Mode (by holding down T at startup) and then attach it via FireWire to another computer to salvage your files.
I recently had to repair a machine with this exact same problem, and after messing around with that for several hours, I'd have to say that I think that an Erase and Install is the way to go. If you then migrate over your user data and start having troubles, you at least know where the problem lies. I suspect, though, that having a clean machine with all of the new updates applied will be the end of the issue.
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. There are a few other things you could try first; you could, for example, manually download the relevant combo updater from Apple's website and attempt to install it to your damaged machine while it's in Target Disk Mode. If you have a copy of Disk Warrior, that too is certainly worth a shot (and in some cases may be the saving grace). In my experience, though, a failure of this magnitude isn't easy to resolve.
Hope that helps.
—Hazy

My MacBook Air 11" freezes at startup. Just get Apple logo and a spinning wheel. Help!!

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