My macbook pro laptop has a grey screen at start up and doesn't boot up all the way

to whom this may concern, i have a macbook pro and the computer on startup has a grey screen i get the apple symbol and a status bar but as the status bar is filling it only fills 1/3 of the way and the computer shuts down i tried turning back on several times and have had no luck. what could be the problem ?

mr.edsr wrote:
Where is the SMC located  and how is this done?  Thank you!
Please read this link:
http://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201295
Ciao.

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  • My 2012 MacBook Pro fell and it now makes a clicking noise and shows a grey screen on startup. I'm afraid the hard drive is damaged. Is their anyway to still back up my hard drive even if it doesn't turn on all the way?

    So my late 2012 MacBook Pro was sitting on my desk when the desk collapsed. The computer fell with it and I was quite scared at the moment, but thankfully I opened it up and it worked perfectly fine again.
    I was later watching a YouTube video and pressed the back button. The screen then froze, and I could not force quit safari. Then this weird clicking noise started to happen. It was coming from the right of the trackpad. That's when I decided to force shutdown the computer with the power button.
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  • My MacBook has a grey screen with a folder and a question mark in the middle what does this mean?

    My MacBook has a grey screen with a folder and a question mark in the middle what does this mean?

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    Boot to the Recovery HD:
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  • My macbook pro is stuck on grey screen with apple symbol in center with the progress circle under it continusly spinning. After I had turned it on. Prior to turning it on I had to force close and shut down a few hours prior. Please Help?

    My macbook pro is stuck on grey screen with apple symbol in center with the progress circle under it continusly spinning. After I had turned it on. Prior to turning it on I had to force close and shut down a few hours prior. Please Help I have tried everything I know to do

    Unfortunately this means that there is a problem in the boot sector of your hard drive. It might be indicative of a fundamental corruption in the coding that allows your computer to boot your operating system from your hard drive. I had this problem twice and it resulted in me having to get a new hard drive and restore my data.
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    My MacBook Pro 13" (2012) is running Windows 7 on Bootcamp and there is an issue with the headset I'm using. I use a cheap Logitech Stereo Headset H130, but since there is only on audio plugin on the computer, I purchased a 3.5 mm 4-pin smartphone audio adapter thingy. That allowed me to put both my the sound coming to my headset & the microphone on my headset onto one wire. Everything worked wonderfully when running the Mac OS since they probably have support for that kind of stuff. The problem is though that once I try to use the same method in Windows 7, the OS doesn't recognize my headset microphone at all, but, instead when recording my voice decides to use the built-in mac microphone. Using this adapter still allows me to hear from my headset, but not use the microphone and that becomes a problem. It might be so that Windows 7 doesn't have support\drivers for that... How should I continue from here on out? Any advice?

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  • I recently got a used macbook pro, and the backlight on the keyboard doesn't light up all the way, I was wondering how much it would cost to get it fixed..

    MacBook pro keyboard doesn't light up all the way, I don't know why and I was wondering how much it could cost for repairs.

    If there is Warranty or AppleCare it will be covered at Apple Store. If no coverage, Apple does not repair iPhone 4 Power/Lock Button, for $149 they will give you a perfect replacement iPhone 4 exactly like yours with a 90 day Warranty. For the time being or as a permanent solution you can use perfect Virtual Lock Button. Tap Settings App > General > Accessibility > Assistive Touch > ON > tap the new small white screen button > Device > Lock. You can even use this button to turn the iPhone OFF. To turn iPhone ON, connect to power, ie charger or USB port of computer.

  • My computer has a white screen at start up and sits for hours. How can I fix my computer?

    My computer has a white screen at start up and sits for hours. How can I fix my computer?

    Take each of these steps that you haven't already tried. Stop when the problem is resolved.
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    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 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.
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    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.
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    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.
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    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.)
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    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.

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    I have a problem with Mail on my Macbook Pro. It is configurated with a gmail account, and now I can't access the mail. Is it possible to reboot the account or..? Please help:)

    The question mark means the computer cannot find a bootable volumes so can;t do anything, That, combined with annoying sounds, strongly suggests a failed hard drive.
    You can ask a "genius" at an Apple Rtail Store to test it but I'm pretty sure the drive is kaput. I'm hoping you had your data backed up.

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    Look at the more like this column on the right.. this is the most frequently asked question in this discussion area.
    Reboot the TC.. restart the whole network if the simple reboot did not work.. start in order. modem.. router/TC.. clients. 2min gap.
    Read C12 here. http://pondini.org/TM/Troubleshooting.html

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