My Macbook Pro locks up on the boot screen

I've had my Macbook pro since mid 2008 (15-inch model) and last time I used it, it froze while I was typing a paper and I had to force shut it down. When I turned it back on it gave me the start-up tone like normal, but after a few moments on a boot screen the spinning icon would just freeze and sit there. I could still hit my volume keys and could hear the blips go up and down as the volume adjusted. I first tried booting it in safe mode. A progress bar showed up, but about 30% through filling it vanished and the computer locked up again. I've tried resetting the PRAM, holding down option when I start the computer (I'm using Lion and both the normal HD and recovery HD options have the exact same result), I even tried putting in the install disc and holding C while the computer starts up and though I can hear the disc drive working the computer just acts like there's nothing in there at all. This is really driving me crazy, I really would like to get my Macbook working again and I can't afford to just replace it. Any insight anyone could offer me would be very greatly welcome because no matter what I do I just get returned to the boot screen and the spinning icon just locks up every time after a few moments

Hi daviscouch,
Thank you for using Apple Support Communities.
To troubleshoot this issue where your Mac will not boot past the gray screen with spinning gear, please follow the steps in the article below.
Mac OS X: Gray screen appears during startup
Cheers,
Alex H.

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My macbook pro wont get past the grey screen at startup. Help!!

After doing a run of the mill software update on my macbook pro (running snow leopard) it froze during the "moving items into place" stage. I forced a shut down and now it wont get past the grey screen with apple logo and spinning wheel. I have tried booting from the original DVD but it still freezes. When I boot it in verbose mode it seems to stop at "jnl: unknown-dev: update_fs_block: error reading fs block # 3597880! (ret 5)", the Apple AHCD Disk Queue manager :: set power state is timing out and there is a disk I/O error. I have tried to reset the power manager (not sure if it worked or not) and I have also tried clearing the PRAM (again, not sure of that worked). When I try to look at the hard drive using target mode on my imac the hard drive doesn't come up but the DVD does. I'm concerned that my hard drive is fried. Any suggestions?

It would help to state in your post which remedies you tried that didn't work.
Start here > OS X Lion: If you see a gray screen at startup
If nothing there helped, try Starting up in Safe Mode
Safe Mode deletes some system caches that may help.
A Safe Mode boot takes longer than a normal boot so be patient. Once you are in Safe Mode, click Restart from the Apple menu.
If a Safe Mode boot didn't work, since your Mac has OS X v10.7 installed, restart your Mac while holding down the Command + R keys so you can access OS X Recovery built in utilities. The startup disk may need repairing.
Tip: Hold down the Eject key while starting up your Mac to eject a disc.

My macbook pro doesn't bootbeyond the grey screen with apple icon and spinning wheel.

My macbook pro doesn't boot beyond the grey screen with apple icon and spinning wheel. I used the "Option" button to access the Disk Utility function and run Repair Disk and Repair Disk Permissions. Should I restart my computer?

The following support article is somewhat outdated. Where it refers to booting from an installation disc, you should boot from your recovery partition (if running 10.7 or later) by holding down the key combination command-R at the chime.
Mac OS X: Gray screen appears during startup

My macbook pro is stuck at the white screen at start up...

my mac is a 2011 13 inch macbook pro.
i tried holding command+option+p+r and it kept on playing the chime and it was still stuck on a white screen
please help!!

Try a Safe Boot: http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2570
If not use the Recovery: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4718

My Macbook Pro is stuck on the loading screen

Hello. My Macbook Pro from late 2012 won't start up normally. It stays stuck on the loading screen with the spinning grey wheel. I reset the PRAM and it did nothing. I did Control-R and trI'd to repair/verify the disk and it said there was nothing wrong. Can anyone help?

Hi daviscouch,
Thank you for using Apple Support Communities.
To troubleshoot this issue where your Mac will not boot past the gray screen with spinning gear, please follow the steps in the article below.
Mac OS X: Gray screen appears during startup
Cheers,
Alex H.

Macbook pro gets stuck on the startup screen...

This question is a little odd as i am typing it off of my macbook pro right now, but my macbook fell of my bed and then it froze. I then resarted it and it just sat on the start up screen with an ideling circle under the apple logo along with a loading bar at first. I let it sit for about 25 minutes and then realized that it was going to work. I then tried to restart it in safe mood and that didnt work and i dont have the disk so i cant boot from that but then i tried this...
Hold command S on start up and then type
/sbin/mount -uw /
and then
chmod 775 /
and then
exit
After that it booted up and now i am using it as previously stated but my only probelm is turned it off to see if it would come back on no problem and it doesnt i had to go through the same commands over again to get it to work. So any suggestions on how to get it back to normal?
Thanks

Try resetting the Pram
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1379
and Smc
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht3964

MacBook Pro Locks up w/ unresponsive Black Screen, Stuttering sound.

Hello,
Having searched high and low, I can't seem to find a solution to my predicament.
I have a Mid-2010 15" i5 MacBook Pro, and when I run programs that kick my GPU onto the nVidia card, I will randomly get a completely black screen. This is not apparently the more common "black screen of doom" because I cannot do anything at all to the computer - I see no mouse pointer, I can't adjust the screen intensity, and the only resolution is to force shutdown and reboot. My sound also loops the last second or so of audio if anything was playing at that time, and the force shutdown produces a audible 'pop' most times, which sounds like it might be from the HD. When I do so I get a message about Mac OS X unexpectedly crashing, and a check of the Console seems to indicate that it's some sort of kernel panic. I've reset PRAM, SMC, etc and run all the normal disk checks and nothing has come up. It's only been repeatable when I put the computer to sleep, then log back in, and log into a Minecraft server. It has happened on other occasions randomly, such as when Safari had chewed up a great deal of RAM, or during when I was playing Oolite. It would appear, judging by the amount of time each one of these instances takes, that it's something to do with RAM usage possibly, but the kernel log indicates something might be awry on the nVidia card side of things.
Here's the log. I'm really at a loss here, and this is quite annoying to keep losing my work when I happen to absentmindedly open a game up after a long session of writing, etc. I'm afraid that ultimately I'm going to have to take it into the shop, but as a college student with no nearby Apple store, I just can't afford to not have it with me - I'm using it constantly for my work.
Interval Since Last Panic Report: 16181 sec
Panics Since Last Report: 2
Anonymous UUID: AB5E6E2A-652F-452D-BC74-386B74C54957
Sun Feb 13 20:50:44 2011
panic(cpu 0 caller 0x9f8bfa): NVRM[0/1:0:0]: Read Error 0x00000100: CFG 0x0a2910de 0x00100000 0x00000000, BAR0 0xc0000000 0x7ee1c000 0x0a5480a2, D0, P3/4
Backtrace (CPU 0), Frame : Return Address (4 potential args on stack)
0x92e13888 : 0x21b50c (0x5d4438 0x92e138bc 0x223974 0x0)
0x92e138d8 : 0x9f8bfa (0xc0e2bc 0xc7e940 0xc1d424 0x0)
0x92e13978 : 0xb13640 (0x9acd404 0x85aa004 0x100 0x86)
0x92e139c8 : 0xb0a639 (0x85aa004 0x100 0x92e139f8 0x9e86d7)
0x92e139f8 : 0x171b9ce (0x85aa004 0x100 0x438004ee 0x5508e0)
0x92e13b38 : 0xb322bd (0x85aa004 0x9327004 0x0 0x0)
0x92e13b78 : 0xa01e63 (0x85aa004 0x9327004 0x0 0x0)
0x92e13c18 : 0x9fe46f (0x0 0x9 0x0 0x0)
0x92e13dc8 : 0xa0033e (0x0 0x600d600d 0x702a 0x92e13df8)
0x92e13e98 : 0x994582 (0xc1d0001c 0xaa910001 0x20802040 0x92e13ee0)
0x92e13ef8 : 0xd544eb (0x9161400 0x92e13f4c 0x0 0x7)
0x92e13f58 : 0xd54696 (0x9271c00 0xd5bb54 0x92e13f78 0x2a358d)
0x92e13f78 : 0x22fd09 (0x9271c00 0x0 0x0 0x0)
0x92e13fc8 : 0x2a06cc (0x863ea0 0x0 0x10 0xd3e0cc0)
Kernel Extensions in backtrace (with dependencies):
com.apple.driver.AGPM(100.12.19)@0xd51000->0xd5bfff
dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOGraphicsFamily(2.2)@0x963000
dependency: com.apple.iokit.IONDRVSupport(2.2)@0x985000
dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOPCIFamily(2.6)@0x952000
com.apple.nvidia.nv50hal(6.2.6)@0x15e5000->0x19f9fff
dependency: com.apple.NVDAResman(6.2.6)@0x992000
com.apple.NVDAResman(6.2.6)@0x992000->0xc7ffff
dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOPCIFamily(2.6)@0x952000
dependency: com.apple.iokit.IONDRVSupport(2.2)@0x985000
dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOGraphicsFamily(2.2)@0x963000
BSD process name corresponding to current thread: kernel_task
Mac OS version:
10J567
Kernel version:
Darwin Kernel Version 10.6.0: Wed Nov 10 18:13:17 PST 2010; root:xnu-1504.9.26~3/RELEASE_I386
System model name: MacBookPro6,2 (Mac-F22586C8)
System uptime in nanoseconds: 1056892162111
unloaded kexts:
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBUHCI 4.1.5 (addr 0x1446000, size 0x65536) - last unloaded 125618059448
loaded kexts:
com.vmware.kext.vmnet 3.1.2
com.vmware.kext.vmioplug 3.1.2
com.vmware.kext.vmci 3.1.2
com.vmware.kext.vmx86 3.1.2
com.paragon-software.filesystems.ntfs 82
at.obdev.nke.LittleSnitch 2.2.05
com.apple.driver.AppleHWSensor 1.9.3d0 - last loaded 31366624745
com.apple.filesystems.autofs 2.1.0
com.apple.driver.AGPM 100.12.19
com.apple.driver.AppleMikeyHIDDriver 1.2.0
com.apple.driver.AppleMikeyDriver 1.9.9f12
com.apple.driver.AppleHDA 1.9.9f12
com.apple.driver.AudioAUUC 1.13
com.apple.driver.AppleUpstreamUserClient 3.4.5
com.apple.driver.AppleMCCSControl 1.0.17
com.apple.driver.IOBluetoothBNEPDriver 2.3.8f7
com.apple.driver.SMCMotionSensor 3.0.0d4
com.apple.kext.AppleSMCLMU 1.5.0d3
com.apple.DontSteal_Mac_OSX 7.0.0
com.apple.iokit.CHUDUtils 201
com.apple.iokit.CHUDProf 216
com.apple.driver.AudioIPCDriver 1.1.6
com.apple.driver.ACPISMCPlatformPlugin 4.5.0d5
com.apple.driver.AppleGraphicsControl 2.8.68
com.apple.driver.AppleLPC 1.4.12
com.apple.GeForce 6.2.6
com.apple.driver.AppleIntelHDGraphics 6.2.6
com.apple.driver.AppleIntelHDGraphicsFB 6.2.6
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBTCButtons 200.3.2
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBCardReader 2.5.8
com.apple.driver.AppleIRController 303.8
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBTCKeyboard 200.3.2
com.apple.iokit.SCSITaskUserClient 2.6.5
com.apple.BootCache 31
com.apple.AppleFSCompression.AppleFSCompressionTypeZlib 1.0.0d1
com.apple.iokit.IOAHCIBlockStorage 1.6.3
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBHub 4.1.7
com.apple.driver.AppleFWOHCI 4.7.1
com.apple.driver.AirPortBrcm43224 426.36.1
com.apple.iokit.AppleBCM5701Ethernet 2.3.9b6
com.apple.driver.AppleEFINVRAM 1.4.0
com.apple.driver.AppleSmartBatteryManager 160.0.0
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBEHCI 4.1.7
com.apple.driver.AppleAHCIPort 2.1.5
com.apple.driver.AppleACPIButtons 1.3.5
com.apple.driver.AppleRTC 1.3.1
com.apple.driver.AppleHPET 1.5
com.apple.driver.AppleSMBIOS 1.6
com.apple.driver.AppleACPIEC 1.3.5
com.apple.driver.AppleAPIC 1.4
com.apple.driver.AppleIntelCPUPowerManagementClient 105.13.0
com.apple.security.sandbox 1
com.apple.security.quarantine 0
com.apple.nke.applicationfirewall 2.1.11
com.apple.driver.AppleIntelCPUPowerManagement 105.13.0
com.apple.driver.AppleProfileReadCounterAction 17
com.apple.driver.DspFuncLib 1.9.9f12
com.apple.driver.AppleProfileTimestampAction 10
com.apple.driver.AppleProfileThreadInfoAction 14
com.apple.driver.AppleProfileRegisterStateAction 10
com.apple.driver.AppleProfileKEventAction 10
com.apple.driver.AppleProfileCallstackAction 20
com.apple.driver.AppleSMBusController 1.0.8d0
com.apple.iokit.IOFireWireIP 2.0.3
com.apple.iokit.IOSurface 74.2
com.apple.iokit.IOBluetoothSerialManager 2.3.8f7
com.apple.iokit.IOSerialFamily 10.0.3
com.apple.iokit.CHUDKernLib 208
com.apple.iokit.IOAudioFamily 1.8.0fc1
com.apple.kext.OSvKernDSPLib 1.3
com.apple.driver.AppleHDAController 1.9.9f12
com.apple.iokit.IOHDAFamily 1.9.9f12
com.apple.iokit.AppleProfileFamily 41
com.apple.driver.AppleSMC 3.1.0d3
com.apple.driver.IOPlatformPluginFamily 4.5.0d5
com.apple.driver.AppleSMBusPCI 1.0.8d0
com.apple.nvidia.nv50hal 6.2.6
com.apple.NVDAResman 6.2.6
com.apple.iokit.IONDRVSupport 2.2
com.apple.iokit.IOGraphicsFamily 2.2
com.apple.driver.BroadcomUSBBluetoothHCIController 2.3.8f7
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBBluetoothHCIController 2.3.8f7
com.apple.iokit.IOBluetoothFamily 2.3.8f7
com.apple.iokit.IOSCSIBlockCommandsDevice 2.6.5
com.apple.iokit.IOUSBMassStorageClass 2.6.5
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBMultitouch 206.6
com.apple.iokit.IOUSBHIDDriver 4.1.5
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBMergeNub 4.1.5
com.apple.driver.AppleUSBComposite 3.9.0
com.apple.iokit.IOSCSIMultimediaCommandsDevice 2.6.5
com.apple.iokit.IOBDStorageFamily 1.6
com.apple.iokit.IODVDStorageFamily 1.6
com.apple.iokit.IOCDStorageFamily 1.6
com.apple.driver.XsanFilter 402.1
com.apple.iokit.IOAHCISerialATAPI 1.2.5
com.apple.iokit.IOSCSIArchitectureModelFamily 2.6.5
com.apple.iokit.IOUSBUserClient 4.1.5
com.apple.iokit.IOFireWireFamily 4.2.6
com.apple.iokit.IO80211Family 312
com.apple.iokit.IONetworkingFamily 1.9
com.apple.iokit.IOUSBFamily 4.1.7
com.apple.iokit.IOAHCIFamily 2.0.4
com.apple.driver.AppleEFIRuntime 1.4.0
com.apple.iokit.IOHIDFamily 1.6.5
com.apple.iokit.IOSMBusFamily 1.1
com.apple.kext.AppleMatch 1.0.0d1
com.apple.security.TMSafetyNet 6
com.apple.driver.DiskImages 289
com.apple.iokit.IOStorageFamily 1.6.2
com.apple.driver.AppleACPIPlatform 1.3.5
com.apple.iokit.IOPCIFamily 2.6
com.apple.iokit.IOACPIFamily 1.3.0
Model: MacBookPro6,2, BootROM MBP61.0057.B0C, 2 processors, Intel Core i5, 2.53 GHz, 4 GB, SMC 1.58f16
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M, NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M, PCIe, 256 MB
Graphics: Intel HD Graphics, Intel HD Graphics, Built-In, 288 MB
Memory Module: global_name
AirPort: spairportwireless_card_type_airportextreme (0x14E4, 0x93), Broadcom BCM43xx 1.0 (5.10.131.36.1)
Bluetooth: Version 2.3.8f7, 2 service, 19 devices, 1 incoming serial ports
Network Service: Ethernet, Ethernet, en0
Network Service: AirPort, AirPort, en1
Serial ATA Device: Hitachi HTS545050B9SA02, 465.76 GB
Serial ATA Device: MATSHITADVD-R UJ-898
USB Device: Hub, 0x0424 (SMSC), 0x2514, 0xfd100000
USB Device: Built-in iSight, 0x05ac (Apple Inc.), 0x8507, 0xfd110000
USB Device: IR Receiver, 0x05ac (Apple Inc.), 0x8242, 0xfd120000
USB Device: Hub, 0x0424 (SMSC), 0x2514, 0xfa100000
USB Device: Internal Memory Card Reader, 0x05ac (Apple Inc.), 0x8403, 0xfa130000
USB Device: BRCM2070 Hub, 0x0a5c (Broadcom Corp.), 0x4500, 0xfa110000
USB Device: Bluetooth USB Host Controller, 0x05ac (Apple Inc.), 0x8218, 0xfa113000
USB Device: Apple Internal Keyboard / Trackpad, 0x05ac (Apple Inc.), 0x0236, 0xfa120000
-Thanks.
Message was edited by: GoreLeech

GoreLeech wrote:
Hello,
Having searched high and low, I can't seem to find a solution to my predicament.
Sun Feb 13 20:50:44 2011
panic(cpu 0 caller 0x9f8bfa): NVRM[0/1:0:0]: Read Error 0x00000100:
Graphics: NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M, NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M, PCIe, 256 MB
Hi there, GoreLeech,
as per above extract from your error log, you have experienced a kernel panic due to problems with your Nvidea GeForce GT 330 M graphics card that has a 256 MB memory.
This may be due to the card not having enough memory for what you are doing, the only thing, I can suggest here is to call Apple, and get the machine checked out. You can run the Apple hardware test at home but I'd recommend getting it booked in with Apple. What is worse: A computer that randomly malfunctions, or doing without it for up to one week (often they repair it within a day!)?

Why does my macbook pro gets stuck in the startup screen?? its the older versiom

its like stuck in the startup screen. i tried a few times and even took out the battery twice. please help!! i have some important document stored inside i cannot retrieve now!!!!
i think the operating system is like 10.7.something

You might have a failing hard drive. If you're running 10.7.x, try booting into your Recovery partition - holding down the Command and R keys whilst booting. Once at the installatio screen, use Disk Utility to verify and, if needed, repair your hard drive. If it can be repaired, you should be good to go - if it can't be repaired then you're going to need to go shopping for a new drive.
Clinton

My MacBook Pro is stuck on the loading screen and sounds as if its about the take off?!

Hi everyone. About 3 hours ago my laptop suddenly became very unresponsive and began freezing a lot. I cleared the cookies on Firefox, but the problem carried on so I tried rebooting. Now it has been stuck on the loading screen for about half an hour, sounding like a rocket ready to take off.. I brought it second hand and I don't have an installation CD, at least if I do it's not here at uni with me anyway.. Any ideas?! Thanks

Not knowing what your os is very difficult regarding offering troubleshooting solutions. Most if not all the system discs are machine specific.
Replacement System Discs can be obtained from Apple's Customer Support - US (800) 767-2775 for a nominal fee. You'll need to have the model and serial number of your Mac available.
If you're not in the US, you may need to go through the regional Apple Store that serves your location to find the contact number - http://store.apple.com/Catalog/US/Images/intlstoreroutingpage.html
Mac OS X versions (builds) for computers

My macbook pro Mod A1261 will not boot. It goes to the gray death screen

When I try to boot my macbook Pro it goes to the gray screen of death (to borrow a term fmor the PC world). It will not boot in safe mode. It did this before and I though I had gotten it fixed but I guess not. Any suggestions?
Bill

If you look to the right there are so many examples of the same symptoms - just read them, study them, and see if the solutions about 'Safe Mode' 'Recovery Mode' 'Disk Repair' can solve the issue. After that do report back

My Macbook Pro won't get past white screen....

My Macbook Pro is stuck on the white screen with the gray apple logo and loading gear spinning below---for hours now. Restarted multiple time without any change. Agh!

Boot in safe mode. First, disconnect all wired peripherals except keyboard, mouse, and monitor, if applicable, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards. The instructions provided by Apple are as follows:
Be sure your Mac is shut down.
Press the power button.
Immediately after you hear the startup tone, hold the Shift key. The Shift key should be held as soon as possible after the startup tone, but not before the tone.
Release the Shift key when you see the gray Apple icon and the progress indicator (looks like a spinning gear).
Safe mode is much slower to boot and run than normal.
If you can boot in safe mode, try rebooting as usual (i.e., not in safe mode.)

Macbook pro won't start up-gray screen(circle with slash)

My MacBook Pro 2008 gets to the gray screen with the apple logo and the loading wheel then the apple turns into a circle with a slash through it and the loading wheel just keeps spinning. Help please

Hi MichaelWoods514,
Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.
You may see a prohibitory sign, or a folder with a flashing question mark on it.
For more information on this, take a look at this article:
Mac OS X: Gray screen appears during startup
http://support.apple.com/kb/ts2570
Best of luck,
Mario

I have a MacBook Pro 15" and my warranty just ran out! I partitioned my harddrive into two partitions, one with Snow Leopard and the other with microsoft.This morning I turned on my Macbook Pro and it will not boot into Snow Leopard.

Good Morning,
I have a MacBook Pro 15" and my warranty just ran out! I partitioned my harddrive into two partitions, one with Snow Leopard and the other with microsoft.This morning I turned on my Macbook Pro and it will not boot into Snow Leopard. I shut it off took out the battery, reinstalled the battery. Then I put in the Snow Leopard CD and booted up to disk utility and The Snow Leopard partion would not show up?? I do see the microsoft partion.
I also rebooted holding down the shift key and still no Snow Leopard
Could you please tell me what I can do, what keys do I press on restart any advice to get Snow leopard back.
thank you.

Have you restarted holding down the Opt key? That procedure should give you a gray screen with all of the partitions that exist. Then select the SL partition for boot. Also go to System Preferences and Startup Disk, unlock the lock and select the SL partition as the default boot partition, then relock.

HT5628 When I install Windows 8 on my MacBook Pro(13-inch,Early2011),the Super DVD Drive doesn't appear in Windows 8 and installing Boot Camp 5 drivers doesn't solve my problem,what can I do?

When I install Windows 8 on my MacBook Pro(13-inch,Early2011),the Super DVD Drive doesn't appear in Windows 8 and installing Boot Camp 5 drivers doesn't solve my problem,what can I do?

Go into your system preferences and click the startup disk icon then select your Mac HD.

My Macbook Pro locks up on the boot screen

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