My MacBook won't boot past the grey screen.. help!

Today I was having a problem with Safari. For some reason, it kept restarting. This annoyed me, so I restarted my MacBook. Unfortunately, it won't boot past the grey screen, with the thing spinning in the middle. I've been into disk utility and it says my HDD is fine. I restarted from this, and yet it still won't boot. Can anyone suggest what's wrong/what to do?
Thanks in advance

Retrieving data using Target Disk Mode:
1) Shut down both computers
2) Connect the two computers using a Firewire cable
3) Start up the working computer.
4) Once the working computer is ready, startup your MacBook with the T key held down.
5) Your MacBook's hard drive should appear as an external hard drive on the working Mac. Drag & drop any files you want to save.
~Lyssa

Similar Messages

My MacBook won't boot past the grey screen showing a folder sign with question mark, My MacBook won't boot past the grey screen showing a folder sign with question mark, My MacBook won't boot past the grey screen showing a folder sign with question mark

Hi, I need some serious help immediately. I have been using an external hard disc to watch movies and stuff on my MacBook. However last night I removed the external hard disc accidentally without closing the programs that were still using the data from the hard disk and hence the complete MacBook got hanged and nothing responded. I tried using command Q to shut down the program buy it didn't help either. So finally I gave up and shut down the MacBook manually by pressing the power on/off button.
However when I tried restarting my MacBook I faced a serious problem. The start up won't boot beyond the grey screen showing a folder sign with a question mark sign in it .. I just don't know what to do. Somebody please help me and guide me through this problem
Awaiting quick response
Gratitude in advance
Regards
AJ

If you try booting your Mac holding down the Option key, you should see the icon for Macintosh HD. Try selecting that to boot. If you can get in that way, go to System Preferences > Startup Disk and select your Mac HD, then click Restart.
If you can't see the Mac HD, the volume may indeed need repair as Niel said.

11-04-2008, 08:55 AM Hello all, Hoping someone can offer me some help. My macbook won't boot past the grey screen with the apple logo with the spinning disc. I've left it for around an hour and nothing happens.

pls help me need help badlypls help me, need really bad

Look at this support article:
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2570
Ciao.

HT1379 my macbook pro wont boot past the grey screen with the little swirly thing constantly turning

I tried all the remedies that apple support suggested and got nothing. I cant even eject the cd from the cd rom

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.

Hi guys. I've had my MacBook Pro for 2 years now. Last night it suddenly kept glitching to a dark grey screen every now and then, then it would flash yellow / blue spots, and now it won't go past the grey screen even when I reboot it. I don't think I can

Hi guys.
I've had my MacBook Pro for 2 years now. Last night it suddenly kept glitching to a dark grey screen every now and then, then it would flash yellow / blue spots, and now it won't go past the grey screen even when I reboot it.
I don't think I can access my disk anymore as I've moved across countries since I've first gotten my laptop. it was working perfectly fine before it kept going to the dark grey screen with a little blue on the bottom.
If it helps, my camera light is still on, and it seems that my computer is working properly itself, but won't go past this grey screen.
I'm a college student and am really panicking about this - can anyone please tell me what to do?
Thank you & sorry for the long post.

What operating system are you running on it? (iOS 5.1 is for iPhone, iPad...not a Mac).

IMac G5 Power PC won't boot past the grey apple and pinwheel

After everything froze and having to shut down (holding the power button), it won't boot past the grey apple and pinwheel. After a few seconds, the fans speed up and then nothing else.
*it won't boot into safe mode (holding shift)
*booting to OS on DVD works but then freezes after select language and hit "continue"
*disk utility shows the actual hard drive name but no disk image/partition is listed for me to repair or change
*running the system hardware diagnostic CD returns a list of "passed" for all hardware
I did have the logic board replaced during the extended warranty period a few years back and have not had any issues at all since.
Any thoughts, suggestions, tricks/tips?

Perfect diagnosis. I replaced the HD and reinstalled the OS. Back in business! Thanks!

When I start up my Mac it won't go past the grey screen. Any suggestions?

When I start up my MAC it won't go past the grey screen. Any suggestion?

Mac OS X: Gray screen appears during startup

Reset PMU and Powerbook won't boot past the blue screen with "Mac OSX" box

Hi-
Problem: I tried to reset my PMU, and now when my computer restarts it won't go past the blue screen with the "Mac OSX" logo in the box (and progress bar, that never fills up). I then also tried to reset PRAM, but it still won't boot properly.
Backstory--
I've had my 12-inch Powerbook G4 for about 3.5 years already, so things are starting to get a bit out of whack. I replaced my battery about 3 months ago, which has been great, but recently my power-cord has been wonky (having to unplug it and replug it in to make sure it actually charges the computer, the light flickers on and off, etc). Today it actually started producing SPARKS at the place where the thin white wire meets the white plastic power brick, so I decided it was time to get a new one. Brought it home, plugged it in, and since it seemed like the battery indication icon on the menu bar was all out of sync with the powercord colored-light, I tried restarting it a few times, but still the same. Then, I decided to reset the PMU, which may have been a huge mistake. And now it won't boot past the blue screen... Any advice? I'm going to try restarting it in "safe" mode, but I'd be so grateful for any recommendations. Hope I haven't done something irreversibly stupid with the PMU reset.
Thanks,
Samantha

Hello all,
Thanks for all of your great suggestions and info-- here are a few responses.
1) The disk I just borrowed from my friend appears to be the full retail version-- it looks just like the links that Ali B sent, and is in a large box saying "Mac OSX Tiger, version 10.4"... will this be the proper disk to do an Erase and Install? The only other disks I have came with my Powerbook when it was originally purchased, when it came Panther (I think, 10.3?). Would I use both sets of these disks to do erase and install? Or only the Tiger OSX disks?
2) I get the sense that Disk Warrior or Tech Tool might be necessary, but does it make sense to TRY to do erase-install before buying them? Also, are there any downloadable (for pay) versions of this, or would I need to track down the actual physical disks in Hong Kong or wait for them to be shipped?
3) I haven't yet tried the S.M.A.R.T. test, should I do that first? What is the procedure? Are there any results or ways to know if the drive is too far gone (so that I might instead replace the internal hard-drive) instead of pay 100 USD first to do the disk repair?
4) Cornelius said: "An alternative would be to completely reformat and erase the entire HDD, then re-install and restore your data from backup. If your backup is in the form of a bootable clone of the entire HDD, you can just clone it back." I use Super-Duper to back-up and the most recent one copied the whole thing-- what would be the later procedure of "cloning it back"?
5) As I'm able to use my computer pretty normally right now, but does it still mean that it might crash/die at any moment? Is there any way to tell?
Thanks so much!

MacBook won't boot past the apple logo screen!

So my MacBook started freezing up and I went to restart it and it wouldn't boot past the grey logo screen with the spinning gear. Its pretty old and therefor still has the Leopard operating system. I've been trying to run Disk Repair using a Snow Leopard install disc but it just gets about 30% done and then doesn't go any further. Eventually I stopped the disk repair and just tried installing OSX but when it asks me what drive I want to install on there are no options available to click. I've got alot of unsaved work on this old thing and would love to get it running soon! Any help would be extremely appreciated! Thanks

I've been trying to run Disk Repair using a Snow Leopard install disc
Install discs are "machine specific" .. you can only use the install disc that came with the Mac for repairing the hard disk.
You may not have enough free space on the startup disk.
Follow the directions for starting up in Safe Mode
A Safe Mode boot can take a little longer then a normal boot so be patient.
When you see the Desktop, right or control click the MacintoshHD icon. Click Get Info. In the Get Info window you will see Capacity and Available. Make sure there's a minimum of 15% free disk space.
If there isn't enough free space, help here > Freeing space on your Mac OS X startup disk
You can use Disk Utility to verify the startup disk from Safe Mode but you can't repair the disk. You will need the install disc that came with your MacBook for that. While you have Disk Utillity open check S.M.A.R.T. status at the bottom of the window. Make sure it says: Verified
When you are finished, click the Apple menu icon top left in the screen. From the drop down menu click Restart.
If you don't have the original install discs you may be able to request a replacement. You can get replacement System Install & Restore CD/DVDs from Apple's Customer Support - in the US, (800) 767-2775 - for a nominal S&H fee. You'll need to have the model and/or serial number of your Mac available.

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.

Macbook won't boot past main apple screen

I was using my computer this morning (13" black Macbook that I've had since December) and it was working fine until I closed it to go get something to eat.
When I got back and opened the lid again, the screen was black, as if it was off, but I could make out the outline of the Apple logo in the centre. So I turned it off, gave it some time and turned it back on. Now it won't boot past the main Apple screen, where the little timer thing spins and spins and spins while apparently nothing else happens.
I left it alone for a couple of hours, thinking maybe it was overheated, but that didn't make a difference. I tried taking the battery out and restarting it, but that didn't work either. I called Apple, but my parents opted for Future Shop's warranty instead of Applecare, so they told me to search the website as "the issue is well-documented," since I have no tech support with them.
I've searched around to see where this is posted or if it's been answered a billion times before, but it's 35C in here, and my rage/frustration are ruining my ability to be rational, haha.
Anyone experienced this before / is there a resolution that doesn't involve me being without my computer (which is like sweet, sweet crack to me) for an undisclosed amount of time?
Thanks in advance,
Emy
Oh, and I'm not sure about the operating system version beyond that it's OSX and I regularly install whatever updates they tell me to.

Maybe Disk Utility can repair the disk this way:
-Search your installation DVD's.
-Insert the disc 1 and sthut down your Mac
-Start your Mac again while holding down the C key
-Now your Mac should boot from the CD, this can take some time.
-After a while you will see a installation screen where you can chose a language.
-Chose English and continue.
-Then click some time's next and agree with the "Software Agreement".
-Open Disk Utility. Top menu bar --> Utilities --> Open Disk Utility.
-Select your hard disk in the list of disks and volumes on the left side
-Go to the First Aid (tab somewhere on the right).
-Click the button to verify the permissions.
-Then Click the button to repair the permissions.
-Click the button to verify the disk.
-Then Click the button to repair the disk.
-Exit the Disk Utility

My Imac won't go past the grey screen and apple logo! How do I fix the start up in my Imac?

I really need help with this one!
My Imac is stuck on the grey screen with the apple Logo, and it wont go past that.
It does listen to certain keyboard commands to start it up (ive tried fixing it by reading other's posts.) But it will only listen to some commands,
It doesn't start on Shift (safe mode) but it does start on command+shift+(other button) which is safemode viewed so you can see whats going on.
As the letters on the screen type on, it says it's loading something but stays stuck there.
I've heard about a way where you can use terminal from another computer and boot it that way, or using firewire cables.
Please help! and take in mind I'm not really tech-savy with computers, so guides would be helpful!
If there is any way to save the files in the computer that would be great. If it can't be done, it's fine, I just want it working again .
Thanks,
Gian Varela

I really need help with this one!
My Imac is stuck on the grey screen with the apple Logo, and it wont go past that.
It does listen to certain keyboard commands to start it up (ive tried fixing it by reading other's posts.) But it will only listen to some commands,
It doesn't start on Shift (safe mode) but it does start on command+shift+(other button) which is safemode viewed so you can see whats going on.
As the letters on the screen type on, it says it's loading something but stays stuck there.
I've heard about a way where you can use terminal from another computer and boot it that way, or using firewire cables.
Please help! and take in mind I'm not really tech-savy with computers, so guides would be helpful!
If there is any way to save the files in the computer that would be great. If it can't be done, it's fine, I just want it working again .
Thanks,
Gian Varela

Laptop will not boot past the grey screen bootup screen

Hi,
I have started up my machine today and its displaying the grey screen and is not booting any futher.
The machine is only 2 Months old, its a :
2.8GHz Intel Core i7
8GB 1066MHz DDR3 SDRAM - 2X4GB
512GB SATA HDD
SuperDrive 8x (DVD±R DL/DVD±RW/CD-RW)
MacBook Pro 17-inch Hi-Resolution Antiglare Widescreen Display
Any ideas?, It was fine yesterday now nothing
Thanks.
Ron

Try this article.
Mac Os X: Gray Screen appears during startup
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2570

My emac won't get past the grey screen with spinning indicator

before i went to bed last nite it was fine. when i woke up i click on the screen and got the little rainbow ball. that lasted for about 5-10 minutes so i had to push the button. when i try to turn it on now it gets to the grey screen with the spinning indicator but won't get past that. any help would be appreciated

An Archive and Install will preserve you user settings and data. You will need a minimum of 5 GB free on the hard drive to perform an A&I; you can reduce the space required by about 1 GB by selecting the option to install language support only for the language you use (assuming you don't need multiple languages).
However, after seeing your other post (BTW, it'll be easier to keep track if relted issues are in the same thread), you do not want to try an A&I if Disk Utility is reporting anything about 'could not be repaired'. Doing so will would ensure problems down the road, if it worked at all. It's possible for one disk problem to mask another. Whenever Disk Utility (or any other repair utility) reports making repairs, it's good practice to repeat the repair until it reports no problems found or it becomes clear it cannot repair the disk.
DiskWarrior has an excellent track record at repairing problems that Disk Utility cannot (especially Disk Utility versions prior to OS X 10.4.2).
If the drive cannot be repaired, you may be able to keep it by doing an erase install with the write zeros (one pass) option. That will update the hard drive firmware record of bad disk sectors to avoid using. If there are only a few bad sectors, that may let you keep using the hard drive for several more years. An erase install will do just that to your data, through. If you have access to another Mac with either a large amount of free disk space of a DVD burner, you can try using the other Mac as host and the eMac as target in FireWire target disk mode. You can run the host's copy of Disk Utility on the eMac hard drive, and hopefully be able to mount the emac HD so that you can back up the data in your Home directory.

My laptop won't go past the grey screen

I have been using lots of software - indesign, photoshop, illustrator as well as other programs at the same time and my laptop started to slow down. I then tried to force quite pages and it wouldnt work so I had to force shut down. It then would not turn fully on and was on the grey screen for a long period of time. It eventually came back to homepage after about 30 minutes but did not fully load. It now wont go past grey screen and has a bar at the bottom. Whats wrong ?!!

Gave it a go, didnt work will just take it to the store !

My MacBook won't boot past the grey screen.. help!

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for