OS X freezes then won't boot up on restart

Recently OS X keeps suddenly freezing for no apparent reason. I would restart my computer only to have it freeze again after a few minutes up to a few hours. However now when attempting to restart OS X won't boot up, it essentially freezes when trying to load OS X. Started computer using ctrl-commmand-power and OS X would load and function normally, then freeze after a while. Now OS X won't load at all, and simply freezes when trying to boot up (freezes on Apple icon and swirl during start up).
What do I do!?

My OS X was running fine for more than a month (I don't know why, I didn't do anything to it, one day it was just operating as normal) however now it is freezing again during start up. I booted up with the OS X install disk and repaired disk permissions, as well as repaired disk. Utilities fixed some disk permissions, and then said no repairs were needed for the disk. Ran the apple hardware test, and it found no problems. Tried to run extended diagnostics and it seems to freeze while doing that. I also ran a virus scan (with some freeware ClamXav, which made it freeze a few times before it successfully completed), and tested my memory (with freeware Rember) all of which found no problems (although I'm not sure how reliable those programs are).
Does this still seem like a hard drive issue? Or could it be something with my RAM (I have 2gb), or something else?
I just want to make sure I know what the issue is before I start pouring money into my mbp.

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Macbook flickering screen & freeze, then won't boot pass the apple logo

Hi Guys,
My macbook is driving me insane now. Just recently, my macbook has occasionally flickering screen and freezes after that. Yesterday, when I was watching youtube on fullscreen, it first has flickering screen, then freezes. So I hard booted it pressing the power button. Then, when I try to restart it, it won't boot pass the apple logo no matter what.
Here's my macbook spec
2007 Summer Macbook Pro 15"
Snow Leopard 10.6 OS X
I cracked my screen once, and got a replacement, don't know if that matters.
I've tried the following:
Safe mood reboot, the progress bar goes about half, then disappears and stalls again.
Booted in verbose mode but it gives a warning message:
'com.apple.driver. internalmodemsupport declares no kernel dependencies; using com.apple.kernal.6.0'.
Booted in Single user mood, and typed fsck for disk repair. After checking said the volume Macintosh HD appears to be ok. But still won't boot pass the apple logo after restart.
Boot with installation disk pressing C at startup. Success after a few try:
Opened Disk Utility and did disk repair (no problem found).
Reinstalled Snow Leopard OS X 10.6.
This time it booted with Finder and everything for a short while, then the screen flicker and freezes again (before I can backup anything!). Then, I can't reboot pass the apple logo again.
When I try to reinstall Leopard OS X 10.5 with installation disk, the macbook seems to try to read the disk, but won't boot. I've got a CD stuck in the optical drive now.
I've tried everything I can find online short of opening it up and send it into the oven for baking! I pray it's not a hardware problem, coz I'm no good at that. (QAQ~~~) Please help me!
Thank you very, very, very much!!!
ps. this is my first post. please let me know if I have missed anything.

starangelam wrote:
When I try to reinstall Leopard OS X 10.5 with installation disk, the macbook seems to try to read the disk, but won't boot. I've got a CD stuck in the optical drive now.
Reboot the machine holding the trackpad or left wired mouse button down, that shoudl force eject the 10.5 disk.
Reinstalled Snow Leopard OS X 10.6.
This time it booted with Finder and everything for a short while, then the screen flicker and freezes again (before I can backup anything!). Then, I can't reboot pass the apple logo again.
Ok, so your attempting data recovery efforts.
First get the 10.5 disk out of the machine, like above.
You can also boot into Single User mode, (command s at reboot) and enter
/usr/bin/drutil eject
then type
restart
Next hold c boot and use the 10.6 disk and create a data recovery drive here on a blank external drive, make sure you clean and polish the bottom of the 10.6 disk, if it's bad you will need to get a new one.
Create a data recovery, undelete boot drive
If your problems continue on this drive even with a clean or new 10.6 disk, it's likely a hardware issue with your Mac, not a issue with the drive.
I suspect a failing sector on your internal boot drive, you installed OS X right over the same spot perhaps, as you were obviously able to boot from the 10.6 disk to install it so it seems the hardware of the Mac appears to be working.
You might have other issues relateing to software perhaps, something your installing or running.
Step by Step to fix your Mac
Once you have gotten your files off the internal drive, you may want to look into doing a Zero Erase with Disk Utility before resintalling 10.6 again fresh install method.
Reducing bad sectors effect on hard drives
How to erase and install Snow Leopard 10.6
Look into making a bootable clone, it's easier to restore with and more options than Timemachine
Most commonly used backup methods explained

Ongoing System Freezing problems, won't Boot from CD, HELP!

Three weeks ago, my system started freezing after about 20 minutes of use --completely stuck while not running anything more taxing than internet browser-- and then the infamous fans kick on and the thing sounds like its going to take off. I eliminate possible conflicts w/ peripherals with no improvement, back up my files and trot 100+ miles to the nearest Genius (which is questionable). They diagnose it as the power supply/logic board issue, replace both --the second time that they have been replaced-- and send me back home, smiling blissfully.
Until I plug it in, and it does the same thing. I live with it for a week, then load it back up for another 200+ mile roundtrip back to the same Genius, who keeps it for a week, claims that he has run every test known to Apple and can't find anything wrong. His suggestion: new surge protector. So I make the 3rd trip to go pick it up, buy the heavy duty super charged surge protector, plug everything up, and ..... you guessed it. Same ol' same ol'.
So torn between crying and cursing, I get on the phone and call apple support. After close to two hours on hold in the Que (I could have drove to the Apple Store in less time) in which I speak to a live person who transfers me to another who cuts me off as soon as they pick up the phone and I have to get back in the que to repeat the exercise in patience, I get a hold of someone that says, well it might be hardware or it might be software-- try running the hardware test first and if that doesn't give you an error, reformat your hard drive, reload the OS, and then your software and see if that doesn't fix it.
So now, I really am about to cry... but I suck it up and start to do the deed. Except.... I can't get the hardware test or anything else to boot from the CD. I try my disk, I try my son's disk. Nada. Zip. Won't boot at all from the CD. One disk says "hold down the C key," one says "D key." Doesn't matter, neither works. It will restart but forget the CD.
Here's the help part: what next? Is this an indication that its a software problem? Is there something else I can do? Or am I doomed to make another 200+ round trip to the Genius Bar? Frankly, I think I'm ready to drive in the other direction to the next closest Apple Store, but...
I'm so tired and frustrated!! Out of the last 14 days, this <edited by host> has been in the service department for 9 days and I've logged 700+/- miles trying to get it fixed. Between the lost time cost, gas and repairs (the $800 for the most recent repair and the $1000+ the first time around that thankfully were on Apple), I could have bought a top of the line new Mac and still had $$$ left over for a nice dinner!
PLEASE! Any suggestions?!

Hi Stellaadora-
A call to Customer Relations at 1-800-767-2775 may be useful. Be firm yet polite and explain the situation and have them open up a case number. This is not Apple Service,but more like the overseers. It may also be useful to research the Consumer Protection Laws in your state. Three attempts to repair it in MA and you get a new machine.
My guess is that they will have you try someone else. I know I would.
Certainly the store is not duplicating your 20 minutes of web-browsing. It could be something to do with networking. Have you tried disconnecting from the internet and doing something else for a while to see if it still locks up?
Luck-
-DaddyPaycheck

G5 freezes then won't start

Fellow members,
I am posting this in the Tiger Forum because I am unsure of the source of the problem, hardware or software.
I am experiencing much instability with my G5 (2 hard drives) dual Powermac. Not too long ago it started with the dreaded random freeze. Everything will freeze including the mouse. The only way to shut down is with the power button. On-screen console logs have given no indication of what is going wrong. The frequency of these freezes is perhaps 1 or 2 times a day.
Added to this now is that the Mac won't start after shutdown. By this I mean that it turns on but that's it. I hear the HD starting but nothing else. If I try to Safe boot with the shift key or boot from the installation disk nothing happens. If left in this mode the fans will eventually start to roar. Once in a while I will get to the grey apple screen or will be able to log in, but will freeze once more. In the end the G5 needs to be powered on and off between 10-15 times before I can get a full boot.
I have done the usual checking of software and hardware. This includes repairing permissions, repairing the hard drives, resetting PRAM, changing hard drives, disconnecting everything, running 3rd party hard drive diagnostics, and running the Apple hardware test (including the loop mode). All these either do not prevent the above or indicate the cause.
Before I take it in for repair I was wondering if anyone here had any ideas from a past experience?
Thank you.
Powermac G5 Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Update:
After removing my primary HD (as a security procedure) I lugged the Powermac down to Tek Serve. After taking a number a waiting a good hour, they powered up my G5 and, of course, got the same response: a grey screen with an Apple, period.
Then they hooked it up to an external firewire drive and bingo, it worked. No problems. I was very surprised. Would an external HD work if the logic-board was bad as I had suspected? Their diagnosis, however, was a bad HD (they even said they could hear that something was wrong with it). It was suggested that they replace it and leave it overnight for further testing. Well, I was more than a little skeptical at this point. Not that I wanted the diagnosis to be a bad logic-board, mind you, but the odds of having two HDs (one of which was less than a year old) going bad at exactly the same time, and which have given the exact same results, are not high. I also wanted, more than anything, an answer and solution.
I debated whether I should leave the unit there or lug it back home, detach the "bad" HD and try again to boot only with my primary drive. If the original HD was the culprit would merely detaching it from the unit stop the freezing problems and allow it to boot from the good one? The technician could not answer this one. Since Tek Serve did not have the HD I wanted anyway, and since I could replace the HD myself (probably at a cheaper price too), I decided to try. I took it home, plugged it in, hooked up only my primary drive and got .... the grey Apple again. I then hooked up the "bad" HD but this time I saw the little circle below the Apple but it stopped early. Very frustrated, and now thinking this is the last time before it goes back to the repair shop, I shut it down and tried to power up one last time. Low and behold it finally booted and stayed.
Not knowing if this would last, since it had been freezing consistently for the last few weeks, I ran Drive Genius on my primary. It had many errors that only a rebuild would fix. After it was done I restarted using my primary drive. Hey, no problems - everything is fine. I then ran a battery of tests on the "bad" drive. It came up clean too. Hooking both up did not create any problems either.
It is now four days later and only one freeze on that first day bringing it back from Tek Serve. Remember, this is after weeks of constant daily freezing, difficulty booting, then a few days of no booting at all. All this while both software and hardware tests concluded that nothing was wrong. Does this all make sense? Not to me.

IMac freezing now won't boot up circle keeps going round and round

iMac was freezing up wouldn't come out of sleep mode with mouse or keyboard but it would restart with power button. Today when I went to restart it won't go off of first screen with the apple and spinning circle won't start tried restarting several times any suggestions?

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.

Why do youtube videos start,freeze & then won't pause,play or anything,except maybe play a few secs.?

i have vista 32-bit & as i type a youtube video that i tried to pause i can hear play a sec. or 2,but won't continuously play.this happens on all my browsers,ie,chrome,firefox,& all youtube videos.i've tried uninstalling & reinstall chrome,firefox & flashplayers,no good.this started after malwarebytes (thank them) unlocked my pc from reveton-fbi-ransomware virus!any solutions out there?Thanx in advance.can't watch videos anywhere damn!

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In order to remedy the problem, please perform the steps mentioned in these Knowledge Base articles:
[[Flash Plugin - Keep it up to date and troubleshoot problems]]
[[Flash 11.3 crashes]]
[[Flash 11.3 doesn't load video in Firefox]]
Other, more technical information about these issues can be found under these Links:
http://forums.adobe.com/thread/1018071?tstart=0
http://blogs.adobe.com/asset/2012/06/inside-flash-player-protected-mode-for-firefox.html
Please tell us if this helped!

What to do when MacBook Pro glitches and freezes, then won't turn on?

My MBP glitched and froze the other day, so I turned it off and turned it back on and it was fine. A few hours later it glitched and froze again, I turned it off but this time it wouldn't start back up again and it made a beep every 10 seconds when I would try to turn it on. I took it to the Apple Store and the replaced the RAM under warranty. Today, it glitched and froze again but I got it to come back on. I don't know what to do, and it's only a matter of time before it does it again and it won't come back on.

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Bionic won't boot up after restart?

Phone was acting strange, wouldn't connect to wifi, so I restarted it, now stuck on boot screen. Removed battery and sim card and tried again, anyone else having this problem or can suggest a solution? I even swapped batteries, it's getting frustrating!!

Hello AJBrock,
I know it must be difficult to have a phone that is unusuable. As your wireless provider, we want you to be able to enjoy your device at all times. Rest assured as I am eager to get the device un-stuck. May I ask what was the last action taken on the Bionic before it got stuck? I want to identify the root cause so we can ensure that we can find a permanent resolution so this won't happen again. In such a situation, I would suggest doing a (alternate) hard reset. Below is a link with the steps to do so.
http://vz.to/nExWmP
Once you have done so then the device will need to be re-setup. all information such as your contacts and calendar info should be backed up via Gmail and/or backup assistant. Once you have done so then please retest the functionality of the device and let me know if more assistance is needed.
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Mac G4 Won't Boot Completely After Restart

I fired up my Mac G4 and ran software update and installed the 10.4.11 update. When I restarted to complete the install the computer gets hung up -- a blue screen with the gear icon turning and turning. It worked fine before I did the update.
I've reset the PRAM to no avail. I've tried booting from the 10.4 install disc but that won'w work either?
Any ideas on how to get this working again?
Thanks!

Open the service door and press the PMU reset button from about a second, then see if the computer starts. (Ref: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1939)
You can try a safe boot. Press and hold the SHIFT key until you see a message that the computer is starting in safe mode. When you see that message, t=you can let go of the key.
If this gets you a workable desktop, don't try to use any apps--their extensions are temporarily disabled. Try a normal restart to see if everything works.
I've found that by repairing permissions before and after doing a softare update, we've avoided update problems in all our OSX Macs.

Won't boot up unless restarted off install disk

Own an iBook G3 900MHz and recently installed OS X 10.4.11 and updated subsequent software like iTunes 8.02 et. al. When I shut the laptop down now I can not reboot. The little crankshaft below the apple icon simply spins for a few minutes then the screen goes blue. I reboot off the install disk, run repair utility and get invalid volume header message. Repair is made and I can restart. But if I shut down the same problem reoccurs. Can’t boot up, utilize the install disk for repair, invalid volume header is repaired and I can restart from there. Any ideas as to what is going on here?

Insufficient RAM wouldn't cause this problem. Apple's minimum RAM requirement for Mac OS X 10.4 is 256 MB. (Of course, more is better.)
Have you tried resetting the PMU?

Got Black "You must Restart" screen, won't boot after. only restart screen!

I was browsing craigslist when i got the slow creeping down "You must restart blah blah blah screen..."
After obliging the machine's wish and restarting, it started to boot as normal. After an unusually long boot cycle, i got the same Restart screen. I removed the battery and reset power management because of a post that I found with a similar problem. After that, it goes through the boot system and then just shuts down.
It just continually does the same thing. I believe i left my install discs at work, so am working without them.
I logged in to single user mode and ran fsck -fy , and found it to come back with this result:
** /dev/rdisk0s2
** Root file system
** Checking Journaled HFS Plus volume.
** Checking Extents Overflow file.
** Checking Catalog file.
Invalid sibling link
(4,36954)
** Volume check failed.
/dev/rdisk0s2 (hfs) EDITED WITH SIGNAL 8
:/ root#
anyone know what the **** is going on??
I can't run diskutil in single user and verbose shuts down when trying to boot.

Not bickering at all. Are all discussions "bickering"?
Topher, let me get this straight. How does one determine something is wrong? DU? DW? Other Utilities? What if, after an A&I, these Utilities show nothing wrong? Still recommend an Erase and Install?
This is like the "permissions" debates of yesteryear. My analogy was and is the same. I keep an elephant stone in my house. It wards off elephants. Not one elephant since I bought that stone.
A lot of people around here seem to have this type of thinking as regards someone else's data, time, and effort. It's not that complicated.

MacBook Pro won't boot, says to restart

I have a MacBook Pro purchased March 2007 (the original dual processor, I believe. My OS is Snow Leopard. Probably with the latest updates but I'm not certain since I can't check it. When I attempt to start it up I end up with a dark grey screen and I box telling me, in several, languages, that I need to restart my computer. However, restarting leads to the same thing. I booted using the install disc and used disc repair but it said the disc is fine. Any suggestions for how to start my computer? Thanks.

That's a kernel panic (or "KP"). Bad RAM can throw a KP, but so can software conflicts. See if you can do a "Safe Boot." Hold SHIFT as soon as the computer chimes and keep holding until you get a message about being in Safe Mode, or get a stable desktop. If you get a desktop, don't use the computer yet; do a normal start and see if you are running again. Safe mode disables a lot of system extensions you might need for regular use but does some directory checking and cleanup.
Before installing Snow Leopard, did you use Disk Utility on the Snow Leopard disk to verify the disk. If there were any little errors before the instal, they coud be causing the problems.
How full was the hard drive when you upgraded? Too little free space can create havoc, although I gained back 15GB of space on my MBP's 120 GB drive when I installed SL.
Excelent info on KPs here:
http://thexlab.com/faqs/kernelpanics.html

MacBookPro updated to 10.5.6 won't boot from 10.6.3 DVD it came with

I have a clone image 10.6.3 on an external hard drive also, and when I try to select it as the start up drive for a machine that often freezes on start it says it won't bless that drive as a startup disk, and it won't boot from the original install dvd. it's only 3 months old - does it go to hardware repair?

Since your machine is so new, I'd definitely make an appointment at the genius bar and have them take a look at it. It's one thing if it won't boot from an external clone, since there could be a problem with the external drive or how it's set up, but if it freezes and won't boot to the install disc, there's something wrong.
The Apple Store can run a hardware test from their store feed and it just takes a few minutes. That might be a good place to start. Take your install DVD along when you go--possibly it is what has a problem.
Good luck!

Macbook won't boot up, nothing works, Please help

I have a 13' macbook pro (2009). In the past year, it keeps having problems. Basically, it freezes and won't boot-up. However, this could always be fixed via boot into safe mode, or reinstalling the OS. Previous hardware diagnostics never detected hardware failure. I've never touched anything inside the computer including hard disk, RAM, battery and everything else.
Today, it froze as it did before, and I could not manage to boot it by ANY means. After I press the power button, no grey screen, no apple, it just froze on a blue screen. I was running okay before it froze up. I had safari and skype running and nothing else.
The computer did not response to any of the startup key combinations (I've tried every single one that I could find online, including resetting NVRAM and SMC). It won't boot from installation disc, and, since startup keys did not work, I could not eject the disc. One strange thing is that when the computer froze at the blue screen, pressing power button will IMMEDIATELY shut down everything. That is, I did not have to hold the power button to shut it down, it seemed as if all the power was unplugged at once.
Could someone tell me, what could possibly be the problem? Thank you very much!!!

Could be a HD failure, logic board failure or the SATA cable failure. If you have AppleCare on it take it your local Apple Store or AASP to be looked at.
Roger

IMac Won't Boot - Won't Repair - Even after Erase and Install

One day my iMac acts weird. Apps bounce but don't open. I restart. I get greyscreen and spinning gear for 1.5 hours. Uh-oh.
Disk Utility run from OS X disk: cannot repair - "Invalid Node Structure" and "Invalid Key Length" - multiple instances.
So I erase volume and install. All goes fine. Install Tiger. Use upgrade to Leopard disk. Leopard boots and apps work (I try Safari and web connects) so I do software update thinking it's fixed.
Huge software update to 10.5.7 plus sundry others. After update reports "Could not install updates" - then it lists a load of updates (keynote, iwork etc) that it cant install.
Say's it'll restart. You guessed it: grey screen and spinning gear for 1.5 hours. Won't boot after forced restart either.
Run disk utility from OS X disk again: same errors, "node"; "key length" etc.
What now? Is 10.5.7 the problem? I have apple care so no major sweat but I need to get this thing operating baby.
PS - my boot camp partition that I have had for months and months still boots. So the HD isn't totally dead. At least can rule that out.

Suggest you do the following:
Extended Hard Drive Preparation
1. 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 or Leopard.)
2. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Note the SMART status of the drive in DU's status area. If it does not say "Verified" then the drive is failing or has failed and will need replacing. SMART info will not be reported on external drives.
4. Select the OS X volume (sub-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 Options 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.
See if this fixes the problem. If it doesn't then there is some corruption in the directory block that reformatting or zeroing is just not able to fix. In such a case the resolution would be to repartition the drive from scratch. However, this will result in the loss of the Boot Camp partition as well.
Unless your Leopard disc is an upgrade-only disc, then you can install Leopard directly - no need to install Tiger first.

OS X freezes then won't boot up on restart

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