PowerMac wont load past grey screen

So out of nowhere today I started my computer and it goes to the gray screen with the spinning load circle and stays there. After about 3-5 minutes the fans begin to run very loud but nothing changes. The LED light does not flash, it remains the steady light with no blinking. Any suggestions?

Try using Disk Utility to do a Disk Repair, as shown in this link, while booted up on your install disk.
You could have some directory corruption. Let us know what errors Disk Utility reports and if DU was able to repair them.
 Cheers! DALE

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Wont load past grey screen serious trouble shooting

I have a macbook pro 6,2 mid 2010. My password was changed on me so I logged into SUM and rm the .applesetupdone file to create a new account. After this my machine would not load I get grey apple and spinning gear. I have snow leopard on dvd and on a thumb drive. If I hold option and try to boot from either one of those all I get is the apple with no spinning gear. I have tried remote os install from a different computer. The problem (client) computer sees the disc available but the host (server) machine offering the drive doesn't detect the client machine connecting and ends in grey apple screen. If I try safe mode the status bar starts but about half way through disapears and hangs on grey apple screen. I can still get into SUM and verbose mode. Verbose detect maybe 20 bugs a few critical file issues it says it will fix. I then get two socket not available notices followed by bootcachecontrol playlist does not exist and bootcachecontrol cannont write temp playlist and hangs there. I do not care about preserving data just to make machine functional again. I would do clean install if I could get it to boot into the install disc. Considered pulling drive and formatting on a different computer then trying again but decided to install a different hard drive in the problem machine to test if I could install to that hard drive and encountered the same grey apple screen hang. I must assume there is an issue with the EFI bios thingy and no option will load anything. Oh one more detail I could run the hardware check and it completed the check with no issues. I changed the amount of ram reset the PMU and cleared the pram as well. Any suggestions.
Message was edited by: delafonze19

Will the machine start in target mode - hold the t-key at startup until the 'target' screen appears? If so, connect it to another mac with firewire and then use Disk Utility or one of the 3rd-party utilities to do a check of the disk for errors and keep running DU until there are no more errors reported. Run any other tests you like from the 2nd machine.
If this works you might get back usability. Also you might be able to do an erase of the drive and reinstall an OS.
If it won't start in target mode...it is beyond my expertise, such as it is, but I know that there are other steps that can be applied by tech experts.
Neville

Ipod touch wont load past apple screen. I have tried resetting by holding home button and on/off but after it resets it still only loads to the apple screen. When I plug the device in It stays on the apple screen and itunes does not recognize it?

Ipod touch wont load past apple screen. I have tried resetting by holding home button and on/off but after it resets it still only loads to the apple screen. When I plug the device in It stays on the apple screen and itunes does not recognize it? I fear it may be stuck in some sort of reset loop which is stopping itunes from recognizing it. How do I go about the process of sending it in to apple if I cannot find a fix? Thank you in advance, it is greatly appreciated!!

- See if placing the iPod in Recovery mode will allow a restore.
- If not successful and you can't turn the iPod fully off (that is required to place in recovery mode), then let the battery fully drain. After charging for at least an hour try the reset, restore again
- Then time for an appointment at the Genius Bar of an Apples store.

Wont boot past grey screen after disk access was changed

I have a new 13" macbook pro with OS X Lion. I changed the hard disk access from read only to no access, walked away for a minute, when I came back my computer screen was black. Upon touching the mouse pad the mouse arrow showed up but the screen stayed black. I preformed a hard shutdown and when turning it back on it wont load past the grey screen with the apple logo. Ideas? Solutions? Please help.
Thanks

please explain exactly what you did.

IMac wont boot Past Grey Screen, finder folder with blinking question mark

iMac G5 won't boot Past Grey Screen. The G5 froze and i restarted, It will not go past the grey screen and it has the finder folder with blinking question mark, also the fans kick on wide open. As it atempts to boot a sound plays "beepda beepda beepda beep" that starts quiet and gets louder and repeats a couple of times. I ran a hardware check on the startup disk and all hardware passed. I thought it might be the RAM any suggestions?
I have restarted using the troubleshooting methods in the guide.

Sorry for the late reply. The drive shows up when booting to disk, but it will not allow you to verify disk or repair. Also it will not allow you to select the hard drive to reinstall the software. Under disk utility Maxtor sabre shows up with total capacity:0 bytes.
I've taking the Mac to the Apple store to get looked at, and its probly the hard drive. Now Im trying to see if theres a way to recover the data myself. I've used software like "Data Rescue" the hard drive shows up "Maxtor Sabre" totally capacity: 0 bytes, and it will not recover anything.
Did this test just to see if it was power problem.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2173
Thats when noticed the beeps are coming from the hard drive. So its getting power.
Now just wondering how to recover data.
Any suggestions?

Imac G4 wont boot past grey screen desperatly want to fix it!!!!

Hi there,
Please can someone help.....
I got a Imac G4 at the weekend for a bargin, but it wont boot up. When i turn it on it makes the noise and comes up with a grey screen with the apple logo and the loading circle. It doesnt go past this screen and after about 15 mins turns itself off.
Any ideas how i can get this running again (havent tried anything yet to be honest as im not sure what to do). I love these machines as i just think they are querky and would love to get it working again to use as my home pc (as even though its old it will still probably be quicker than my old microsoft laptop)
Thanks!

Did you try a PRAM reset?
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1379
>I can't get the disk drive to open either
If the optical drive tray cannot be opened, what happens if you hold down the mouse button during startup?
As a brody indicated, a faulty hard drive cannot be ruled out. Instructions for removing this drive can be found in the ifixit.com guides as well.
If you can gain access to the optical drive, the best way forward would be to use an appropriate Mac OS X system CD in an attempt to start from that disc (holding down the C key).
If it is not possible to locate a correct system CD right now, another way could possibly be to try to boot from an Ubuntu CD for PowerPC instead (once again, holding down the C key) just to see whether the computer is capable of booting at all.
Jan.

2010 MacBook wont boot past grey screen, even after a new hard drive and install CD.

Hey guys, I received a 2010 Macbook last year as a gift (no warranty). It worked fine untill a few days ago. It wouldn't boot past the grey apple logo. I took it in to an Apple store and they said it was a bad HDD. Since I didn't have much stored on it, and I have everything backed up to my desktop, I got a new, larger capacity HDD and replaced it with no issues. I started the Macbook with the OSX Leopard install CD, but it didn't identify the HDD, and now it won't boot past the grey screen.
Any ideas? Is it the motherboard?
Thanks a lot!

House3917 wrote:
I started the Macbook with the OSX Leopard install CD...
Leopard is done for, call Apple via phone and order the 10.6.3 white retail disks and use those.
Use these install instrcutions for best operation and performance.
How to erase and install Snow Leopard 10.6

Computer won't load past grey screen with Apple logo, even with OS Disc

I turn on my computer and only gets to the grey screen with the Apple logo and idling circle. After a while, it loads a small box telling me to restart, time and time again, no matter how many times I restart. I've tried holding "shift" to go into safe mode, it won't let me.
I believe it's originally a Tiger platform, and right now I think it's running on Leopard.
I just bought a Snow Leopard OS X Disc, and I inserted it and tried to let it load. It gave me the restart box. I held down "c" while starting up, got the restart box.
Held down "option", and selected the "Mac OS X install Disc"; it went back to the grey Apple logo screen to load, and gave me the restart box after several minutes. Repeated that and held down "c" while loading, still gave me the box.
Nothing I do with or without the OS X Disc is making a difference. I cannot load anything on my computer, period.
Can someone please suggest something for me to try?

Well if you do then turn both computers off. Connect a Firewire cable between them. Boot your computer into Target Disk Mode. After the TDM screen appears boot the other computer normally. If your drive is accessible it will show up as a disk icon on the Desktop of the other Mac. You can then access your files and transfer them to another hard drive.
Then open Disk Utility. Your drive should appear in the sidebar list. Select the drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) then click on the Partition tab in the DU main window. Set the Partition Scheme drop down menu to one. Set the Format type drop down menu to Mac OS Extended, Journaled, then click on the Partition button and wait for the process to complete.
Your drive should now be OK assuming it's not mechanically damaged. Eject the drive from the Desktop as you would eject any removable drive and disconnect the Firewire cable. Shutdown your computer. You can now boot from the installer disc and install OS X.

Computer Won't Load Past Grey Screen

So I was using my computer last night and it just died on me. The battery says it is full and all too. But when I go to start it back up again, it won't go past the grey screen. I have tried all the keyboard shortcuts and nothing seems to work. I have had it on and running for about 30 minutes so far and nothing has changed.
This has happened to me once already and I had to have the whole computer restarted and I lost everything. I really don't want to lose everything yet again but I don't know what to do.
I also cant seem to find my OSX startup disk. Of course. I was wondering what are all the options/keyboard shortcuts so I can try everything before I decided to just give it to the tecs to deal with.

!http://i46.tinypic.com/2nvn6f.gif!
"I have tried all the keyboard shortcuts and nothing seems to work."
Which ones? Need details to avoid the +"been there, done that"+ scenarios.
"I also cant seem to find my OSX startup disk."
You will need to locate the Install DVD in order to troubleshoot. Otherwise, you will end up w/a very expensive door stop.;)
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.
!http://i50.tinypic.com/izvwo1.gif!

Macbook wont go past grey screen with spinning cog below...HELP!

PLEASE, PLEASE....could someone advise urgently, was using machine ok, left it for a few mins & it went to sleep...then I couldn't log back in. Restarted and now can't get past this grey screen....have tried all recommendations...tried re install and says it can't. Tried the fsck...it say's "volume check failed". Tried the disk check...it said there was no problem. I am in Spain (Palma) and about to set off acrosss the Atlanntic to S.Maarten...my warranty expires in April and I am unlikely to be anywhere with a mac dealer or authorised service place in the next 6 months...my life is on this machine!! PLEASE HELP????

What happens if you boot from your system install disk and run Disk Utility? Does the utility see the drive and can you verify/repair the drive?
-Bmer
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Wont boot past Grey screen

My iMac suddenly went very slow and when rebooting never get past the Grey screen with Apple and circle - after some minutes hard disk stops.

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2570 When you get to the part that talks about repairing your disk in disk utility, you don't have a disc to insert so you're going to hold down command and R on startup then you'll see disk utility.

IMac wont go past grey screen and cog turning

Hi there !
I have an iMac, thing is after installing a new OS it won't turn on again, it gets as far as grey screen then the cog keeps turning then it just shuts itself off. I've tried using the disk utility but it fails when I verify disk and repair disk, then the HD name goes grey and when I go to boot options its no longer there to boot from. done all the reccomendations on the apple troubleshoot through start up and fsck. is there something physically wrong with the disk or can it be solved by diskwarrior ? (Oh, I haven't backed up either so any idea's if it can be saved?)
Cheers
Ed

Hmmmmm... I had a very similar issue and I called apple. Do you still have apple care? They are awesome about helping you. With mine, I had to reinstall my OS but I can't remember the little tricks used to do it. Maybe you have already tried that... not sure.
I hoe that helps.

My Macbook will not load past grey screen with progress bar?

When I start up my computer the grey screen with the Apple and spinning wheel appear, then underneath a progress bar. once the progress bar is full it shuts down? Help!

Welcome to the Apple Support Communities
That bar appears when OS X checks your hard drive, and it's not a good sign that your Mac turns off, because the hard drive is damaged.
Unfortunately, the only thing you can do is to take the Mac to an Apple Store or AASP to get the hard drive repaired. If you didn't make a backup, try DiskWarrior to recover data, and buy an external disk to make backups. All hard drives fail, but we don't know when they are going to fail

Ok.. macbook wont go past grey screen.

ok so i was normally using my macbook(despite its shutdowns, ive been using it with the shutdown problem for a while now..)
anyway, it all began with my USB ports// my macbook wouldn;t recognize anything.
then i tried playing a DVD.. my macbook asked me what i wanted to do wit the BLANK cd. (um, it wasnt blank!! it was a movie)
so i decided to restart, and viola. screwed!!!
now my macbook is stuck on the start up screen. it wont go beyond the apple+scrolling sign. thats all it stays at. so i put in my installation CD 1, and restarted it with the C button pressed.. ran disk utility and it shows there is nothing wrong ( verified and no repair needed to disk)
i removed the installation CD and tried restarting. nothing. it stays on the start up screen...
help anybody? week 20 macbook.. going to call apple on friday, coz i get back to town on thursday night. someone tell me wat to do. plz..
thx

Okay, since booting to safe mode didn't seem to work try booting to the install disk one.
To do this put the disk in the computer when it is turned on. Next shut the computer down (hold down the power key until it turns off). Then turn the computer on and hold down C key until you are asked to select your main language. (I am going to assume English.) After selecting the language press the arrow. The installer will load, don't proceed with the installer. Instead wait for the top menu bar to appear. Select "Utility," then Disk utility. In disk utility select the Mac HD. Then make sure that the First Aid tab is selected. Press the "verify disk" if there are any errors click "repair disk". If the errors are not repaired the first time around try repairing once more. Once it is repaired double check by clicking verify disk.
Here is an article with some possible error messages
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=302672
To get out of the install disk quit disk utilty then go to installer by the blue apple, go to the Installer Menu and then quit installer and then restart.
Doing the above will in the very least save you some time on the phone with Apple. If you can't repair the disk with disk utility write down any errors and let Apple know.
I hope this helps.
p.s. the steps in the article in my previous steps do also apply to 10.4

I need Help! Power Mac g5 computer won't load past grey screen.

Tonight my old power mac g5 computer (that I had for 8 years) has finally decided not to boot anymore. What happend was I was on my computer, and looking up something on spotlight until it froze over, (i am assuming its a kernal panic) It then crashed. I turned it off and tried to reboot it. At first, only the apple symbol appeared and no loading bar and then I turned it off again, but now I have a continuious loading bar. I've turned it off several times and rebooted but to no success (my cd drive is also broken) I fear I may have to get rid of it but I cant afford another tower right now..they're too expensive....What can I do?
Thank you, and I look forward to hearing from you.

OK, a number of things, sort of in order:
1. Does it boot from an install disc? You may need to hold the left button of a wired mouse down at boot to get the optical tray to open, or you can use open firmware to open and close the tray. (see below) Can you run Disk Utility from the install disk to check and/or repair your boot volume?
2. How about the PRAM battery? How new is it? If it is the original, you need to replace it for sure. If it if more than a couple of years old, it should be replaced preemptively as it is likely weak enough by now to have caused some mischief (more so if the machine has been off power and unplugged for any significant amount of time).
3. Have you tried a PRAM reset? (Hold down cmd-option-P-R key combination at boot until you hear the boot tone a second time).
4. Have you tried a PMU reset?
So what is happening is that something is getting hosed early on in the boot process. You might be able to see what is going on by doing a verbose boot (hold down cmd-V at startup until you get to the gray screen with Apple embossment) and hopefully getting the Unix terminal screen with its output detailing the boot process. Were I a betting man, I would have to guess a problem with the boot volume's directory structure. That's why I listed the booting from the install disc first. If it boots from the install disc, then most of the system is probably in good shape but there may be problems with the boot volume's directory.
Opening the disc tray using open firmware:
You boot into open firmware by holding down the cmd-option-O-F keys until you get the white open firmware terminal screen. You are not really using the hard disc or any really advanced capabilities of the system. Now, type the following command to open the optical drive tray:
eject cd <enter>
Repeat the command after inserting the install disc and the tray should close. Then enter the following command:
reset-all <enter>
and the machine should restart. You can either hold down the option key at boot to bring up startup manager to select the optical, or more simply, hold down the C key as the machine restarts and keep it held down until you see the system loading.

PowerMac wont load past grey screen

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