Start-up hangs on a blue screen - any ideas?

My iMac, which is running 10.5.7, is hanging on a blue screen at start-up. Goes through the pale gray Apple screen then cycles between two blue screens, one with the little circular progress bar and the other plain blue. No prior problems.
I've tried unplugging peripherals, reset PRAM, safe mode and repairing disk and disk permissions using install disc, all to no avail. Any suggestions before I try to archive/install?
Update: just found that, with my MacBook connected by FireWire, all my shared info on iMac still visible and fully accessible.
Many thanks!

Already tried that stuff, but thanks for the help. Exhausted all the usual troubleshooting recommendations, and had to resort to archive/instal in the end. Now seems fine, but no wiser as to what happened.

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IBook G3 will not start up-hangs up at blue screen

My IBook G3 will not start up. I can get the gray apple screen with pinwheel and then after a really long time it will go to a blank blue screen. A couple times it went to the login screen instead but in the user id it says "other" and when I try to enter my username and password it won't recognize me. I am a college student and one of the Apple geniuses here did a check of my hard drive and it checked out okay. We were not able to get it to start up in safe mode; it seemed like it was starting in safe mode but then it came to the login screen and would not allow me to login with my usual information. I was able to start up in single user mode and run fsck which found a couple things and after another fsck it said everthing was fine. But, it still gets hung up at startup. When I try to boot from the OS X installation CD it doesn't seem to be booting up with it, it only goes to the screen to install OS X. According to the directions on the Apple support site when I insert the CD and start up holding down the "c" key it should start up and then I should be able to repair permissions but I can't get that far.

Hi, and welcome to Apple Discussions.
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There are many things that can happen when you bounce an iBook off the floor.
It sounds like something may have been knocked loose, perhaps a connection? Probably it is going to take an analysis by a technician to tell you exactly what's going on. I have links for firms on both coasts, but you should be able to find an Apple Authorized Service Provider (or just someone who advertises that he/she works on Macs) in a metropolitan area like Chicago just by grabbing your Yellow Pages or local classifieds. I would think you would have a fairly competitive market there. Maybe you can find someone who does free diagnostics who will tell you what it will cost so you can decide whether its worth the cost to repair it.
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Mac pro still hangs on the blue screen on start up.

Hi.
my mac pro still hangs for ages on the blue screen before the login page where i input my password appears.
i've tried starting up in command-V and that didn't work.
i thought snow leopard was meant to improve, it has just slowed my start up down greatly!
could someone please advise on how to fix this?
thanks
Dan.

Hi boom,
Have you tried downloading and re-applying the latest Combo update?
If not, go to the apple download page, find the Combo update (couple of hundred MB) and install it.
This has fixed various issues in the past for numerous users... it might do the trick for you.
After it's installed and rebooted, repair permissions and reboot again.
Also check to see (using software update) if there are no firmware updates available for you.
And, make sure the OS drive's root is clean, just the basic Applications, Library, System and Users folders, no other mess. If there are 'Previous System' folders from earlier Archive & Install situations you might want to remove those.
Finally, if you upgraded from a PowerPC to Intel using the Migration Assistant the symptoms you are describing are very common, the migration assistant well... it ***** :/

IBook G4 Incomplete Start-up / Post-Apple Icon Blue-screen

My brother's iBook G4 is acting strange and I've run a number of tests to sort the problem, none of which have yielded any useful results. This is a summary of what I've tried/seen:
• iBook was running 10.4.?? - not totally sure which version he had last updated - I suspect 10.4.9
• iBook starts to boot up, but after showing gray Apple logo and "load progress spinner" below
it then displays a blank blue-screen and sits there. No pointer, no loading - just sits
• His machine is Target-Mode access-able from my machine (MacBook Pro), and Target Mode symbol correctly appears and moves around the iBook screen. I was able to copy/archive his most important files just in case - though some picture files seemed to cause the transfer to hang
• *iBook seems unable or unwilling to boot off of OSX disk - no matter how many times we try. It doesn't appear to see it even when holding down 'C' at startup. The disk in his drive, however, shows up fine and readable on my desktop via Target-mode. Odd.*
• Running Disk Utility from my machine and looking at his drive in Target-mode reveals that his drive checks out 'OK'... however it doesn't appear to see a valid OS on the drive as options to "Verify/Repair Disk Permisions" are grayed out.
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Welcome To  Discussions ant!
"My brother's iBook G4 is acting strange..."
Please post what the strange behavior is.
Exactly which model ibook G4 is it?
What size is the Hard Drive, and how much space is available?
How much RAM is installed, and is it original or added?
What happened between the last time the iBook functionmed properly, and when it didn't?
Had he made any changes, like upgrading the system, updated or installed any applications or programs, etc?
Have there been any unusual occurences, like freezes, crashes, power outages, etc?
"iBook seems unable or unwilling to boot off of OSX disk - no matter how many times we try."
Are you sure you are using the correct disc, for the iBook, and the installed version of OS X?
What version of OS is on the original system install disc, if that is not the disc you are using, and will the iBook start from that?
If you are using a disc other than the original, is it the Full Retail Version, of the Tiger Install DVD?
ali b

G4 start up problem, stuck in blue screen

Hello all. So, after mistakenly unplugging the G4 it will no longer boot. I get the gray screen, which then goes to the blue screen where it stays. The mouse pointer will appear, then periodically disappear while a status icon flashes in the lower center of the screen.
I've already tried resetting the PMU. When I attempt to use safe boot i get to the login screen. I enter my login/pass, which brings up a black prompt screen asking for login/pass again. I can login, but what if anything am I supposed to do at this point?
I thought safe boot just launched OSX without some features enabled?
Any suggestions. Tonight I'm going to try to use my laptop to open the G4 in target mode.
Thanks,
D

You could try the following. From the hatter. It was for a abit different problems, but may work.
Unplug the machine, pull the clock battery, hit the power button to discharge. Then plug it in without the clock battery. The machine should boot perfectly. Shut down, reinstall the clock battery, and now the system is fully functional. From Macosxhints.
To help you understand Safe Mode check the following:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107392
Also when you login with Safe Mode, go into system preferences/accounts/Login items, and remove any that are there.
Then restart without holding any keys.
The problems could be a third party application at login that would allow the boot.
If the problems continues, and there are any files she needs, I would start again in Target mode, pull the files. Than do a complete reinstall, with a zeroing of the hard drive which will take a while depending on its size.

Start-up hangs on a blue screen - any ideas?

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