Start up problem-white Apple screen 'freeze'

Yesterday morning we had a power outage and the Mac went off, of course, but I do have one of those Apple surge protector 2 plug boards. After the power company fixed it the computer came back on OK, I used it in the normal way, then I shut it down as we were, on that day, having a scheduled and notified power shutdown for pole replacement.
When I went to turn it back on after the shutdown, it will not power up. I get the white screen with the Apple symbol and the little rotating wheel under it. Initially it had a progress bar thing underneath but it only got about 10% of the way from left to right then disappeared.
I kmow there is a way to 'safe start' by holding down a key but cannot remember what it is. Any help or suggestions much appreciated.
I have disconnected all external attachments.

Hello,
"Try Disk Utility
1. Insert the Mac OS X Install disc, then restart the computer while holding the C key.
2. When your computer finishes starting up from the disc, choose Disk Utility from the Installer menu at top of the screen. (In Mac OS X 10.4 or later, you must select your language first.)
*Important: Do not click Continue in the first screen of the Installer. If you do, you must restart from the disc again to access Disk Utility.*
3. Click the First Aid tab.
4. Select your Mac OS X volume.
5. Click Repair Disk, (not Repair Permissions). Disk Utility checks and repairs the disk."
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106214
Then try a Safe Boot, (holding Shift key down at bootup), run Disk Utility in Applications>Utilities, then highlight your drive, click on Repair Permissions, reboot when it completes.
(Safe boot may stay on the gray radian for a long time, let it go, it's trying to repair the Hard Drive.)
If perchance you can't find your install Disc, at least try it from the Safe Boot part onward.

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Computer will start up at white Apple screen then shut off.

I have an older Mac Book Pro that I start up and hear the chime and white Apple screen. There is a small turning dial below the Apple showing it is "thinking" before start up. After a minute or so it just shuts off. I have over 5000 pictures and 4000 songs that I havent backed up.
HELP!

If it is over 4 years old, replace the PRAM battery.
If it is under 4 years old, try the data recovery techniques on my FAQ*:
http://www.macmaps.com/backup.html#RECOVER

Please help! 2.7 Power Mac froze, won't start up past white apple screen!

Hello!
I own a Dual processor 2.7 power mac G5. I only had safari and itunes running when everything came to a freeze without any kind of crash message. Upon force-shutting down the computer, the white screen with the gray apple came up, but would not move past this point! I also did not notice any sounds coming from my machine! I force-shutdown and started it up again and the same occurred. I left the room to jump on this computer (my old, trusty G3 iMac) to try and research while I let it try to start up. When I entered back into the room, I heard the fans going a pretty full-blaze with the white screen w/ apple still starring at me. So I shut it down and came here to post. If it is major issue, at this point, I just want all of my data to be safe. Can someone help me? Any ideas or suggestions? I am not thinking too clearly.

Hi-
Don't give up yet.
There are a few things to try before hauling the machine in for diagnosis.
What I think you should do now, is to follow all the steps (in order) as listed/described in this article:
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2570
Even if you have tried before, please follow the order of troubleshooting.
Each step helps to isolate the problem.
Removing all but keyboard, mouse, and monitor is important.
Try the Safe Mode boot, followed by resetting the PRAM.
In lieu of repairing with Disk Utility, try and start to your DiskWarrior disk.
Remember, booting to Disk warrior can take several minutes, so be patient.
In the "Remove third-party RAM and internal hardware" step, try removing and reseating the RAM, and graphics card, attempting to boot after RAM, and again after graphics card.
Instructions for removal and replacement are here:
http://support.apple.com/kb/TA22565
Also, it wouldn't hurt to try booting the G5 to firewire target disk mode.
but I wonder what my G5 (the fans, in particular) would make of that interaction. hmm . . .
The fans are just noisy. They will insure that overheat damage doesn't occur.
If the firewire boot is successful, it may be wise to copy your files so that you can try a reinstall of the OS, should that be necessary.
Also, again worst case, check for coolant leakage:
http://www.fusina.net/G5coolantleaks/gallery.php
http://www.xlr8yourmac.com/systems/G5coolantleaks.html

Start up problem, white screen. Can you help?

Hello, this problem starts with a freeze up normally waking from sleep mode. Hard restart get fan noise,start up noise, white/gray screen with/out the apple or wheel and that is as far as it gets. Once in a while (like 2 in 4 days) it will boot completely. I have run disk utility 3 times, with it finding and fixing errors twice and none once. I have reset pram, I have tried booting booting from disc (holding c down while starting up) with no change. I have reset the sm by leaving the thing unplugged over night. I am in a small town with out a apple store and only one service center with a huge backlog! can anyone help? Oh and I have reinstalled osx and restored from timemachine 3 times and this still happens:-(

Thanks, I failed to write down the errors, but i do recall them coming up while checking the catalog hierarchy...not much help I know. Thanks for the system test tip, but fond no problem. would the power supply cause the top of the computer to heat up? I just noticed it seems to be hot. I have put a fan blowing on it, to help for now. Keep in mind that I could have just never noticed this before! Here is my last question, I have always purchased apple care, a search shows nothing registered for this computer. I moved about 6 months ago and have no clue where the box with my apple care would be. I can not find my purchase receipt. I recall the apple store emailing it to me, but alas, I cannot find it. Do they keep records of these things? Thank you again for all of your help!

HT201412 iPad jumps from the start screen to the white apple screen every 2 to 3 seconds and will not stop. Shutting it off and resetting has no affect.

My iPad jumps from the start screen to the white apple screen every 2 to 3 seconds. Turning it off or resetting it does not work. The restore from iTunes will not work due to the fact that I need to click off Find My Devise before I can restore...I can't get in to click that off.
Any ideas?

FORCE IPAD INTO RECOVERY MODE
1. Turn off iPad
2. Turn on computer and launch iTunes (make sure you have the latest version of iTune)
3. Plug USB cable into computer's USB port
4. Hold Home button down and plug the other end of cable into docking port.
DO NOT RELEASE BUTTON until you see picture of iTunes and plug
5. Release Home button.
ON COMPUTER
6. iTunes has detected iPad in recovery mode. You must restore this iPad before it can be used with iTunes.
7. Select "Restore iPad"...
Note:
1. Data will be lost if you do not have backup
2. If you did not do step 4 properly, start all over again.

Mac won't boot, starts with white apple screen and spinning wheel. Also has grey loading bar which disappears after loaded then stays at white apple screen.

Mac won't boot, starts with white apple screen and spinning wheel. Also has grey loading bar which disappears after loaded then stays at white apple screen.

Hi cybertoof,
Welcome to Apple Support Communities.
It sounds like you're seeing a startup issue with your Mac, it's booting to a gray screen with an Apple logo. Try the suggestions in the article linked below, they will resolve most issues related to starting up your Mac.
Mac OS X: Gray screen appears during startup
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2570
I hope this helps.
-Jason

Macbook pro won't boot, stuck on white apple screen

Noticed today, that my macbook pro won't boot . It gets to the white apple screen with the spinner under the apple logo. It stays like this for a long time without doing anything except spinning.
I've powered down and tried to boot up several times.
I have boot camp and windows on my mac and when the white screen appears, I can press Option to bring up which hard drive and the Windows partition will load without any problems.

Exacty what happens when you try to boot up from the disc that came with your computer? Are you holding down the c key? Have you tried holding down the "option key?" Are you able to run the Hardware Test - Intel-based Macs: Using Apple Hardware Test
Shut down your computer and disconnect all peripherals (keyboard & mouse if pertinent) from your computer. Now reboot.
If the Mac starts up normally, shut it down again and then plug in one of the peripherals (keyboard or mouse first) and start up your computer again. If it does so successfully repeat the process, adding one peripheral at a time until your Mac acts up. At that point, disconnect the last peripheral you added, reboot your Mac and search the peripheral vendor's website for an updated driver.
If no driver exists or the problem remain after installing the new driver, try a different cable or a different port on your Mac.
If none of the above works, again disconnect all peripherals from your Mac, hold down the "shift" key to start up in "Safe Boot" mode.
If the Mac starts up correctly, restart without pressing the "shift" key.
If your computer still does not start up properly, shut it down and restart it while holding down the Apple+Option-P-R keys; keep holding "all 4 keys" down until you hear the startup sound "twice."
If none of the above work Disconnect all peripherals from your computer. Boot from your install disc & run Repair Disk from the utility menu. To use the Install Mac OS X disc, insert the disc, and restart your computer while holding down the C key as it starts up.
Select your language.
Once on the desktop, select Utility in the menu bar.
Select Disk Utility.
Select the disk or volume in the list of disks and volumes, and then click First Aid.
Click Repair Disk.
(If Disk Utility cannot repair, you will need a stronger utility (3rd party) - Diskwarrior or Techtool PRO)
Restart your computer when done.
Repair permissions after you reach the desktop-http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=25751 and restart your computer.
Remove any 3rd party ram.
Reinstall Lion - This will install a "fresh" copy of Lion without archiving old system files but leaves the rest of your files in place.
If your computer is still under warranty or you have Apple Care, take full advantage of it by letting tech support deal with your problems. It's what you're paying them for.
Out of warranty - take the computer to an Apple store or an AASP. Whichever is more convenient for you.

Mac Pro (early 2008) No chime, pixelated white apple screen

My Mac Pro (early 2008) stopped working this morning. It was working fine yesterday, but did not start today.
i Press the power button, and there is no chime. The fan whirls around and the cd disc drive makes a noise. The startup screen shows up with Pixelated black bars across the whole screen.
this his stays onscreen, freezes for a few minutes, then restarts And continues the cycle of freezing and restarting.
iI've tried to reset the smc and pram and that hasn't done anything.
i've cleaned the inside of the computer, checked the RAM and graphics card, they seem to be in good working order.
does anyone know what's wrong with it?

Hi BDAqua
i tried safe boot. The white apple screen still comes up pixelated but with a grey loading bar at the bottom. Once the bar has loaded fully, nothing happens. it stays frozen on that screen until I have to force it to shutdown by pressing and holding the power button on the front of the tower.
i Tried holding the alt key. It brings up the devices, the screen is still pixelated. Pressing either one of the disk drives, didn't do anything new Unfortunately.
https://mobile.twitter.com/SundeepToor/status/559966340883415040/photos
hopefully you can see what my screen looks like in the link.

MacBook Pro (late 2011) stuck at white Apple screen.

Hi all. My MacBook Pro 13 inch (late 2011) is giving me the same problem over and over again.
Few months ago, I had sent it to Apple for repair due to faulty HDD. Now the same problem happened again. The MacBook will stuck at the white Apple screen with the circle turning when attempting to switch on.
However, Apple had just replace a new HDD and why it's still happening again?
Can anybody here please assist to advice me what is making my Mac unable to start up, stuck at the white Apple screen, even after replacing a new HDD?
Thank you!

Take each of these steps that you haven't already tried. Stop when the problem is resolved.
Step 1
The first step in dealing with a boot failure is to secure your data. If you want to preserve the contents of the startup drive, and you don't already have at least one current backup, you must try to back up now, before you do anything else. It may or may not be possible. If you don't care about the data that has changed since your last backup, you can skip this step.
There are several ways to back up a Mac that is unable to boot. You need an external hard drive to hold the backup data.
a. Boot into the Recovery partition, or from a local Time Machine backup volume (option key at startup.) When the OS X Utilities screen appears, launch Disk Utility and follow the instructions in this support article, under “Instructions for backing up to an external hard disk via Disk Utility.”
b. If you have access to a working Mac, and both it and the non-working Mac have FireWire or Thunderbolt ports, boot the non-working Mac in target disk mode. Use the working Mac to copy the data to another drive. This technique won't work with USB, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth.
c. If the internal drive of the non-working Mac is user-replaceable, remove it and mount it in an external enclosure or drive dock. Use another Mac to copy the data.
Step 2
Press and hold the power button until the power shuts off. Disconnect all wired peripherals except those needed to boot, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards. Use a different keyboard and/or mouse, if those devices are wired. If you can boot now, one of the devices you disconnected, or a combination of them, is causing the problem. Finding out which one is a process of elimination.
If you've booted from an external storage device, make sure that your internal boot volume is selected in the Startup Disk pane of System Preferences.
Step 3
Boot in safe mode. Note: If FileVault is enabled, or if a firmware password is set, or if the boot volume is a software RAID, you can’t do this. Post for further instructions.
Safe mode is much slower to boot and run than normal, and some things won’t work at all, including wireless networking on certain Macs.
The login screen appears even if you usually log in automatically. You must know your login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin.
When you boot in safe mode, it's normal to see a dark gray progress bar on a light gray background. If the progress bar gets stuck for more than a few minutes, or if the system shuts down automatically while the progress bar is displayed, your boot volume is damaged and the drive is probably malfunctioning. In that case, go to step 5.
If you can boot and log in now, empty the Trash, and then open the Finder Info window on your boot volume ("Macintosh HD," unless you gave it a different name.) Check that you have at least 9 GB of available space, as shown in the window. If you don't, copy as many files as necessary to another volume (not another folder on the same volume) and delete the originals. Deletion isn't complete until you empty the Trash again. Do this until the available space is more than 9 GB. Then reboot as usual (i.e., not in safe mode.)
If the boot process hangs again, the problem is likely caused by a third-party system modification that you installed. Post for further instructions.
Step 4
Sometimes a boot failure can be resolved by resetting the NVRAM.
Step 5
Launch Disk Utility in Recovery mode (see Step 1.) Select your startup volume, then run Repair Disk. If any problems are found, repeat until clear. If Disk Utility reports that the volume can't be repaired, the drive has malfunctioned and should be replaced. You might choose to tolerate one such malfunction in the life of the drive. In that case, erase the volume and restore from a backup. If the same thing ever happens again, replace the drive immediately.
This is one of the rare situations in which you should also run Repair Permissions, ignoring the false warnings it may produce. Look for the line "Permissions repair complete" at the end of the output. Then reboot as usual.
Step 6
Boot into Recovery again. When the OS X Utilities screen appears, follow the prompts to reinstall the OS. If your Mac was upgraded from an older version of OS X, you’ll need the Apple ID and password you used to upgrade.
Note: You need an always-on Ethernet or Wi-Fi connection to the Internet to use Recovery. It won’t work with USB or PPPoE modems, or with proxy servers, or with networks that require a certificate for authentication.
Step 7
Repeat step 6, but this time erase the boot volume in Disk Utility before installing. The system should automatically reboot into the Setup Assistant. Follow the prompts to transfer your data from a backup.
Step 8
A dead logic-board battery in a Mac Pro can cause a gray screen at boot. Typically the boot failure will be preceded by loss of the startup disk and system clock settings. See the user manual for replacement instructions.
Step 9
If you get this far, you're probably dealing with a hardware fault. Make a "Genius" appointment at an Apple Store to have the machine tested.

My macbook air won't get past the white apple screen. I've tried power cycling the batter but won't help

my macbook air won't get past the white apple screen. I've tried power cycling the batter but won't help

Take each of these steps that you haven't already tried. Stop when the problem is resolved.
Step 1
The first step in dealing with a startup failure is to secure the data. If you want to preserve the contents of the startup drive, and you don't already have at least one current backup, you must try to back up now, before you do anything else. It may or may not be possible. If you don't care about the data that has changed since the last backup, you can skip this step.
There are several ways to back up a Mac that is unable to start. You need an external hard drive to hold the backup data.
a. Start up from the Recovery partition, or from a local Time Machine backup volume (option key at startup.) When the OS X Utilities screen appears, launch Disk Utility and follow the instructions in this support article, under “Instructions for backing up to an external hard disk via Disk Utility.” The article refers to starting up from a DVD, but the procedure in Recovery mode is the same. You don't need a DVD if you're running OS X 10.7 or later.
b. If Step 1a fails because of disk errors, and no other Mac is available, then you may be able to salvage some of your files by copying them in the Finder. If you already have an external drive with OS X installed, start up from it. Otherwise, if you have Internet access, follow the instructions on this page to prepare the external drive and install OS X on it. You'll use the Recovery installer, rather than downloading it from the App Store.
c. If you have access to a working Mac, and both it and the non-working Mac have FireWire or Thunderbolt ports, start the non-working Mac in target disk mode. Use the working Mac to copy the data to another drive. This technique won't work with USB, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth.
d. If the internal drive of the non-working Mac is user-replaceable, remove it and mount it in an external enclosure or drive dock. Use another Mac to copy the data.
Step 2
If the startup process stops at a blank gray screen with no Apple logo or spinning "daisy wheel," then the startup volume may be full. If you had previously seen warnings of low disk space, this is almost certainly the case. You might be able to start up in safe mode even though you can't start up normally. Otherwise, start up from an external drive, or else use the technique in Step 1b, 1c, or 1d to mount the internal drive and delete some files. According to Apple documentation, you need at least 9 GB of available space on the startup volume (as shown in the Finder Info window) for normal operation.
Step 3
Sometimes a startup failure can be resolved by resetting the NVRAM.
Step 4
If you use a wireless keyboard, trackpad, or mouse, replace or recharge the batteries. The battery level shown in the Bluetooth menu item may not be accurate.
Step 5
If there's a built-in optical drive, a disc may be stuck in it. Follow these instructions to eject it.
Step 6
Press and hold the power button until the power shuts off. Disconnect all wired peripherals except those needed to start up, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards. Use a different keyboard and/or mouse, if those devices are wired. If you can start up now, one of the devices you disconnected, or a combination of them, is causing the problem. Finding out which one is a process of elimination.
Step 7
If you've started from an external storage device, make sure that the internal startup volume is selected in the Startup Disk pane of System Preferences.
Start up in safe mode. Note: If FileVault is enabled, or if a firmware password is set, or if the startup volume is a software RAID, you can’t do this. Post for further instructions.
Safe mode is much slower to start and run than normal, and some things won’t work at all, including wireless networking on certain Macs.
The login screen appears even if you usually log in automatically. You must know the login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin.
When you start up in safe mode, it's normal to see a dark gray progress bar on a light gray background. If the progress bar gets stuck for more than a few minutes, or if the system shuts down automatically while the progress bar is displayed, the startup volume is corrupt and the drive is probably malfunctioning. In that case, go to Step 11. If you ever have another problem with the drive, replace it immediately.
If you can start and log in in safe mode, empty the Trash, and then open the Finder Info window on the startup volume ("Macintosh HD," unless you gave it a different name.) Check that you have at least 9 GB of available space, as shown in the window. If you don't, copy as many files as necessary to another volume (not another folder on the same volume) and delete the originals. Deletion isn't complete until you empty the Trash again. Do this until the available space is more than 9 GB. Then restart as usual (i.e., not in safe mode.)
If the startup process hangs again, the problem is likely caused by a third-party system modification that you installed. Post for further instructions.
Step 8
Launch Disk Utility in Recovery mode (see Step 1.) Select the startup volume, then run Repair Disk. If any problems are found, repeat until clear. If Disk Utility reports that the volume can't be repaired, the drive has malfunctioned and should be replaced. You might choose to tolerate one such malfunction in the life of the drive. In that case, erase the volume and restore from a backup. If the same thing ever happens again, replace the drive immediately.
This is one of the rare situations in which you should also run Repair Permissions, ignoring the false warnings it may produce. Look for the line "Permissions repair complete" at the end of the output. Then restart as usual.
Step 9
If the startup device is an aftermarket SSD, it may need a firmware update and/or a forced "garbage collection." Instructions for doing this with a Crucial-branded SSD were posted here. Some of those instructions may apply to other brands of SSD, but you should check with the vendor's tech support.
Step 10
Reinstall the OS. If the Mac was upgraded from an older version of OS X, you’ll need the Apple ID and password you used to upgrade.
Step 11
Do as in Step 9, but this time erase the startup volume in Disk Utility before installing. The system should automatically restart into the Setup Assistant. Follow the prompts to transfer the data from a Time Machine or other backup.
Step 12
This step applies only to models that have a logic-board ("PRAM") battery: all Mac Pro's and some others (not current models.) Both desktop and portable Macs used to have such a battery. The logic-board battery, if there is one, is separate from the main battery of a portable. A dead logic-board battery can cause a startup failure. Typically the failure will be preceded by loss of the settings for the startup disk and system clock. See the user manual for replacement instructions. You may have to take the machine to a service provider to have the battery replaced.
Step 13
If you get this far, you're probably dealing with a hardware fault. Make a "Genius" appointment at an Apple Store, or go to another authorized service provider.

G5 mac wont boot up past white apple screen

My kids mac wont boot up past the white apple screen. I can here everything running but the monitor starts to get all static and scan lines with a reddish tint to it. I tried the commandoption+pr but it still wouldn't boot-up past the white apple screen. Not sure what else to do. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance

Hi there Peter,
Not cheap anyway you look at it sorry, professional Data Recovery being the most expensive.
Unfortunately, Disk Utility can't fix all that much, and the only other Apple Options are erasing the HD, or installing OSX to a second drive, then using Migration Assistant to move stuff over to the new HD.
If Disk Utility or fsck should fail to repair it, your best bet is DiskWarrior from Alsoft, you'll need the CD to boot from if you don't have another boot drive...
http://www.alsoft.com/DiskWarrior/
Your best bet is DiskWarrior, you need the CD/DVD though.
http://www.alsoft.com/DiskWarrior/
But others that may work…
Drive Genius 2…
http://www.prosofteng.com/products/drive_genius.php
TechTool Pro 4…
http://www.micromat.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=31&Itemid=83
Data Rescue II...
http://www.prosofteng.com/products/data_rescue.php
This one would require another HD with plenty of space to recover to.
You should use another Boot Disk or other Mac with this one in Target mode to do the recovery.
They have a free demo to see what it could recover.

G5 wont boot past white Apple screen.

To anybody that may have some advice. I hadn't used my power mac in about 4 days then when I turned it on last night it wouldn't boot past the white apple screen. I still have the chime my fans and processor still spin up. I tried resetting the SMU, and I also took out 3rd party ram I had installed and tried booting up to see if that was the problem. I'm prepared to take it to the apple store, I just thought somebody might have some advice before I take it there. So again when I boot up it reaches the white screen with the grey apple and then it just gives me the little grey spinning dial and just spins and spins. Thanks in advance to anybody with any advice.
Dual 2.0 GHz Power mac G5 Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Well first I booted holding option and it just booted into target disk mode or something like it, a screen that would allow me boot from a different drive if I had one that was formatted with Tiger. So then I rebooted holding >shift and OPtion. And it kernel paniced, it said it didnt have the driver for this version Tiger 7,2 or something along those lines and then it gave me apples screen of death asking me to restart.

HT201365 My macbook pro was recently returned to me after having been lost. When I turned it on and connected to the internet at home, the activation lock activated. I put my password in and the macbook went to a white apple screen and now won't do anythi

My macbook pro was recently returned to me after having been lost. When I turned it on and connected to the internet at home, the activation lock activated. I put my password in and the macbook went to a white apple screen and now won't do anything else. How do I get it running again?

Take it to an Apple Store. Take proof of purchase with you.

TS1367 I am getting a white apple screen with spinning clock like logo-I can't do anything it is frozen and continuously spinning

I am getting a white apple screen with a spinning clock like logo-I can't do anything it just keeps spinning

Other troubleshooting information.
Startup Issues - Resolve
Startup Issues - Resolve (2)

My mac stops at the white apple screen

my macbook pro stops at the white apple screen and wont move

Which version of OS X are you running? Which model MacBook Pro (e.g., "15-inch Late 2011") do you have?
See -> https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-5431.
Clinton

Start up problem-white Apple screen 'freeze'

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