Startup disk white screen

My start up disk is full...I can't even get to my desktop to delete ant files and free up some space b/c my screen is white. I've read some other questions about full start up disks but none seem to discuss the blank white screen. I've pressed Command R when I booted up to get to the disk utility but I'm not sure if that's the direction I need to go. Any help would be appreciated..tks

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 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.

Similar Messages

Device driver error msg at startup-get white screen w/audio during playback

PE10 has been working fine until today.
Upon startup I get an error message saying my display driver is incompatible.
I checked the driver in Windows 7-it says the driver is up to date and working fine.
When playing back a video clip I'm editing in PE10, I get a white screen in the playback area with the correct audio. When I pause the playback, the video image appears. Play = white playback screen.
I have
-checked the display driver
-rolled my computer back to an earlier restore point
-uninstalled and reinstalled PE10
-turned off my firewall
Any other suggestions to try?

What version of Premiere Pro? Include the minor version number (e.g., Premiere Pro CS5.5 with the 5.5.2 update).
Premiere Elements 10
Have you installed the recent updates? (If not, you should. They fix a lot of problems.)
none available
What operating system? This should include specific minor version numbers, like "Mac OSX v10.6.8"---not just "Mac".
Windows 7 AMD dual-core processor
AMD Radeon HD 6310 display driver
What kind(s) of source footage? When telling about your source footage, tell us about the codecs, not just the container types. For example, "H.264 in a .mov container", not just "QuickTime".
MVI files from camera -- all worked fine in PE10 until today - same files play fine in other players
If you are getting error message(s), what is the full text of the error message(s)?
What were you doing when the problem occurred?
Starting up PE10
Has this ever worked before?
Yes, always until today.
What other software are you running?
None
Do you have any third-party effects or codecs installed?
No
Tell us about your computer hardware. Be especially certain to tell us about third-party I/O hardware (e.g., AJA, Matrox, Blackmagic, MOTU).
I'm not techie and don't know what this means - I don't have anything mentioned in brackets
Are you using Mercury Playback Engine GPU Acceleration?
no
Does the problem only happen with your final output, with previews, or both?
Error message above happens during startup
PE10 now loads really slowly (5 minutes)
Playback in project gives white screen instead of video. Audio is fine.

Macbook wont show any startup disk, grey screen

Hey there! Here is what I did, and what I get.(Sorry for my bad English) I wanted to have 3 partitions for my macbook, one for msc osx, one for windows, and one for shared data. I've started with bootcamp. I've created partition, then canceled installation of windows 8. then I've added third partition from disk utility, then I've restarted computer, started installation of windows 8. I've noticed that third partition is showing as unlocated memory,(but it's shown in mac os x) during installation of windows 8. After finishing installation of win 8, I've gone through disk managment from control panel, and created local disk from that third unlocated memory, then from my computer I saw that my third partition isnt accessable.. then I've removed it from disk managment, so its again unlocated memory. Then I've restarted computer, but computer didnt started anumore.. it's shows grey screen, then after about 15 seconds, it's showing black screen, then trying to start windows 8, then it's shows blue screen with icon, then restart again, and again.. on start when I'm pressing option key, nothing happens, also nothing happens when I'm pressing option + s. I've tried to start recovery mode, by option + r. that one worked, in disc recovery left part I can see my 3 partitions.. but I cant do nothing with them, I've tried to erase third partition, but I got error, about partition map.. I've tried to use reinstall os x, but when I need to select partition to install, there is no any partition, also when I'm trying to select startup disk, it didnt show anything,( mac os x, windows..). Any idea what to do? It's my first time using mac, and soooo disapointed.. any help? Thanks in advance.

Have you tried Internet recovery?
Hold the command and option and r keys down on a wired or built in keyboard. Boot the machine and you will see a globe spinning as IR loads.
Next select Disk Utility and the disk0. Click Erase and if there is a slider, move it one or two spots to the right for a 0-3x secure erase and mapping off of bad/damaged sectors on the boot hard drive (SSD no need).
Once finished, check Partition that Option:GUID and Format is OS X Extended Journaled and the name is MacintoshHD or else make it so and click Apply.
Quit and install the OS X version that is provided with Internet Recovery, it depends upon what originally came on the machine.
(taken from advice of ds store. Thanks)
You can then migrate your data back from your backup.
Pete

Weird startup problems - white screen - USB/Firewire?

Not even sure where to start on this one...
I've got an Intel Dual 2.0ghz 20" Imac. 3 gb of RAM. I have AppleCare, but not sure this isn't peripheral related, so don't want to start down that path just yet.
I've got two Western Digital MyBook drives: a 250gb connected through the firewire 400 port, and a 500gb drive connected to the 800 port. An Eyetv 200 DVR is connected between the 250gb drive and the computer. Multiple USB devices (Treo 680, CanoScan LiDE500f, Epson Stylus Photo R220, Ipod) through an externally powered Belkin 7 port hub. Bluetooth keyboard and mouse.
About once out of every 10 boots, the machine only comes to a white screen. I have discovered that I have to disconnect all cables from the back of the machine to continue the booting process. Sometimes the boot continues when the firewire plugs are removed, sometimes with the USB. I also have the issue, documented elsewhere, with the WD drives intermittently unmounting.
I've had other, possibly related, issues with Missing Sync hanging (whether syncing with the Treo or not). Curiously, when this problem manifests, Console also hangs in the same manner. Not sure what clears the problem, but after a few reboots, logouts, and resetting the power manager, it generally goes away.
My hunch is that the USB/Firewire buses are underpowered or overstressed. The problems have so far resisted my trying to narrow them down further.
Another oddity: After problems booting, the display brightness is often reset to its lowest (dimmest) setting.
The most frustrating part of all this is that I use my EyeTV device to record TV programs when I'm away. Obviously, if the machine doesn't boot consistently, I can't depend on this.
Anyone have any better hunches?
thanks!

Perhaps I'm on the path to finding the cause of this problem. I took your advice, and using a Firewire 400 cable, connected the 500gb drive in line with the other Firewire devices. After rebooting, I immediately had the same interrupted startup process.
I noticed when connecting the 500gb drive, that it also has a USB port. I have now taken this drive out of the Firewire chain and connected it via USB. I haven't tested very long, but so far so good. I'm beginning to think that the Firewire bus on my 500gb WD drive is bad. I already knew that the 800 port didn't work. Lets hope the USB works. This is solely a backup drive, so USB is fine (unless I need to boot off a backup, in which case I know that the FW 400 will work in a pinch). I'll keep you updated.

Intel iMac hangs at startup on white screen, no logo

Suddenly, my Intel iMac won't boot. When I turn it on, it plays the tone and hangs forever at the white lit screen. I hear the CD-ROM drive spin up, but I can't get it to boot from a CD, even if I hold down "C". I have Bootcamp installed dual-booting Vista SP1 (by default) and OS X Leopard. I can't make the boot menu appear, either.
I tried resetting the SMC as described in a troubleshooting article by unplugging everything, waiting, plugging back in the power and then the other peripherals (only network, keyboard, mouse, and a secondary display.) It had no effect.
Any suggestions, if only to narrow down what the problem might be?

mquander....did the new hard drive resolve the problem?
I have the exact same problem. It all started on a hot day, my iMac froze while just surfing the web. Only option was to power it down manually. After that the machine would not boot into OSX, it would get as far as the blue screen, but never come up with the login window. Then it started acting up and certain keyboard boot combinations would not work consistently. For example holding option down would only occasionally bring up the boot list, other times, it would just stay at a gray screen indefinitely.
Now I can't boot to anything, CD, internal hard drive, external hard drive. The gray screen comes up with no apple logo, eventually if I leave it, 10 minutes or so later it will reboot itself and just do the same thing.
I'd be curious to find out if the new hard drive resolved your problems.
Thanks
Chris

Computer pauses on startuo with white screen

Why is computer pausing on startup with white screen?

It pauses on the white screen for how long, does it finally go through?
Hold the Shift key down while booting,
run through this list and do #1 - #7
If you get into the machine, then do #9 - #13
 Step by Step to fix your Mac

My MacBook Pro Won't Start-The Startup disk is full and I get a white screen

When I turn it on the log in screen appears and also a message saying "Startup disk full,please delete some files" , so I log in and it just takes me to a white screen,I've tried going to the disk utility by doing Command+R when turing it on ,and I repaired Macintish HD and after that it said "Macintish HD volume is OK".Thanks for the help

1. Start up in Safe Mode.
    http://support.apple.com/kb/PH11212
2. Empty Trash.
    http://support.apple.com/kb/PH10677
3. Delete "Recovered Messages", if any.
    Hold the option key down and click "Go" menu in the Finder menu bar.
    Select "Library" from the dropdown.
    Library > Mail > V2 > Mailboxes
    Delete "Recovered Messages", if any.
    Empty Trash. Restart.
4. Delete old iOS Devices Backup.
    iTunes > Preferences > Devices
    Highlight the old Backups , press “Delete Backup” and then “OK”.
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4946?viewlocale=en_US&locale=en_US
5. Re-index Macintosh HD
   System Preferences > Spotlight > Privacy
   http://support.apple.com/kb/ht2409

Mac Mini: Error-Disk Full-UNABLE TO BOOT-WHITE SCREEN at STARTUP

Please Help!
Last night a message popped up saying "STARTUP DISK FULL/almost full...Delete files to make disk space available"
Immediately after that message the system froze and I waited for a hour to see if it would unfreeze by itself
It didn't so I then pressed and held the power button until the system shut down
Now when I power up my mac mini, all I see is a white screen
Please advise...any and all help would be very much appreciated

Which model Mac mini is it? If it is quite an old one it might not in pre-boot stage know how to drive a brand new style keyboard. You can double check the keyboard itself is ok by plugging it in to your MacBook when it is already booted.
You could also test the DVD in your MacBook.
If you have not used the DVD drive in the Mac mini for a while it might have got dirty. Eject the disc if you can and carefully blow in to the disc opening to try and clear any dust.
Normally, methods of ejecting the disk would be -
Holding down the mouse button while you start the computer
Pressing the eject key on the keyboard
and various other methods that need the computer to be already up and running
Any Apple stores in your area?
It could possibly be still trying to boot from the hard disk - if your not able to get the keyboard recognised then obviously your not yet able to get it to accept a command to boot from a different drive. If your Mac mini is an older model and hence not in pre-boot mode able to recognise the new keyboard, do you have any friends with an old plastic Mac keyboard?
An older keyboard would be one that looks like this http://www.user-agent.org/stuff/images/mac_keyboard_02.jpg
You probably have a new one that looks like http://media.macworld.co.uk/cmsdata/products/10514/07kb_top.jpg
If you feel up to it, an option would be to take the Mac mini apart and remove the hard disk, then if you have the bits, put it in an external case and you can then connect it to the MacBook as an external drive. I have all those bits available to me but many ordinary users don't.

My MacBook Air isn't turning on something keeps popping up saying "startup disk full" and then a blank white screen.

When i try to turn on my MacBook Air something pops up saying "startup disk is full" i don't know what that means. And also after that it goes right To a plain white screen.

OS X 10. 7 Lion / 10.8 Mountain Lion / 10.9 Mavericks
Try these tips.
1. Start up in Safe Mode.
    http://support.apple.com/kb/PH11212
2. Empty Trash.
    http://support.apple.com/kb/PH10677
3. Delete "Recovered Messages", if any.
    Hold the option key down and click "Go" menu in the Finder menu bar.
    Select "Library" from the dropdown.
    Library > Mail > V2 > Mailboxes
    Delete "Recovered Messages", if any.
    Empty Trash. Restart.
4. Repair Disk
    Steps 1 through 7
    http://support.apple.com/kb/PH5836

White Screen hang on Mac OSX Startup Disk

Running a MBP (mid 2009) 2.26GHz on OSX Leopard 10.5.8. I am trying to boot from the Startup disk (OSX Leopard 10.5.2) and when I stick it in a restart, I hold C and it hangs on the screen before where the Apple logo would appear normally, as if it's trying to load from the startup disk. The disk spins up and I hear it, but it just hangs there. Only thing I can do is a hard restart with the power button.
I have started from the disk before, so I know it worked in the past. Also, OSX recognizes the disk when I'm logged in and I can even run the Installer (ask you to restart though).
I recently turned on FileVault (have restarted multiple times since then) but not sure if this has anything to do with it. I am trying to set a password for the Firmware so someone can't reformat without a pw.
Can anyone help? Anyone know why it doesn't want to boot from the startup disk?
Thanks!

sounds like your optical drive isnt reading the disk. can try doing an smc and pram reset and see if that helps if not then i'd bring it into a store to get the drive looked at.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964 <--smc
<a class="jive-link-external-small" href="http://">http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1379 <--pram
also make sure the disk is clean and if those 2 resets dont help i'd bring it into a store.

White Screen at Boot When Attempting to Access Recovery or Select a Boot Disk

Introduction
I want to share a solution for a problem I encountered that Apple technical support was unaware of (they said they would create a new kdoc when I called them to share my problem and its solution) and for which I could find no documentation online.
First, this is really a tip rather than a question, but I did leave it marked as a question in case anyone wants to earn some points by responding with a different solution to the problem I am about to describe. Additionally, I do not have a enough points to post a "Tip" so I am just starting a discussion instead.
Next, when I encountered the problem I am about to describe, I had not yet enabled a firmware password.
Finally, a massive "Thank you!" to the Great Pondini (James Pond - http://pondini.org) for helping me learn so much more interesting stuff about various OS X features and functionality (all for no charge) over the years.
Now on to why I have started this discussion...
The Problem
I recently purchased a new MacBook Pro (Core i7, SSD, etc.). After working with Setup Assistant to transfer everything from the most recent Time Machine backup of the older MBP I was replacing, applying all OS updates, and then enabling FileVault 2 and letting the requisite disk encryption process complete, I decided to I would go ahead and just proactively repair any permissions and ACLs for my user directory just in case any repair was necessary.
However, after shutting down my MBP, waiting, and then starting it up with Cmd-R being pressed while turning the MBP on, nothing would happen - I would just have a white screen with no Apple logo, no EFI login, no Recovery Console, nothing (and I waited for a very long time for something to show up). My only option was to do what I really do not like doing and that was to just power my new MBP down.
So, I tried again, this time holding down Opt while turning my computer on so as to select a disk at boot. The same problem returned.
Just to check, I once again started up while holding down the Shift key to attempt a Safe Boot. No dice.
Prior to trying all of this I made sure that I did have the Apple Recovery Partition in addition to my user partion and the EFI partition, so I did not understand why this would be happening. Why could I not boot into Recovery? Why could I not select a boot disk? And, why could I not go into Safe Boot?
To be safe, I started up and logged into my MBP as I normally would, then set my startup disk to be my Recovery USB for OS X 10.8, restarted, and verified all three partitions (and, since I had my Time Machine disk connected all three times I forced the computer to power off, I verified it as well). I then set my startup disk back to my SSD, and logged in and got online to see if anyone else had experienced this issue. After making sure I was not being crazy and using key combinations that were somehow made irrelevant, I shut my MBP down and walked away for a few minutes.
The Solution
So what solved my problem? A good 'ol reset of the NVRAM (aka/fka PRAM). If you are not familiar with how to reset the NVRAM:
Power off your Mac and go do something else for 30 seconds to a minute.
Press and hold down the Opt, Cmd, P and R buttons, and then press the power button. I have big hands and this is a one person operation for me. If you are not so "lucky", find someone to press the power button as you hold those four buttons down.
Continue holding those four buttons down through the first startup chime and then release all four of them only after the second startup chime is sounded.
So, for some reason, I had to reset the NVRAM on a brand new MBP that had been started up only once and restarted only once when I enabled FV2. Maybe something cached needed to be cleared out following the FV2 process, or maybe something funky was carried over after it was setup in the factory and shipped direct to me from China.
The moral of the story is: If you have strage issues during the startup of your Mac, just reset the NVRAM and try again. This has worked for a number of strange issues on various Macs for me in the past and proved to be useful once again on a brand new MBP that I never would have thought needed its NVRAM reset so soon into its lifecycle.
Special Note
There are two processes I always complete and recommend to others following a major software update (e.g. upgrading to a new version of OS X) and when I restore or otherwise transfer the most recent Time Machine backup to my current Mac or to a new one.
First, following a major or massive software update, go into Disk Utility, select your system and data drive(s), and then just click on "Repair Permissions" (Choosing "Verify Pemissions" will result in having to then click "Repair Permissions" if any permissions need to be repaired, so remove one click from the process).
Second, after transferring from a Time Machine backup, I like to make sure that my user directory permissions are good to go before any time is allowed for problems with those permissions to set in. If you are not familiar with the user directory permissions and ACL repair process (this process is not the same as the "Repair Permission" functionality in Disk Utility), here is how to do it:
Shutdown your Mac and wait about 30 seconds.
Press and hold down Cmd-R and then power on your Mac. Once the Apple logo with the spinning wheel shows up, release those two keys.
From within the Recovery Console, open a new Terminal session via the "Utilities" menu.
Invoke the following command (all one word, lowercase): resetpassword
In the "Reset Password" application that opens, select the disk that your user home directory is on, and then click the "Reset" button at the bottom underneath the "Reset Home Folder Permissions and ACLs" heading and wait for the process to finish. Any messages displayed can typically be safely ignored. If you want to be sure, search for information regarding any messages that you do not like.
Restart your MBP and enjoy using it.
(Note that if you have FV2 enabled, you will need your FV2 Recovery Key to actually reset your password. This is one of many reasons that I enable FV2 - anyone can startup a Mac and go into the Recovery Partition if it exists and reset a password, but having to also enter the FV2 Recovery Key adds a nice extra layer of protection. In addition to that, setting a Firmware Password makes it nearly impossible to start up from any disk other that that which is currrenlty installed in your Mac without knowing the Firmware Password - another security bonus. If someone gets ahold of your Mac, and you have FV2 enabled and an appropriately complex Firmware Password set, then them using your Mac as their own becomes a decently difficult process. It's by no means perfect computer security, but it makes it more challenging for someone to steal and use your Mac.)
If anyone has any other tips to share or additional solutions to problem I described, please discuss and share.

Which OS X is installed on your Mac ?
Troubleshooting advice can depend on that information.

HT1553 I did the back up as instructed... Installed a larger hard drive and followed the restore instructions... Now I get a white screen with a folder icon and blinking question mark. When trying to set startup with new drive I get a bless tool error...

I did the back up as instructed... Installed a larger hard drive and followed the restore instructions... Now I get a white screen with a folder icon and blinking question mark. When trying to set startup with new drive I get a bless tool error... Help!!

If you have installed a new hard drive , you will need to have formatted it in Disk Utility correctly. This may explain your problem.
Boot into your 10.6 Install disk again at the top menubar > Utilities > select Disk utility and in there select your new hard drive, and select the tab Erase and choose to make the format as Mac OS Extended Journaled. When that is finished look in the main window to make sure that the partition map scheme says GUID Partition Table.
Now go to the Restore tab and reinstall from your backup.

My PC won't startup normally or in safe mode . I have a white screen with a flashing folder icon which has a ? on it. How do I get it to start?

My PC will not start normally or in safe mode. I have tried several times in safe mode. All I have now is a white screen with a folder icon containing a ? questiomark. This icon is flashing. No cursor available.

The blinking question mark means the startup drive can't be found.
It could be that it has failed or needs major repair. Boot from the Snow Leopard DVD and run Disk Utility.

IMac won't startup - freezes on either white screen or Apple symbol

Got my 24" 2.4GHz iMac on release last year, with Tiger. Installed Leopard on it on release day.
The problem I have is that ever since a botched Boot Camp installation I've had endless problems with certain applications hanging during their startup (notably Image Capture) or refusing to quit (notably iTunes). Force Quit doesn't resolve these issues. Restarting doesn't work because Force Quit can't quit them so I have to pull the plug or otherwise force a shutdown.
Upon restarting I either get the grey screen that instantly appears, or, if I've pulled the plug and left it for a few minutes I can get to the Apple symbol but no spinner or any further start up action. Occasionally I get lucky, get back up and running, and all is well until the next crash.
All this started happening when I decided to try installing Windows on Boot Camp again. I've had it on here a couple of times since Leopard was released but usually end up deleting it eventually because either the Windows installation gets bogged down or I get bored with it and never use it. Anyway, this time, using the same discs I've always used (and yes, it's SP2, so it should be fine and anyway it's worked at least twice before) when I got to the 'restart to continue installing Windows' bit, I got the white screen and nothing happened. After an hour or so of praying and restarting endlessly trying to get a response, I finally got it to recognise my OSX installation and was up and running again. The Boot Camp volume didn't appear to be there and Disk Utility revealed zero problems whatsoever. Everything looked fine until these recurring hangs, refusals to quit apps and screwed up start-ups.
Any ideas? I don't have the expensive Apple support, but it's less than a year old! Of course, I realise that this means nothing to Apple, who seem to think I should pay a premium in order to have my machine warrantied by them for more than 90 days. Grr...
If I get it up and running I'm thinking I should just wipe the ENTIRE system absolutely clean and re-install Leopard and then use my Time Machine backup to put all my data back on (pricelessly valuable as I use the machine to work on my photography with), but I'm concerned that if there's a flaw in the System somewhere, a corruption, that installing the Time Machine backup will just reintroduce the error. On the other hand, if it's a deeply embedded and invisinle partition corruption from the bad Boot Camp installation attempt, that should be fixed by wiping the entire drive to reinstall Leopard, right?
Any ideas? I'm absolutely sick to the back teeth of this now.
Many thanks,
Owen

But service support means dragging my iMac down to an Apple Store after making an appointment that's no doubt a couple of days away. Taking a 24" iMac on public transport in London isn't something I particularly want to do.
It did actually start up eventually. I left it sitting on the Apple logo and after a few minutes it restarted itself and all was fine, until a couple of days later when two apps failed to quit, and force quit wouldn't do anything. Neither would Terminal, or Activity Monitor (it was BBEdit and Photo Mechanic this time).
I was forced to pull the plug and since then nothing whatsoever will get it past the Apple logo. Tried popping the original Tiger DVD in and running the hardware diagnostic and it says everything is fine, but trying to restart from the Tiger DVD, or the Leopard DVD, or any other DVD that's bootable, or the hard drive, or an external hard drive - all of them result in hanging at the Apple screen. Tried safe mode, tried holding Alt to choose a startup drive, everything.
What the heck do I do now?!

My MacBook Pro won't go beyond a white screen, after I pushed the restart button. How can I get it to a login? I have routinely backed it up, but don't know how to bring that up, nor if I have a boot file on that external disk. Help!

My MacBook Pro won't go beyond a white screen, after I pushed the restart button. How can I get it to a login? I have routinely backed it up, but don't know how to bring that up, nor if I have a boot file on that external disk. Help!

Take each of these steps that you haven't already tried. Stop when the problem is resolved.
To restart an unresponsive computer, press and hold the power button for a few seconds until the power shuts off, then release, wait a few more seconds, and press it again briefly.
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 a desktop Mac hangs at a plain gray screen with a movable cursor, the keyboard may not be recognized. Press and hold the button on the side of an Apple wireless keyboard to make it discoverable. If need be, replace or recharge the batteries. If you're using a USB keyboard connected to a hub, connect it to a built-in port.
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 in OS X 10.9 or earlier, 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.

Startup disk white screen

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for