Stuck at startup - not a bad HD!
Hi All,
So I'm trying to revive a pb 15 1.25 from the dead so I can sell it! I have 2 different, working osx HD's that I can run from every other ppc in target disk mode, but my pbook still hangs on the startup, no matter what HD I use. I can't get it to go in safe mode either, and of course I cant findm y original install cd!!!
So it leads me to believe something is wrong on the actual computer. I've reset pram, nvram, and the pmu. Is there anything left to do? Give up?
I can get into open firmware just fine, and single user mode as well. Nothing really notable in the system.log because it all mostly pertains to the HD stuff. Is there something I can do in open firmware mode or single user mode that helps me see where it's hanging???
It's got an old battery that barely holds a charge, could just that be the culprit?
Thanks for anyone that can help!
If you're going shopping for a new internal drive (and it does sound as if your present drive is hosed) I would look at Crucial and OWC. I would stay away from Western Digital drives because, personally, I've never had anything but problems with them.
Same when looking for an external drive - I recommend LaCie and G-Technology drives (I have both brands - never a problem). Both LaCie and GDRIVEs usually come pre-formatted for Macintosh. A good place to shop for external drives is MacMall - their prices are usually substantially discounted from manufacturers SRP.
Good luck - call back should you need any further assistance.
Clinton
Similar Messages
-
I Have a MacBook pro with Yosemite installed and Windows 8.1 via Bootcamp. Couple of hours back I had used Windows and then now when I tried booting to Mac it's stuck on startup. Basically I see the loading bar go approximately 40% and then the display dims with a loading circle showing up below the bar. This circle keeps rotating for sometime and finally just stops. Leaving it idle for 15 mins causes the display to dim to go off until I tap space bar. I tried resetting PRAM and also checked disk and repaired the disk using disk utility but still no luck. Attaching screenshot of the screen
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. -
HP Pavilion dv6 7039tx Notebook-It was working fine and then it suddenly got stuck during startup.
I own a HP Pavilion dv6 7039tx Notebook. The OS is Win 7 64bit. I made 4 partitions after formatting the 1TB HDD as the C drive would not reduce to the 40GB size I wanted through disk management.
It was working fine till now and then it suddenly got stuck during startup.
I talked to customer support and they said it was a OS problem and I should order a set of 6 Recovery DVDs. i want to know if using the HP recovery disk
1) Has an option to repair the system and leaves the disk partition unchanged?
2) It resets the notebook to factory condition?
3) There is an option of recovery disk which I should specifically ask for?
Thanks!!Hi RanSri,
I understand you are having issues with the HP Pavilion dv6 7039tx Notebook.
You can restore it to a previous time when it was working correctly.
This link for windows working correctly.
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?cc=us&dlc=en&docname=c01835735&lc=en&product=5277768&tmp...
Use this link if Windows does not open normally.
http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?cc=us&dlc=en&docname=c01835735&lc=en&product=5277768&tmp...
Hope this helps.
Thanks.
Please click “Accept as Solution ” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution.
Click the “Kudos, Thumbs Up" on the bottom to say “Thanks” for helping! -
In BootCamp Stuck in Startup Repair.
Hello I've Been using Bootcamp to play my windows games and becasue of its automatic update It turned off and i tryied to boot into it and now it's Stuck in Startup Repair and Now its Looping. Can anyone please help me get out of its annoying loop so i can play with my friends.
Thank you on whoever Helps.Backups are always handy.
You tried booting from the Windows 7 DVD and that too isn't helping?
F8 Safe Mode can sometimes work and get you through.
If checkpoints were being made, which is automatic default, you might but some driver updates and others can be trouble.
If you can run chkdsk that is also sometimes able.
If you are low on disk space...?
Paragon Software CampTuneX $19 can redistribute space and check and see if it does more, like make an image.
WinClone 4.x $29 is Mac utility to make a disk image of Windows (be sure to have non-system drive to use to store it on) and while slow and can fail on restore sometimes does have its uses.
But try with Windows DVD -- and be prepared to reinstall. Windows 8 has improved the ability to refresh the OS and leave files intact, and added a better File History that is automatic once setup to make backups (but not a system image) and works similarly to TimeMachine in some respect. -
Hi.
My ipod touch 5 is getting stuck on startup and i cannot even access the recovery mode.
what should i do to resolve this problem?Try what you missed here:
- iOS: Not responding or does not turn on
- Also try DFU mode after try recovery mode
How to put iPod touch / iPhone into DFU mode « Karthik's scribblings
- If not successful and you can't fully turn the iOS device fully off, let the battery fully drain. After charging for an least an hour try the above again.
- Try another cable
- Try on another computer
- If still not successful that usually indicates a hardware problem and an appointment at the Genius Bar of an Apple store is in order.
Apple Retail Store - Genius Bar -
HT201262 Blue/Gray Screen Stuck on Startup: Best Actions In Safe Boot?
My husband took his MacBook Pro into the Apple store for this problem a few weeks ago, but the blue/gray screen stuck on startup is back.
We stabilized the system last time from running diagnostic utilities (Apple, Onyx) in safe mode. Is there anything else we should be doing for self help? He's upgraded to Mountain Lion and made all OS updates. Advice is welcome.See OS X Mountain Lion- If you see a blue screen at startup. I suggest the last recommendation - reinstall OS X:
Reinstalling Lion/Mountain Lion Without Erasing the Drive
Boot to the Recovery HD: Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the menu screen appears. Alternatively, restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears. Select the Recovery HD and click on the downward pointing arrow button.
Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions: Upon startup select Disk Utility from the main menu. Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions as follows.
When the recovery menu appears select Disk Utility. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the main menu.
Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion: Select Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion and click on the Continue button.
Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet if possible because it is three times faster than wireless. -
My Iphone 3s is stuck and will not open, I have an image of a USB cord with an arrow pointing up to the Itune music Icon and my phone won't open or be recognized by itunes or my computer. What do I do now?
Try restoring it using Recovery Mode.
-
iCloud backup is unable to access my account, because email I used for iCloud account is been deleted. And my iPad is stuck with this note on a screen, can't go Settings. How do I delete or edit my iCloud account?
You can eirther I think go on ITunes or if you can get to settings you would just go to iCloud.
-
MAcbook is stuck and will not shutdown following download of X Mavericks software. Setup assistant is stuck and will not allow the MacBook Air to shutdown. It's been doing this for over 5 hours......any ideas?
Hi there—
This reply doesn't seem to take into account the query.
Please help?
The computer is completely unresponsive and won't shut down or turn off. It is stuck in Set Up Assistant after trying to sign in to AppleID.
Attempting to shut down or restart produces the following dialogue:
"The application Set Up Assistant has cancelled shut down.
To try shutting down again, quit Setup Assistant and click Try Again."
HOWEVER it is impossible to quick Set Up Assistant— the icon is completely unresponsive even to force quit, right click or anything.
I've managed to get into being able to see Dashboard and at the top Desktop and the dock below. But I can't click on anything from there. So it seems it is not the whole computer. Just set-up assistant.
Please help??
Thank you -
while updating my ipad to new software through itunes it got stuck and does not work anymore - it just displays the screen with symbols of itunes and the cable to connect to it - help - what should i do?
Disconnect the iPad, do a Reset [Hold the Home and Sleep/Wake buttons down together for 10 seconds or so (until the Apple logo appears) and then release. The screen will go blank and then power ON again in the normal way.] It is 'appsolutely' safe!, reconnect and follow the prompts.
If that does not work then see here http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1808 -
IPod stuck in "do not disconnect" and NOT recognized by iTunes
I updated to 7.1.1.... and my iPod is not stuck in "do Not disconnect" and not recognized by iTunes.
I have tried the Toshiba "Safely Remove Hardware" -- and selecting the iPOD -- but, notice comes back "cannot disconnect now because a program is accessing the device."
Anyone know where I can go from here??? Thanks very much.the same thing happened to me yesterday after downloading the new itunes 7.1.1 the do not dissconnect would'nt go off and computer and itunes would'nt reconize my ipod video.
so i left it alone overnight to empty battery completely.
the do not disconnect was gone in the morning then i recharged it and plugged it back in to computer and everything is fine. i don't know why it froze on me.
my husbands ipod mini had a similar problem awhile back and i did the same and it also was fine. -
Ipod classic screen stuck on 'do not disconnect' not responding to anything?
As the title suggests, I connected the ipod to load some music on it and the screen displayed the ' do not disconnect' sign.....but iTunes didn't bring it up and the ipod doesn't respond to anything. The laptop recognised an error with the ipod and suggested resetting to factory settings....but this failed....I updated iTunes to try again...but it will not recognise the ipod at all and the ipod is stuck on ' do not disconnect' not reacting to plug/power/laptop etc.....any help is much appreciated as there is literally nothing I can do with it.
Have you tried resetting your device?
How to reset iPod
B-rock -
After upgrading iphone to 5.1, syncing is endlessly stuck on syncing notes. How do you fix this?
After upgrading iphone to 5.1, syncing is endlessly stuck on syncing notes. How do you fix this?
Hi Arthur Daly,
Thanks for using Apple Support Communities. Based on what you stated, it sounds like iOS device's are not appearing in iTunes. I would recommend that you read this article, it may be able to help the issue.
iPhone, iPad, or iPod not recognized in iTunes for Windows - Apple Support
Cheers,
Mario -
I have a program that requires cancel, details or continue. It appears to be stuck and will not let me slide to unlock or slide to close. How do I restart the ipad?
Hi there, welcome to the site,
I have posted a link below which has instructions on how to do this. They are quite simple, so take a look.
iPad not responding
Regards,
Nathan -
hey, I accidently upgraded my iphone 4 to ios5, and stuck in "could not activate". How do i get out of this ? Thanks
Got a i7 processor with win 7 64bit.
How do i get back ?How do you "accidentaly" upgrade to iOS 5? Are you a registered developer? As I understand, Apple has told developers that they do NOT support downgrading from the Beta. You'll have to go over to the developers forums and see if someone there can help you.
If you're not a registered developer, then congratulations. You are now the proud owner of an iBrick until you either pay to enter the developers program or until the final release comes out in the fall.
Maybe you are looking for
-
Hi We have a networking issue that I hope someone may be able to help me with. We run a Windows domain - single domain, single subnet. Three domain controllers: Windows 2012 R2 Standard, Windows 2008 Standard (32bit) and Windows Server 2003 Standard.
-
Can't start ... tried a bunch of things ... what about network startup??
Greetings and salutations all you helpful folks, I am battling away trying to get my ibook G4 to start. I have mounted it as a terminal and it works fine as that, and I have retrieved all the data that I need from the hard drive but now I would like
-
any thoughts regarding this CC issue. do you think someone else is logged in using my password info?
-
Can I saparate the sound from my video?
I am using my iSight camera and iMovie to make a video clip but the sound is out of sync. I sthere a way to correct this? Can I separarte the video and the sound?
-
[solved] Something launches xscreensaver in OpenBox - and it's not me
Hi, I have a weird problem with XScreensaver in OpenBox. I used to start it via autostart.sh but recently deleted that because I don't need a screensaver. XScreensaver is still launched on startup and I have no idea who or what launches it. There is