White screen and quiet whistle on start up
First post here so apologies if in any way I am not following a protocol. Recently received my new imac with 3.06 GHz and 4GB of ram. Lovely and very quick. However after a power cut a couple of nights ago it now starts up very slowly. It hangs on a white screen for a while and immediately after pressing the power on button I get a quiet hissing/whistle type noise. The 'normal' startup sound no longer comes on. Any one else getting this? Is there something simple I can do to fix it without having to re-install. Would be grateful for any advice. Thankyou.
Having spoken to Jigsaw 24 Tech support have solved the problem - just needed the PRAM resetting.
Similar Messages
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I Have an iMac desktop purchased in 2010 with OS X 6.1.6 and Snow Leapard. Recently after starting up, I was not able to open Safari. I checked for updates and all was well. I tried again and got a message saying Safari could not be opened because some components were damaged. After using Disk utilities to try and repair, it was suggested I uninstall OS X and reinstall from the disk. I did not at the time because I wanted to backup some info to a USB drive. But now when I startup all I get is the white screen and Apple logo and the loading symbol. What happened and How can Imfix it? I am not very tech savvy and don't know where to turn!
Hi nancy mfromamity harbor,
Welcome to the Support Communities! It sounds like reinstalling the Snow Leopard operating system is your next step. This should not affect the documents and data that you currently have on your iMac. I'll include the information to show you how below.
Mac OS X 10.6: Reinstalling Mac OS X
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH6606
Under some circumstances, you may need to reinstall Mac OS X. You can reinstall Mac OS X while keeping your files and user settings intact.
Note:To reinstall Mac OS X from another computer on your network, see:
Using another computer’s DVD or CD drive
To reinstall Mac OS X:
Insert the Mac OS X installation disc and double-click the Install Mac OS X icon.
Follow the onscreen instructions. In the pane where you select a disk, select your current Mac OS X disk (in most cases, it will be the only one available).
If you want to control which parts of Mac OS X are installed, click Customize, and then select the parts you want to install.
To start the installation, click Install.
If you purchased a standalone version of Mac OS X, these installation instructions are in a PDF file located on the Mac OS X installation disc.
If you need to reinstall the version of Mac OS X that was on your computer when you purchased it, or if you need to restore all the software on your computer (including Apple software, third-party applications, and other printer drivers), refer to the documentation that came with your computer.
If you need to reinstall Mac OS X and you’ve been using Time Machine to back up your applications, files, and user settings, you can easily restore this information from your Time Machine backup disk after you’ve reinstalled Mac OS X.
Nancy, here is the contact information if you need technical assistance to get your iMac up and running.
Intel-based iMac - Contact Support - Apple Support
http://www.apple.com/support/imac/intel/contact/
Good luck!
- Judy -
When I turn on my IMAC I get the white screen and it won't start
I was working on my IMAC and it froze, so I restarted it a couple of times. It is now not restarting and I get a white screen and spinning circle. What can I do to get the computer to start up or do I need to take it in to the Apple store.
First, use Disk Utility to repair the drive and permissions. Second, reinstall OS X. This will require booting from an installer DVD or the Internet.
Because you have not provided any information about the exact model you have nor version of OS X installed, I cannot provide more information. -
I recently bought a Macbook Pro, this is my first Mac. I restarted it, but when it started back there was a plain white screen and then it prompted me to insert the reboot disk. Has anyone else had this problem and is there a way to do this manually like with PC's?
The new Mac's came with OS X Lion 10.7 and there are no boot disks.
Since it's so new, take it back to the Apple Store and let them deal with it.
If not you can hold Command and r (as in rotten) keys down and boot the computer.
You'll be presented with a several options, including one to reinstall OS X Lion provided you have a Apple ID, which means you have to use Safari in there to set one up. To do that you need to set up a email account with Google or Yahoo. Once you get the ID, then you can download Lion and reinstall it.
It's so stupid not having a copy of the OS on hand to perform your own repairs.
Of course Apple will be happy to sell you a $69 Lion USB stick.
Like I said, take it back to the store, and try to get your money back, that will force them to think about just giving you a replacement machine that works.
Lion doesn't work really but it can be acceptable until the patches get released. -
My new Mac mini (3 month) didn't start up, all that appeared was a white screen and a flashing folder with a question mark inside it.
I followed by recommendations from 'Everything Mac': "shut it down by pressing and holding the power button for about 5 seconds.
Then hold down the Option key and press the power button again to start up the Mac mini. Keep holding down the Option key until
the Mac mini starts up."
But I got a Wi-Fi button only to chose and connect the local network. I connected to my network and I can't use this connection
becouse no icons.
Could you please help me?Your Mini (running 10.6.4) should have come with grey-colored install disks. Now is the time to put them into service. Turn on your computer so that there is power to accept disk #1 into the optical drive. Once the disk is in the drive, shut off the computer by holding the start button down until it powers off. Then turn it on this time holding down the "C" key to make the computer boot from the disk. The question mark that you saw indicates that the computer cannot find a bootable volume. This can happen due to corrupted system files or an improper shutdown etc. Once you are in the "Installer" you can choose Disk Utility from the Utilities Menu in the menu bar. Use it to repair the disk and to see if that can solve your trouble.
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I have a 2 ibook g4's this is the second one but I started it up and all that happens is the apple logo comes up on a white screen and then nothing happens what should I do?
Reinstall OS X.
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Trying to start my IMac click on my admin icon and enter the correct password but then flashes to white screen and back to sign in, my desktop wont come on ... help!!!!
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.
When the menubar appears select Terminal from the Utilities menu. Enter resetpassword at the prompt and press RETURN. Follow instructions in the dialog window that will appear.
Or see Reset a Mac OS X 10.7 Lion Password and OS X Lion- Apple ID can be used to reset your user account password. -
Hallo ,I have an IMAC 21.5. which does not start.When i press the power button i hear only beep with an interval of 4-5 seconds.Some times when i take off the RAMS and put them again then get a white screen and shows that i have to insert a bootable device.Then i bought OSX mountainlion on line and wrote it on a DVD and tried with a USB key board to start the DVD.But does not work.Please help me to get this imac work.
Thankyou in advance for your help.
TerrenceHey terremo,
Thanks for the question. From the information you provided, it sounds like the iMac is successfully turning on, however video is not displayed. These symptoms can usually be isolated further by the troubleshooting steps in this article:
Apple computers: Troubleshooting issues with video on internal or external displays
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1573
Thanks,
Matt M. -
My MacBook Pro 13 won't start has white screen and beeps
I used my MacBook pro lastnight and worked fine. Tried to turn it on this morning and it won't start. Does sound like it is going to then before login screen shows ur goes to a solid white screen and beeps every 7 seconds. Need help school is about to start again.
Check this out.
I think you have bad RAM, so either you've recently put in new RAM, knocked some RAM loose from the socket (really hard to do), or the RAM went bad (maybe).
You might need to see a real tech.
Upon further review, I think your MBP has a serious problem. You need to take it to an Apple Store for repair. If you bought it within the last 12 months, you will be able to get warranty service, as long as you're not at fault. -
My macbook pro won't start up. I get the white screen and the grey apple icon the spinning wheel......and it doesn't change !
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. -
20" Imac has white screen and freezes at start-up
my 20" imac will not start....help...All I get is a white screen and tone at start-up then it stays white. I tried hooking up a bootable firewire drive and pressing the alt/option key at start up nothing. I also tried the command/option/p/r at start up, it will reboot to the same screen. I also tried running the hardware diagnostics at start-up...no response. Computer was purchased on Nov .4 2007, warrenty just expired.
Help......Please....I had the exact same problem today. My iMac 20" (iMac 8,1) would't boot any more, staying stuck on a white screen immediately after the normal start-up chime. Nothing worked (no safe mode, no DVD boot, no disk selection icon when starting with alt pressed, no Apple hardware test, no parameter RAM reset, power management chip reset had no effect, no verbose mode, not even open firmware).
I browsed the forums, but what I found didn't help, so I was about to stop trying and have it fixed by Apple. But my son told me he had noticed that after "a long time" (he's 4...), a folder with a flashing ? would appear. I figured that wouldn't happen in case of a severe hardware failure, so I tried one last thing: I hooked up an old PowerBook in target disk mode via Firewire and restarted the iMac. I tried several times (with and without alt pressed), but nothing happened (when pressing alt, a functional mouse pointer would appear, though).
Then I restarted a last time and left the iMac sit there on its white screen for about 20 minutes... and that's when the miracle happened: it finally booted off the target-disk mode PowerBook's system!
I ran Disk Utility, which saw the iMac internal HD as disk2s0 (or something like that), and launched the disk repair process. After about three error-ridden verify-repair cycles, the green ok message finally appeared and the volume mounted as if nothing had happened. I rebooted off the internal disk without a glitch, and I still have to find damaged or lost files.
I guess I was lucky that my HD problem was benign enough to be cured by Disk Utility. But even if that had not been the case, at least I'd have known that the HD failed, and maybe I could have saved some files using recovery software. Whatever the case, if you've got an external bootable drive, it's definitely worth trying before handing your iMac over for (usually horribly expensive) repairs.
Good luck! -
Most of the time when I turn on the Mac I get the white screen and question mark appear. Sometimes it will turn on and work. But often the coloured spinning wheel starts up especially after trying to use iphoto it freezes and a couple of times the screen has then gone black. The computer seemed pretty warm yesterday when this happened.
Any suggestions of what I should do to fix it would be greatly appreciated.
KateSee this on the question mark when you start up: http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1440?viewlocale=en_US
See this on the spinning beach ball: http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/sbbod.html -
My Ipod touch is acting very annoying. When i press the sleep/wake button to turn it on it just turns on with the apple logo and stays there. The screen will then blink white occasionally and the process will start again. Once when it turned white. i pressed the power and home buttons at the same time and then the above process continued.
Sounds like your iPhones software may be corrupt. Try placing the iPhone into recovery mode. To do this, follow the steps in this article:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1808
Hope this helps
- Greg -
Hi guys i have an macbook 13 late 2007 and does not work when i start it up all u can see is blank white screen and after that its keep bepping high peech tone 3 times i was thinking the hard drive but im not too sure please guys help.
Try to reset the PRAM first then go from there.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1379 -
Macbook Air starts with a white screen and permanent "poing"-sound...
Macbook Air starts with a white screen and permanent "poing"-sound...
Tried SMU, PRAM, MMU resets, but nothing helps...
Thank you for your support.You need to take it in for service, it may be a stuck key or component failure.
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