Won't boot past grey start up screen.

All of a sudden my Itunes quit and wouldn't reopen so I thought a restart would be the fix. It turned back on but then got stuck on the grey loading screen. I tried all the hold down button combos and nothing worked. I am out of warranty and am a poor college student. Any advice? Please help.

Welcome to the Apple discussions.
You'll need the original OS X discs that came with your system. Insert the first one, and boot holding the C key down, which will boot from the OS X disc. From the menu bar, choose disk utility and repair permissions and repair disk. Any messages on repair disk? If it concludes successfully, reboot. Working now?
If not, you should run the Apple hardware test. Insert the OS X disc that has 'AHT Version x.x' in small print on the label. Reboot holding the option key down, choose Apple hardware test, click the arrow pointing to the right, and follow directions. If prompted, choose the extended test. Does this give you any messages? Note, if you have either of the TechTool programs, they can do the same testing.
Post back the results and we can help further from there.

Similar Messages

Please help, g5 won't go past grey "start-up" screen

Apologies if there is a better forum for this question:
G5 doesn't get past the light grey start-up screen now, and after a while the fans begin to slowly ramp up in speed until they reach maximum. Problems began when in Itunes the machine locked up totally, mouse wouldn't work nor keyboard. I have unplugged power cord and waited various amounts of time, reset the PRAM, and replace the system clock battery.
Not sure what to do next, Apple Service?
Thanks in advance!
Larry

Problem solved! Luckily this one didn't require a visit to a service center. Here's what worked.
At power on, launched open firmware (command option o and f)
ejected disc tray with "eject disc", put in OS X.
at this point I actually had to re-power up the computer because I then typed "mac-boot" and of course got the same problem.
On power up, held down C, joy of joys machine booted from disc!
Opened disk utility and checked my boot volume for errors, tested okay.
Checked the logs and found unusual "bootsrap....unkown error code".
figured, well i've gone this far, repaired disc permissions as well, found quite a few permission errors (had been a while since I last repaired).
Closed disk utility and restarted from boot volume.
TA-DA!
At some point, I reset the PMU with a button push on the inside of the machine, which didn't apparently do anything, bacause the machine didn't boot after i did that.
I also had replaced the system clock battery, which of course didn't fix the problem, but owing to the fact that I had experience several clock type errors previously, I most certainly needed to replace it anyway. Thanks to all who responded, especially Dale for pointing me in the direction of Mac 101 and open firmware.

MBP won't boot past grey spinning gear screen

I tried to turn on my computer the other day, it turns out it wont boot up past the grey spinning gear screen.
First thing I did was reboot from SL install disk, I ran disk utility and tried to verify and repair my HD, both came back with errors... uh oh
I then tried to back up the hard drive by creating a new disk image of my HD and placing it on my USB external, came up with and I/O error... oh sh*t
I tried reinstalling snow leopard and it could not be installed... F*CK!
I tried starting it up single single user mode to see what was happening, turns out it get to the line "dis0s2: I/O error blah blah blah" and then keeps iterating it indefinalty, leading me to believe my hard drive is dead or dying.
so now for the question:
Is it still possible to backup my hard drive in this state? I know, I know, should've been backing it up all along but I'm stupid and didn't. I don't really care about my user setting or anything like that but I use this computer for college and have tons of documents on it that I need.
Also my applecare has expired so i would like to stay away from those genious bartenders.
Any suggestions?

If you have access to another Mac with Firewire then you can connect the two via Firewire cable. You can then attempt to boot your computer into Target Disk Mode. If that's successful then boot the other computer normally. If your drive is accessible it will appear on the Desktop of the other computer. It may then be possible to copy your files if the drive is at all intact. If not you may be able to use recovery software to restore your files. If the drive is not accessible even to recovery software, then you would have to send it to a business that specializes in drive recovery. These are very expensive alternatives - $500 minimally.
You can also try third-party disk repair software. The best of the lot is Disk Warrior, but if the drive has a hardware failure preventing access, then I'm afraid there's little you can do to recover your files beyond sending the drive to a data recovery service.
General File Recovery
If you stop using the drive it's possible to recover deleted files that have not been overwritten with recovery software such as Data Rescue II, File Salvage or TechTool Pro. Each of the preceding come on bootable CDs to enable usage without risk of writing more data to the hard drive.
The longer the hard drive remains in use and data are written to it, the greater the risk your deleted files will be overwritten.
Also visit The XLab FAQs and read the FAQ on Data Recovery.

Mac book pro won't go past grey start up screen

Went to turn on my Mac book pro 2011 or 2012 and it went to the grey loading screen with an apple, spinning gear and a loading bar. Once the loading bar completes my Mac book just turns off. It just keeps doing this, I tried to do a safe boot, but once it was done that it turned off and continues to do this circle of grey screen loading than turning off. Please help!

Hi ANaomi,
If you are having issues with your MacBook Pro not booting past a grey screen, and/or shutting down during the boot process, you may find the troubleshooting steps outlined in the following articles helpful:
Mac OS X: Gray screen appears during startup
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2570
OS X: When your computer spontaneously restarts or displays "Your computer restarted because of a problem."
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT200553
Regards,
- Brenden

Computer won't get past grey start up screen after install

Okay - I made a stupid mistake. I started the installation process - it was taking a very long time so I decided to quit and free up some more space before trying again. When I quit it wouldn't let me go back to my old version - I think I was on 10.3.9. So I installed 10.5 - and it said it installed successfully. I restarted and the computer won't get past the gray screen. I let it go for 30 minute the first time, 15 the second time, and about an hour the third time. Won't go any futher. Any ideas?
Thanks,
-Brad

same thing happened to me (you need to read all the posts as someone will have had the exact problem as you).
any way,
1. re-installl 10.5 from your leopard disk. (put disk in restart holding c key down etc). do not install OS just yet.
2. run disk utility (it does not hurt-click on options button)- repair both disk and permissions
3. run 10.5 installer (archive)
4. download 10.5.2 combo from apple (that is if you can easily find it!)
5. run that install
6 it will restart two or so times
7. total time is 20 mins or so. most of that is in repairs form #2.

My iMac won't boot past grey screen and it didn't come with a os x disk

My iMac won't boot past grey screen with apple. I've tried booting in safemode but that didn't help and my iMac didn't come with a os x disk.

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.”
b. 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.
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
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 either of the techniques in Steps 1b and 1c 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 Fusion Drive or 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 10. 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
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 10
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 11
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 12
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.

My Macbook won't get past the start up screen

Hey everyone
I have a Macbook that's about 3 years old. I did an software update yesterday and since doing it the computer won't get past the start up screen. There's just the Apple logo and the rolling ball thing. It's been stuck there for around 30mins and nothing changes. I'm not really sure what has happened but I was wondering if there is any way I can fix it.
Thanks for your time.
Bevan

Hey Lyssa
I don't have a back up but I'm not to worried about that as it's my traveling computer and I only use it for the web and some word processing.
I don't have the disks with me right now as I'm away from home. I'm not sure what I had updated, I think there was a lot because I hadn't don't it in a long time.
If I can start it in safe mode what should I do?
Thanks.
Bevan

G4 won't boot past grey apple screen

Hi. I have been having the same issues with my G4 15". I'm frustrated. The whole thing started with stalling during applications. So I decided to reinstall my OS X 10.5. After reinstall, I copied my saved files from my "My Book" drive back to my hard drive. Stalling issues returned. I reinstalled again. still had some stalling issues, so I performed disk utilities. I repaired permissions. SMART status is verified. System still ran extremely slow. So, I followed directions on apple support for resetting the PRAM and NVRAM. After I did this, the computer won't boot past the grey apple screen. I have reset the PRAM and the NVRAM again. Still nothing. I rebooted up from OS install disk. I performed disk utilities repairing permissions and repairing HD. I did this for both my drive and the computers drive. I choose restart and again the grey apple screen. I have been trying to get this thing going for a week now. I'm near tears. Cornelius or anyone, can you help me? It says no errors are found, SMART is verified. But I can't get the computer to boot unless it is from the CD. Is the computer confused on where to boot from? Or is it shot? HELP ME PLEASE, before I play frisbee with my dear beloved mac!!!! It seems like this ALL started happening after I installed the update 10.5.8. I had ZERO problem prior to any software updates!!!

There have been report of some external drives/enclosures that do not work as a boot device. Not sure if the MyBook is in that category or not, just make sure that there is nothing else plugged into the Powerbook then try again.
Does the WD need its own power to be plugged into an AC power source? Try the other firewire port
I have one more question for ya... You were able to load OSX on this EHD using the OSX install disk in the Powerbook? And the installer saw the EHD with no problems?
If non of the above works try booting while holding down the x-key, this should force it to look for an OSX volume, not sure if it works the same on an EHD but worth a shot.

G5 won't boot past grey screen

G5 2.0 Dual will not boot past grey screen. Running 10.5.8 on an old maxtor 160gb drive, drive is available as a startup disc in StartUp disk in system preferences. But when it is chosen the machine shuts down in the usual manner then switches to the maxtor disk and only gets to the grey screen with the apple log no progress clock appears. Using disk utility from install disk reports that drive is ok, running techtool pro 4.6.2 reports the drive is fine and all file structures, volume structures and directories are fine. So of course i am keen to find out what the issue is and wether it can be resolved without resorting to a clean install. When booted from another internal drive the icon for the errant drive is visible and all files and folders are visible and readily accessable.
It would be great to get back to booting from this drive as it is the main drive I use and has so much more on it than the secondary drive.
Any help will be of immense use
Thank You

I assume you have already tried a PRAM reset. If so, then the following three items may yield a clue.
Number one thing to try is a Safe Boot by holding the shift key down at boot. You may have a something in the non-minimal Apple kext set that is causing the hang. (If it safe boots, you may have a problem in kext caches which can be cleared. See below.)
Second is to disconnect all peripherals except monitor, keyboard and mouse and see if something there is contributing to the hang.
Third is to use verbose boot (hold down cmd-V at boot until you see a black Unix terminal screen come up) and see where the system is hanging.
Clearing the kext Caches (if indicated)
This is probably easiest done booted from the other drive, so I'll describe that method.
Open the Maxtor's System folder, then open the Library folder and drag the following two files to the trash:
Extensions.kextcache
Extensions.mkext
Empty the trash.
Open a Terminal session from the Terminal application in the /Applications/Utilities folder.
Type cd followed by a space in the command line and then drag the icon for the Maxtor into the window, which will put a properly formatted Unix path into the command line, then press the return key. Type the following three commands
cd System <cr>
cd Library <cr>
sudo touch Extensions <cr>
then give your password when requested and close the terminal session. Select the Maxtor as the statrup drive in System Preferences and give it a go.

Powermac G4 (OS 10.4.11) won't boot past grey apple

1- My PowerMac G4 (running OS 10.4.11) won't boot past the grey screen with the apple. Any suggestions?

I found somewhere else how to hold down the mouse on starting, which opened the tray. I was able to startup with the disk, holding down the C and get to the Disk Utility window. Tried repairing the disk, but got this message:
Fist Aid failed:
Disk Utility stopped verifying "Macintosh HD" because the following error was encountered:
The underlying task reported failure on exit. <OK>
and in the info window it says,
"Verifying volume "Macintosh HD"
Checking HFS Plus volume.
Catalog file entry not found for extent
The volume needs to be repaired.
Volume check failed.
Error: The underlying task reported failure on exit (-9972)
1 volume checked
0 HFS volumes verified
1 volume failed verification
Sounds pretty ominous! Of course, the recommendation is that I backup everything , but how can I if I can't get to the desktop to back it up? (It hasn't had a lot of use for sometime, but is available as a film scanning station, and so that I can access scanned images on my iMac. I doubt that there is a whole lot on the drive that isn't backed up, but I would prefer to back it up for sure!)
Thank you again.

IMac (early 2008) won't boot past grey screen and has lines going vertical.

I have an early 2008 iMac that won't boot up past the grey apple screen. I've tried booting from the install CD to no avail and it also will not load my windows partition (boot camp). I've reset all the things I think I can reset and also tried starting in safe mode with no luck. Has anyone experienced this before and if so, how did you fix it?? I suppose I should note as well that the ram has been upgraded to 4gb (myself). It worked great for quite a while then I periodically got the lines along with a frozen screen but usually a restart fixed it. I'm up against a wall with it now and short of taking it in to the genius bar (closest one is almost 3 hours away) I don't know what else to do.
Any thoughts?
P.S. I've attached a picture of the lines. It gets to here and then freezes.

I suppose I should note too that when I try to boot from the CD, the screen dims and tells me to restart after a minute or so.

Help: iMac won't boot past Grey logo screen with spinning lines

My fiance's iMac (intel based) running snow leopard (upgraded from Leopard a couple months ago) will not boot past the logo and spinning lines. This started after at attempting to restart after installing updates to Safari and iTunes.
When booting in verbose mode I get these lines:
Launchctl: Dubious permissions on file (skipping): /Library/LaunchDaemons
Launchctl: Dubious permissions on file (skipping): /System/Library/LaunchDaemons
Launchctl: Dubious permissions on file (skipping): /etc/mach_inid.d
AppleYukon2: Marvel Yukon Gigabit Adapter 88E8055 Singleport Copper SA
AppleYukon2: RxRingSize <= 1024, TxRingSize 256. RXMAXLE 1024, TXMAXLE 768, STMAXLE 3328
Then it just stops and does nothing.
I've unplugged everything except the apple keyboard and mouse. Ethernet is not connected.
She doesn't seem to have the original disc that came with the computer, but I do have the Snow Leopard upgrade disc.
What do I do? It won't boot in Safe Mode either, freezes at the same spot.
I'm not a particularly savvy Mac user as I recently embraced them when we moved in together.
Any help would be greatly appreciated

Repairing permission is not the first answer. Should try to run fsck and reset the PRAM
Start up your computer in single-user mode to reach the command line.
Note: If necessary, perform a forced restart as described in the Emergency Troubleshooting Handbook that came with your computer. On desktop computers, you can do this by pressing the reset/interrupt button (if there is one) or holding down the power button for several seconds. On portable computers, simultaneously press the Command-Control-power keys. If your portable computer doesn't restart with this method, you may need to reset the Power Manager.
At the command-line prompt type:
/sbin/fsck -fy
Press Return. fsck will go through five "phases" and then return information about your disk's use and fragmentation. Once it finishes, it'll display this message if no issue is found:
** The volume (name_of_volume) appears to be OKIf fsck found issues and has altered, repaired, or fixed anything, it will display this message:
***** FILE SYSTEM WAS MODIFIED *****
Important: If this message appears, repeat the fsck command you typed in step 2 until fsck tells you that your volume appears to be OK (first-pass repairs may uncover additional issues, so this is a normal thing to do).
When fsck reports that your volume is OK, typerebootat the prompt and then press Return.
Your computer should start up normally and allow you to log in.
Resetting PRAM and NVRAM
Shut down the computer.
Locate the following keys on the keyboard: Command, Option, P, and R. You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously in step 4.
Turn on the computer.
Press and hold the Command-Option-P-R keys. You must press this key combination before the gray screen appears.
Hold the keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the startup sound for the second time.
Release the keys.
Your computer's PRAM and the NVRAM are reset to the default values. The clock settings may be reset to a default date on some models.

Macbook Pro won't boot past grey screen with Apple logo and then shuts off

This is a long story...
This morning, I would turn it on and it'd go to the grey screen with the Apple logo for a few seconds and then go to the icon that is a circle with a line through it. After reading online, I was able to boot it up in Safe Mode. I messed around a little bit in system preferences thinking I could fix it on my own, not really knowing what I was doing (I'm a *******). I went to Startup Disk in Preferences. I chose the MAC OS X, xxxx and then clicked the lock to prevent further changes and then clicked restart.
Now when I turn on the macbook, it goes to the grey screen with the Apple logo for at least two-three minutes and then just shuts off. Won't boot into Safe Mode now. Please help. I already tried the Command-Option-P-R keys trick like five times.

If you have a full retail DVD for 10.6 you can boot from that by holding the C key during startup...but you will then be in install mode if that is what you want to do. At least go ahead and see if it will boot ok from the 10.6 disk and then you can decide what you want to do further.
Apple does not have 10.5 for sale anymore from what some other users have said on here so if you want to go that route you will have to find a copy for sale such as from eBay or one of the Mac resellers.
Before taking the machine to someone, try booting from 10.6 and see if that works...that way you can narrow down problems the machine may be having.

Won't boot past grey logo screen

I have a refurb dual 2Ghz powermac G5. New in March 2006.
It will not boot past the grey logo screen. I have tried all of the regular stuff: reset pram, reset nvram, reset-all, pushed the PMU button, etc, unplugged; reset ram; removed and reset ALL cards/memory. And nothing.
When trying to boot in single user mode, it freezes when almost getting to a prompt.
I CAN boot to open firmware. Though booting from the OS X install cd yields the computer to freeze at the grey logo screen.
I am dual booting Gentoo Linux, and the curious thing is that if I select Gentoo at boot, the computer freezes when loading the kernel for Linux.
So it's not an OSX thing it seems like; probably hardware.
I ran the 40min extended apple hardware test from the PMG5 OS X disc which passed everything with NO errors.
I then booted the disc in target mode with my iBook, and repaired permissions: it said was all okay, nothing to fix.
I removed the battery, and placed it back in. The battery tests fine with my voltage meter-tester.
I am a PC technician, but am stumped in trying to get my powermac to boot. Let me know if you have any other ideas. Thanks,
Dual 2Ghz Powermac G5
1.5GB ram
stock Radeon 9600
stock 160GB hard drive
airport card
Dual 2Ghz Powermac G5 Mac OS X (10.4.6) Logic 7.2 Gentoo PPC

Okay my powermac is at the local mac repair center. All hardware checked out okay; the tech is unsure of the issue. He's pulling parts and going to see what part is failing. He thinks the power supply is freaking out and sending out too much voltage, causing the computer to freeze at boot.

G5 ALS Won't Boot Past Grey Screen...Bad Logic Board?

Hi all-
I did a quick search, and found various answers, but none specific to my situation, so below, please find my tale of woe, and I appreciate in advance any advice you folks could provide:
I have a G5, 2.0GHz, 20" iMac (upgraded to Leopard) that recently stopped booting past the grey screen/ chime. Somewhat irked, I did some trouble shooting to include the following:
1 - Reset SMU
2 - Zapped PRAM
3 - Run Apple Hardware Test (all tests passed)
4 - Repaired hard drive by booting to the install CD ... it returned errors that were not fixable, but since the log is on the computer that crashed, I don't have the errors to post here
5 - After that repair, the computer booted, so I ran disk utility again, repaired permissions successfully, verified the hard disk via S.M.A.R.T. (arguably, not the most reliable indicator of hard disk life).
6 - Just to be on the safe side, I did an Archive and Install.
All that done, I was able to use the computer for 2 days, and this morning, I woke up to find the fans a-blazin' and the computer non-responsive...I rebooted to...you guessed it!...a grey screen.
Luckily for me, my memory (akin to a steel trap!) served me well...I had the power supply changed two months ago under the repair extension program for my model iMac (bulging capacitors)..but they did NOT replace the logic board.
If you have made it this far, thank you for reading, I am building to my crescendo....
Being a slightly balding fellow, I have very little hair left to pull out here, so in desperation and with my recent power supply repair in mind, I pulled the back off of my beloved iMac (my very first Mac!) to reveal a bulging capacitor on the +logic board+.
My question: Could my symptoms be related to the logic board (remember the AHT passed), or might it be related to a bad hard drive (remember the S.M.A.R.T. status was verified)? Any troubleshooting steps I may have missed? I am going to bring it to my local Apple store, but wanted to know if there are any other ideas out there for me to try before making the 1.5+ hour trek south to a Mall.
Thank you all in advance for any advice you may have!
Best,
jason

Not only do you have a hardware problem, you should call Apple, tell them that you had the power supply replaced two months ago (you are within the 90 day warranty period), and ask that they replace the motherboard as well, since the previous repair didn't work.

Won't boot past grey start up screen.

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