Won't start up, won't eject CD. I'm scared

After reading related topics I'm assuming the worst.
I was installing mouse software, that asked me to restart. That's the last thing my computer said to me.
I get the fun blank grey screen that is mentioned in a few of the discussions.
Can't start from Original Software as the mouse software disc is in the drive, and will not come out.
Tried holding mouse button down during start up.
I've tried starting in safe mode (held down shift key after start up sound),
tried holding option key, get picture of harddrive, but it doesn't do anything when I click.
Tried command, option, P,R get lots of start up sound, no start up.
I've unplugged the mouse in question, and tried start up again. Not a thing.
I'm fearing Hard Drive failure. Is that possible, I've had the computer for a week. Nothing is backed up. Even worse, I just completed transfering all sorts of files jpg's and Mp3's, from my old lap top, and reformatted my old lap top.
To think, next week's plan was to back it all up on DVD. I feel like a sucker and an idiot. Been a Mac User for 15 years never a problem, but buy the new hyped Intel Super Mac Mini, within a week its dead.
And if it is Hard Drive Failure does anyone know if data recovery is possible. Alot of memories there.
Thanks
Very Fearful
Mac Mini Intel Duo Mac OS X (10.4.7)

Well Apple Suupport is still tops in every book.
The fix for my problem was so ridiculously simple, I can't beleived it worked.
But somehow the mouse install disk (stuck in the drive) was disrupting the start up. I was instructed to take the batteries out of the wireless mouse.
IT WORKED.
Not sure if anyone that's had this similar problem is using wireless devices, but take the batteries out of them, use plug in devices to work around the problem, eject the CD and if you luck out like I did, it'll work
Thanks Apple my faith is renewed

Similar Messages

Iphoto won't start. photo won't start because I need Library Upgrader? where can I get I as don't have the original disc.

iphoto won't start because I need Library Upgrader? where can I get I as don't have the original disc.

Sounds like you have a damaged library7 To check launch iPhoto with the Option key held down and try to create a test library. If you can import a few photos. If that works then your original library is damaged so make a temporary, duplicate copy of the library and try the three fixes below in order as needed:
Fix #1
1 - delete the iPhoto preference file, com.apple.iPhoto.plist, that resides in your Home/Library/Preferences folder.
2 - delete iPhoto's cache files that are located in your Home/Library/Caches/com.apple.iPhoto folder.
3 - reboot, launch iPhoto and try again.
NOTE: If you're moved your library from its default location in your Home/Pictures folder you will have to point iPhoto to its new location when you next open iPhoto by holding the the Option key. You'll also have to reset the iPhoto's various preferences.
Fix #2
Launch iPhoto with the Command+Option keys depressed and follow the instructions to rebuild the library.
Select the options identified in the screenshot.
Fix #3
Using iPhoto Library Manager to Rebuild Your iPhoto Library
Download iPhoto Library Manager and launch.
Click on the Add Library button, navigate to your Home/Pictures folder and select your iPhoto Library folder.
Now that the library is listed in the left hand pane of iPLM, click on your library and go to the File ➙ Rebuild Library menu option
In the next window name the new library and select the location you want it to be placed.
Click on the Create button.
Note: This creates a new library based on the LIbraryData.xml file in the library and will recover Events, Albums, keywords, titles and comments but not books, calendars or slideshows. The original library will be left untouched for further attempts at fixing the problem or in case the rebuilt library is not satisfactory.
OT

Won't start up, won't eject

I put a DVD into my mini and now it won't get past the Starting Mac OS X startup screen. I suspect the DVD is the culprit since I didn't have a problem before that sucker was in there, but since it won't get to the desktop I can't eject!
I've done the thing where I hold the mouse down when closing down and it does nothing. I've tried holding the option key down when starting up and it shows me the hard drive and the right arrow, both of which I click (the hard drive icon has a blue X in it...don't know if that's bad) and it still doesn't get past that startup screen.
How do I get my mini back!

high4tower, try holding down the mouse button (or left mouse button if you have a mighty mouse or two button mouse) when you Start Up, not when shutting down.
If that does not work, check out this article:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=Mac/10.4/en/mh1750.html
Your signature does not say if you have an Intel or PPC computer. The open firmware option will not work on an intel machine. So, if the other options in the article do not work you can also try to eject the disc by starting your mac and holding down the option key (alt). A boot menu should appear. Instead of clicking on the HD icon or arrow try ejecting the disc using the eject button on the right top of your keyboard.

Mini won't start + CD won't eject

My fathers Mac Mini (old, not intel version) isn't starting up, only flashing a question mark. We have tried a lot of normal trouble shooting steps but nothing helps. Just a week ago or so it functioned perfectly (as far as I know). It's not connected to the internet, so no virus, malware or any strange software can disturb it.
Start up with system-CD and pressing C, but this didn't help, only resulted in the CD now being stuck. It won't come out!
Started up holding the mouse button - nothing. (Also tested this with a genuin apple mouse connected directly to the mini - no cd popping out.)
Started up pressing alt/option, there are two arrows on the screen but no system to choose from.
started up pressing command s (for single user mode) - nothing.
started up pressing command d (for hardware test on the CD stuck inside) - nothing.
started up with command - option - shift - delete = nothing.
Resetting PRAM and later on resetting PMU - nothing.
But when I tried command - option - O - F, Open firmware - that succeded!
I wrote "eject cd", but after a while I got the answer "can't OPEN the EJECT device". I tried some other possible open firmware commands but nothing really helped the problems. (We didn't find any good source for info about what to write in open firmware on a mac.)
Tried starting up holding T (to see if the mini would search for firewire devices) (the screen was supposed to show a firewire logo or something) but nothing happened.
I think I now have told you most everything we tried. Many of the experiments above resulted in the flashing question mark, but sometimes we just tried again...all the waiting was quite a bit boooring...:-)
The screen works, the keyboard works, the mouse works. The mini doesn't work and there's a CD stuck inside. Any help or useful suggestions are very welcome. My father will check tomorrow if there is any warranty left so I won't open the mini up myself (rather not at all, I think, it's not as easy as opening a Mac Pro...:-).
MacMini (not intel), 10.3.x Mac OS X (10.3)

Does your mini make any sounds indicating it is trying to eject the CD when you hold the button down on a connected USB mouse?
If not, then it likely needs the attention of someone at an Apple store or possibly Mac user group if there's one local to you. More than likely given what you've tried, it'll need opening up and the CD removed manually.
If it does make any sounds that initially suggest it is trying to eject the disk, then it sounds like the slot in the case and the drive itself are slightly misaligned, and that as the CD is starting to eject, it is fouling against the inside of the case, and thus being pulled back in. If that is so, you may find that a thin item like a business card can be inserted in the slot about 1/2 inch, either in upward or downward direction (sometimes necessary to try both in order to determine if the disk is fouling above or below the slot) and used to help guide the CD out.
The fact you can boot into open firmware is a reasonably good sign, but the failure of the optical drive to read an original install disk and the failure to boot from an installed copy of MacOS on the HD, may also indicate serious failure.

Powerbook G4 won't start up, can't eject DVD

While watching a bootleg DVD, I got a black error box telling me in at least languages to restart my computer (I had never seen this error format before). I hit the power button, and instead of the normal rebooting sound, I heard 3 tones, followed by the sound of the DVD spinning, and only a black screen. The white power light on the front edge of the computer blinks 4 times rapidly, then stays on for about 10 seconds, then blinks again.
I have tried restarting many times, and only once got the normal Apple chime. I tried several of the tricks to eject the disk (holding down the mousepad, hitting the eject button).
Any advice is welcome!

There should be a button just inside the drive slot on the right hand side you can use a paper clip to manually eject the Disk....
Only on the original Ti PowerBooks. Later 'books have no manual eject function and fishing with a paperclip could do serious damage.

Playbook won't start and won't keep charge

I am having problems with getting my Playbook to charge. I have used 2 different cords that worked before. I've tried the 2 minute plug in and unplug which got it up to 30% then wouldn't go any further. I was able to start it yesterday with the cord plugged in but after 10 minutes (approx) it turned itself off. This morning I can get the startup screen but when it reachs the point where it should be fully up, it quits. This happens when unplugged or plugged in. I've tried holding the power button and >ll button andi get a red light for a few seconds then once it goes out I push the power button where it gets to the point previously mentioned.
Any suggestions as to what to do next?
Any help would be appreciated

@kc_bbforum
Thanks for posting your stacked charging method. I did this, but only got up to the part where:
the "'red battery charging icon with a lightning symbol' appeared in the middle of the playbook."
After this part, my playbook (while still connected to my charger, which is in turn connected to my power bar, which is plugged into the wall socket) would cycle through to following sequence:
1. The red LED light would go on for about 15 seconds, then go off
2. For about 6 seconds, everything would be off, then
3. the 'red battery charging icon with a lightning symbol' would appear on-screen for about 1 second, then go off
4. then everything would be off for a split second, then loop back to event 1 above
This cycle has been going on for over an hour at time of this posting with no change.
If someone has experienced this loop and gotten out, please let me know how you did it. Thanks!

Macbook Pro won't start up, won't recognize Macintosh HD, and can't repair disk.

Since the beginning of April 2014 my mid-2012 11" Macbook Pro was experiencing poor performance - user interface was lagging during simple tasks like clicking, typing, and booting up. These bouts of lag, where the spinning beach ball would appear for 20 seconds or more, would render my computer unusuable. Additionally, in my console, I would receive messages about the computer being "forcibly disabling/enabling UI by application "XXXXXX").
I tried different remedies like deleting third-party software, uninstalling Chrome and Firefox, and emptying caches for Safari. None of these worked.
I then went to several different discussions on this site and found a few solutions, one of which needed me to restore permissions to my font book because some of my fonts were corrupt (in my Console I was receiving messages about fonts not loading/renaming themselves, messages other people had received and fixed). In the midst of restoring my font book using Base OS X fonts (I was replacing the fonts in my Macintosh HD with fonts from Base OS X, a task that required me emptying my current font folder), my computer crashed.
Ever since that time my computer will no longer boot up and goes directly to a flashing folder with a question mark. I tried booting in safe mode (failed), tried to repair my hard drive (hard drive, Macintosh HD, does NOT appear in my disk utility), cannot redownload OS X 10.7 over the internet (Macintosh HD is not an option for where to load OS to), and I did not back up my computer using time machine. The files on the computer were mostly emails and smaller school projects, all dispensible.
I now do not know what to do. Any help?

As far as I am aware there were no other issues. The suddenly slower speed of my computer beginning in late-March and early-April came out of nowhere, and my "fixes" of removing software and emptying caches were temporary remedies.
I think I should also include another piece of information - I discovered early on that if I squeezed the bottom of my Macbook Pro (literally squeeze) right beneath the CD drive, i.e. under the bottom-left corner of my Macbook, the computer would suddenly "work again" and complete all the tasks it was lagging on. Additionally, my kernel_task under Terminal had exceedingly high numbers for "Idle Wake Ups" - consistenly above 500, sometimes even reaching 100,000.

G4 Won't start. Won't boot from any disc (OS 9 or Linux).

I recently acquired a Power Mac G4 from my school, as they did not need it. The computer was a donation to the school, so the hard drive was removed and destroyed.
I found a hard drive for it, and hooked it in and it seems to be running fine. However no matter what I do, it will not boot from the disc drive. I have tried holding "C" while it's booting, and the screen goes white for a little while,and then it switches to the flashing Finder icon and question mark. I have also tried the Startup Manager, but it doesn't show that there are any discs whatsoever. I looked around and found that the Open Firemware may help. But I can't get into it using the CommandShift+OF command. In fact, the only time i got into it, was when I mashed a bunch of keys at once, and it came up. But that hasn't worked again.
Also (I dont know if this matters) but when I press the Power button, I don't hear that ever so wonderful, startup sound. And Ive tried to boot from the internal disc drive, and an external Sony drive.

The Mirrored Drive Doors G4 models (and possibly the quicksilver 2002 models) are unable to boot OS 9 from ANY "Full Retail" CD. These Macs came out after the last versions of "Full Retail" 9.2.1 were issued, and if you bought one of these advanced G4s new, it came with a set of discs that contained a customized 9.2.1, so no new "Full Retail" OS 9 CDs were needed.
If you could post the CPU speed (check the label on the back), readers can figure out exactly which Mac you have and determine how much trouble you are in.
Can you get a Mac OS X 10.2 or 10.3 "Full Retail" CD from the school? They should have trunks full, and think of them as antiques.
Message was edited by: Grant Bennet-Alder

Blackberry Torch 9860 won't start

Type of phone: Blackberry Torch 9860
Problem:
I had a software problem, phone got stuck, and after restart it gave a jvm error. I tried to fix it through Blackberry Desktop Manger. During the fix it stopped, and i got a white screen on the phone. After disconnecting it from USB, and putting it back in, the phone didn't do anything anymore.
It won't start, it won't recognize, it won't load the battery, no symbols appear when connecting it through USB (even with batt. out). It looks completely dead.
My guess is that the mainchip software corrupted during the fix, and this is causing the problem.
My question, can i fix it, when the computer cannot recognize the phone, and cannot turn it on in any way?
I tried to find a solution for this problem, but there aren't many cases related to my specific details.
Help would really be appreciated at this point!
Thank you!

Given that result, I recommend a clean OS reload. The simplest way is to, on a PC (you cannot do this on MAC):
1) Make sure you have a current and complete backup of your BB...you can find complete instructions via the link in my auto-sig below.
2) Uninstall, from your PC, any BB OS packages
3) Make sure you have the BB Desktop Software already installed
http://us.blackberry.com/software/desktop.html
4) Download and install, to your PC, the BB OS package you desire:
http://us.blackberry.com/support/downloads/download_sites.jsp
It is sorted first by carrier -- so if all you want are the OS levels your carrier supports, your search will be quick. However, some carriers are much slower than others to release updates. To truly seek out the most up-to-date OS package for your BB, you must dig through and find all carriers that support your specific model BB, and then compare the OS levels that they support.
5) Delete, on your PC, all copies of VENDOR.XML...there will be at least one, and perhaps 2, and they will be located in or similarly to (it changes based on your Windows version) these folders:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Research In Motion\AppLoader
C:\Users\(your Windows UserName)\AppData\Roaming\Research In Motion\BlackBerry\Loader XML
6a) For changing your installed BB OS level (upgrade or downgrade), you can launch the Desktop Software and connect your BB...the software should offer you the OS package you installed to your PC.
6b) Or, for reloading your currently installed BB OS level as well as for changing it, bypass the Desktop Software and use LOADER.EXE directly, by proceeding to step 2 in this process:
http://supportforums.blackberry.com/t5/BlackBerry-Device-Software/How-To-Reload-Your-Operating-Syste...
Note that while written for "reload" and the Storm, it can be used to upgrade, downgrade, or reload any BB device model -- it all depends on the OS package you download and install to your PC.
If, during the processes of 6a or 6b, your BB presents a "507" error, simply unplug the USB cord from the BB and re-insert it...don't do anything else...this should allow the install to continue.
You may also want to investigate the use of BBSAK (bbsak.org) to perform the wipe it is capable of.
You may also want to try the "Bare Bones OS Reload Procedure" to attempt to narrow down the precise causal item:
Load your OS "bare bones"...if anything is optional, do not install it.
If the behavior presents immediately, then try a different OS with step 1
If the behavior does not immediately present, then run for as long as it takes for you to be sure that the behavior will not present.
Add one thing -- no matter how tempting, just one.
If the behavior does not present immediately, then again run for long enough to be sure it will not have the same problem
Repeat steps 4 and 5 until all things are loaded or the behavior presents
When the behavior presents, you know the culprit...the last thing you loaded.
If the behavior does not re-present, then you know that either step 1 or 2 cured it.
If the behavior presents no matter what, then you likely have a hardware level issue for which no amount of OS or software can cure.
You may also need the use of these tricks:
KB10144 How to force the detection of the BlackBerry smartphone using Application Loader
KB27956 How to recover a BlackBerry smartphone from any state
http://crackberry.com/blackberry-101-lecture-12-how-reload-operating-system-nuked-blackberry
If you are on MAC, you are limited to only your carriers sanctioned OS packages...but can still use any levels that they currently sanction. See this procedure:
KB19915How to perform a clean reload of BlackBerry smartphone application software using BlackBerry Desktop Software
Good luck and let us know!
Occam's Razor nearly always applies when troubleshooting technology issues!
If anyone has been helpful to you, please show your appreciation by clicking the button inside of their post. Please click here and read, along with the threads to which it links, for helpful information to guide you as you proceed. I always recommend that you treat your BlackBerry like any other computing device, including using a regular backup schedule...click here for an article with instructions.
Join our BBM Channels
BSCF General Channel
PIN: C0001B7B4 Display/Scan Bar Code
Knowledge Base Updates
PIN: C0005A9AA Display/Scan Bar Code

Mac Mini won't start and constantly makes disc ejecting noise

My Mac Mini won't start. It was working fine, then just locked up and won't start again. When I push the start button it just makes this repeated disc ejecting noise from the DVD drive. It doesn't make the chime noise or display anything on the monitor. I've disconnected the optical drive, but it didn't help. Then it just doesn't start at all. I thought that if I would disconnect the optical drive, that it would ignore it and just boot off the hard drive, but nothing happened. The power light comes on. Then, if I hold down the power button for 10 seconds it shuts down. The fan operates. It just never attempts to boot up. I can't put in a system DVD because the optical drive is just in eternal eject mode.
If you have any suggestions let me know. Thanks.

I have the same situation.
I think the drive thinks it has a disc to eject or part of the mechanism is stuck and can't return to it's resting position. I was going to disconnect as you tried but now I think I'll try to disassemble the drive to see if there might be some debris jamming things up.
Please let me know if you solve the problem.

How do you eject a CD stuck in the drive from an imac that won't start?

My Imac won't start. Its stuck on the Apple screen with the little gear going around. Other discussion have suggesting trying to boot directly from the install disc, which I want to try but can't because when it crashed there was a DVD in the optical drive and I now cannot remove it.
Any suggestion on how to remove it as a first step to fixing the start up screen issue!

Here is a collection of ways to eject a stuck CD/DVD from your Mac.
How to Eject CDs or DVDs From Your Mac Even When They Are Stuck
Tom
http://macs.about.com

Mac Pro 2,1 won't start up

I just ran the Apogee Duet installer from a new eBay purchase. The install CD was homemade. Following the instruction manual, I inserted the CD and when it finished the installation, the manual simply said to click "restart" to finish the installation, which I did. All the while I was thinking, they did not say to remove the disk. So, the Mac shuts down and won't restart bc the disk is still in the drive. I researched how to get the disk out of the drive, when the computer won't start up, and chose the method of holding down the button on the mouse after you push the power button on the Mac, when the computer starts up, eject the CD. This worked. I then played some songs through the Apogee converters using iTunes and then used Logic Pro 9 to see in the unit worked and it did. The computer ran great for a good 20 mins or so. Dinner time. I shut down the Mac and now it won't start up again. The light above the power button just flashes. Any ideas how to get it to start? Please help. Thank you.
Mac Pro 2,1
2x Quad Core Intel Xeon
2.66 Ghz
16 GB RAM
2 HD's
Logic Pro 9.1.8

The light above the power button just flashes.
That indicates, "Not enough RAM is working properly to start up".
It is not a cause and effect with your new Installation, just a coincidence. It could have happened anytime.

Powerbook G4 won't start up

OK, I know others have had a similar issue but I haven't been able to find a solution to this and desperately need some help. My Powerbook G4 with Leopard seems to be dead and I haven't backed it up recently (yes. I know). Yesterday I installed the latest security update, this seemed to go fine other than causing an apparent problem with spell checker. Then I tried to shut it down in the usual way and it didn't work, just stuck on the desktop screen with the whirly grey wheel. After an hour I gave up and held down the power button. Now of course it won't start up, just gives me a grey screen and the grey wheel again. I have inserted the Leopard install disk and used disk utility to repair the hard drive. It said it "appears to be OK". It still won't start though. And I can't even eject the install disk now. Can anyone help??????

Welcome to Apple Discussions!
First off, this is how to eject:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT2179
If this doesn't work, your machine may need a new clock battery from an authorized service center.
Furthermore, you will need to recover your data once you are able to boot off the optical drive, either using Target Disk Mode:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1661
Or Startup Manager:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1310
with a data recovery program such as Prosoft Data Rescue II, Subrosasoft Filesalvage, or Boomerang, Boomerang. These must be purchased from an Apple software reseller.
Once your data is recovered, we can try to repair the hard drive with Alsoft Disk Warrior.
If that doesn't work, you may need to replace your hard drive.
In the future never install new software without backing your data*:
http://www.macmaps.com/backup.html
- * Links to my pages may give me compensation.
Message was edited by: a brody

IMac Help - won't start up in OSX, starts to text...

I was wiping my hard drive so that I could give away my old 20" white iMac G5. It worked fine the first time using the OSX Installation disk, but someone told me I should do it several times to be sure to remove all the data in the binary. So I did it a second time and that worked fine too. I decided to do it a third time so that I could put the new person's info onto the computer and I got a disk error during the re-install. It asked me if I wanted to "try again" so I clicked yes, but something bad must have happened...
Now the computer won't start up in OSX and it won't boot from the disk (even if I hold down the C key). When it starts up, first I get a gray screen with the apple, then I have a quick flask of a tiny file folder with a question mark, then a quick flask of the same file folder but this time with the Mac face graphic, then the screen goes black and there is a bunch of white text. I can post the text if it will help - at the very end it says something like: localhost:/ root#
I tried calling apple and they just told me to turn off the mouse and keyboard and try again - didn't work. I have tried to boot in safe mode, I have tried to reboot from the start up disk (it just ejects the disk), I have tried to reset the PRAM, nothing is working. I do not have any peripherals other than the mouse and the keyboard (I had to go out and buy a new wired keyboard today just to push the C button to try to start up from disk since the wireless keyboard wasn't being recognized).
I have searched all the support docs and nothing seems to work or be just right. I am not an idiot, so if I need to type in a bunch of code that would be fine, just tell me what to do! Otherwise, I am hauling this beast into the so-called Genius Bar.
Please help!

So hooked the iMac up to my MacBookPro as a firewire target disk and ran a disk utility on it overnight. It didn't fix the problem completely, but it didn't get worse. Now, instead of the black screen with white programming text, I get a gray screen with a flashing question mark (a file folder that flashes between the mac face and a question mark) this time it just keeps flashing (unlike before where it only appeared once).
I have tried resetting the PRAM, the NVRAM, and I have tried resetting the SMU (thanks for the advice, Barry, I was hopeful about that one!) but nothing is working. It won't let me start from a disk, even though I have checked the disk in another computer and it works fine. I am thinking that the computer has lost the ability to recognize the disk drive.
Is there any way to re-install the operating system remotely (via my MacBookPro or anything else)?
Thanks again for any advice!

IMac won't start up with iPod plugged in?

Just bought a new imac, and it's working perfectly. It reads my iPod with no problems, but i've noticed that when I turn my iMac on sometimes, it won't start up. Just kinda stays at the beginning white screen.
It only does it when my iPod is plugged in, however. ( 60GB iPod video ) Anyone think there might be a reason? I'd be very grateful if anyone could help me with this, it's somewhat bothersome to have to make sure to eject my iPod before restarting.
Thanks

Thank you for your support and time, but im afraid my problem still persists. A friend suggested I check what other files I had on the iPod, but none of them seem like they would interfere with the startup.
If anyone else has any suggestions, i'd be happy to try them. Thanks for your time.

Won't start up, won't eject CD. I'm scared

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for