Wont even boot--grey screen

Hi all,
After installing leopard on my machine (1.5 yr old Macbook), it has worked fine for me since dec. Today at work, my mail froze, but unlike usual, I couldnt even force quit. So i held down the power button to reboot.
It rebooted the first time with a ´´do not enter´´ symbol.
After that, it reboots BLANK GREY SCREEN.
eeK! Help, please! I am out of the US right now in a land of very few mac repair centers. Suggestions...

I just had that same problem, and when I brought it in to the Apple store, they said they would have to replace the hard drive.

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Macbook pro will not boot even to grey screen ??

my macbook pro will not boot even to grey screen ?? Just stopped wprking after I closed the cover.

What other indications are there, does the white light turn on, solid or pulsing?, do you hear the startup chime, or bong if you prefer. Can you hear the drive, the fans?
More information from you will assist us trying to help you.

OSX wont boot - grey screen

Hi, I turned on my imac g4 15" 700mhz today to find that it wont boot osx at all!
When i start up the computer, i hear the chime, the light comes on and i hear the fan, hd etc. Then, the grey screen appears with a central finder logo (Which is normal, i think). This is when the computer freezes....HELP....WHAT CAN I DO?
I have tried several things suggested on the support pages such as booting from the cd which wouldn't allow me to do anthing - even re-install osx!

Not to get off the subject of the original post too much, but:
James,
I've encounted the same problem today on my work computer (a G5 Dual 2.5ghz). You'll likely have to do the same thing i did to recover your data:
Remove the drive, mount in another computer (you mentioned that you tried to firewire it to another G4). Instead, actually remove the drive from your machine and install in the other G4. Boot the other G4. Hopefully the drive will mount as a secondary drive. If so, back up your data. If not, run Disk Utility "Repair Disk" on it. You may have to run a third party app like Tech Tool Pro or Disk Warrior. Doing that should fix the drive enough for you to get the data off.
Even if it does, you should probably flatten the drive and do a clean install of the OS. Make sure you run Disk Utility again off the installer disk to insure the drive is competely repaired.
Worst case, you buy a new drive is you are worried about it crashing again. Either way, you should be able to get to your data with a little work.

Macbook Pro 2011 won't boot, grey screen, 10.9.4

Hi guy I hope you are all well,
I have been running a 1.1 MBP Santa Rosa since 2010 and decided it was time for an update, so in January I got hold of a 2008 Penrhyn model. That was running Mavericks absolutely fine until 2 weeks after 10.9.3 when it began to have gfx crashes, kernel panics, refuse to boot etc. Now it won't even turn on, just a low fan noise for 10 secs then it switches itself off.
I figured the Penrhyn was just too long in the tooth now and must have had dodgy hardware. Nothing I've made this year will now work on the Santa Rosa on Snowy so I decided to splash out on a mid-2011 Sandy Beach, 15.4" 2.0ghz i7. This has been absolutely great the last month, until the day I went up to 10.9.4. It began to crash and need rebooting when iPhoto opens after plugging in my iPhone. At first I disabled iPhoto's auto-open and the phone works fine with iTunes and charges when iPhoto is closed. Without the phone plugged in iPhoto worked fine. Inevitably I plugged the phone in last night while iPhoto was still open. The screen went a purple-pattern, I rebooted and now it won't boot past the apple logo and pie-wheel at the chime. It just goes to a grey screen.
Recovery does not work, just a solid blue screen. Booting off a Lion install DVD also just gets a grey screen after the logo/chime. I cleared the PRAM, and the SMC three times. Starting in safe-mode the progress bar loads fine, but then it's back to grey screen.
So I'm now back on my Santa Rosa, which has never had a fault, nor may I add have any of my PPC Macs!
Anyone have a possible solution for this or know what the exact hardware-fault may be? I really don't want to pay Apple to repair it, having spent on over £1000 on MBPs this year that now don't turn on
Many thanks, James

I've been having similar issues with a late 2011 17" MBP with 10.9.4. I haven't worked out what the problem is, but I'm eventually able to enter recovery mode after multiple (15-30) attempts. Between attempts, I tried resetting the PRAM, entering safe mode, entering hardware diagnostics mode, and occasionally just leting it hang on the blue or grey screen.
Repairing disk permissions fixes the problem. It's happened twice now, with an hour or two of panic between getting it back up and running again. It's only been since the 10.9.3 or 10.9.4 update, which other users have experienced problems with. I didn't make a backup before updating (this is the first issue I've ever had with my machine), so I may have to start with a fresh install to determine if it's software or hardware.

Imac G5 will not boot, Grey screen. Please help!

Please forgive me if this posting is a bit lengthy!
My Mac had been on sleep mode for 2 days, when I tried to wake it up a message popped up stating that a system failure had occurred (Darwin Kernal version 7.7.2: etc). I shut it down and tried to restart only to get a grey screen and with the spinning gearlike timer and after about a minute the fan started to run at full power upon which I turned it off via the power button on the rear. I tried several times to re-boot but the same thing happened each time.
I have tried to start up using the ‘safe-boot’ mode (held down shift after chime and released upon seeing Apple logo and spinning gear timer). After a few seconds however, the screen goes blank and the start-up chime repeats only to be followed once again by the grey screen, spinning gear and fan running at full speed. No progress
The Apple website suggests using the ‘Software Install or Restore’ disc which came with the computer. However, I don’t have this disc, only ‘Apple hardware test’ and ‘Mac OSX Install’ (3 discs) came in the box.
I checked the system using the ‘Apple Hardware Test’ CD (by holding down the C-key during start-up) using both the quick and advanced check but no problems were reported.
I then ran Disc Utility from the first installation disc to repair permissions on the HD which was successful. However, after re-starting the machine, once again the same grey screen appeared with no apparent progress.
I then tried to check for damage using the ‘fsck’, recommended by Apple if ‘safe boot’ mode cannot be run. After starting up in single-user mode I typed the following prompt: /sbin/fsck –fy. It ran through a quick phrase list but then delivered the line ‘Volume Check Failed’. I faired no better when I repeated the process over again.
I have never updated the software with Apple updates since I bought the machine (don’t laugh), mainly because I don’t have a broadband internet connection at home, could there be a bug in Panther OSX that needed fixing with a later update?
I have no ‘add-ons’ plugged in other than the keyboard and mouse. I don’t think it can be a firmware problem, I am the only user and have not changed any settings relating to access permissions.
This is my first Mac and so my experience of problem solving is quite limited. I am not a Mac expert and to be honest am confused by much of the jargon. The computer is now two years old and therefore out of warranty so I don’t want to take it to my local Mac shop if I can solve the problem myself.
I’m a bit concerned as there are many documents that I have not backed-up (foolish I know).
I don’t know how I can attempt to rectify anything if the machine will not even boot-up in safe mode!?!
Could the problem be something to do with the PRAM settings, might the internal battery be dead bearing in mind that the machine is now 2 years old?
Would it be possible to re-install Panther from the original discs, I have read that this will not loose any files but can somebody confirm this?
Can anybody offer some advice as to what I might try to get the Mac to start-up and avoid any problems in the future? Any advice will be much appreciated.
Imac G5 Mac OS X (10.3) 80Gb HD / 768Mb RAM

Please accept my apologies regarding the time it has taken for me to get back to you. Since we last spoke I have been away on vacation.
Upon my return I attempted to follow your advice but it would seem that my problems are more significant than I had originally anticipated.
First, as you recommended I reset the PRAM by holding down the required keys from start-up, until the machine re-started.
I then attempted to perform the ‘Archive and Install’ process for OS10.3 (Panther) from the original software discs, making sure to select ‘Preserve User Settings and Preferences’.
My Mac first went through a ‘Checking your Installation Disc’ phase (10 mins) before starting the next phase ‘Checking Target Volume Consistency’. However, after only a few seconds it stopped with the pop-up message ‘There were errors installing the software’. I repeated the process but got the same message.
I decided to run Disc Utility once again from Disc 1, upon which I realised that I had previously only run Verify & Repair Disc Permissions, not Verify Disc or Repair Disc.
I decided to try to Verify Disc under First Aid, however, this was where the trouble started. I got the following message on screen:
"The Volume Macintosh HD needs to be repaired.
Volume Check Failed
Error: The Underlying task reported failure on exit (-9972)
1 Volume checked
HFS Volumes verified
1 Volume failed verification."
Obviously I am assuming this problem is preventing me from performing an ‘Archive and Install’. Now I’m a bit concerned that my problem could be very serious, bearing in mind that so many of my files are not backed up.
I’d be very grateful for more wise advice as to what to try next.
Imac G5 Mac OS X (10.3) 80Gb HD / 768Mb RAM
Imac G5 Mac OS X (10.3) 80Gb HD / 768Mb RAM

HELP! MacBook Pro 17" Won't Boot-Grey Screen-Errors During Verbose Safe Mode Boot

Booting regularly it hangs on the grey screen, if it does go into desktop, it freezes and won't do anything.
I did disk check and repair even though it found no errors, and did verify and fix permissions since it showed a LOT of permission errors. Still won't boot into desktop though.
Ran safe mode verbose and got the following disk0s2 I/O Errors-What does this mean??? Hard drive problem?
I have reload OS X 3 times in the past few weeks because of freezing issues in Mavericks and stuck with Mountain Lion and it was running fine until I went to boot up this morning after a clean shut down and won't boot up ever since.
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e389/RIPNHL2005/photo_zpsb0d8d5cf.jpg
http://s43.photobucket.com/user/RIPNHL2005/media/photo_zpsb0d8d5cf.jpg.html
Please help.....This is my main laptop and job search tool.....
Thanks!!!

Is this the right drive config for the macbook pro?
Is Western Digital no good? Best Buy has them in stock.....
HGST
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Travelstar Z5K500 is the second generation 7mm, 5400 RPM 2.5-inch hard drive from HGST, with capacities ranging from 250GB to 500GB, and the second generation Advanced Format drive. Advanced Format increases the physical sector size on HDDs from 512 bytes to 4,096 (4K) bytes, which improves drive capacities and error correction capabilities. The 500GB per platter, one-disk models are designed as a direct replacement for standard 9.5mm HDDs, for use in notebook PCs, external storage and gaming consoles, as well as new, thinner and more robust device designs. The Z5K500 carries the EcoTrac classification due to its low-power consumption and eco-friendly, halogen-free production. Travelstar Z5K500 delivers the right balance of capacity, power-management and design flexibility to meet the needs of mobile applications.

Server Won't Boot - Grey Screen of Death Strikethrough Circle

My Xserve is having some serious difficulties and as a result, so am I.
To start from the beginning, I've been running a standard install of 10.5.1 for a couple of weeks now and thus far it has been smooth sailing. Last week we upgraded to 10.5.2 and some issues reared there ugly head (not saying that .2 is the cause but this was the chain of events). Firstly SMB started going skewiff, not letting users login in to shared folders, then mail stopped some services and could not be restarted.
This culminated with what seems to be a failed restart (in that i told the device to restart but didn't see it through to coming back), a weekend passed and on monday nothing was live any more. When a monitor was plugged in, all that we saw as the grey screen, apple logo and spinning gear. After sitting there for 5mins or so the display would go black, the Xserve would restart, the grey screen and spinning gear would appear, and the cycle would continue.
We were able to boot from the install dvd, but at this point we decided to call apple and get some pro advice. Based on this we tried to verify disk permissions but got an error of something like failed on exit. The apple rep wanted to go into single user mode and mount drives and run disk util from command but we got no were. To clarify we were using a two risk mirror raid and verify disk returned an all ok report.
As we were getting no ware the apple rep recommend removing on of the raid disks (to have a keep a backup) and try restoring the system from our time machine backup on an ext drive. We chose a date before we thought the issue may have developed (but not before the upgrade to 10.5.2). When this had finished and the system did its restart, the grey screen appear with the apple logo for a moment, but this would then change to a circle with a strikethrough it. We attempted another TM restore from a point before the 10.5.2 backup but got the same result.
After getting fed up with all this, we tried a fresh install (without deleting the disk partitions and re-initialising the disk) and low and behold the system started up again. Tried to do a restore from TM via the install dvd process but this set us back to our strikethrough circle problem again.
To tell you the truth, I'm so frustrated with this thing right now I'm considering sending it back!!!
Any help or thoughts would be greatly appreciated.
Nige

Hi mik.e245
Pop in the Install Disk 1 that came with your iMac and run disk repairs as described in the articles below:
http://kb.wisc.edu/helpdesk/page.php?id=3810
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?path=DiskUtility/10.5/en/duh1018.html
Not always, but many times Kernal Panic's are associated with a ram issue's. If a ram module was recently added it may have become partially dislodged/unseated and needs to be reseated.
If your still having trouble run the Hardware Test from the same install disk as per this article.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=303081-en
Dennis

G4 Powerbook won't boot; grey screen Apple logo only

My G4 Powerbook 17" 1.33 stopped booting. I reinstalled OS 10.4.3 successfully, but on start up only get a grey screen with Apple logo with no spinning gear. I have reverified HDD with Disk Utility from the OS Install DVD, and it confirmed no problems. Any suggestions?

If you have the original OS X disks that came with the system, run the Apple hardware test. Find the disk that says 'AHT Version x.x' in small print on the label, insert it and reboot holding the alt/option key down. Choose the Apple hardware test, and when prompted choose the extended test. You want to see if it finds any hard drive access issues.

Macbook wont start up, Grey screen etc

Hi, My macbook wont start up, I get the grey screen with a flashing question mark, And a clicking noise, Any idea's , Thank you in advance

Tobyhead....the symptoms you describe would indicate a dead hard drive....this tutorial should explain everything you need to know/do to replace..
http://www.macinstruct.com/node/130
Do a 'Search Discussions' here using your topic title for more posts like yours..

IMac wont go past grey screen and cog turning

Hi there !
I have an iMac, thing is after installing a new OS it won't turn on again, it gets as far as grey screen then the cog keeps turning then it just shuts itself off. I've tried using the disk utility but it fails when I verify disk and repair disk, then the HD name goes grey and when I go to boot options its no longer there to boot from. done all the reccomendations on the apple troubleshoot through start up and fsck. is there something physically wrong with the disk or can it be solved by diskwarrior ? (Oh, I haven't backed up either so any idea's if it can be saved?)
Cheers
Ed

Hmmmmm... I had a very similar issue and I called apple. Do you still have apple care? They are awesome about helping you. With mine, I had to reinstall my OS but I can't remember the little tricks used to do it. Maybe you have already tried that... not sure.
I hoe that helps.

Macbook wont go past grey screen with spinning cog below...HELP!

PLEASE, PLEASE....could someone advise urgently, was using machine ok, left it for a few mins & it went to sleep...then I couldn't log back in. Restarted and now can't get past this grey screen....have tried all recommendations...tried re install and says it can't. Tried the fsck...it say's "volume check failed". Tried the disk check...it said there was no problem. I am in Spain (Palma) and about to set off acrosss the Atlanntic to S.Maarten...my warranty expires in April and I am unlikely to be anywhere with a mac dealer or authorised service place in the next 6 months...my life is on this machine!! PLEASE HELP????

What happens if you boot from your system install disk and run Disk Utility? Does the utility see the drive and can you verify/repair the drive?
-Bmer
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OS X wont start just grey screen

I was on my mom's computer(same model and OS as mine) setting up her new ipod. I was prompted to update the ipod software and did so. I believe the update was successful but afterwards the computer froze, and i tried to force quit itunes. This did not work so i held down the power button and turned the computer off. Then i turned it back on and it only comes to the grey screen with the apple logo. I have tried the following in this order:
-reset PRAM
-boot in Safe mode(holding shift key)
-insert install disk and repair permissions
none have produced any results.
thanks in advance

Try using Disk Utility to do a Disk Repair, as shown in this link, while booted up on your install disk.
You could have some directory corruption. Let us know what errors Disk Utility reports and if DU was able to repair them.
 Cheers! DALE

How to reinstall OSX on a computer that wont even boot up?

Hey everyone
I have about a year old MBP that has suddenly stopped working. Whenever I try to boot up I get the white Apple screen with an endless spinning icon. It looks like its booting up fine, but it never leaves this screen. If I try to hold C with the install disc in, or hold T to enter firewire mode, the spinning just continues.
I gather that I need to reinstall OSX, but is there anyway to do that when I cant even boot up to choose a startup disk? I have a Powerbook (from which I'm posting on) if that helps at all.
Thanks

Try a PRAM reset. Hold down Command-Option-P-R when booting until the tone has sounded thrice.

Imac won't boot (grey screen, prohibit sign, folder with ? mark)

Before I bring my iMac to a store (which I can barely lift on my own!), I thought I'd give one last shot in the forums. I've already spoken with Apple Care who, after two rounds of phone support, said it's time to bring it in.
My computer was working fine but I had to force quit a few programs. Finally I had to shut it down, and when trying to reboot, I get stuck on the grey screen with the progress wheel spinning. I tried holding the C button, used the Install disc to try "Disk Utility". What came up with Disk Utility was it said it was rebuilding a B-tree, and then just hung. I tried that again (all with Apple Care on the phone) and then it couldn't find the hard drive.
So... any other ideas? Let me know if you need more information; I am desperate for help before I have to find a babysitter for my child so I can get this computer out the door for some (gasp!) data recovery!

Ouch....Time machine would mean moving on to 10.5...
If you decide to stay with 10.4 may I recommend SuperDuper! for cloning/backing up...30 bucks and easy to use....
I run 3 different external drives 2 for clones of my system and one for storage of various folders...cuts down on worries
Again I also suggest going with one or both of the Utilities I mentioned when the time is right....
Personally I don't have anything on my Mac's that is worth $1200....don't hold your breath on Apple doing anything about your Mac's ultimate demise
dave

MacBook Pro 17" late 2009 - Black screen on boot, not even a grey screen

Got a monstrous problem.
Started up my MacBook Pro (bought in Feb. This year, core 2 duo 2.88GHz/4 Gb RAM - basically the top specced model.)
Booted up today, no grey start-up screen. No screen at all. Yet I can still log into Snow Leopard, but again no screen. Rebooted into boot camp, heard windows start. Managed to log in again no screen. Volume controls, keyboard illumination work. Just a black screen.
I have tried resetting PRAM, etc. with no success. Cannot use hardware test as the screen simply does not start.
Any ideas before I throw the effing thing from a 5th floor window in frustration?
Is this the Nvidia problem other folk have experienced?
I am tempted to ask for a new machine spending 2 months on and off with my previous MacBook Pro in and out of repair if this is a hardware problem that has been fixed in recent Macs.
Regards,
J

I had the same problem just now. My 15" MBP (6.2). I followed the following steps and it worked for me. I used another Mac in my house to use screen sharing to accomplish these things:
1) access the /private/var/vm/ directory on the nonworking computer from the working computer. This is invisble so you will have to press cmdshiftg in the finder and go to /volumes/YOURHARDDISKNAME/private/var/vm to get there or use an application that lets you view invisble folders like PathFinder.
2) delete the sleepimage file
3) delete the /system/library/extensions.mkext file
4) eject the drive (drag to the trash)
5) press the power button to turn off the non working computer
6) turn the nonworking computer back on normally(cross your fingers) then if it works,
7) open up the the terminal.app in /applications/utilities
8) type sudo pmset -a hibernatemode 0
9) make sure there is no sleepimage file again
That worked for me...hope it helps for you!

Wont even boot--grey screen

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