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Q: My iMac won't fire up.  It shows a white screen and the apple with little dial going around but won't complete start up

I rebooted my iMac this morning and now it won't come back on. It shows a white screen with the apple and a spinning wheel.  Do I need to take it in?

Posted on May 2, 2012 8:03 AM

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Q: My iMac won't fire up.  It shows a white screen and the apple with little dial going around but won't complete start up

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  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis May 2, 2012 9:25 AM in response to njbaile
    Level 10 (208,005 points)
    Applications
    May 2, 2012 9:25 AM in response to njbaile

    The following support article is somewhat outdated. Where it refers to booting from an installation disc, you should boot from your recovery partition (if running 10.7 or later) by holding down the key combination command-R at the chime. If your startup volume is encrypted with FileVault, you’ll have to unlock it in Disk Utility before you can do anything with it.

     

    Mac OS X: Gray screen appears during startup

  • by baltwo,

    baltwo baltwo May 2, 2012 9:25 AM in response to njbaile
    Level 9 (62,256 points)
    May 2, 2012 9:25 AM in response to njbaile

    More details needed, such as computer and OS. Step one is to restart—hold down the power button until it shuts off, push it again, and hold down the SHIFT key until it starts in Safe Mode. Report back.

     

    As for taking it in, if this doesn't work, contact Apple Service, iMac Service or Apple's Express Lane. Do note that if you have AppleCare's protection plan and you're within 50 miles (80 KM) of an Apple repair station, you're eligible for onsite repair since yours is a desktop machine.