10.6 Hangs on startup--white screen with apple on screen then stops

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Level 1

109 points

10.6 Hangs on startup--white screen with apple on screen then stops

When I turn my iMac on I get a white screen with the apple on it and spinning wheel then.....it hangs. So when I turn the machine off then back on it will then start up properly.

Any ideas?

Could it have anything to do with the amount of RAM I'm running? I have a 2007 iMac with 1GB of RAM.
I ordered more RAM which should be arriving today.

iMac and Macbook Pro, Mac OS X (10.6)

Posted on Sep 1, 2009 7:37 AM

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Answer 1

Mulderscully Author

Level 1

109 points

Sep 1, 2009 1:05 PM in response to Mulderscully

When the iMac does boot up without the initial freeze, it freezes when the desktop is launched. I then have to hold down the button and shut it down.
After I've started it up the second time there are no issues.

Any ideas what I can do to avoid the initial "freeze:?

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Answer 2

westl

Level 1

5 points

Sep 1, 2009 1:24 PM in response to Mulderscully

I too have a 2007 imac and have experienced the same problem.
I have noticed the hang seems to occur if I have had a slow shutdown.
When it shuts down normally, no hang on start up.
I don't think it's a ram problem, I'm running 4gb.

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Answer 3

Mulderscully Author

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109 points

Sep 1, 2009 1:26 PM in response to westl

thanks for the reply

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Answer 4

Sep 1, 2009 1:40 PM in response to Mulderscully

Having more than 1GB is definitely a good move but I doubt that is the problem. I always repair my permissions Disk Utility after an upgrade. You could always try that, but you may want to simply go through the install process again. I have to do that with one of the 4 machines I upgraded. Is your iMac white?

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Answer 5

Mulderscully Author

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109 points

Sep 6, 2009 7:58 AM in response to Michele Gardner

The problem went away when I unplugged the system for awhile and then plugged it back in (I installed some RAM). It even went to sleep as normal.

But lately the startup problem has returned.

Why does unplugging the system and plugging it back in affect my iMac? What does it do to the machine?

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Answer 6

asrai

Level 1

133 points

Sep 12, 2009 6:30 AM in response to Mulderscully

My iMac just recently started doing this. Sometime the unplugging works, sometimes it doesn't. I can't even get it start from the install DVD to do a disk check.

Never seen anything like this before.

Anyone have some ideas on this?

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Answer 7

Mulderscully Author

Level 1

109 points

Sep 12, 2009 6:44 AM in response to asrai

I wanted to give a heads up to those that are having problems with 10.6 freezing on startup or not going to sleep.

My iMac was freezing on startup--gray screen with the apple logo then freeze. I also found that it wasn't going to sleep--the screen would sleep but the computer would still be running.

I tried everything to solve it, from starting in safe mode to repairing the disk and disk permissions to reinstalling 10.6. I checked my startup folder and nothing was there.

The solution (so far) was this:
I simply unplugged my iPhone dock that I had plugged into a USB port on the back.

The dock seems to have been the problem.
Whether it was the dock itself or something is wrong with the USB port, I'm not sure.
My iMac now starts up and shuts down without incident--with blazing speed. The system will also sleep like it should!

So, I guess unplugging a peripheral solved my issue (so far).

Now, when I want to update my iPhone, I simply plug it into the keyboard and unplug it when I'm done.

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Answer 8

Sep 12, 2009 8:25 AM in response to Mulderscully

I have this issue as well, I have two external drives connected to the back of my iMac, one USB and the other FW. Have disconnected them both from the back and will see if that works for me.

Two starts down the road and it seems to have fixed the problem. It is going to be a pain reaching around to get to the back everytime but maybe I can put the FW drive back in and see if problems arise from that.

Message was edited by: Rambling Sid

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Answer 9

asrai

Level 1

133 points

Sep 12, 2009 9:28 AM in response to Rambling Sid

Darn, so hoping this was gonna work for me, but sadly it did not. I'm stuck on the Apple screen with the spinning status bars... then the bars stop and it hangs. Can't even get into safe mode.

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Answer 10

Mulderscully Author

Level 1

109 points

Sep 12, 2009 9:29 AM in response to Rambling Sid

I have an external drive plugged in via firewire as well and I have no issues with freezing on startup.

The culprit appears to have been the iPhone dock that was plugged into the USB port on the back.

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Answer 11

asrai

Level 1

133 points

Sep 12, 2009 9:32 AM in response to Mulderscully

Tried it with nothing but the keyboard plugged in.

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Answer 12

Sep 12, 2009 11:36 AM in response to asrai

I agree the problem seems to be with the USB port at the back. I am using the one FW port for both external drives now and no problems at all, except having to switch the cables around. Don't have an iPhone so it probably isn't the dock that is causing the problem, more the port. Another thought occurred to me was that maybe the OS was trying to index the drive for Spotlight, although normally there is a little point in the Spotlight icon in toolbar when that happens.

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Answer 13

Oct 22, 2009 7:44 AM in response to Rambling Sid

I had the same problem with startup .... apple logo with spinning wheel than spinning wheel hang and bootup hangs no matter how long left alone ....would restart after shutoff using power button.... tried all the usual ....repair permissions, reset pram, ran disk repair, and ran the mac's maintenance routines .... if not sure how to do all this google Dr. Mac or go to boblevitus.com ... 2 good (free) article on quick fixes and quick checks ......

anyway I did 2 other things that *_seem to have solved the problem_* ... disconnected power cord from back of screen and let sit for 10 minutes (was told this resets something ..forget what) and I check non apple software in system preferences (under other) and found I needed to update my intell-mouse software from Microsoft ... ther was a new version when I went to their site ......

so check all your software for updates and good luck!

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Answer 14

Oct 22, 2009 10:21 AM in response to Mulderscully

Here's a spanner in the works. This same problem has cropped up on my G4 MDD and Powerbook G4 within the past 30 days ( both use Leopard 10.5.8). It's especially acute on my PB G4 -- it will not awake from sleep (and apparently the fan has quit running in the past few days). Reset PRAM and PBU (in my case) on it to no avail. Shutting it down and walking away for a while (cooldown time?) ensures a correct boot when I come back to it. Doing a hard shutdown by holding down the power key ensures a hangup at the grey window upon boot (until I shut it down again and walk away for awhile). To keep it functioning (I'm on the road), I have disabled sleep functions. Peripherals have not been an issue with the MDD, in my case (I have none on the PB). Recognizing the age of the boxes (6.5 years and 4.5 years, respectively), it's still a bit disappointing. Recommendation at a nearby Apple Store this a.m. was to send it off for a logic board refurb. I'm typing on it now.

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