Gray background after wakeup after lion upgrade?

I have the same problem too, after using DV player or similar app that sends the computer into single monitor mode (how nuts but another thread now) in Mac OS 10.8.2 the main screen of a dual 24 inch screen set up attached to a Mac Mini does not refresh the wallpaper / background on quit. it just stays grey. This was never a problem under 10.6.8.

Thank you so much to craigfromdenvor: "Did you try the log in window like I posted right before yours?" 🙂

This works a treat and is very quick! But it would be nice for Apple to fix the issue. 😀

AB

I just recently got the solution to this problem!

The problem is because of full screen iTunes!

What solves it for me is, just de-full screen iTunes...

Then you can full screen it again! I don't know why is this happening but this sure seems to solve it for me!

Astitva Narayan wrote:

I just recently got the solution to this problem!

The problem is because of full screen iTunes!

What solves it for me is, just de-full screen iTunes...

Then you can full screen it again! I don't know why is this happening but this sure seems to solve it for me!

I somehow doubt you'll find this to be a solution. You will find that it just hasn't happened again -- yet. But it will. Please keep us informed about its long-run success.

I have this happen to me all the time. I have a Retina MacBook Pro 15-inch running 10.8.3 and have two external monitors I plug into every morning. One is a Thunderbolt display and the other is just a 21" Dell montior that I plug into the HDMI port. Most mornings after I plug both in and log into my computer, the Thunderbolt screen (main screen) has a gray background. At first I thought it just lost the link to the wallpaper file but then I figured out it wouldn't let me set another image as the wallpaper period.

I've found a temporary fix and just run the "killall -KILL Dock" from the terminal window and it resets it and goes back to normal. In the mean time, I've made an Automator app that runs that command in the shell and I've put that app icon in my dock so all I have to do is click it to fix the no wallpaper issue.

Well, at the risk of jinxing things, I do believe that 10.8.3 may have fixed the issue for me. I suddenly realized, after many days of running this new release, that the gray screen hasn't occurred for a long time.

Of course, now that I've written this, it will no doubt occur on my next wake-up.

But, let's hope.

Meanwhile, if anyone continues to have the problem with 10.8.3, let us know.

To fix this problem go to the apple logo at the top left of your screen and go to the log out option at the bottom. Once logged out, log immidiately back in and see if your problem is fixed. This worked for me.

Holdielox wrote:

To fix this problem go to the apple logo at the top left of your screen and go to the log out option at the bottom. Once logged out, log immidiately back in and see if your problem is fixed. This worked for me.

Well, that's not a fix for the problem; it's a work-around. Nor is it the simplest work-around. It's easier and faster to open the Activity Monitor and kill the dock.

However, there does seem to be a fix for the problem. Upgrade to 10.8.3. This continues to work well for me.

Permanent Fix

After enabling Automatic Login, I got the grey background. Tried every workaround but no permanent solution, until I did the following:

1. Repair disk permissions in Disk Utility

2. Create a new test user account

3. Restart

4. Test with both users & everything OK

5. Delete test user account

6. Reboot

Fixed!

After many reboots & shutdowns everything back to normal, so far. Even with enabling & disabling Automatic Login. Let's hope it stays that way...

I have never seen this problem until today. I was showing a Keynote presenation (on a secondary monitor) when I ran out of battery power (a different story). I closed the laptop and when I went back to my office and plugged it into my thunderbolt display, when it came up it had the dreaded grey backdrop. I did not reboot or logout, but was stymied until I came across the suggestion to kill the Dock. Instantaneously (or so it seemed!), my backdrop was back, long before the desktop icons were recreated. A simple 'force quit' on the Dock from the Activity Monitor, or an even quicker (for me) 'killall Dock' from a terminal window is enough to 'fix' the problem. I'm on 10.8.3 on an MBAir regardless of what my sig currently says.

It certainly appears to have for me. I've been using 10.8.3 for a couple of months, and 10.8.4 since yesterday, and the problem, which plagued me repeatedly with prior system releases, as not recurred. I've also noticed other more stable monitor behavior.

Im on 10.8.4 too but I havent had the issue for a few months..

Just recently I decided to redownload an app called iTunesAlarm which wakes your mac and plays music from itunes. I had previously created an automator thingy with the calendar to replace this app but I thought I'd try it again. And since I've had that app the gray background issue reappeard. When going into mission control everything looked weird and the kill dock fixed it again.

So I immediately uninstalled it and without killing the dock the issue went away. So anyone using this app (or maybe something similar like iTaf).. this might be the culprit.. at least it was for me 😝

Hope this helpes anyone 😉

I solved the problem once and for all!!

…

I stopped using an external monitor. 😠

It was mostly because my old expensive calibrated IPS monitor was starting to go out and I love using the retina screen on my MacBook Pro. Sometimes I forget that this problem still exists—until I get a notification email about a new comment. It's sad that it's been years without a fix. Mavericks is supposed to have an overhauled multi-display environment, so let's hope that this bug is ironed out in that release. Especially since I want to pick up a new Thunderbolt Display once they're updated later this year alongside the new Mac Pro.

And a screenshot of a messed top Dock bar and a gray background if anyone is interested

As suggested a while ago, I highly recommend resetting the PRAM http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1379

I've never had the problem happen again after doing it.

Here's what I do to fix it:

1. Launch terminal (in Spotlight type "terminal")
2. Type the following and hit enter: killall Dock

This will restore your background from the ugly gray background.