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User profile for user: biglegalbrain
biglegalbrain Author
User level: Level 1
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Cannot boot past the "gray linen" wallpaper screen

I know this is a recurring issue for many and have not yet found a solution that looks like it won't involve 1) installing third-party software or 2) messing with system files that I really don't want to mess with. After all, Apple's motto is "It just works."


Well, it's not "just working." I have installed Lion and can only run things in safe mode. If I try a regular boot, it hangs after the Apple gray screen, on the screen people call "gray linen," which I'm told is the log-in screen. Except it's only a screen. No log-in, no dashboard, nothing. A gray linen screen. Sure, I can have a lot of fun moving my cursor around the screen but otherwise cannot do anything except power back down and reboot in safe mode.


When I boot in safe mode, I cannot get any audio, as it recognized neither input nor output devices. Other features are similarly either deactivated or not found and Chrome crashes and cannot show video (Firefox works, it seems).


Is there a simple solution? Or am I back in what is really PC-land, where I have to mess with config, reg, and other system files. I'm not a luddite and have installed operating systems dozens of times without a problem. This one is the worst one I have ever dealt with. Period. And I'm sad that it's Apple.

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.7)

Posted on Aug 11, 2011 4:44 PM

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User profile for user: Kappy
Kappy
User level: Level 10
361,741 points

Posted on Aug 11, 2011 4:52 PM

I'm afraid there's no simple solution in your case. You need to backup your files and install Lion on a freshly formatted drive.


After you backup your files restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down COMMAND and R keys until the computer starts up and you see the spinning gear. This should boot into the Recovery HD that Lion creates when installed.


When the menu appears select Disk Utility and click on the Continue button.


1. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Note the SMART status of the drive in DU's status area. If it does not say "Verified" then the drive is failing or has failed and will need replacing. SMART info will not be reported on external drives. Otherwise, click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.


2. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed.


3. After formatting is complete quit DU and return to the main menu. Select Reinstall Lion from the menu and click on the Install button. This should create a fresh Lion system on your drive.


Once you've gotten Lion running you can start the process of restoring your files from the backup you made.

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User profile for user: Kappy
Kappy
User level: Level 10
361,741 points

Aug 11, 2011 4:52 PM in response to biglegalbrain

I'm afraid there's no simple solution in your case. You need to backup your files and install Lion on a freshly formatted drive.


After you backup your files restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down COMMAND and R keys until the computer starts up and you see the spinning gear. This should boot into the Recovery HD that Lion creates when installed.


When the menu appears select Disk Utility and click on the Continue button.


1. After DU loads select your hard drive (this is the entry with the mfgr.'s ID and size) from the left side list. Note the SMART status of the drive in DU's status area. If it does not say "Verified" then the drive is failing or has failed and will need replacing. SMART info will not be reported on external drives. Otherwise, click on the Partition tab in the DU main window.


2. Under the Volume Scheme heading set the number of partitions from the drop down menu to one. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Click on the Options button, set the partition scheme to GUID then click on the OK button. Click on the Partition button and wait until the process has completed.


3. After formatting is complete quit DU and return to the main menu. Select Reinstall Lion from the menu and click on the Install button. This should create a fresh Lion system on your drive.


Once you've gotten Lion running you can start the process of restoring your files from the backup you made.

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User profile for user: Peggy Lynn
Peggy Lynn
User level: Level 4
2,484 points

Aug 11, 2011 5:31 PM in response to biglegalbrain

Among other things, starting in safe mode disables login items. It might be that one of your login items isn't Lion compatible. Some incompatible startup items can also cause other problems other than with startup. Go to System Preferences > Users and Groups > your account > Login Items. Make a note of what is listed and use the "-" key to delete any non-Apple items. Restart normally. Add login items one at a time until you find the culprit. Likely suspects are AV software and haxies. Mac OS X 10.6 Help: Eliminating incompatible login items


Make sure you have the latest Flash Player

Adobe - Install Adobe Flash Player version 10.3.183.5


Disable extensions and clear caches in browsers that aren't behaving properly. Some of the extensions may not be Lion compatible. If that doesn't help follow Kappy's advice for reinstalling Lion.

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User profile for user: biglegalbrain
biglegalbrain Author
User level: Level 1
0 points

Aug 12, 2011 10:08 AM in response to Peggy Lynn

I've managed to make things work, at least to boot up without having to go into Safe Mode. Here's what did it, but it also calls attention to a lingering issue that I have not yet resolved.


1. Boot up in Safe Mode.

2. Navigate to System Preferences > Users and Groups and get rid of any other users except the main administrator (which in my case is me)

3. While in Users and Groups, on your own account, remove all of the Log-In items, as Peggy Lynn mentions above.

4. Restart in regular mode.

5. When restarting, I still received the gray linen screen and nothing else. It's a display issue, as the information is there but not displaying correctly (i.e., not at all). Sooooo, taking a chance I just clicked on the screen and blindly typed in my password (it took a couple of tries but I knew I was actually entering data because if I did not get it right I got the error tone when I pressed the return key to enter it). Once I typed it in correctly and hit return, it booted up past the gray linen screen just fine.

6. Went back to System Preferences > Users and Groups and disabled any need for me to log-in, at least for now. In other words, it logs in automatically. You actually could probably skip step 5 above if you enable automatic log in, as it should skip the need to log in and get past the log-in screen. But I hadn't tried that.


That was the initial issue. What remains are problems with displaying certain applications in the display windows. Firefox, for instance, comes up in a blank window, as does most any software I need to install. Again, the content is there, it just does not get displayed (I can mess around with the cursor and click on links, which work). So, I now have to figure out why the display is disappearing and try to fix that.

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User profile for user: Peggy Lynn
Peggy Lynn
User level: Level 4
2,484 points

Aug 12, 2011 11:10 AM in response to biglegalbrain

Unless you have some sort hideously incompatible software you are using it sounds much more to me like a possible Lion install error. I doubt it will make a difference but you might want to reset the PRAM.

Resetting your Mac's PRAM and NVRAM


If that doesn't work, back up and reinstall Lion by booting from the Recovery partition. Simply reinstalling should leave your files intact. If that doesn't do the trick follow Kappy's excellent instructions.

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User profile for user: viveka
viveka
User level: Level 1
4 points

Jan 6, 2012 6:20 PM in response to biglegalbrain

This may not apply to you, but for the benefit of any who are having this symptom while usin multiple monitors:


I had this bug, as described, on my Mac Mini with an LCD monitor plugged into MDP/VGA and a video projector plugged into HDMI/DVI. The projector was off; but when I turned it on I found that both screens were displaying grey linen and cursor, nothing else.


Unplugging the projector and rebooting fixed this for me. Now after some fiddling with Displays preferences (sorry, I didn't document what I did) the problem is fully resolved for me.

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User profile for user: Aaron Smith9
Aaron Smith9
User level: Level 1
114 points

Mar 4, 2013 1:52 PM in response to biglegalbrain

I ran into this same issue with my 2011 MBA. Just a grey screen but I could login by guessing the location and blindly typing my password. After reading the helpful suggestions in this thread along with another post here:


http://displaylink.org/forum/showthread.php?t=1872


I remembered that I had installed a USB to video device in the past. If you happen to have installed a USB to Video device from Tritton/Eclipse or DisplayLink, try uninstalling the drivers. You can manually do this by going to the System/Libarary/Extensions/ folder and removing the correct .kext file (file names despends on brand/model/driver version).


Once I uninstalled the USB to Video device driver, the login window appears after a reboot.


Hope this helps.

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Cannot boot past the "gray linen" wallpaper screen

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