Mac OSX 10.8 has broken my mac pro 2010

at the moment I am looking on the bright side. If diagnostics point to the card - then lucky to find the problem whiel the machine is still under warranty. I hope they can collect the machine tomorrow if we cannot work-up a fix because the rest of the week I will be away. As nice, friendly, and helpful as the apple help are on the phone - they have been unable to offer as much thought / problem solving as here. I guess it helps to collaborate on these things. But I SOOOO want my machine back - feel kind of empty without it, 😐

Alas it didn't work

start-up manager couldn't find the drive.

I am at the mercy of apple care - and without machine.

Thanks a lot for the comments and efforts made to solve this puzzle - it is greatly appreciated.

I have used macs since Amiga went off the cliff and bought an early bondi blue imac. I think my preference is clear however I still blame ML software for making such massive changes to the drive structure - but it is my own stupid fault to blindly trust apple because a. if there are no disks then it should tell you something, b. it only cost £14 but makes such a drastic alteration (it can't be that developed) and c. it was probably only vanity to ourchase in the first place. Snow Leopard works perfectly well on desktops - so STAY THERE!

I stand by my comment there should be serious warning to what Lion and ML can do to a set-up before people make said purchase, I cannot believe that a perfectly functioning mac pro 2010 can actually be intrinsically broken and only ML can find it... bonkers

So it seems - according to apple repair - the installation has created a fault in my hard drive. This "does happen occasionally". Am being given a replacement drive and lucky for me I use time machine so i can restore my mac to former 10.6.8 working glory.

I hve just realised the grey screen I was getting was the wallpaper that is on my (writing) macbook air.

Thanks for your help and efforts, esp, John Gault top man to solve the riddle. I suggest if can live with Snow Leopard then stay there at least until apple iron out their ML demons.

Thought you would like this:

So Apple take away my machine and say the software install has caused the problem. They say they will install a new drive and so I will lose the machine over the weekend. But if i like they will install 10.8 Mountain Lion.

Stupid me I fall for it. The next week I get my machine back working with 10.8 - but they havent changed the drive - it is exactly the same one. Am philosophical as everything is working.

Until after a while the machine begins to crash when switching users (me and wife). So I finally get fed up with this and call apple to ask about getting back to 10.6.8.

Ouch now I realise I need to reformat and install everything from new - my time machine is only good for the files and not the applications - because of 10.8.

So the apple guy says lets fix it and tries to launch the recovery drive (start-up + option) but I get the familiar grey wallpaper for 10 minutes. So we go back to a basic restart except now the keyboard no longer works - well it does (open the drive and change the sound) but the login does not recognise any keystrokes - but it will show me if the cap lock is on.

Apparently my machine is now completely knackered and faces another trip to the menders for a week or so - and people still think this software is good??!?!?

Except it is good on the mac air I am using to write this - it is just so **** on a machine that had a previous version - so destructive.

Hate it - hate apple now