Repeatedly getting stuck on spinning wheel and grey screen, even after multiple re-installs of the OS

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Level 1

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Repeatedly getting stuck on spinning wheel and grey screen, even after multiple re-installs of the OS

Ok, so running Lion on a MacBook, (2010 i think) and the OS got corrupted(stuck on spinning wheel and grey screen on boot)

Tried to repair the disk via disk utility using an install CD, no go, couldn't repair, so, did a clean install.

New install went fine, computer worked for about 3 days and then stuck on the spinning wheel again.

suspecting physical damage to the harddrive, I installed the OS to an external, and booted from there. Worked for a couple days and then stuck on the spinning wheel.

I have repeated the process 5 times now, each time it works for a little and then craps out again.

What's going on?

as a note, when I say it gets stuck on the spinning wheel, I have left it for 12 hours trying to boot to no avail.

MacBook, Mac OS X (10.7.5)

Posted on Apr 3, 2013 4:08 PM

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Answer 1

silvergc

Level 4

1,002 points

Apr 4, 2013 1:50 PM in response to Duracelle

Run the Apple hardware tests to see if it is some other problem. Here is the link:

http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1509

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Answer 2

Eric Root

Level 10

684,039 points

Apr 4, 2013 2:05 PM in response to Duracelle

The Apple Hardware Test doesn't always detect all errors.

Next time you get the gray screen/spinning wheel, try booting into the Safe Mode to see if it will boot.

Shut down the computer and then power it back up. Immediately after hearing the startup chime, hold down the shift key and continue to hold it until the gray Apple icon and a progress bar appear. The boot up is significantly slower than normal. This will reset some caches, forces a directory check, and disables all startup and login items, among other things. If the system operates normally, there may be 3rd party applications which are causing a problem. Try deleting/disabling the third party applications after a restart. For each disable/delete, you will need to restart if you don't do them all at once.

Safe Mode

Safe Mode - About

Startup Gray Screen

Startup Issues - Resolve

Startup Issues - Resolve (2)

Startup Issues - Resolve (3)

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