my macbook pro 2011 shows grey screen with apple logo and want start

Do you see only the Apple logo with the spinning ball on the display or you see a bar? If you see a progress bar, it may show that the hard disk is damaged and you have to install a new hard drive. I recommend you to have a look at this ds store's user tip > https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-3353

Take each of these steps that you haven't already tried. Stop when the problem is resolved.

b. If you have access to a working Mac, and both it and the non-working Mac have FireWire or Thunderbolt ports, boot the non-working Mac in target disk mode by holding down the key combination command-T at the startup chime. Connect the two Macs with a FireWire or Thunderbolt cable. The internal drive of the machine running in target mode will mount as an external drive on the other machine. Copy the data to another drive. This technique won't work with USB, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth.

c. If the internal drive of the non-working Mac is user-replaceable, remove it and mount it in an external enclosure or drive dock. Use another Mac to copy the data.

Step 2

Press and hold the power button until the power shuts off. Disconnect all wired peripherals except those needed to boot, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards. Use a different keyboard and/or mouse, if those devices are wired. If you can boot now, one of the devices you disconnected, or a combination of them, is causing the problem. Finding out which one is a process of elimination.

If you've booted from an external storage device, make sure that your internal boot volume is selected in the Startup Disk pane of System Preferences.

Step 3

Boot in safe mode.* The instructions provided by Apple are as follows:

• Shut down your computer, wait 30 seconds, and then hold down the shift key while pressing the power button.
• When you see the gray Apple logo, release the shift key.
• If you are prompted to log in, type your password, and then hold down the shift key again as you click Log in.

Safe mode is much slower to boot and run than normal, and some things won’t work at all, including wireless networking on certain Macs.

The login screen appears even if you usually log in automatically. You must know your login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin.

*Note: If FileVault is enabled, or if a firmware password is set, or if the boot volume is a software RAID, you can’t boot in safe mode. Post for further instructions.

When you boot in safe mode, it's normal to see a dark gray progress bar on a light gray background. If the progress bar gets stuck for more than a few minutes, or if the system shuts down automatically while the progress bar is displayed, your boot volume is damaged and the drive is probably malfunctioning. In that case, go to step 5.

If you can boot and log in now, empty the Trash, and then open the Finder Info window on your boot volume ("Macintosh HD," unless you gave it a different name.) Check that you have at least 9 GB of available space, as shown in the window. If you don't, copy as many files as necessary to another volume (not another folder on the same volume) and delete the originals. Deletion isn't complete until you empty the Trash again. Do this until the available space is more than 9 GB. Then reboot as usual (i.e., not in safe mode.)

If the boot process hangs again, the problem is likely caused by a third-party system modification that you installed. Post for further instructions.

Step 4

Sometimes a boot failure can be resolved by resetting the NVRAM.

Step 5

Launch Disk Utility in Recovery mode (see step 1.) Select your startup volume, then run Repair Disk. If any problems are found, repeat until clear. If Disk Utility reports that the volume can't be repaired, the drive has malfunctioned and should be replaced. You might choose to tolerate one such malfunction in the life of the drive. In that case, erase the volume and restore from a backup. If the same thing ever happens again, replace the drive immediately.

This is one of the rare situations in which you should also run Repair Permissions, ignoring the false warnings it may produce. Look for the line "Permissions repair complete" at the end of the output. Then reboot as usual.

Step 6

Boot into Recovery again. When the OS X Utilities screen appears, follow the prompts to reinstall the OS. If your Mac was upgraded from an older version of OS X, you’ll need the Apple ID and password you used to upgrade.

Note: You need an always-on Ethernet or Wi-Fi connection to the Internet to use Recovery. It won’t work with USB or PPPoE modems, or with proxy servers, or with networks that require a certificate for authentication.

Step 7

Repeat step 6, but this time erase the boot volume in Disk Utility before installing. The system should automatically reboot into the Setup Assistant. Follow the prompts to transfer your data from a backup.

Step 8

A dead logic-board battery in a Mac Pro can cause a gray screen at boot. Typically the boot failure will be preceded by loss of the startup disk and system clock settings. See the user manual for replacement instructions.

Step 9

If you get this far, you're probably dealing with a hardware fault. Make a "Genius" appointment at an Apple Store to have the machine tested.

What step are you referring to?

Hi Linc

I have similar problem in my MBP 15 inch

I followed the instruction but could not actually complete because

Step 1 : A : Tried with command-R , but it goes to blue screen and hangs

Step 3 : Again, after progress bar, it goes to blue screen and hangs, nothing happens.

Rest I could not apply as it is not going beyond grey or blue screen.

Any help ?

Allerin

Do you have a 15" 2011 model?

Call back...

Clinton

Yes

Allerin,

I'm betting that you're having the beginnings of the problems as discussed in this ->

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4766577?tstart=0 thread.

The problem usually starts with visual glitches, then moves into the blue screen to the point where you can no longer even boot at all. The problem is that Apple defectively soldered the GPU to the logic board. If you take it to Apple, they will advise you to purchase a new logic board: but that doesn't really fix the problem: many people have had logic board replaced 3+ times and they continue to fail. The only true solution is to have the CPU BGA reballed. That costs less than $200, offers warranties of up to one year (vs. the 90 days that Apple would warranty a new logic board) and genuinely fixes the problem.

Take a look at the thread noted above and see if you see similar symptoms.

Good luck,

Clinton

MacBook Pro (15-inch Late 2011), OS Mavericks 10.9.4, 16GB Crucial RAM, Crucial M500 960GB SSD, 27” Apple Thunderbolt Display

Thanks Clinton

Tell you what, I recently had similar problem, as described in that thread with another MBP and actually spent like $350 (In India) .

Lets see where it ends.

Does rebaing the CPU BGA delete any files from the computer?

This same problem just happened to my Macbook Pro 2011. I get stuck on the loading screen and holdong down command-r and it still will not bring past the grey screen. How can I save my files?

-Eric

Hello Eric,

I suggest you start your own thread. This one is over 3 years old.