S.Sandles
Level 1 (0 points)

Q: MacBook Pro failing to start up after fairly recent 10.8.4 update. Just grey screen with Apple logo displayed and then hangs.

After having to do a forced shut down (holding down power button) due to freezing I cannot again progress past the grey screen with the apple logo. The spinning cog comes on at first then disappears leaving just the apple logo (in case that is sognificant).

 

I have tried to find a solution through the support pages but have unfortunately been unsuccessful in my endeavours so do apologise I have overlooked the obvious and would really appreciate some help. I've just started the second year of my Uni and the timing couldn't be worse.

 

I have tried the following:

1) held down option and started in "recovery 10.8.4" from which I used disk utility to "repair disk", which at first needed some repairs and then I ran it again for the second time to confirm it had a clean bill of health.

 

2) I then ran "repair disk permissions" and repeated a second time to confirm it was all working well (however one error remained "warning: SUID file "system/library/CoreS... has been modified and will not be repaired" but have read that this should not be a big problem) After which I tried to start up again and it hung with the apple logo on the grey screen.

 

3) tried resetting the PRAM by holding down cmd+option+P+R before powering up, but it only chimes once and then restarts the mac, then chimes once and repeats the process again in and endless cycle.

 

4) I then tried 1 and 2 again and then tried to reinstall OSX 10.8.4 from the recovery mode, but this came up with the message "could not find installation information for this machine".

 

5) I tried starting up in safe mode by holding down shift after the chime at startup but safe mode did not start after leaving it 3 hours.

 

6) I tried starting in verbose mode with cmd+V but after running the script it reverts back to the grey screen.

 

I hope I have explained it in enough detail and appreciate any direction or thoughts as to it being salvageable and what to try next.

 

Many thanks

MacBook Pro 2.93GHz, 4GB

Posted on Sep 16, 2013 2:33 PM

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S.Sandles

Q: MacBook Pro failing to start up after fairly recent 10.8.4 update. Just grey screen with Apple logo displayed and then hangs.

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  • by Carolyn Samit,

    Carolyn Samit Carolyn Samit Sep 16, 2013 2:39 PM in response to S.Sandles
    Level 10 (124,473 points)
    Apple Music
    Sep 16, 2013 2:39 PM in response to S.Sandles

    SUID warnings can be ignored >  Mac OS X: Disk Utility's Repair Disk Permissions messages that you can safely ignore

     

    Holding down the Option when you startup your Mac, if all is well, should prompt the Startup Manager window where you can select the startup disk then click Restart.

  • by Eric Root,

    Eric Root Eric Root Sep 16, 2013 2:40 PM in response to S.Sandles
    Level 9 (74,069 points)
    iTunes
    Sep 16, 2013 2:40 PM in response to S.Sandles

    Information.

     

    Startup - Gray Screen

     

    Startup Issues - Resolve


    Startup Issues - Resolve (2)

  • by S.Sandles,

    S.Sandles S.Sandles Sep 16, 2013 3:04 PM in response to Carolyn Samit
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 16, 2013 3:04 PM in response to Carolyn Samit

    Carolyn

     

    Thank you for the quick response. I have tried to start up by holding down Option and selecting Mac HD (start up disk) but to no avail unfortunately. I just get the same issue.

     

    Thank you all the same. Any other suggestions are most welcome though.

     

    Many thanks

  • by S.Sandles,

    S.Sandles S.Sandles Sep 16, 2013 3:19 PM in response to Eric Root
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Sep 16, 2013 3:19 PM in response to Eric Root

    Eric

     

    Thank you for taking the time to post those links to informative articles.

     

    In relation to the first article entitled "Resolve startup issues and perform disk maintenance with Disk Utility and fsck"

    I can confirm that i was not able to start in safe mode but was able to boot up in recovery mode and run disk utility. The only one i hadn't tried is fsck.  Please correct me if I am wrong, but if from what I understand by the article, this is to be used if I could not run disk utility, with which I have been able to do and to repair both the disk and permissions. But again, if I've missed the obvious from that article please correct me.

     

    Te second article entitled "Troubleshooting Startup and Login Items" identifies troubleshooting that should be carried out in safe mode. However I am unfortunately unable to start in safe mode and have not been able to progress past the apple logo since this problem started.

     

    Thank you for both links and for taking the time to share. If though I have missed something more significant in this regard I would appreciate your feedback.

     

    Many thanks 

  • by Eric Root,

    Eric Root Eric Root Sep 17, 2013 8:33 AM in response to S.Sandles
    Level 9 (74,069 points)
    iTunes
    Sep 17, 2013 8:33 AM in response to S.Sandles

    Please correct me if I am wrong, but if from what I understand by the article, this is to be used if I could not run disk utility, with which I have been able to do and to repair both the disk and permissions.

     

    I think you are correct.

     

    If you have FileVault enabled, you can't boot into the Safe Mode based on what I have read.