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My macbook is suddenly refusing to start up, either going onto a grey screen with a no smoking sign on, or a grey screen with the apple on. It then goes onto a black screen with white text on and dies. Holding down shift (safe mode) didn't work, help!

As above

MacBook Pro

Posted on Oct 4, 2013 5:25 PM

Reply
17 replies

Oct 4, 2013 5:28 PM in response to Hali101

Have you tried startup holding the Option key so it shows you the available bootable startup disks? If nothing shows then the hard drive has failed and it cannot find a startup disk.


In that case you might want to consider a visit to an Apple store genius bar for checking unless you have an external drive with a bootable Mac OS X. In that case starting with the Option key should give that avenue for startup.

Oct 4, 2013 5:43 PM in response to Hali101

The Option key is the key on he same line as the space bar but usually two keys to the left...normally marked as option or alt.


To find the Mac OS X version, click the apple at the left side of the menu bar, About This Mac and under the Apple logo will be OS X and under that the Mac OS X version, such as 10.7.5 or 10.8.5, or whatever you have installed.


If you do not have an external hard drive, then there is a problem with the intrernal drive, or a corrupted Mac OS X version.

Oct 4, 2013 5:45 PM in response to Hali101

Well, then, this is a shot in the dark. If your computer came with an installer DVD, then you need that DVD or a later installer DVD you may have purchased from Apple.


Reinstall OS X without erasing the drive


1. Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions


Boot from your OS X Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the installer.


If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior and/or Tech Tool Pro to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X.


2. Reinstall OS X


If the drive is OK then quit DU and return to the installer. Proceed with reinstalling OS X. Note that the Snow Leopard installer will not erase your drive or disturb your files. After installing a fresh copy of OS X the installer will move your Home folder, third-party applications, support items, and network preferences into the newly installed system.


Download and install Mac OS X 10.6.8 Update Combo v1.1.


If your computer did not come with installer discs, then you do this instead of the above:


Reinstalling Lion/Mountain Lion Without Erasing the Drive


Boot to the Recovery HD: Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the menu screen appears. Alternatively, restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears. Select the Recovery HD and click on the downward pointing arrow button.


Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions: Upon startup select Disk Utility from the main menu. Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions as follows.


When the recovery menu appears select Disk Utility. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the main menu.


Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion: Select Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion and click on the Continue button.


Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet if possible because it is three times faster than wireless.


If you are unable to reinstall OS X due to errors, then your hard drive is probably dead. You will then need to take it to an Apple Store to have the drive replaced.

Oct 4, 2013 5:49 PM in response to Ralph Landry1

Ralph,


You wrote this: "If nothing shows then the hard drive has failed ..." I would take exception to the assumption that the drive has failed. If no disk appears it simply means there is no disk with an operating system installed. The drive itself may be perfectly fine.


I know this is a bit of a nitpick, but I wouldn't want us to scare the OP with information that is partly incorrect.


Please consider this a friendly suggestion. 🙂

Oct 4, 2013 5:54 PM in response to Hali101

You have a serious problem. Although it may only be system corruption or corrupted directory, it seems more likely that your drive has indeed failed. Nevertheless, you should read through the following for workable solutions assuming the drive is still OK.


Question (?) Mark, Blinking Folder, or Gray Screen at Startup


These are related but not identical issues. Their causes are outlined in Intel-based Mac- Startup sequence and error codes, symbols. Solutions may be found in:


A flashing question mark appears when you start your Mac

Mac OS X- Gray screen appears during startup


In most cases the problems may be caused by:


Problem with the computer's PRAM - See Resetting your Mac's PRAM and NVRAM.

Boot drive's directory has been corrupted - Repair with Disk Utility.

Critical system files are damaged or deleted - Reinstall OS X.

The disk drive is physically non-functional - Replace the hard drive.


Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions


Boot from your Snow Leopard Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the installer.


If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior and/or Tech Tool Pro to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X.


The main difference if you are using Lion or Mountain Lion is that you must first boot from the Recovery HD:


Boot From The Recovery HD:


Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the menu screen appears. Alternatively, restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears. Select the Recovery HD and click on the downward pointing arrow button.


Reinstall Snow Leopard Without Erasing The drive


1. Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions


Boot from your Snow Leopard Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the installer.


If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior and/or Tech Tool Pro to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X.


2. Reinstall Snow Leopard


If the drive is OK then quit DU and return to the installer. Proceed with reinstalling OS X. Note that the Snow Leopard installer will not erase your drive or disturb your files. After installing a fresh copy of OS X the installer will move your Home folder, third-party applications, support items, and network preferences into the newly installed system.


Download and install Mac OS X 10.6.8 Update Combo v1.1.


Reinstalling Lion/Mountain Lion Without Erasing The Drive


Boot to the Recovery HD: Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the menu screen appears. Alternatively, restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears. Select the Recovery HD and click on the downward pointing arrow button.


Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions: Upon startup select Disk Utility from the main menu. Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions as follows.


When the recovery menu appears select Disk Utility. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the main menu.


Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion: Select Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion and click on the Continue button.


Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet if possible because it is three times faster than wireless.


OS X v10.6- Gray progress bar appears under Apple logo during startup

My macbook is suddenly refusing to start up, either going onto a grey screen with a no smoking sign on, or a grey screen with the apple on. It then goes onto a black screen with white text on and dies. Holding down shift (safe mode) didn't work, help!

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