TS1367: Troubleshooting: My computer won't turn on

Learn about Troubleshooting: My computer won't turn on
Dennis Swan
Level 1 (19 points)
iCloud

Q: My iMac will not restart.  I tried resetting the SMC per instructions on this site.  That did not help.

I got home for the weekend and my computer screen would occasionally flash a gray screen and the applications were not showing at the bottom of the screen.  I tried restarting and held down the shift key to reset the permissions.  The computer would start, I would get the apple symbol on the screen and a progress bar would show at lower part of the screen, then in 30 sec or so the computer would shut down.  I have since tried resetting the SMC by pulling the power cable for a minute and then plugging back in and trying to restart.  That did not work. 

OS X Mavericks (10.9.1), 1 - 2TB WD Book 2 LaCie external hard drives and 1 Lacie externa

Posted on Feb 23, 2014 2:11 PM

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Dennis Swan

Q: My iMac will not restart.  I tried resetting the SMC per instructions on this site.  That did not help.

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  • Helpful answers

  • by ClassicII,

    ClassicII ClassicII Feb 24, 2014 11:55 AM in response to Dennis Swan
    Level 3 (835 points)
    Feb 24, 2014 11:55 AM in response to Dennis Swan

    Hey Dennis

     

    This is the wrong forum but

     

    The directory structure is damaged. The system is trying to repair its self with fsck. The problem is it is unable to do this on its own.

     

    You can boot into verbose mode and watch it all go down.

     

    Restart the machine and hold down "command V" you will see the text loading. Does it stop on some area where it talks about invalid node structure or attepting to repair the volume?

     

    Do you have Filevault 2 enabled ?

  • by Dennis Swan,Helpful

    Dennis Swan Dennis Swan Feb 24, 2014 12:06 PM in response to ClassicII
    Level 1 (19 points)
    iCloud
    Feb 24, 2014 12:06 PM in response to ClassicII

    Sorry about getting in the wrong forum!  No wonder I was not getting any response.  There are no codes when it stops.  I don't know about FileVault2.  I will try starting with command v.  I understand structure, but don't understand how to repair.

  • by ClassicII,

    ClassicII ClassicII Feb 24, 2014 12:17 PM in response to Dennis Swan
    Level 3 (835 points)
    Feb 24, 2014 12:17 PM in response to Dennis Swan

    No problem just let me know what it does.

     

    You can tell if you have filevualt or not by when you turn on your computer do you see a light grey background with a circle and a place for you to put in your password?

  • by Dennis Swan,

    Dennis Swan Dennis Swan Feb 25, 2014 5:57 AM in response to ClassicII
    Level 1 (19 points)
    iCloud
    Feb 25, 2014 5:57 AM in response to ClassicII

    I started the computer and held down the "command v".  Initially I got a gray screen, then apple symbol showed on the screen with a status bar at lower part of the screen.  The status bar progresses about an 1/8 of the way, then the computer shuts down.

  • by Antonio Rocco,

    Antonio Rocco Antonio Rocco Feb 27, 2014 12:25 PM in response to Dennis Swan
    Level 6 (10,616 points)
    Desktops
    Feb 27, 2014 12:25 PM in response to Dennis Swan

    The sympton you're describing is generally down to a hard drive issue. If you're able take it to your nearest Apple store or Apple Authorised Repair Centre to a full and proper diagnosis and a hard drive replacement.

     

    If you've not backed up your data be prepared as potentially you may have lost it all.

  • by Dennis Swan,

    Dennis Swan Dennis Swan Feb 27, 2014 3:33 PM in response to Antonio Rocco
    Level 1 (19 points)
    iCloud
    Feb 27, 2014 3:33 PM in response to Antonio Rocco

    Thanks Antonio....it is already at an Apple Authorised Repair Center.  I sure hope you are wrong about the hard drive!  I could be in deep do do!!