Q: 10.10.2 hangs on startup of 2010 iMac

iMac (24 Zoll, Mid 2007)

same problem. I think i wait till google and apple got more results on that.

Still applies.

Startup – Computer Stops or Delays

Startup Issues - Resolve

Startup Issues - Resolve (2)

Startup Issues - Resolve (3)

Hi SFv,

You could try one of these to try solve your problems.

Macs are fun

Leo

Run OS Recovery

Boot up from your computer by holding down the command+r keys.  This will take you to the recovery drive.

Select Disk Utility & hit Return. 

In Disk Utility select the HD on the left & click on Repair Disk (bottom right).

When you reach the desktop, repair permissions & restart your comp.

Throwing sea salt over both shoulders is optional

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

To restart an unresponsive computer, press and hold the power button for a few seconds until the power shuts off, then release, wait a few more seconds, and press it again briefly.

Step 1

The first step in dealing with a startup failure is to secure the data. If you want to preserve the contents of the startup drive, and you don't already have at least one current backup, you must try to back up now, before you do anything else. It may or may not be possible. If you don't care about the data that has changed since the last backup, you can skip this step.

There are several ways to back up a Mac that is unable to start. You need an external hard drive to hold the backup data.

a. Start up from the Recovery partition, or from a local Time Machine backup volume (option key at startup.) When the OS X Utilities screen appears, launch Disk Utility and follow the instructions in this support article, under “Instructions for backing up to an external hard disk via Disk Utility.” The article refers to starting up from a DVD, but the procedure in Recovery mode is the same. You don't need a DVD if you're running OS X 10.7 or later.

b. If Step 1a fails because of disk errors, and no other Mac is available, then you may be able to salvage some of your files by copying them in the Finder. If you already have an external drive with OS X installed, start up from it. Otherwise, if you have Internet access, follow the instructions on this page to prepare the external drive and install OS X on it. You'll use the Recovery installer, rather than downloading it from the App Store.

c. If you have access to a working Mac, and both it and the non-working Mac have FireWire or Thunderbolt ports, start the non-working Mac in target disk mode. Use the working Mac to copy the data to another drive. This technique won't work with USB, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth.

d. 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

If the startup process stops at a blank gray screen with no Apple logo or spinning "daisy wheel," then the startup volume may be full. If you had previously seen warnings of low disk space, this is almost certainly the case. You might be able to start up in safe mode even though you can't start up normally. Otherwise, start up from an external drive, or else use the technique in Step 1b, 1c, or 1d to mount the internal drive and delete some files. According to Apple documentation, you need at least 9 GB of available space on the startup volume (as shown in the Finder Info window) for normal operation.

Step 3

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

Step 4

If a desktop Mac hangs at a plain gray screen with a movable cursor, the keyboard may not be recognized. Press and hold the button on the side of an Apple wireless keyboard to make it discoverable. If need be, replace or recharge the batteries. If you're using a USB keyboard connected to a hub, connect it to a built-in port.

Step 5

If there's a built-in optical drive, a disc may be stuck in it. Follow these instructions to eject it.

Step 6

Press and hold the power button until the power shuts off. Disconnect all wired peripherals except those needed to start up, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards. Use a different keyboard and/or mouse, if those devices are wired. If you can start up 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.

Step 7

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

Start up in safe mode. Note: If FileVault is enabled in OS X 10.9 or earlier, or if a firmware password is set, or if the startup volume is a software RAID, you can’t do this. Post for further instructions.

Safe mode is much slower to start 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 the login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin.

When you start up 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, the startup volume is corrupt and the drive is probably malfunctioning. In that case, go to Step 11. If you ever have another problem with the drive, replace it immediately.

If you can start and log in in safe mode, empty the Trash, and then open the Finder Info window on the startup 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 restart as usual (i.e., not in safe mode.)

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

Step 8

Launch Disk Utility in Recovery mode (see Step 1.) Select the 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 restart as usual.

Step 9

If the startup device is an aftermarket SSD, it may need a firmware update and/or a forced "garbage collection." Instructions for doing this with a Crucial-branded SSD were posted here. Some of those instructions may apply to other brands of SSD, but you should check with the vendor's tech support.  

Step 10

Reinstall the OS. If the Mac was upgraded from an older version of OS X, you’ll need the Apple ID and password you used to upgrade.

Step 11

Do as in Step 9, but this time erase the startup volume in Disk Utility before installing. The system should automatically restart into the Setup Assistant. Follow the prompts to transfer the data from a Time Machine or other backup.

Step 12

This step applies only to models that have a logic-board ("PRAM") battery: all Mac Pro's and some others (not current models.) Both desktop and portable Macs used to have such a battery. The logic-board battery, if there is one, is separate from the main battery of a portable. A dead logic-board battery can cause a startup failure. Typically the failure will be preceded by loss of the settings for the startup disk and system clock. See the user manual for replacement instructions. You may have to take the machine to a service provider to have the battery replaced.

Step 13

If you get this far, you're probably dealing with a hardware fault. Make a "Genius" appointment at an Apple Store, or go to another authorized service provider.

I've got the exact same issue with my Mid 2012 13" MBP. Just restored back to 10.10.1 via time machine and everything was fine again, went through a few restart cycles and all was good.

Installed 10.10.2 and was back to the hang again.

Booted in verbose to find it saying PCI Pause SDX Error.

Have tried all of the suggested above as well as disabling kext signing with no avail.

I managed to get around this issue by going back to 10.10.1 where the issue did not occur and then updating using the direct download from Apple OS X Yosemite 10.10.2 Update rather than the App Store.

So far so good and everything is working again.

Same problem, also mid-2010.  I opened a similar discussion about an hour ago.  This discussion thread and conversations with colleagues at work seem to point at a problem in upgrading from Mavericks to 10.10.2 directly.  I'll restore when I get home.  Specifically, Linc -- thank you very much.  You've helped me before, and consequently, I'm trying to ramp up myself to return the favor to others.  Tim -- your solution of going to 10.10.1 then to 10.10.2 is a good one.  I updated directly from Apple update, letting Apple make all the decisions. 

Glad it worked out for you. I was on a live chat with Apple for an hour last night and the guy while helpful was clueless and scheduled a chat with a senior technician.

Unable to wait that long, in desperation I stayed up until about 2am and then suddenly the Delta/Combo update option popped into my head.

Hopefully it'll help a few more people, seeing as the update notification has only just appeared on my girlfriends MacBook today even after a few days of use, I reckon there'll be a few more people who get caught by this when they get around to updating.

The solution here sounds like just what I need, as I'm having the exact symptoms/issue on my 17" MBP. I'm stuck in the mid-boot shut down after updating to 10.10.2. The question I have is, how do you rollback to 10.10.1 in order to apply the combo update?  I do not have a local time machine backup, as I use a cloud backup solution for my computers (Backblaze). Is there another way to reapply 10.10.1 over the top of my data without doing a complete wipe/reinstall?

It's tricky because if you were to gain access to another Mac and download Yosemite from the App Store and then use DiskMaker X to create a bootable USB. It's likely it'll just try to overwrite with the same version of 10.10.2 that's causing you problems in the first place.

You can't overwrite with vanilla 10.10.0 as it'll say the current version on your hard drive is too new (I'm assuming you were on 10.10.1). You may also find that you can't overwrite with 10.10.1 either as even though the 10.10.2 install is damaged, I'm confident it'll still be recognised as a new version

Internet recovery probably won't help as I'm guessing your machine being a 17" it likely came with 10.7-10.8 which is what internet recovery will load by default based on your machines' ID.

So the only thing I can suggest is finding a copy of 10.10.1 and giving it a go, create a bootable USB and try going over the top with that instead and that's not going to be easy to find. Let's just say the only place I can find that version to download is that popular bay that pirates like to hang out in.

Despite all of it's flaws I am pleased I opted for Time Machine in the end. I hadn't backed up for a month but thankfully hadn't done too much work recently. Although you rely on a cloud based solution which is way more reliable, might be worth grabbing a USB drive and just doing a single TM backup once everything is up and running, just so if anything you've got a restore disk at hand as TM also carries the entire OS with it as well as your settings so you don't have to start entirely from scratch next time.

Best of luck with getting sorted but looking at the options I think you're going to have to go for a clean wipe.