Problem booting up after installing El Capitan

Startup your Mac while holding down the Command + R keys.

From there you should be able to access the built in utilities to verify and repair the startup disk if necessary and restore OS X using OS X Recovery.

Take each of these steps that you haven't already tried. Some of them may not be applicable to your model or your situation. 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 you've started from an external drive, 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. Ask 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.

If the startup 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 9. 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 third-party software that you installed. Ask for further instructions.

Step 3

If the startup process stops at a plain gray screen with a movable cursor, then the login dialog may be active but not visible because of a bug. You might be able to log in by using the arrow keys or the cursor to select the password field and typing your password as usual.

Step 4

If Step 3 fails, 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 5

If a desktop Mac (without a built-in keyboard) 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 6

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

Step 7

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

Step 8

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 9

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 10

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 11

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 12

Do as in Step 11, 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 13

This step applies only to models that have a logic-board ("PRAM") battery: all Mac Pro's, MacBooks with a removable main battery, and some others (not current models.) 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 14

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.

Installed El Capitan today, and as for Syblack, the first restart was ok.

But when I tried to switch to my wife's account everything froze at the login/password request.

After 20 minutes of nothing happening I switched off the iMac (2011 model - SSD drive - 32GB ram).

Tried restarting it and, again like Syblack, the grey bar under the apple logo got stuck 3/4 of the way and didn't move.

Switched off again and restarted with the ALT key pressed to chose the recovery partition.

First surprise: there were 2: 10.10 and 10.11.

Chose the latter and it started ok, entering into a new version of Disk Repair.

Verified the disk (no repair button anymore: but it says if verify encounters error it aoutomatically repairs them) and the response was a "no problem" green message. Also, the S.M.A.R.T. verdict is ok too.

Thought of also repairing permissions, but that function has disappeared (??) from Disk Repair...

Restarted again and this time it froze at the apple logo. No sign of the bar appearing. No mouse arrow.

Had to go out and let it stay there for a couple of hours.

When I got back tried I tried restarting in safe mode but got a kernel panic and it automatically restarted again, but it entered automatically into Disk Utilities: the 10.10 (Yosemite) version...

Decided to use my Time Machine backup to go back to last night before the new system install.

Took about an hour, restarted automatically, and once again I got stuck to the apple logo screen with no signs of life (no bar, no mouse)

Now I'm stuck in this hellish loop:

1 - restarting "normally" does not work, as it does not go past the apple logo (no progress bar, no mouse arrow)

2 - restarting in safe mode doesn't wotk and causes a kernel panic

3 - restarting with the option key gives me 3 choices: original hard disk (called HD1),, recovery 10.10 and recovery 10.11

4 - HD1 does not work (see point 1)

5 - 10.11 does not work (same effect as the above - see point 1)

6 - 10.10 (Yosemite's Disk Repair) lets me repair HD1 (signalling no errors) but then doesn't offer me the chance to pick that disk for start up when I want to restart again...

I find it hard to believe this is an hard disk failure.

after El capitan installation mac did not boot. - the grey bar under the apple logo.

Recovered mac (late 2012) with cmd - r, checked disk - no problems. (recovered via internet - could not do it with my backup ext disk.

Then installed El Capitan again (((. Worked for about 1 hour - everything was OK. Turned off. When tried to turn on next time - the same problem - mac does not boot, the bar under the apple logo.

How it can be solved?

The backup from Time Machine didn't work for me too...

And it got worse: HD1 didn't show as bootable any more.

Restarting with ALT-R didn't work.

Tried with COMM-ALT-P-R to force a restart in disk recovery mode - and it was the Yosemite version (all traces of El Capitan disappeared)

Hard Disks still appeared intact in disk repair, while repairing permissions was greyed out as if no System was found on the HD.

Tried to choose a start up disk but came up with an empty window: no choices available...

I finally gave up on the "upgrade" passage

Formatted the SSD drive and went for a "clean install" of El Capitan.

The first restart was nearly critical, as it hanged for about 5 or 6 minutes at the grey apple screen, but the bar did slowly, slowly, sloooowwwwly move forward and it finally did restart.

I decided to work with it for a couple of days before reinstalling all my apps and putting my documents and files back selecting them one by one from the time machine back up HD. Long and painful, but succesfull at last.

It never showed the problem again and now I'm back in fully operative mode.

I know this is not a "solution" to the problem, but since I use the iMac for work I couldn't wait any longer!

i have the same problem have tried every thing though, than i have install this capitan on my ext hard disk and running make on it ..but still its cumbersome. i want to install it on my mac by bootable drive .. can we make a bootable drive from already installed os on ext HD?

do u have any solution?

FREEZING... BLANK GRAY SCREEN WHEN LODING, THEN RESTARTING... I'm experiencing all of this. At times, when allowed to log in properly; within just a few minutes, my screen FUZZ'ES out, and computer restarts on it's own SMH...

I have a MacBook Pro (17-inch, Late 2011) and the exact same thing has been happening to me since installation back in Oct 2015. Now it's my MacBook Pro (17-inch, Late 2011) that decides when it's going to let me log in and work. Until APPLE comes out with a fix for this VERY REAL issue I can't count on my MacBook Pro (17-inch, Late 2011) to work when I need it. Thankfully I'm blessed to have another computer that I'm using of which I will NOT be upgrading to El Capitan.

FREEZING... BLANK GRAY SCREEN WHEN LODING, THEN RESTARTING... I'm experiencing all of this. At times, when allowed to log in properly; within just a few minutes, my screen FUZZ'ES out, and computer restarts on it's own SMH...

I have a MacBook Pro (17-inch, Late 2011) and the exact same thing has been happening to me since installation back in Oct 2015. Now it's my MacBook Pro (17-inch, Late 2011) that decides when it's going to let me log in and work. Until APPLE comes out with a fix for this VERY REAL issue I can't count on my MacBook Pro (17-inch, Late 2011) to work when I need it. Thankfully I'm blessed to have another computer that I'm using of which I will NOT be upgrading to El Capitan.

(FYI - I have not yet; re-formatted to reinstall EL Capitan... I may have to do just that soon.)

I googled "Why is time machine migration el capitan stuck at 1 minute 6 seconds?" and this thread was the first one to come up so I'll post here.

Basically I agree with any poster who says be patient because that does work. When the progress bar sticks and hangs for minutes or even hours I've found that the easiest way to keep the process going is to wiggle your cursor around and click on the progress bar repeatedly to kind of "wake up" your machine. When it seems like that doesn't work do it again and then do it again and wait and eventually my machine finished the migration and everything was perfectly fine. Hopefully this helps somebody out because it worked for me. Your experience may vary.