imac won't fully boot

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Level 1

12 points

imac won't fully boot

I am doing support for a company, and have been assigned to someone tomorrow.

I am fairly savvy with Mac, however, I haven't used them in a while, and want to be prepared.

This is what I received from my company:

iMac has stopped turning on, need help troubleshooting. Have already tried unplugging, etc., and the screen does turn on, but the computer doesn't continue to boot up once the apple screen loads.

I've read

iMac won't boot fully

Try safe mode if your Mac doesn't finish starting up - Apple Support

About the screens you see when your Mac starts up - Apple Support

I imagine I'll try going in to safemode.

I am running Linux, have an iPhone 6S, no other Apple products at the moment.

Thinking of calling her beforehand, learn how old the iMac is, what OS it is running, etc.

Good idea?

Is there a utility I could download on my Linux laptop and copy to a USB or something?

Anything else I should bring or be prepared for?

Posted on Feb 7, 2016 2:03 PM

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Answer 1

SeaPapp

Level 7

26,486 points

Feb 7, 2016 2:10 PM in response to pranaone

Go with the Safe Boot first. Depending on which OS it's running determines what may need to be done after that. If it is running 10.7.x up to the current 10.11.x it should restart while holding Command-R and you can use Disk Utility or reinstall OS X from the built in recovery partition. If it was running 10.6.x you'll need the install disc to do the same things.

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Answer 2

pranaone Author

Level 1

12 points

Feb 8, 2016 9:13 PM in response to SeaPapp

Thanks. I went to the client, she has an A1312, and she bought it used, about 2 years ago. She doesn't have any software for it.

Like she said, it boots to a white screen with a grey Apple logo. Other note, there is a chime, and there is some harddrive activity after it stops at the logo.

I tried holding down the shift key after I heard the chime, and tried a few other keys. However, I don't have a Mac anymore, I run Linux on my laptop, and I don't have Disk Utilities.

I went to the Apple Store, to see if I could get it, or another program to boot off of, but they don't sell anything there.

She had original disks for a 13" Macbook, but I did not use them. I didn't want them to get stuck, and I didn't know which direction to put them in (label facing me, or the rear?)

Can I download a start disk or something to boot from, using my Linux machine?

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Answer 3

SeaPapp

Level 7

26,486 points

Feb 9, 2016 3:47 AM in response to pranaone

First, the Macbook discs will not work. Gray OS X install discs are machine specific and cannot be used on different models.

Did you attempt to boot onto a the recovery partition by holding Command-R at startup? If the computer had been upgraded to 10.7 or later it should have a recovery partition OS X: About OS X Recovery - Apple Support

A1312 includes 27" iMacs from 2009-2011 and should have shipped originally with Snow Leopard 10.6.x. There is no legal download but you can purchase a physical disc here http://www.apple.com/shop/product/MC573Z/A/mac-os-x-106-snow-leopard

The gray screen with Apple logo indicates missing, damaged or incompatible system software, it sounds like you need to reinstall OS X. It sounds doubtful that the user has a backup, is that a concern or is there nothing important on the drive?

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Answer 4

pranaone Author

Level 1

12 points

Feb 10, 2016 2:39 PM in response to SeaPapp

Thank you. I did try Command-R, did not do anything, so it seems there is no recovery partition.

I might get the original software, however, I am thinking to do a diagnostic first, to see if I can 'get in', also to see if the hard drive or other component is bad.

I know of some tools, like Disk Utility, DiskWarrior, and one I heard of today, partedmagic.com. I searched and found http://www.thetechmentor.com/posts/top-10-mac-repair-tools.

Is there something like that I can download (preferably for free) to boot to, to test or fix the machine? My roommate has a Macbook Air (without a DVD drive), so I suspect I can create something bootable from that if I can't use my Linux laptop.

If there is, do I have to enter a BIOS of some sort (since I am used to PCs) to have booting done from a USB or will the machine automatically read from the USB?

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Answer 5

SeaPapp

Level 7

26,486 points

Feb 10, 2016 3:47 PM in response to pranaone

Applejack used to be a good free utility but I haven't used it in awhile so I can't say for sure that it still is. I think you're going to need an OS X install disc or bootable usb installer. The computer will boot from usb natively.

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