Galafujipinklady

Q: My MacBook Pro will not completely boot up on the grey screen after turning it on.

My MacBook Pro will not completely boot up on the grey screen after turning it on. Just earlier I uploaded a huge video file to imovie

MacBook Pro, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8)

Posted on Feb 15, 2016 6:39 PM

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Q: My MacBook Pro will not completely boot up on the grey screen after turning it on.

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  • by alex_h1,

    alex_h1 alex_h1 Feb 17, 2016 6:16 AM in response to Galafujipinklady
    Community Specialists
    Feb 17, 2016 6:16 AM in response to Galafujipinklady

    Hello Galafujipinklady,

    Thanks for using Apple Support Communities.

     

    If I understand your post correctly you are only seeing a gray screen when your Mac is booting up.  Do you see an icon on the screen as well? Take a look at the information below for some possible screens you may be seeing.

     

     

    You might see one of these screens appear during startup if you've changed your startup options, or there's an issue starting up your Mac.

    Folder with a question mark

    If you see a folder with a question mark appear instead of the Apple logo, it means your Mac couldn't find a local or network-based startup disk. This can happen if the disk selected in the Startup Disk pane of System Preferences isn't available. Wait a few seconds to see if your Mac is able to locate the startup disk you specified. 

    If you still see a question mark after waiting a few moments, use Startup Manager to start up your Mac, then re-select your startup disk from System Preferences.

    If a question mark appears after you install a software update, re-select your startup disk using OS X Recovery.

    Prohibitory symbol

    When you see a circle with a slash symbol instead of the Apple logo, it means your Mac couldn't find a valid System Folder to start up from.

    If you're using your Mac at a school or business, it might be trying to start from the wrong version of OS X. Contact your IT department for more help. 

    If this is your personal Mac, try reinstalling OS X by using OS X Recovery.

    Lock icon

    If you set a firmware password on your Mac, you might see a lock icon at startup if you try to start your Mac from another volume like an external drive or OS X Recovery. Enter your firmware password to continue starting up.

    Spinning globe

    If you see a spinning globe instead of an Apple logo, it means your Mac is starting from a network-based startup disk like Netboot or Internet Recovery instead of a connected or built-in startup disk. If you didn't mean for your Mac to start this way, press and hold the power key to turn off your Mac. Then, press the power key again to start up normally. 

    If your Mac always starts to a spinning globe and you're at a school or business, check with your IT department for more information. There may be a server on your network that your Mac is trying to start from. If this is your personal Mac, try starting from OS X Recovery to check your startup disk and OS X.

    About the screens you see when your Mac starts up

     

    Take care.