starvingartist001

Q: Help with MBP grey screen

Hello.. so ive been having issues with my MBP. (15 inch Late 2008.) When i turn it on, it goes to the grey screen with the prohibitory symbol (Grey circle with a slash through it.) SO ive started up the OSX Utility menu by pressing command+R. I went to Disk Utility and tried doing a first aid on my HD listed and then the Disk Image. The HD continues to fail the first aid saying the "File system check exit code is 8." So ive looked all over the internet looking for answers and i really dont understand that..

 

And also, ive tried reinstalling my OS and that also fails saying "An error occured while extracting files from the package 'Essentials.pkg'." And i try and restart the computer again and it continues to fail.

 

Any help from anyone would be appreciated!

 

i uploaded pics of the grey screen, the failed OS X reinstallation and The disk utility menu with my HD

 

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20160704_144745-min.jpg

MacBook Pro

Posted on Jul 4, 2016 12:22 PM

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Q: Help with MBP grey screen

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  • by Carolyn Samit,

    Carolyn Samit Carolyn Samit Jul 4, 2016 12:24 PM in response to starvingartist001
    Level 10 (120,370 points)
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    Jul 4, 2016 12:24 PM in response to starvingartist001

    It sounds like the hard drive is failing or has failed.

     

    Run the Apple Hardware Test

  • by starvingartist001,

    starvingartist001 starvingartist001 Jul 4, 2016 12:36 PM in response to Carolyn Samit
    Level 1 (4 points)
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    Jul 4, 2016 12:36 PM in response to Carolyn Samit

    Alright.. Thats what i figured.. Ive tried running the Apple Hardware test but i cant get that screen to come up.. Would my best option be to buy a new Hard Drive and try and reinstall the OS X on that from the OS X utilities menu?

     

    Thanks for your reply to my questions by the way!

  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Jul 4, 2016 3:22 PM in response to starvingartist001
    Level 10 (207,926 points)
    Applications
    Jul 4, 2016 3:22 PM in response to starvingartist001

    Please try the installation again after taking each of the following steps that you haven't already taken.

    Step 1

    Reset the NVRAM.

    Step 2

    If possible, set the system clock as instructed here. If you can only start up in Recovery mode, see below.

    In the OS X Utilities screen, select Get Help Online. Safari will launch. While in Recovery, you'll have no access to your bookmarks or history. Load this web page.

    Triple-click anywhere in the line below to select it:

    date 1201000015

    Copy the selected text to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C.

    Quit Safari. You'll be returned to the OS X Utilities screen.

    Select

              Utilities â–¹ Terminal

    from the menu bar. A Terminal window will open. Paste into the window by pressing the key combination command-V.

    Wait for a new line ending in a hash sign (#) to appear below what you entered. If it doesn't appear, press return.

    Quit Terminal to return to the main screen.

    Step 3

    If your model has user-replaceable memory, and you've upgraded the memory modules, reinstall the original memory and see whether there's any improvement. Be careful not to touch the gold contacts. Clean them with a mild solvent such as rubbing alcohol. Aftermarket memory must exactly match the technical specifications of the machine. Don't install more memory than the specified maximum, even if a RAM vendor, or anyone else, tells you that it will work.

    Step 4

    Back up all data to at least two different storage devices, if you haven't already done so. One backup is not enough to be safe. The backups can be made with Time Machine or with Disk Utility. Preferably both.

    To back up with Disk Utility, start up from the Recovery partition. When the OS X Utilities screen appears, launch Disk Utility and follow the instructions in this support article. You'll be "restoring" the startup volume to the backup volume.

    If you use FileVault 2, then you must first unlock the startup volume. Select its icon ("Macintosh HD," unless you gave it a different name.) It will be nested below another disk icon. Select Unlock from the File menu. Enter your login password when prompted.

    Erase and install OS X. This operation will destroy all data on the startup volume, so you had be better be sure of the backups.

  • by starvingartist001,

    starvingartist001 starvingartist001 Jul 4, 2016 4:36 PM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (4 points)
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    Jul 4, 2016 4:36 PM in response to Linc Davis

    I went throught step 1-3 and got to step 4 and cannot go through with that because i dont have another storage device to make a recovery..

  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Jul 4, 2016 4:40 PM in response to starvingartist001
    Level 10 (207,926 points)
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    Jul 4, 2016 4:40 PM in response to starvingartist001

    Does that mean you have no backups?

  • by starvingartist001,

    starvingartist001 starvingartist001 Jul 4, 2016 4:42 PM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (4 points)
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    Jul 4, 2016 4:42 PM in response to Linc Davis

    Yeah i have no backups.. haha and ive learned that the hard way

  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Jul 4, 2016 4:55 PM in response to starvingartist001
    Level 10 (207,926 points)
    Applications
    Jul 4, 2016 4:55 PM in response to starvingartist001

    I suggest you shut down the computer immediately and don't turn it on again until you have at least one external hard drive (two or more recommended) to dedicate to backup. Each backup drive must have at least enough capacity to hold all the data on the internal drive comfortably, as well as any data that you have on secondary drives. Then follow the instructions in this support article.

  • by starvingartist001,

    starvingartist001 starvingartist001 Jul 4, 2016 4:57 PM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Notebooks
    Jul 4, 2016 4:57 PM in response to Linc Davis

    okay, that sounds good. So I should be able to do all the back up recovery straight from the OS X Utility menu?

  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Jul 4, 2016 4:59 PM in response to starvingartist001
    Level 10 (207,926 points)
    Applications
    Jul 4, 2016 4:59 PM in response to starvingartist001

    There are several ways to back up a Mac that is not fully functional. You need an external hard drive or other storage device to hold the data.

    1. 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. You'll be "restoring" the startup volume to the backup volume.

    If you use FileVault 2, then you must first unlock the startup volume. Select its icon ("Macintosh HD," unless you gave it a different name.) It will be nested below another disk icon. Select Unlock from the File menu. Enter your login password when prompted.

    2. If Method 1 fails because of disk errors, 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.

    3. 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. If one Mac has Thunderbolt and the other has FireWire, you need a FireWire cable and an adapter. A Retina MacBook (2015 or later model) with a USB-C port can also be started in target disk mode and connected to another Mac using a USB cable and another adapter.

    Use the working Mac to copy the data to another drive.

    This technique won't work with USB (except on a Retina MacBook), Ethernet, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth. Note that a Retina MacBook Pro (with Thunderbolt) is different from a Retina MacBook, and it can't be connected to another Mac via USB in target disk mode.

    4. 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.

  • by starvingartist001,

    starvingartist001 starvingartist001 Jul 4, 2016 5:02 PM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Notebooks
    Jul 4, 2016 5:02 PM in response to Linc Davis

    And also, ive never upgraded a HD myself, so would i have to install any kind of drivers or anything with an external HD? or is it essentially like a flashdrive where it will just appear as a folder?

     

    Sorry if my questions make me sound like an idiot haha.. i guess i have to learn someway haha and again, thank you for your answers so far!

  • by starvingartist001,

    starvingartist001 starvingartist001 Jul 4, 2016 5:08 PM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Notebooks
    Jul 4, 2016 5:08 PM in response to Linc Davis

    Okay, thank you! So i guess my next step is to get an external HD. and then see what happens from there.. haha

  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Jul 4, 2016 6:04 PM in response to starvingartist001
    Level 10 (207,926 points)
    Applications
    Jul 4, 2016 6:04 PM in response to starvingartist001

    would i have to install any kind of drivers or anything with an external HD?

    No. Just partition the drive in Disk Utility with the default options.

  • by starvingartist001,

    starvingartist001 starvingartist001 Jul 12, 2016 1:06 PM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Notebooks
    Jul 12, 2016 1:06 PM in response to Linc Davis

    So i finally just recieved my 1TB external Hard Drive. I was wondering how partitioning worked? Do I just split the hard drive in half and then install the OS X on the? And thats it?

  • by starvingartist001,

    starvingartist001 starvingartist001 Jul 12, 2016 1:33 PM in response to Linc Davis
    Level 1 (4 points)
    Notebooks
    Jul 12, 2016 1:33 PM in response to Linc Davis

    And also it isn't allowing me to partition the external hard drive in the disk utility..