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General discussion

Stuck on Apple screen on startup

Nov 12, 2007 7:09AM PST

My wife installed an update for MS office 2004 then restarted. The computer now hangs on the grey apple screen with the progress indicator spinning. I started up from the install disk and repaired the disk and disk permissions from the disk utility but this didn't help. The computer does start in safe mode but I don't know what else to try from there. She has a Macbook with intel 2ghz processor, 2gb ram and Mac OS X 10.4.10.
Any suggestions greatly appreciated. The genius bar is booked and she needs to work.

Discussion is locked

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Try This
Nov 15, 2007 3:39AM PST

Sometimes after an update, it takes a long time for the Mac to reboot. However, if it stays on the same screen for more than 10 minutes, we can accept that there is something else going on.

As the machine starts from the DVD and can boot into Safe Mode, there is probably nothing wrong with the hardware.

Boot the machine in Safe Mode and remove everything from the Startup Items folder on your account.
Take a look in the Start Up items in the HD/Library and drag anything from there onto the desktop.

Restart the machine and see what happens then.

Let us know

P

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Try this
Nov 15, 2007 4:22AM PST

So after rebooting several times with no luck my wife suggested we shut it down and let it rest for the night. Miraculously this seemed to fix the problem. I think simply restarting but not shutting down contributed to the problem, but I'm not sure why this would be the case. Thank you for your suggestion.

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I'm curious....
Nov 19, 2007 4:05AM PST

I'm curious what kinds of things one should try in this type of situation, if you'd like to continue mrmacfixit...

I'm fairly new to Macs, but I have pretty much figured out on my own that there doesn't seem to be much that will turn them into a brick. They are very resilient.

Nonetheless, my heart pounds a bit faster when that boot screen takes longer...

QB

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Continue?
Nov 19, 2007 7:07AM PST

A lot depends on the model of Mac that one is working with as to what things to try when the machine does not boot.
Zapping the PRAM often works wonders, as does resetting the power management system (Laptops only)
Shutting the machine down completely, as evidenced by this post, removing the logic board battery, disconnecting everything (except the monitor) and the simplest one, changing the power cord for another.

All the above may help but it all depends on the current circumstances. None of the above will work if a piece of faulty RAM has just been installed. It does not help when the poster fails to disclose the whole story or when they get annoyed with suggests and claim to have already done that.
Suggestions we can make, we cannot read minds.

Welcome to the Mac side, where you will notice the difference

P

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Thanks
Nov 19, 2007 2:27PM PST

That all makes sense to me...Some of the same kinds of things I would try with any PC (but with less luck of course!) So far the complete shutdown has been my best trick, along with discovering the Macaroni application- that did wonders! I had never thought about resetting the power management system.

Yes, I'm really loving the Mac experience, I can't bring myself to use Windows anymore. It's like the difference between champagne and a box-o-wine.

Thanks for responding.

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You're welcome
Nov 19, 2007 8:55PM PST

Welcome to the light side

Happy


P

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Gotta love the Jedi for that.
Nov 20, 2007 10:21AM PST

They like white shiny things too. Now I have a craving for an iSaber, haha. My MBP does mess around at the boot screen time to time, but other days it is just running quicker than ever. I did leave it on plugged to my backup for two days straight just to let it run and start a fresh new backup since I just emptied my entire HD. Man, everything is so much neater and better now. Latest software, responsive stuff... etc. My iLife is going good.
I actually did the same to my G4, which is now running much better. Too bad the new iMovie only runs on G5 or later chips, but a quick copy of iMovie HD on my MBP to my flash drive solved the iMovie-emptiness. I love the ability to copy apps and do whatever you want with them. Makes sharing so much easier than PCs. Man... I still need a new PC, but I've found a quad-core HP for $1300 with a keyboard and 22 inch monitor included. Now that's a deal.
-BMF