macbook wont boot, stops at blue screen

[erik lol]

ok my macbook wont boot
i hit the power button, i hear the cd drive move, grey screen comes up with the apply logo and the little progress loading spinner thing, boot sound rings, then it goes to a dark blue screen for a second then it turns a lighter blue and the cursor is there and i can move it around, and then nothing happens it just sits there

i tried holding command/option/p/r till i heard the boot noise twice then let go and it stopped at the blue screen again

i didnt download anything new or change any permissions or system settings, just powered off last night and went to turn it on this morning and this happened

so any help would be greatly appreciated it would be great if my mac didt break without any reason like my past windows machines. after all, thats why i got a mac

 

[ziggyonice]

I've seen this happen before, and while it's not "broken", you're going to have to do just a couple things to get it working again. Often times this is caused by a file that's become corrupted during an update to the computer, or something along those lines.

You need to do what's called an Archive and Install. What this does is reinstall Mac OS X onto your computer, but doesn't touch any of your personal files -- so all your stuff should be safe. Unlike a Windows PC, Archive and Install DOES NOT erase the hard drive, but you just have to make sure to follow what's in bold below, and you'll be all set.

Info from Apple's knowledge base article:

Start up from your Mac OS X Install Disc 1 or Install DVD. If you have different versions of Mac OS X Installer discs (for example, if your computer came with version 10.3 and you later purchased and installed version 10.4), start from the disc that most closely matches the installed Mac OS X version. Usually, that's the latest (newer) version.

Usually, you can start from the disc by putting it in your computer, restarting, and holding the C key. Or, put it in the computer and click the Install or Restore icon you see in the disc's main window (after which the computer will start from the disc without you needing to hold C.)

Select your language. The Welcome to the Mac OS X Installer window appears.

Click Continue. The Important Information window appears.

After reading or printing the information, click Continue. The Software License Agreement window appears.

After reading or printing the information, click Continue.

An agreement sheet appears. If you agree with the license agreement, click Agree. The Select a Destination window appears.

Click the volume that you wish to install to.

Click Options. The installation options sheet appears.

Select Archive and Install.

You should also select Preserve Users and Network Settings, to preserve network and Home directory settings.

Select the volume which already has Mac OS X installed.

Click OK.

Click Continue to begin the installation.

Then just wait until the process is completed.

 

[erik lol]

I've seen this happen before, and while it's not "broken", you're going to have to do just a couple things to get it working again. Often times this is caused by a file that's become corrupted during an update to the computer, or something along those lines.

You need to do what's called an Archive and Install. What this does is reinstall Mac OS X onto your computer, but doesn't touch any of your personal files -- so all your stuff should be safe. Unlike a Windows PC, Archive and Install DOES NOT erase the hard drive, but you just have to make sure to follow what's in bold below, and you'll be all set.




Then just wait until the process is completed.

alright its installing thanks ill let you know if it works


you know whats funny is that as i was grabbing my macbook to turn it on this morning i was thinking how ive had it for a year now and its never pulled any stupid crap like windows has done to me oh so many times

and then this happened lol its ok i forgive it, once a year system hiccup isnt bad

 

[ziggyonice]

alright its installing thanks ill let you know if it works

you know whats funny is that as i was grabbing my macbook to turn it on this morning i was thinking how ive had it for a year now and its never pulled any stupid crap like windows has done to me oh so many times

and then this happened lol its ok i forgive it, once a year system hiccup isnt bad

Well a Mac is still a computer, and all computers have their days.
Windows just has way too many of them.

 

[erik lol]

Well a Mac is still a computer, and all computers have their days.
Windows just has way too many of them.

true true

alright ziggy thanks a ton for your help im posting from the "broken" but now fixed macbook and none of my files were lost!

my hat is off to you

 

[BigIsleJ]

Mahalo Much

Ziggy, thanks for your reply above. I was searching the forum (not even a member yet) after my daughter's MacBook showed the same symptoms the OP described. Spent an hour looking for the install DVD (glad I was able to find it) and its now processing. I spent the two hours before that searching the user's guide PDF, Apple's site and Google-ing to find an answer. Thanks to this forum and your help, I'm finally making some progress. Hopefully, my results will be the same as the OP. Thanks again.

Oh, and by the way, the book "crashed" after she moved a bunch of her files from her old laptop to her new one. I don't know why it would do that and hopefully it doesn't happen again.

 

[BigIsleJ]

Okay, an hour later now and the installed failed. Shut down, re-started holding "D" key, ran hardware test, everything checked out. Re-started, back to Apple gray screen with spinning wheel. Hard drive seems to make a bunch of noises. Goes to blue screen, still won't boot up. Any suggestions?

 

[BobZune]

BigIsleJ - see http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1545 for some things to try.