Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

MBP Hangs at grey screen, can't use disk utilities, slow in target mode

M

MacUser2009

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 31, 2009
4
0
Hi Everyone

My Macbook Pro is hanging at the initial grey screen with the apple logo. It won't load beyond that. It first started after installing Symantec Anti virus, which included a Security Update.

-Holding down any of the start up keys does nothing, with the exception of "Verbose" mode which freezes at" .....Error reading file ApplePCCard16ATA.kext" and I can't type any commands.

-It will not load up the recovery CD

-Loading it into Target Mode with another Macbook, I can see the HD of the broken mac, but after opening it I can't get beyond one level (i.e. I can see the items like "system" and "applications" and whatnot, but opening any folder doesn't load.

-I checked the disk with disk utility in Target Mode, but it took a long time (>15minutes it was still thinking so I turned it off).

Any ideas of what to do?

Thanks,

Update 1:

Reset NVRAM
Took out battery and held down power button
(still nothing)
Whenever I look at the broken HD from the other working computer, the working mac just goes to the beachball and doesn't progress beyond.
 
ive had similar issues with laptops after anitvirus sofware was installed... what i was able to do was first try re-installing the OS if nothing works then use a program like Data Rescue II and recover what you can from the hard drive. at that point i zero out the drive in disc utility then reinstall the OS and replace the files i could recover.
 
Thanks for your guys' help.

-Checking with Disk Utility in Target Disk Mode didn't get anywhere... I left it for 15 minutes and it was thinking that whole time. I eventually stopped it and haven't tried again since. Would it be worth running it for a longer time (eg overnight?).

-When I reinstall OS, will that erase EVERYTHING and start anew? I'm hesitant to lose my data (iphoto!).
 
I strongly recommend against re-installing the OS at this point. You could make your situation worse.

Yes, allow Disk Utility to complete its check. It could take a while. Also, copy as much as you can off of that drive while it's in Target Disk Mode.

The most likely problem is with the drive itself.
 
IJ Reilly said:
The most likely problem is with the drive itself.
Click to expand...

now this is just from previous experince... virs protection programs can royally screw up system files ive seen it many times before and often re-installing will help... but i may be wrong... please inform me why it would be a bad idea and make the problem worse? just for my own reference in the future. thanx!:)
 
If the problem is hardware-related, which it often is, then the install will quite likely hang part way through. At that point, the question of whether the drive is repairable is moot, because it becomes unbootable. Start with the simplest solutions and the least-destructive diagnostic methods first. Think like a doctor.
 
IJ Reilly said:
If the problem is hardware-related, which it often is, then the install will quite likely hang part way through. At that point, the question of whether the drive is repairable is moot, because it becomes unbootable. Start with the simplest solutions and the least-destructive diagnostic methods first. Think like a doctor.
Click to expand...

ok... that makes sense..:p lucky enough for me the install worked..otherwise imay have been in some hot water.. :p thanx for the tip
 
Still trying, still not working:

-Tried booting up using Target mode, and put the repair CD in the broken Macbook Pro. The CD showed up on the working computer (via the firewire cord), but when I tried to run it, it would just hang. In fact, even though I could see the files on the CD, none of them would open, even the read-me files would not load.

-Tried running Data Rescue 2 via Target mode, and it ran for over five hours before we gave up, and cancelled it.

Any thoughts? If I can't restore the OS from the cd drive that is in the broken MacBook, is there another way to load it? Can I put the restore CD in my working macbook, and via firewire load the os onto the broken computer?

Thanks again,
 
well yes if you can boot the broken macboo in target disk mode. then plug it into the good macbook. from your good macbook install the operating system just choosing in the install menu the broken macintosh HD as the target device. but keep in mind how it was mentioned that this can be a bad idea and make the problem more serious. so beware of that... and if it is a restore CD for a specific computer it may not work in the macbook if it is a different model.. if thats the case you can use an OSX DVD to do the same thing... but once again.. it may not be a good idea
 
Did you try this?

1) Put the working MB in target mode and connect it to the broken MB.
2) Start the broken MB and hold the Option key down: it should show the bootable disk of the functional MB. Choose it and boot.

If you manage to boot the ``broken'' MB this way then you will know that -at least- there is no issue with the motherboard.

Failing this, I would imagine some problem that goes beyond the HD (which I would already suspect since you can't even boot the CD).

Also:
a) did you install recently new ram? If so, try to put the old one back and report.

b) you say it won't boot and stay at the apple logo: but do you see the spinning wheel?

c) did the computer fall recently?
 
I was not able to boot the broken MB. It goes to the apple logo but I do not see the spinning wheel. The MB didn't fall as far as I know. The original problem was I installed Symantec Anti virus and the security update. It didn't work after that. I also tried to reinstall the OS from the install disks from the good MB ( put into the broken) And they failed to install.
I did not install new ram lately.
I'm simply at a loss on how to reboot my broken MB!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back