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 You see an empty, blue screen.
You might also see a progress indicator, which looks like a colored
pinwheel or spinning disc
There
are several different things you can try to fix this symptom.
Go through each of them one by one until you find the solution.
Some of them are advanced techniques, but give them a try.
1. Mac
OS X reviews fonts in the Mac OS 9 System Folder as it starts
up. A damaged Mac OS 9 font file can cause this issue.
Tip: Install Mac OS X 10.2.4 or later to avoid this issue.
a. Start up from your Mac OS 9 System Folder or a Mac OS 9 CD-ROM
disc. If your computer only starts from Mac OS X, start up in
Safe Mode.
b. Drag the Fonts folder from the Mac OS 9 System Folder (not
the Mac OS X System folder) to the desktop.
c. Restart the computer in Mac OS X.
2. Remove
incompatible third-party startup items.
a. Start up from your Mac OS 9 System Folder or a Mac OS 9 CD-ROM
disc. If your computer only starts from Mac OS X, start up in
Safe Mode.
b. Open the Mac OS X hard disk.
c. Drag third-party items out of the /Library/StartupItems and
/System/Library/StartupItems folders. You may wish to temporarily
store them in the Mac OS X Users folder. If you're unsure whether
an item is a third-party item or an Apple-installed item, don't
move it.
d. Restart the computer in Mac OS X.
3. An
incompatible login item could cause this symptom.
a. For Mac OS X 10.2 through 10.3.9, start up in Safe Mode.
b. From the Apple menu, choose System Preferences.
c. From the View menu, choose Accounts then click
Startup Items. In Mac OS X 10.2, choose Login Items from
the View menu.
d. Select all the login items and click Remove.
e. From the Apple menu, choose Restart.
f. If this resolves the issue, add the login items one at a time
until the symptom occurs again. That way you'll know which one
is incompatible. Repeat these steps and remove the incompatible
item.
4. Selecting
the "Connect automatically when starting TCP/IP applications"
option in Network preferences can sometimes cause this issue.
You'll need to delete the preference file that holds this setting.
This is an advanced step that will reset all of your computer's
network settings. You will need to reconfigure them in Network
preferences to reconnect to the Internet or a network.
a. Start up the computer in Single-User Mode.
b. Type: mount -uw /
c. Press Return.
d. Type one of the following:
(for
Mac OS X 10.2.8 or earlier)
mv /var/db/SystemConfiguration/preferences.xml preferences.old
(for
Mac OS X 10.3 through 10.3.9)
mv /Library/Preferences/SystemConfiguration/preferences.plist
preferences.old
Tip: There is a space
between ".plist" and "preferences.old".
e. Press Return.
f. Type: reboot
g. Press Return.
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5. If
your computer still starts up to a blue screen, follow these
steps.
a. Start up the computer in Single-User Mode.
b. Type: mount -uw /
c. Press Return.
d. Type:
mv /Library/Preferences/com.apple.loginwindow.plist preferences2.old
Tip: There is a space
between ".plist" and "preferences".
e. Press Return.
f. Type:
mv /Library/Preferences/com.apple.windowserver.plist preferences3.old
g. Press Return.
h. Type: reboot
i. Press Return.
6. Reset
certain privileges.
a. Start up the computer in Single-User Mode.
b. Check the volume with fsck.
c. Type: mount -uw /
d. Press Return.
e. Type: chmod 1775 /
f. Press Return.
g. Type: reboot
h. Press Return.
Important: If any of the
steps above resolved the issue, stop here.
7. If
Mac OS X automatically logs in for you (you don't have to type
your password when you turn the computer on), follow these steps.
Otherwise go to step 8.
a. Start
up the computer in Single-User Mode.
b. Check the volume with fsck.
c. Press Return.
d. Type: mount -uw /
e. Press Return.
f. Type: cd /Users/[affected username]/Library
Tip: Instead of
"[affected username]", type the username for your account,
or the account that is experiencing this issue. For example,
if the username is "theta," type:
cd /Users/theta/Library
g. Press
Return.
h. Type: mv Preferences Preferences_old
i. Press Return.
j. Type: mv Caches Caches_old
k. Press Return.
l. Type: reboot
m. Press Return.
If you
can now successfully start and log in, use the following steps
to isolate the issue:
n. Open the Console utility. It's in the Utilities folder (/Applications/Utilities).
o. From the File menu, choose Open Log.
p. In the goto field, type: /var/log/system.log, then click the
Open button.
q. From the Edit menu, choose Find.
r. In the Find window, type "parse failed" and click
the Next button.
s. Look for log entries that are similar to the following:
{date}
Dock[500] CFLog (0): CFPropertyListCreateFromXMLData(): plist
parse failed; the data is not proper ISO-8859-1. The file name
for this data could be: com.apple.dock.plist -- /Users/us/Library/Preferences/
The parser will retry as in 10.1, but the problem should be corrected
in the plist. {date} trident crashdump: Crash report written
to: /Users/us/Library/Logs/CrashReporter/Dock.crash.log
t. For
each "parse failed" message that you find, remove the
matching .plist file from the ~/Library/Preferences_old folder.
The tilde "~" character represents your home folder.
u. Repeat steps s and t until you have removed all of the .plist
files associated with "parse failed" messages.
v. In the Finder, rename the ~/Library/Preferences folder to
"Preferences_new".
w. Rename Preferences_old to Preferences.
x. From the Apple menu, choose Log Out. When the
login panel appears log back in.
Important: If the issue is resolved, stop here. Otherwise,
skip to step 9.
8. If
you log in each time the computer starts up, do the following:
a. Start
up the computer in Single-User Mode.
b. Check the volume with fsck.
c. Press Return.
d. Type: mount -uw /
e. Press Return.
f. Type: cd /Users/[affected username]/Library
Tip: Instead of
"[affected username]", type the username for your account,
or the account that is experiencing this issue. For example,
if the username is "theta," type:
cd /Users/theta/Library
g. Type:
mv Preferences Preferences_old
h. Type: reboot
i. Press Return.
If you
can successfully login, use the following steps to isolate the
issue:
j. Open
the Console utility. It's in the Utilities folder (/Applications/Utilities).
k. From the File menu, choose Open Log.
l. In the goto field, type: /var/log/system.log , then click
the Open button.
m. From the Edit menu, choose Find.
n. In the Find window, type "parse failed" and click
the Next button.
o. Look for log entries that are similar to the following:
{date}
Finder[500] CFLog (0): CFPropertyListCreateFromXMLData(): plist
parse failed; the data is not proper ISO-8859-1. The file name
for this data could be: com.apple.HIToolbox.plist -- /Library/Preferences/
The parser will retry as in 10.1, but the problem should be corrected
in the plist. {date} trident crashdump: Crash report written
to: /Users/us/Library/Logs/CrashReporter/Finder.crash.log
p. For
each "parse failed" message that you find, remove the
matching .plist file from the /Library/Preferences_old folder.
q. Repeat steps o and p until you have removed all of the .plist
files associated with "parse failed" messages.
r. In the Finder, rename /Library/Preferences folder to Preferences_new.
s. Rename Preferences_old to Preferences.
t. From the Apple menu, choose Log Out. When the
login panel appears log back in.
9. If the issue persists, follow the steps for "You see
a blank, gray screen" below.
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A "broken folder" icon, a prohibitory
sign, or "kernel panic" message appears
When
a kernel panic happens, white text on a black background is drawn
on top of the last video image on the monitor before the panic
occurred. You may see a message that begins with a phrase like
"Unresolved kernel trap".
The prohibitory
sign, pictured here, appears instead of the "broken folder"
icon in Mac OS X 10.2 and later.
This
symptom usually occurs when a file or folder has been moved,
replaced, or damaged. It could also occur if you use certain
hardware or software with your computer. The steps to fix this
symptom are in another article titled, "Mac OS X: 'Broken Folder' Icon, Prohibitory
Sign, or Kernel Panic When Computer Starts Up". Try the steps
in that article. If they don't solve the issue, try these steps:
1. If
you're trying to start up from a Mac OS X installation CD, make
sure it's not too old to be used with your computer. Later model
computers can't use earlier versions of Mac OS X.
2. If you've renamed or moved system-installed folders, such
as Applications, System, or Library, return them to their original
location or rename them using their original names.
3. Don't modify the privileges of Mac OS X system files. Doing
so may cause kernel panics.
4. These hardware items may produce a kernel panic message during
startup. If one of them is installed, check to see if it's causing
the issue.
* AirPort Extreme card
* Matrox RTMac card
* 128-Bit 2D/3D Professional Graphics Card
* PC Card modem
5. The installer for an application
you recently installed could have caused this issue.
6. If the issue occured after you updated to Mac OS X 10.2.1,
see this document.
7. Mac OS X 10.3 only: If the issue only occurs once in a while
(intermittently), do this after a successful startup:
1. From the Finder's Go menu, choose Go to Folder.
2. Type the following without quotes: "/System/Library/Extensions/".
3. Press Return.
4. In the Extensions window, locate the file named BootCache.kext.
5. Delete the BootCache.kext file. You may be prompted for an
administrator password.
The next
time you start up, the startup process could take a little longer
than usual as the BootCache.kext file is recreated.
8. If
the issue still occurs, follow the steps for "You see a
blank, gray screen" below.
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You see a blank, gray screen
1. Make
sure the latest firmware for your computer is installed. Check
Apple Downloads for the latest versions.
2. Disconnect all peripheral devices, except for the Apple keyboard
and mouse. This includes ADB, serial, USB, FireWire, SCSI, and
PCMCIA devices. If this resolves the issue, connect one device
at a time, restarting after each one, until you've determined
which device is causing the issue.
3. Remove third-party hardware upgrades such as memory (RAM),
microprocessor upgrade cards, and PCI cards. If this resolves
the issue, add back one item at a time, restarting after each
one, to isolate the issue. Note: Apple does not provide
technical support for Mac OS X when used with third-party microprocessor
upgrade cards.
4. Start up from your Mac OS X installation disc and check the
hard disk with Disk Utility or, if necessary, fsck.
5. If you are comfortable doing so, reset your computer's Power
Management Unit. Specific directions are available elsewhere
in the Knowledge Base.
6. Additional tips may be available in this document.
A flashing question mark appears
See "Macintosh: Flashing Question Mark at Startup".
Steps for any other issue that
occurs during startup
1. If
an Ethernet cable is connected to your computer, temporarily
disconnect it and restart. If you have enabled NetInfo, you may
need to temporarily disable it in the Directory Setup application.
2. You shouldn't remove or rename any of these Mac OS X system files or folders.
* Applications (a visible folder)
* automount (an invisible folder)
* Library (a visible folder)
* mach_kernel (an invisible file)
* System (a visible folder)
* Users (a visible folder)
3. Follow the steps for "You see a blank, gray screen"
above.
Related documents
106805
Mac OS X: 'Broken Folder' Icon, Prohibitory Sign,
or Kernel Panic When Computer Starts Up
25392 Isolating
issues in Mac OS X
88152 Mac
OS X: Stops Responding While Starting Up From Mac OS X CD
106147 Mac OS X 10.0: Computer With SCSI Chain Does
Not Start up or Stops Responding
106908 Issues after removing "etc" and/or
"var" directory alias when started up from Mac OS 9
106156 Mac
OS X: Changing or resetting an account password
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