# imac won't boot up.



## gavin ye (Aug 19, 2009)

24" imac. leopard system. the system was frozen (which was the first time in two years) a couple of days ago, so i turned the power off to reboot the system. then it's stuck at the grey screen. to make it worse, i have a dvd inserted in the drive. please tell me what seems to be the problem and how to solve it. i appreciate your help.


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## stilbite (Aug 19, 2009)

Do you get the spinning grey icon at all.
Could it be possible your hard drive is FULL?
When did you insert the DVD?
Try booting and holding down alt, apple, O, F, (four keys, open firmware) a grey screen of text appears type in "reset-nvram" and hit return the type in "reset-all" (without the quotes) see what happens.


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## Jesse714 (Aug 19, 2009)

Instead, Hold the option Key right after you press the powerbutton, and then hit the eject button, now try to start up without the DVD.

Now, your going to enter Open Firmware by pressing- Apple Shift O F after you press the power button.

Now type mac-boot

If that still doesn't work, try it in safe mode, hold the Shift key right after you press the power button, hold it until your login appears.


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## snowdog1 (Sep 21, 2009)

Jesse,

Thanks a lot for the tip.  Really fantastic.  I had a grey screen and was stuck with various approaches.  I really appreciate the assistance.

---Snowdog1
24" iMac 2.66 Intel Core 2 Duo (Snow Leopard)


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## djackmac (Sep 21, 2009)

Jesse714 said:


> Now, your going to enter Open Firmware by pressing- Apple Shift O F after you press the power button.
> 
> Now type mac-boot



Intel machines are EFI (Extensible Firmware Interface) not Open Firmware anymore. I'll put money on the HD is failing. Seems to be getting common on the 24" iMacs. Boot to installer and go to disk utility and check the condition of the HD. If it is booted up now, back up what you can first.


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## djhocking (May 10, 2010)

I am having the same problem.  When I boot using the installation disk I don't see any options to get to the Disk Utility.  I have disk version 10.5.4

If I perform an Archive and Install from the installation disk will I lose my documents (photos etc.)?

Here are the Apple Help recommendations: http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2570


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## DeltaMac (May 10, 2010)

When you boot to your installer DVD, the first screen that you see is to choose a language. Continue past that screen. You will then see menus at the top of the next screen. You will find Disk Utility in the Utilities menu.
When you choose the Archive & Install option, you will see a sub-option to save your files and settings. If you choose that sub-option, then you should expect that the installation will save your old system in a new folder on your hard drive "Previous Systems", and that your documents, settings, and apps (including your photos) will be automtically transferred to the newly installed system. Usually finishes with no problems. However, the install process will  occasionally kick out some errors, as any major install might. As always, you should assure that your present system and files are safe by completing a full back up of your hard drive before you begin the reinstall of your system.


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## djhocking (May 10, 2010)

Thanks, I see options now.


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## Dannodan (May 27, 2010)

any other way of making my imac to eject the cd (i am affraid that my imac  is not rebooting because of yhe cd inside of it...

optipns +eject button  just not doing anything... nor  Apple+ Shift +O+ F

just cant efford a long trip to apple store...


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## TitanShadow (May 28, 2010)

djackmac said:


> Intel machines are EFI (Extensible Firmware Interface) not Open Firmware anymore. I'll put money on the HD is failing. Seems to be getting common on the 24" iMacs. Boot to installer and go to disk utility and check the condition of the HD. If it is booted up now, back up what you can first.



My iMac 24" did the same thing, HD had died and would not allow boot anymore.  It was well under a year old.  I think the iMac line has heat issues that contribute to hardware failure.


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