04-11-2012, 12:26 AM

I have an iMac circa 2008, recently reformatted. A few weeks later I got the "restart gray screen". I reset my PRAM and it worked properly for about a day. I noticed the issue first when I came home from work and half of my screen was black and the other half lit white with a little tail chasing itself slowly between the split screen.

I have tried everything I know:

Will not boot in Safe mode, from Install CD, or from the hard disk. Reset NVRAM/PRAM, hardware test (short and extended) passed and sbin/fsck seems to pass.

I took out the hard drive and it was recognized, all files accessible, by my MacBook. So I partition/erase the drive and reinstall in the iMac.

Upon reboot, the gray screen still appears. So I go to connect via Firewire between the iMac and MacBook. Drive is still recognized yet it is empty.

Logic Board seems to be properly working, as far as the lighting sequence shows.

I've tried reinstalling OS X from the MacBook but it just lags and lingers, never opening the option.

When i start up in verbose mode, I notice the following errors:

"immediate dependencies on both com.apple.kernel* and com.apple.kpi.* components; use only one style"

and

""/System/Library/StartupItems": No such file or directory"

Any ideas?

pinabel

04-11-2012, 08:43 AM

You've stated your Mac doesn't boot from HDD or CD. Is this right?
How did you run the AHT?

A good way to check for possible HW issues, is get a live Linux distro. You boot up with this from either CD or USB.

I normally do this with Mac's if I have a machine that cannot boot, such has a dead HDD or just a machine that doesn't have an OS. It is a great way to test the machine without having a functional OS on the machine.

If can't boot from CD, check the CD you are using and try a different CD to boot from as well, some Super drives are really sensitive with some media or scratched media.

04-11-2012, 09:58 AM

I believe I ran the AHT by restarting holing "D". It seems to recognize some of these boot sequences. For instance, it runs and is recognized in firewire mode, and it shows available discs by restarting while holding "option".

The disc is fine. It is recognized by both Macs and also was used for the reformat a few weeks ago. I will try the MacBook disc but it is my understanding that these won't cross over.

Could the hard drive be dead? It is wiped clean. I was able to install some of the bundled apple applications from the disc via firewire with the MacBook.

Is there some kind of firmware update that I could perform? If so, how?

Thanks for the reply. I will look into the Linux distro after work and report back.

04-11-2012, 10:29 AM

Can you boot to the Mac OS installer by holding C?

Even if the HDD is dead, you should still be able to boot up the OS installer.


The Macbook disc will not work on an iMac, as each copy shipped with a Mac is for a specific model.

When you get the grey screen, is it just a blank grey screen? Do you get the spinning gear/flashing folder etc on the grey screen?

The first thing is trying to get to the OS installer, if you can let me know what happens when you try to boot from the Mac disc to the installer, that would good.

04-11-2012, 11:51 AM

When restarting holding "C" the disc definitely spins but ultimately the apple logo and spinning gear start and after a short while, the gray screen pulls down (from top to bottom) and a dialogue window appears directing me to restart.

This is the same and only gray screen that has occurred. I have not seen the question mark folder or anything of that nature.

When I restart holding the "option" key, I see my hard drive and the install disk (if it is in). When I select either to boot from, the same thing happens. Grey screen and reboot instructions dialogue box.

04-12-2012, 03:48 AM

When you get this grey screen, can you please list what the text says that is prompting you to reboot.

It's not getting a kernel panic, is it?

Is this Mac still under warranty? (you can check online, on the Apple website)

04-12-2012, 02:22 PM

Screen reads:

"You need to restart your computer. Hold down the Power button for several seconds or press the Restart button."

Support.apple.com says this is a kernel panic. Mac is not under warranty.

If this is true, what is my best step to get an OS on the Hard Disk? I downloaded Das Boot and made an external drive a boot disk. I will see if this works when I get home from work in a couple of hours.

04-12-2012, 02:49 PM

I just read that it could be a keyboard or mouse issue. They are the only peripherals connected. I have a new set and will try that this afternoon as well. I will report back with outcomes.

04-12-2012, 05:53 PM

I just want to confirm that you are using the right Install DVD?
"What OS Disk Do I Need?" A Brief Overview

04-12-2012, 06:12 PM

I am using the imac OS X install CD (1 of 2) that came with my purchase and was used to reformat a few weeks ago.

I just tried all new keyboard and mouse, the das boot external, and various fire wire options from my macbook (i.e. using it as a dvd drive, trying to boot from it's hard drive, etc.).

Nothing has worked. Still gray.

Any ideas?

04-12-2012, 06:28 PM

unknown hardware failure

04-12-2012, 06:33 PM

How would I find out what? Apple Hardware Test says all okay as does sfck/ -sy.

Is this repairable?

04-12-2012, 08:54 PM

When you booted in Target Disk mode, did you connect it to your MacBook and run Disk Utility on it? I highly doubt that's the issue since it won't boot from the Restore Disc but it may be worth the try.

I think you've probably done what you can. Most likely sounds like the logic board is failing.

04-12-2012, 09:51 PM

Logic board tests prove functional. I just went through the hierarchy of "geniuses" at the apple store and due to it's point of failure during boot, it seems to be the graphics card so I am getting a new one and hopefully this issue will be resolved. I will update in a few days upon arrival. Thanks to everyone for their help. Too kind.

04-18-2012, 04:17 PM

Okay. Got my computer back and all is well. Video card malfunction, $130 for a new one one from Apple store. Thanks to everyone for their help.