Macbook Pro OSX Stuck on Boot Up

OSX pops up saying it's checking for updates around 11pm CST today so I let it run. It asks to reboot and I tell it to. I get the audio cue for the bootup with the white screen, apple logo, and the spinning animation and it just sits there forever. Is anyone experiencing this same issue after latest updates today?

I have a 15" Macbook Pro. Last summer's model (2009)

Have you tried rebooting in safe mode?
To start up in safe mode:
Shut down your computer and wait 10 seconds.
Press the power button.
Immediately after you hear the startup tone, hold down the Shift key.
You should press the Shift key as soon as possible after you hear the startup tone, but not before.
Release the Shift key when you see the gray Apple logo and progress indicator (spinning gear).

6string said:

Have you tried rebooting in safe mode?
To start up in safe mode:
Shut down your computer and wait 10 seconds.
Press the power button.
Immediately after you hear the startup tone, hold down the Shift key.
You should press the Shift key as soon as possible after you hear the startup tone, but not before.
Release the Shift key when you see the gray Apple logo and progress indicator (spinning gear).

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Thanks for the reply. The shift key wasn't working at first because it tried to boot into Windows (dual Boot with Bootcamp). After booting to Windows I right clicked on the Bootcamp icon and selected "Restart in OSX". I held down shift after I heard the startup tone and released it when I saw the Apple logo. A progress bar showed up under the Apple logo like it was last night after rebooting. It went away (after showing progress) and it's still stuck on the spinning logo.

Which updates did you download? And have you been making backups with Time Machine or some other program?

Occasionally, an update (especially those involving the OS) can go sour and cause the machine to hang. If that happens, the best cure is to restore from backup and download the updates once more.

chscag said:

Which updates did you download? And have you been making backups with Time Machine or some other program?

Occasionally, an update (especially those involving the OS) can go sour and cause the machine to hang. If that happens, the best cure is to restore from backup and download the updates once more.

Click to expand...

I was on autopilot so I didn't see what exactly were the updates. It's still set to the default time to look for updates. I made a backup after I had reinstalled everything a couple of months ago. I haven't made any following backups since then (bad on my part).

There wasn't much stuff to backup. I'm copying files off of the OSX partition from Bootcamp to my network drive. Going to restore the other backup and then go from there.

I reinstalled OSX yesterday morning and all of my programs and files were still there afterwards; I guess it didn't format the harddrive. It ran fine all day until I closed the lid to go home. When I got home I opened it up and I could move the mouse around but the spinning logo came up on the mouse pointer and I couldn't click anything. I did a hard reboot. When it was booting up again a white screen displays with no typical bong sound. It just sits there and does nothing stuck on the white screen. I tried rebooting it several times and same issue. I inserted the Snow Leopard DVD and it accepted it but it won't boot off of the DVD either. It won't boot from the USB drive either. I was able to get the Macbook to reboot continuously trying to reset the PRAM. This is when I got the bong loading sound but I still only get a white screen.

Yeah, it sounds like you have serious hardware problem. It could very well be a defective hard drive although the machine should still be able to boot from the DVD. Sometimes though, a bad hard drive will prevent anything from working right. If the machine is covered under Apple care, I suggest making an appointment with Apple and taking it in to the Apple store and have them check it out.

The other defect that will give the same symptoms you described is a failing logic board. Let's hope it's not that since that can be an expensive repair if your machine is not under warranty. Let us know.

I read up on google that people have had success from re-seating their RAM and Harddrive. I will try that tonight hopefully. I forgot to get the Apple Care program before my 1 year expired last month so that was a big "whoops" on my part. :/

chscag said:

Yeah, it sounds like you have serious hardware problem. It could very well be a defective hard drive although the machine should still be able to boot from the DVD. Sometimes though, a bad hard drive will prevent anything from working right. If the machine is covered under Apple care, I suggest making an appointment with Apple and taking it in to the Apple store and have them check it out.

The other defect that will give the same symptoms you described is a failing logic board. Let's hope it's not that since that can be an expensive repair if your machine is not under warranty. Let us know.

Click to expand...

I dissected my macbook about 10 minutes ago, removed the harddrive, and booted it up. It went straight to the Snow Leopard DVD installation. Good call, chscag... bad hard drive.

RavynX said:

I dissected my macbook about 10 minutes ago, removed the harddrive, and booted it up. It went straight to the Snow Leopard DVD installation. Good call, chscag... bad hard drive.

Click to expand...

Great trouble shooting procedure! Now buy a good quality hard drive and you'll be on your way... Thanks for posting back.

chscag said:

Great trouble shooting procedure! Now buy a good quality hard drive and you'll be on your way... Thanks for posting back.

Click to expand...

Not a prob, thanks again. I figured someone down the road will find this and will hopefully be helpful.