Apple Mac is stuck on the start up screen
If your Mac is starting up, the screen is coming on in any way, but not getting any further. Work your way through the list below until you’re back up and running. These are all none invasive processes that will not delete or cause you to lose any data and files currently on your MacBook.
If you cannot get any results out of the processes below or don’t feel comfortable doing so, get in touch with us here at Hero Tech Support and we can give you free expert advice on what can be done for your precious Apple Mac.
Reset NVRAM
When your Mac is off, hit the power button then hold Command + Alt + P + R until you hear the start up sound. This will Reset things such as volume and screen settings, start up disk selection and delete any recent kernels stored in the computer. If this has worked, your Mac will continue through its boot up process normally.
Hard Drive Selection
If your Mac is not booting after following the process above. Try booting again and hold down the Alt key as soon as you’ve pressed the Power button. Once the Start Up Manager window opens, use your arrow keys to select the icon labeled ‘Macintosh HD’ or any name similar to this, then hit the enter key. This should boot your Mac into its normal state if the Hard Drive selection was wiped out during NVRAM Reset.
Safe Mode
Starting your Mac in safe mode verifies your start up disk and tries to repair any issues it can find with the system code, prevents apps and processes from starting automatically upon login and deletes system cache files.
To boot up in safe mode, power on your Mac whilst holding the shift key. Let go once you’ve reached the log in menu.
If you can successfully boot in safe mode but not normally, you may have incompatible log in items. To find these, click the Apple logo in the top left in safe mode, system preferences < Users & Groups. Select the log in tab at the top of the window and view your log in items. Selecting each of these items and hitting the – button below will stop the item from opening on log in. After this, shut down and try booting normally.
Recovery Mode – Disk Utility
To get to Disk Utility, you need to boot up your Mac and hold Command + R once you hear the Mac start up sound. Hold this down until you see the Apple Logo. You should then reach the OS Recovery window. On this window, select Disk Utility then select First Aid, you’ll then be able to click your hard drive from the sidebar and the repair option will be available. If your Hard Drive is the problem, it will tell you to back up and reformat your Hard Drive.
Recovery Mode – Reinstall OS
As a last resort, try to boot your MacBook into Recovery Mode again, this is done by Powering the Mac on, and upon hearing the Mac start up sound, hold down Command + R until you see the Apple Logo. On the MacOS window select ‘Reinstall MacOS’ to reinstall the software your Mac uses to function without losing all your files.
Speak to an Apple Specialist
If none of these have worked, you may have hardware issues that need to be resolved. Our team at Hero Tech Support offer free pick up and drop off on all devices as well as free computer repair diagnosis across Hampshire. Feel free to get in touch by phone or email using the links at the top of the page.
