Mac gets stuck on loading screen

[riki25]

Hello.
I've installed OS X El Capitan Beta few weeks ago. Everything worked fine, I used the MacBook for weeks without any problem.
Then happened that at startup, the MacBook was very slow in loading screen. After many minutes (about 10-20) it reached the end of the bar under the apple, but it gets stuck there. For hours nothing happens.
I've tried everything: S.O.S on the HD (everything is fine), tried to install OS X Yosemite (impossible of course because it finds a newer version of OS X), tried to reinstall OS X El Capitan. But NOTHING changed.
The last try i did was to delete an app that I've installed before this happened. I thought it could be related to this problem so I gave it a try. It's a Vodafone app that I used to connect to Internet by USB. I deleted all the files related to that app through the terminal, the app in Applications folder, the files in Application Support folder and also a file related located in a folder called "Incompatible Software", but NOTHING changes again.
Every time it loads for ages and then it gets stuck.

Now, I know that probably the only solution I have is to reformat the HD, but I was wondering if anyone else had the same or similar issue or just knows what to do in this case. Fortunately, I have Bootcamp, so I could copy my files from there to an external HD before reformat the MacBook.

I hope you could help me and forgive me if I made grammatical errors.

Thank you.

 

[Apple_Robert]

Have you tried booting into Safe mode (hold Shift key until you see Apple logo)? If so, how did that work?

 

[riki25]

I just tried, but it looks everything the same. Should I see a different loading screen?

 

[Apple_Robert]

I just tried, but it looks everything the same. Should I see a different loading screen?

Did the progress bar get stuck and take a long time to complete when you booted into Safe mode, or did your Mac boot normally?

 

[riki25]

I restarted the Mac after reading your message and the progress bar still has to complete. So it's taking probably more then before to load :/

EDIT: it just completed the progress bar. But, of course, nothing is happening.

 

[Apple_Robert]

I restarted the Mac after reading your message and the progress bar still has to complete. So it's taking probably more then before to load :/

EDIT: it just completed the progress bar. But, of course, nothing is happening.

When you say nothing is happening after the progress bar finishes loading, does that mean you have a blank white or black screen?

What model is your Mac?

 

[riki25]

When you say nothing is happening after the progress bar finishes loading, does that mean you have a blank white or black screen?

What model is your Mac?

No, I mean that the screen still shows the progress bar which is all black and finished. But nothing changes. It's like it's going to finish and start, but no.

My MacBook is a 15'' Late 2009.

 

[Apple_Robert]

No, I mean that the screen still shows the progress bar which is all black and finished. But nothing changes. It's like it's going to finish and start, but no.

My MacBook is a 15'' Late 2009.

If possible, restore to an earlier TimeMachine backup when everything was running well. If you don't have a TimeMachine backup, reinstall El Capitan.

 

[riki25]

I've already reinstalled El Capitan without success. If you mean to reformat the HD and then install a clean copy of Yosemite or El Capitan, then it's what I am going to do probably. I was hoping to find a less drastic solution

Do you know which is the best way to copy my data on an HD? Because the only idea I have is to use my Windows partition, but when I copy something from "Macintosh HD" to an external HD it takes a lot of time. Any suggestions?

 

[Apple_Robert]

I've already reinstalled El Capitan without success. If you mean to reformat the HD and then install a clean copy of Yosemite or El Capitan, then it's what I am going to do probably. I was hoping to find a less drastic solution

Do you know which is the best way to copy my data on an HD? Because the only idea I have is to use my Windows partition, but when I copy something from "Macintosh HD" to an external HD it takes a lot of time. Any suggestions?

If possible, I would save critical files to Dropbox, OneDrive or Google etc. That would be quicker and safer than backing up to your Windows partition.

In my opinion, it would be best to get an external hard drive for backup, and use TimeMachine or Carbon Copy Cloner for the task.

Since you mentioned Windows partition, are you using bootcamp? If so, did you change anything recently in that Windows / bootcamp area?

 

[riki25]

If possible, I would save critical files to Dropbox, OneDrive or Google etc. That would be quicker and safer than backing up to your Windows partition.

In my opinion, it would be best to get an external hard drive for backup, and use TimeMachine or Carbon Copy Cloner for the task.

Since you mentioned Windows partition, are you using bootcamp? If so, did you change anything recently in that Windows / bootcamp area?

Nothing. I didn't use the partition for ages. Now I'm using it because it's the only way to use the MacBook.

By the way, I think you didn't get my question. I don't want to back up to my Windows partition, but, since I cannot use the OS X partition, I can only have access to my files through Windows. So, the point is that, while I am using the Windows partition, it takes ages to move files from the other internal HD "Macintosh HD" to my external HD. Do you understand now what I mean?

Sorry if I am not clear :/

 

[Apple_Robert]

Nothing. I didn't use the partition for ages. Now I'm using it because it's the only way to use the MacBook.

By the way, I think you didn't get my question. I don't want to back up to my Windows partition, but, since I cannot use the OS X partition, I can only have access to my files through Windows. So, the point is that, while I am using the Windows partition, it takes ages to move files from the other internal HD "Macintosh HD" to my external HD. Do you understand now what I mean?

Sorry if I am not clear :/

Understand now.

Maybe someone else will have a better idea than me. However, I think reformatting the HD and doing a clean install (while time consuming) will be your best bet for success.

It is also possible, that your HD is showing the first signs of failing. If it is stock, that is a lot of use for a spinner drive.

 

[MJWMac1988]

Since your MacBook Pro is a late 2009 model, do you still have the original installer disc (DVD) that came bundled with it? It would be either Leopard 10.5 or Snow Leopard 10.6 (probably Snow Leopard since your model is late 2009). If you do have the original Snow Leopard disc, is there enough room on your external hard drive to create a 15GB partition on it? If there is enough room, start up from the Snow Leopard disc (DVD), open Disk Utility, create a second partition on the external drive without erasing the original partition, and install Snow Leopard on it. Then you can start up from that Snow Leopard partition and retrieve all of your files from your MacBook Pro's internal drive.

P.S. It might be beneficial to keep Snow Leopard installed on that external hard-drive partition (or maybe a USB flash drive, at the very least) as an emergency boot disk. It's still the most reliable emergency startup option of all, IMO.

 

[riki25]

Since your MacBook Pro is a late 2009 model, do you still have the original installer disc (DVD) that came bundled with it? It would be either Leopard 10.5 or Snow Leopard 10.6 (probably Snow Leopard since your model is late 2009). If you do have the original Snow Leopard disc, is there enough room on your external hard drive to create a 15GB partition on it? If there is enough room, start up from the Snow Leopard disc (DVD), open Disk Utility, create a second partition on the external drive without erasing the original partition, and install Snow Leopard on it. Then you can start up from that Snow Leopard partition and retrieve all of your files from your MacBook Pro's internal drive.

P.S. It might be beneficial to keep Snow Leopard installed on that external hard-drive partition (or maybe a USB flash drive, at the very least) as an emergency boot disk. It's still the most reliable emergency startup option of all, IMO.

No, I'm living in UK right now and the DVD is in my house in Italy.
I am backing up everything before reformat

 

[riki25]

I solved it. You can find the solution here: https://forums.developer.apple.com/thread/17446

 

[MJWMac1988]

I solved it. You can find the solution here: https://forums.developer.apple.com/thread/17446

Thank you for sharing the solution! It will be nice to have it on hand if I ever need it.