MacBook Pro displays gray screen and won't start after Catalina

i have an older MacBook Pro, maybe 6-8 years old. I’m trying to restart it. It goes gray and tries to start but then stops. I had it up for a while running Catalina but when I closed it and opened it again I got gray again. I’d be happy for any help; I’d like to give it to my nephew. (I have a newer one.)

Posted on Sep 28, 2026 5:00 AM

3 replies

kaz-k

Level 9 (53,902 points)

Sep 28, 2026 7:17 AM in response to wmdix1935

Hi,

Try to boot into Recovery Mode to Check the Drive

If the hardware resets don't get you past the gray screen, your startup disk might have an error that needs to be repaired.

Shut your MacBook down completely.
Press the power button, then immediately press and hold Command (⌘) + R.
Release the keys when you see an Apple logo, a spinning globe, or a login prompt.
If you successfully reach the macOS Utilities window, select Disk Utility.
Select your main hard drive (usually named "Macintosh HD") and click First Aid at the top. Let it run to repair any system errors.

If First Aid completes successfully, try restarting normally from the Apple menu.

Grant Bennet-Alder

Level 10 (148,617 points)

Sep 28, 2026 7:44 AM in response to wmdix1935

This Apple article suggests essentially the same steps already suggested by kaz-k

If your Mac starts up to a blank screen - Apple Support

it is not intended to detract from what they posted, only give a slightly different way of saying the same thing.

wmdix1935 Author

Level 1 (8 points)

Sep 28, 2026 9:48 PM in response to kaz-k

THanks! I've done that and run First Aid. I got to the spinning globe, but then it went back to gray. Weirdly, I had gotten to iOS Catalina before. Not sure where to go from here.

Originally posted at discussions.apple.com/thread/256366478