If you have installation checklist items wanting attention (full compile, synchronize, etc.) sometimes AX 2012 will boot to basically a blank gray screen with no options or navigation on it.
I ran into this once before, and there is either a command-line switch or hotkey you can press to ignore waiting checklists and go ahead and boot to the user interface. Unfortunately, I must not have written it down.
Anyone remember the secret?
Thanks
CTRL-W will open a new workspace without the checklists.