can't run in safe mode

ali q · #1 April 22nd, 2008, 03:55 PM

i am trying to use my disk to run disk utility and clean up my computer. my ultimate goal is to free up space on my start up disk. in an effort to do that, i have trashed things out of the folders like graphics that i don't use (identifying user graphic). now, i can't get my computer to run in safe mode!! help protect me from myself!!! i am making the problem worst! how do i get it to run in safe mode and how do i get more space on my start up disk? i tried downloading stuff from version tracker but my computer doesn't recognize it.
alison

ElDiabloConCaca · #2 April 22nd, 2008, 04:01 PM

If you want more space on your hard drive, you have only one option: remove stuff. Burn your non-essential photos to a CD for a backup, then remove them from your computer. Put your music on an external hard drive so that it doesn't take up space on your internal hard drive. Delete old program updaters and installers if you already have the programs installed and can easily download the installers/updaters again should you need them.

You can get your computer to run in safe mode by rebooting and holding down command-s at startup. Does this not work for you?

ali q · #3 April 22nd, 2008, 04:12 PM

i did that and it gave me a black screen with a lot of computer jargon. let me ask you this. i have an external hard drive that is using a back up program to back up my hard drive every week. this probably sounds like a stupid question, but, if i start erasing pictures, etc off of my hard drive, and the computer backs up next week, will it back up the erased state? i don't quite understand how the back up program knows to keep everything? am i making sense?

ElDiabloConCaca · #4 April 22nd, 2008, 04:17 PM

That black screen with a lot of computer jargon on it is safe mode, or, rather, "single-user" mode. That's where you can run such commands as fsck to check the health of your hard drive or do things you normally couldn't or wouldn't do when booted normally.

I don't know what backup program you're using, or how you have it configured, so I couldn't say what would happen when you delete the pictures and music from your hard drive. Some programs "sync" changes, so if something disappears from your hard drive, it's rightfully removed from the backup drive as well. Others, like Apple's Time Machine, would keep that deleted file around for a little while (days, weeks, months, depending on how big the backup drive is), but eventually would delete it, too. Still other backup solutions (incremental backups) keep EVERYTHING, and just ask you for more and bigger backup media to keep backing up as time progresses.