Booting problems on 10.6.8

[WoodyAddison]

I've looked around for exactly what the answer to my problem is and just can't seem to find it anywhere, so I'll resort to posting. Ugh.

I just tried to perform a system update on my MacBook Pro, and I successfully downloaded the update, but when I told the system to install and restart, a notification showed up saying that the install could not be completed and prompted me to restart.

So, now I restarted and here are my issues:

My background is gone (nothing special, but it was the first thing I noticed).
The dock doesn't show up when I move my mouse over it, so I can't launch things like that. Everywhere I move my mouse, with the exception of a select few places (to be explained later), it shows the spinning color wheel.
I can click on the apple in the top left corner on the top bar to force relaunch Finder, but every time I do that, it just goes back to being unresponsive.


Thankfully, I can open up my web browser by going to my CloudApp icon on the top bar and clicking "Open Web Interface".
My cursor reverts to a mouse whenever I move over the top left apple, and all of my application icons in the top bar.
I can get inside finder by opening up a Documents folder that I had placed on my desktop before the incident.
But nothing else works on the top bar and the dock doesn't show.

I'm hopelessly lost here. Any suggestions on what the problem is or maybe even some help on fixing it?

 

[Doctor X]

Demon possession.

You need to pour holy water on your keyboard and [Stop that!--Ed.].

Right, it may be a simple matter that the update did not download fully. Or something went wonky on the download. This can happen and, depending on "what" exactly happened you can have a completely frelled OS or "something funky." One of the things I learned HERE was to down load the updates as downloads, THEN, update--after backing up the data.

Assuming you backed everything up, the simplest thing to do is to go back to your clone, then try downloading the update as a .dmg, et cetera.

If you have not backed everything up, slap yourself with a fish, and prepare for more difficult options:

1. Spend ~$100 on an Ex-HD and a Cloning Program: if you had those, you would simply boot off you clone, continue surfing for your French lichen porn, whilst your cloning program fixes your In-HD. You should have these now. Things have changed since "did you back up your data," meant an evening with floppy disks/CDs and punching the guy who asked you that in the face.

2. I CAN See My Data--Yaay! Transfer all of it to you Ex-HD. Now, whatever you do to try to fix your In-HD, you have your data.

3. I Cannot Access My Data--WAAA! move on to the next part and be prepared to spend another $100 if it does not work.

4. Boot Off Your Installation Disk/Snow Leopard Disk--which came with your Mac. If you do not have these . . . start counting out that $100!

Booted off your ID go to Disk Utility and try to Repair your disk. Keep repairing until it finds no errors. If that works, YAY! You are done!

notice that when you are booted FROM the ID you can actually click Repair.

5. It Did NOT Work!--WAAA! Now you have two options which may or may not work depending on "what" happened to your volume. IF you can "see" your data, the first should work. I have not done this is a very long time since I clone my HD so I simply copy over my clone. Anyways, it was the Archive and Install function. You can search for fuller details--as in more recent--from this site. Basically, it creates a brand new OS. You then have to move over your data, delete the remnants of the old OS, blah . . . blah.

If you CANNOT see/access your data, that may not at all work. Now you have to invest the $100 for the program DiskWarrior. DW has saved my ass and many other Apple User's collective posteriors. It may very well repair everything for you. At worse, it can create an "image" of your HD so you CAN rescue your data. When it does not work is when you HD, itself, is dying/died, and then you have to try more desperate measures like freezing the In-HD and sacrificing a virgin.

Now, if you have flushed down this "decision sewer" all the way to this point, your Ex-HD is important since you have to put your data "somewhere" after DW has imaged it.

Most likely, Disk Utility will fix your problem, a full download of the update will update your OS, and you can return to your Happy Mac Life . . . doing whatever foul unspeakable deeds you have been doing. . . .

--J.D.