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keki11

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my computer will not start. It is stuck on the Starting MacOsX page,what should I do? I have already tried using the boot keys on startup and nothing happens.
 
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Start it up, and after startup chime, hold down shift until you get past that screen. IT will take much longer, but if you are stuck at that stage, it should pass.
 
. . . and if that does not work, post your computer's specifications, tell us whether or not you have booted it off your installation disk, your shoe size, et cetera.

--J.D.
 
Hi, I held down the shift key after the chime, and it took longer to get to the "starting mac os X" page, that is the only difference, but it is still stuck at that page with a blue background. I was trying to clean up my hard drive on wednesday and i'm guessing that I deleted important files. But the first time I shut down then re-opned the computer it was working but the entire desktop and settings were changed, so I fixed them. I shut down the computer again, and the second time it re-opened, it did not work and the computer is now stuck at this page. I have an Imac (the one that has a half circle as a modem) and I have the tiger version of Mac. Any help would be appreciated, and thanks for the previous help.
Keki
 
Moved something from /System or /Library?
Do you have any other users in the system to try to log in as those?
If safe boot and all other keys fail (alt, x...) it might be time for reinstall of the system (arhive and install). And then not touching anything in those folders.
 
If it means anything, Keki, I have done something similar to you in the past--f'd around and deleted something important. An "Archive Install" as Giaguara is a wonderful way to "fix" such cases! You will not "lose" any of your data.

--J.D.
 
Okay, thanks guys for the info. But I have no idea what the an "archive install" or safe boot keys or any of those things are. All I know is that my computer is stuck on this stupid blue page and it won't go away. I've never had this problem before and a friend of mine installed the system, so I really don't know how any of this works. I'll try holding down alt, and some other keys, but it really does not seem to be working. Thanks again for the help.
Keki
 
Here is what you do:

  • 1. Stick in your OS Install disk
    2. Boot holding the "Option Key"
    3. It should list the Install disk as a disk you can boot off of--boot off of that.
    4. After the first few introductory screens, go to the Utilities--I believe it is called--on your title bar and go to "Disk Utility"
    5. Waste some time fixing your permissions and trying to repair your disk. IF that does not work . . .
    6. Go forward with installation. On one of the pages you will have "options" or "customize"--I forget which
    7. Go to that. You will see things like "Erase and Install" and "Upgrade." You want "Archive Install" or "Clean Install"--when you highlight it it will tell you it will replace your system folder but keep your account information--data--intact.
    8. Click that--you may consider not reinstalling every printer driver you do not need or language if you wish it to go faster or have concerns with how much of your HD is "free."
    9. Pour a stiff drink . . . plop in your favorite porn DVD . . . relax and wait for the installation to finish.

After all of that you SHOULD be able to boot up. You will have your "old" System that you can dump. Make sure you get your updates since it will install the system on the disk--like 10.5 if it is a 10.5 disk. Many recommend repairing permissions afterwards--which takes a long time so pour another drink.

--J.D.
 
Also, if you are kind of new to Mac and troubleshooting, consider getting Pogue's Missing Manual. The one for Tiger--10.4--is very cheap now and just as good as getting the more expensive 10.5 volume. There are other handy guides.

--J.D.
 
Okay, thanks a lot for all the info. I will try that. Just to let you know, I tried booting in single user mode (command S) and it brings me in front of a black screen that says "localhost:/ root#". I cannot remember the root password. Should I just follow the steps that you mentioned before, or try other things before this?
Keki
 
Well, I am an utter incompetent to that Terminal stuff! :) So Guru will have to help you there. Be that as it may, I believe you will basically do the same thing my way--at least if you try to repair the system with Disk Utility.

--J.D.
 
You don't have to type the root password when you are in single user mode. Just go ahead with the commands you needed, and skip sudo and su as well.

What are you after doing in single user mode? fsck?
Type the command it asks you to type specifically, and that's it.
 
Methinks "hoe" resulted from a scribal error in the rendering of "how."

The slang for "whore" is "ho," and it is more likely for a finger to mistype an "e" for the "w" in "how" on a QWERTYUIOP interface than to add a superfluous "e" to "ho."

--J.D.
 
keki, I would usually like to assume users know what they are about to do when they enter any command line interface, be that in single user mode, Windows cmd or any *BSD or *X Terminal. If you don't know why you should use either single user mode or Terminal or cm, then probably you shouldn't. One typo (even a space in a wrong place of command) can be pretty fatal to your system.

And the reason why one would usually end up starting in single user mode is to run filesystem consistency check and interactive repair when the startup fails, which are explained more in depth in Satcomer's link to Apple's KB.

When in doubt of an *X or *BSD (or Solaris) page, man is your best friend.

man somecommand
Click to expand...

will give its syntax and options for using whatever command you are after. Or apropos thatcommand give what commands refer to that.

So, for the example above we get with apropos

fsck(8) - filesystem consistency check and interactive repair
fsck_hfs(8) - HFS file system consistency check
fsck_msdos(8) - DOS/Windows (FAT) file system consistency check
Click to expand...

and with man

The first form of fsck preens a standard set of filesystems or the
specified filesystems. It is normally used in the script /etc/rc dur-
ing automatic reboot. Here fsck reads the table /etc/fstab to deter-
mine which filesystems to check. Only partitions in fstab that are
mounted ``rw,'' ``rq'' or ``ro'' and that have non-zero pass number are
checked. Filesystems with pass number 1 (normally just the root
filesystem) are checked one at a time. When pass 1 completes, all
remaining filesystems are checked, running one process per disk drive.
The disk drive containing each filesystem is inferred from the shortest
prefix of the device name that ends in one or more digits; the remain-
ing characters are assumed to be the partition designator. In preening
mode, filesystems that are marked clean are skipped. Filesystems are
marked clean when they are unmounted, when they have been mounted read-
only, or when fsck runs on them successfully.

The kernel takes care that only a restricted class of innocuous
filesystem inconsistencies can happen unless hardware or software fail-
ures intervene. These are limited to the following:
Unreferenced inodes
Link counts in inodes too large
Missing blocks in the free map
Blocks in the free map also in files
Counts in the super-block wrong
Click to expand...

and that man page continues, usually options -fy are enough, excluding when you have 10.2 or prior when only -y will do.

For Unix, man would have to be the lesson #1. When in doubt, use it.
 
Yeah I know what "ho" means, I kind of guessed afterwards that it was a mistake typing. Oh well... I stopped trying to screw around with the computer, a while ago because nothing is working, and yeah I don't want to make it worse. I'm using another computer for now but I have all my other files on the mac. I've read a lot on the Mac website and tried a bunch of things, but I think that I need someone who really knows what they are doing to come and have a look at it. I've done my best, and thanks for all the advice and help from you guys. I think guys are better at these kind of computer things anyway. My brother is really good with computers but he knows nothing about Mac, like most people I know..... very sad.... n-e way... I will read up more on those links- thanks again for taking your time to help- it's much appreciated.
Keki
 
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