Desktop not loading at all

can you try an Archive and Install of OSX? in the options in the installation, try hitting Archive and Install. it saves your home folder elsewhere on the disk, and removes it's boot abilty. it then installs a clean OSX, keeping all of your files intact.
 
Tried that one. Have now managed to firewire the offending machine to another one and recover the contents of the HD that I wanted to keep.

HOWEVER... I am now trying to reinstall OSX 10.2, and in the installation I get to "select the volume to install OSX" with no volumes listed.

I run Disk Utility on the HD, and it says "The volume Macintosh HD needs to be repaired". So I click "Repair". I then re-verify the HD, and it still says "... needs to be repaired". Repeat x 3. Same problem.

Do I completely format the HD using Disk Utility? Or persevere with repairing the disk?
 
Right, formatted HD and put a partition on there. I now have HD 1 (8.85 GB) and HD 2 (the rest of the 80 GB). OSX running nicely (but see below), and the 100 MB 10.2.8 update is happily downloading.

HOWEVER... all this came about because I tried to set up another login account, on advice that a problem that caused System Prefs to crash when "Displays" was clicked could be identified by doing so.

I click "Displays" now in System Preferences... and it still crashes!!! Any ideas anyone?
 
This is an interesting one. "Displays" in system preferences worked once, very briefly a while ago. Playing around with it, I swapped the finder menu bar to be on the second screen. However Displays is back to its old trick now of making System Prefs crash when clicked.

So, I could disconnect the second monitor but then I wouldn't have anything to run Finder in...

Everything else in system preferences runs fine- including the screen saver setup, which recognises that there are two screens running an expandable desktop.

I have tried creating another user profile, and running system preferences - display from that. It crashes. I have run Disk Utilities and verified permissions... it picks up a few minor errors (rwrwrw should be -rw -rw etc), but nothing major(?). And those get fixed OK.

Please help, this is really starting to worry me- especially as I now have a new, clean install of OSX10.2.8
 
OK, more playing around and I can get System Prefs to load up "Displays" if I:

1. Start System Prefs on the left screen (master screen- connected directly to G4)
2. Move window to right screen (support screen- connected to G4 via ??ADC??)
3. Double click "Displays".

It then opens up "Displays" on the left and right screens. However there are no options on the right screen for resolutions, although there are for colours. The right screen responds to changes in color setup.

I then quit System Preferences, and, lo and behold, I get "The Application System Preferences has unexpectedly quit". B*gger.
 
Huh. I am thouroughly intrigued by your problem now. Have you tried updating your video card drivers? Based on the info in your signature, you have one of two video cards (you can see for sure by opening "System Profiler" from Applications --> Utilities and clicking "graphics")

if you have the ATI Radeon 9000 Pro:

https://support.ati.com/ics/support/default.asp?deptID=894&task=knowledge&folderID=27

or you might have the NVIDIA GeForce MX, which i can't find an update for... so let's hope you have the Radeon.

It also looks like no one has suggested running a maintenance program like Cocktail or System Optimizer X to perform a number of clean-up and maintenance scripts that tend to clear up weird and unexplainable issues like this.

Let's cross some fingers, people.
 
I like it that I have an "intrigueing" problem. My housemate (IT professional) described it similarly!

OK, I've run Cocktail and System Optimizer X, and they have seemingly fixed the problem of System Preferences crashing when "Displays" is opened. In other words, I can now open displays without any problems at all.

HOWEVER... The nearest I've got to any resolution choices being displayed on the support screen (the one connected through the ADC converter(?)- it's a Formac DA-60A24) is one line of gobbledeygook in the choices box under "Display". Clicking on the "Color" tab and then back onto the "Display" tab makes that one, irrelevant choice disappear.

And then, closing "Displays" and quitting System Preferences it says... "System Preferences has unexpectedly quit".

Coming from a PC background, drivers was my first thought. However I can't find where it says what graphics card I have. System Profiler gives no options for "Graphics". I *think* (from memory), it's the NVIDIA one though.
 
I had a Display problem today (me and my hacking got me trouble). However a good fix was a good reset of my Mac's nvram.

Here are the steps to boot it the Open Firmware and reset the nvram.
1. Restart your Mac holding down the Command(Apple key), Option, O and F keys. Wait a few seconds and then you will enter the Open firmware mode.
2. At the prompt type: reset-nvram
3. Press the Return key (this will return you to the prompt and you nvram is now at Factory default).
4. Then type: reset-all (this will reboot your mac and get you out of the Open Firmware mode).

Good luck.
 
Thank you for that... tried that, and I'm back to having gobbledeygook on the support screen under "resolution" (which is not selectable), and the normal options on the main screen. Selecting the "Color" tab and leads to System Preferences crashing.

Trying to start "Displays" when the System Prefs box is in the support screen also leads to System Prefs crashing.

FWIW, the gobbledeygook that is displayed is "-1559635108x2, 114318"... and then it continues off the text box and is therefore not visible.

I'm determined to get this sorted: there are some occasions where I would want to lower the resolution of the screens (for instance, dealing with older digital photos).
 
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