iMac Completely Froze - Won't boot from Install Disc! Help!

M

macguy11

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Somewhere in 2009/2010, I can't really remember now I bought the 21inch iMac. It was working perfectly fine up until January 2011 where it started lagging, it became very slow and eventually it kept freezing...

It is now completely unworkable, it originally has the Mac OSX Leopard system and I cannot at all use it. When it is powered on it stays on the apple screen for like 10+/- minutes. After a while the background shows up but nothing on screen and it sits there frozen. When the power button is pressed once, the screen turns off, when the power button is pressed again, screen comes back on with everything already loaded, you can see the dock, and startup programs but everything is completely frozen, I can move the mouse but apart from that it's all dead (even the keyboard). After like 10/20 +- minutes it unfreezes and the computer is usable... the problem is that it keeps freezing every now and then...

While it unfroze, I managed to use a tool called Yasu to clean it up, I also checked the hard drive (1TB one) and everything was said to be in normal conditon.

Rebooted the mac, and the same thing happens all over again...

I tried running the install disc that originally came with the iMac but it does not want to boot. I tried booting in safe mode, it takes ages to boot up and when it does, it freezes on the login screen. I used the applications CD where you have to hold D, this booted up, I checked the system and everything was completely fine.

I then tried booting up (holding C) from a Windows Live CD, and it booted up perfectly fine, did a disk check, all was stated as working.

I then tried booting from the install disc and it just won't boot. It freezes up and I have to wait like 10 to 20 minutes to take out the CD because it won't come out.

Before I take it to Apple (#!££$"£# piece of crap) I would like to see if there's anything else I can do?

Since other CD's are booting up perfectly fine, I was thinking of installing Ubuntu Linux and maybe then trying to reinstall Mac OSX using the original CD?

Any help? Please!!!!!!!!!!!! and thank you in advance.
 
Your symptoms sound typical of a failing hard drive

Try booting to the diagnostics test. If you have never erased your hard drive, it should boot to that test - so restart your iMac, while holding the letter D on your keyboard. Keep holding that D until you can see that it is loading the test. Run both the standard test and the extended test. If that doesn't seem to work, then put your original restore DVD (one of the two grey disks should have Hardware Test on the label - if not, try Disk 1 first, then the other Disk) Restart, holding the same key (D) with that disk in the drive.
Do you get any error codes when running that hardware test?
 
Hello DeltaMac.

Yes I have done the above, I used the disk and I did the short Hardware Test which gave positive results as in no error codes. It said that everything was working fine. I've also tried the extended tests and no errors.

The Windows Live CD that I used is called "Ultimate Boot CD for Windows" and I've used the hard drive diagnostic tool that is contained within the software and it too didn't show any errors at all.

I managed to somehow make a copy of my pictures/music onto an external USB (around 4GB in data) hence I don't think that anything is wrong with the hard drive. But I may be wrong.
 
Is it possible that your hard drive is close to completely full? A nearly full hard drive WILL cause some of the symptoms that you report. And, if it's that full, you won't be able to reinstall OS X. There just won't be enough space.

Do you have more than one partition, with any other operating system installed now?
Is your hard drive still partitioned as GUID, and MacOS Extended, or have you (by mistake) "repaired" the boot blocks with the Window disk that you have?
You can verify what your hard drive is now, by booting to the OS X restore DVD, and opening Disk Utility - check the info area at the bottom of the Disk Utility window.


I still suspect that your hard drive has problems, but another good step, I think:
Boot to your restore DVD - yes, while holding the C.
If it takes a long time - wait it out. If it takes 20-30 minutes to get to the installer screens, that's OK, this time. You said it's running the original Leopard (OS X 10.5.x), so choose your hard drive. Then, click the Options button, and choose the option to Archive & Install. Be sure to check the sub-option for saving your files and settings. If, in fact, you have upgraded to Snow Leopard, you can do the same reinstall - it automatically reinstalls by default with a similar result. Continue with the Install.
Because of your other symptoms, the reinstall could take an hour or more.
If that completes OK, run Software Update until your Mac is fully updated.
If the install stops with an error, be sure to note that error, with the exact text that you see, and any icon (including icon color) in that error message.
 
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Hi,

I have a similar problem, however, when I start the computer from the OSX install disc, nothing happens... I have currently been waiting for more than an hour.

I tried to restart holding down Option - and it seems very much like the computer does recognize the DVD drive and the DVD inside it.

But it just never succeeds in getting on.

Just the Apple logo on the screen


Fox
 
Which Mac do you have?
What color is your OS X installer DVD, and what OS X version is listed on the label of that disk? Is this one of the DVDs that came with your Mac originally?
Lastly - what problems are you having with your iMac? Will it boot at all?
 
It's a MacBook Pro from June 2006 (pre-thunderbolt). 15". Biggest/best config. possible back then. Matt screen.
I have tries two different Snow Leopard DVD's + a MacBook Pro installer disc (and I have tested the DVD's on another computer as well, the DVD's are fine). None of the DVD's are the one that came with the computer originally since I apparently lost them (which have never happened before...), but similar discs from other MacBook Pro's (from around the same time).

So starting the computer while holding down the C key it sounds like the computer tries to boot from the DVD drive, but after a while it stops spinning. The computer just stays at the grey screen with the Apple logo. I have waited for 2 hours, and nothing happened. I have tried all three DVD's. I have resetted the PRAM and everything else. Nothing works.

Then I rebooted the MBP as a FireWire disk (using the T key) and connected the machine to my iMac 27 (January 2010, i5 config.). Then I can see the MBP's disc from Disk Utility and I could even run Verify and Repair - everything OK. No problem. I even erased the disc completely, so the MPB is now absolutely empty.

Then I openened the Snow Leopard installer on the iMac 27 and chose the MBP disc as the receiving disc. It started fine with the installer window coming up and the progress bar. Estimated at 52 min. After 25 min. the iMac reboots automatically, but just stays at the grey screen with the Apple logo...

This is where I am right now.

If you need more info, I'll find it for you

Thanks in advance

Mr Fox
 
Try this:
Start your MacBook Pro in Firewire target disk mode, connected to your iMac 27, with your iMac booted normally.
Run your Disk Utility, and choose the manufacturer's info line for the hard drive in your MacBook Pro. Click the Erase tab, then click the Security Options button, and choose Single Pass, then OK. Make sure that the format is Mac OS Extended (journaled), and name your partition if you like. Then, click the Erase button. This will take quite a long time, possibly an hour or more - but will either fail (because your hard drive is close to failing, and needs to be replaced), or the Single Pass will help your hard drive behave better by 'sparing' out possible bad blocks on the hard drive.
If your Snow Leopard DVD is a commercial installer (not one that came with your iMac), then check that the version on the label is the most recent (OS X 10.6.3). If that's all good, insert that DVD in your iMac. Leave the MacBook Pro booted to Target Disk mode.
Restart your iMac, holding the C - to boot to that installer DVD. Click through the first few screens, and make sure that you choose the hard drive in your MacBook Pro for the install destination, otherwise, the Snow Leopard install will default to the iMac hard drive, which you don't need to do. And, continue with the Snow Leopard install.
Hope that works for you this time.
 
Hi DeltaMac, and thanks for the help so far.

Unfortunately I still can't boot my computer. I did everything as you said and even restored my data from my TimeMachine backup - all via FireWire - but still nothing at startup:

- The computer chimes and goes to grey screen with Apple logo. NO spinning wheel! (Img 227). Then nothing, except the fans spinning.
- Starting up holding down the Alt key will show my "Machintosh HD", but won't boot (Img 228) - goes to grey screen with Apple logo and nothing else. Then nothing (I can hear the fans).
- Starting up in FireWire mode I can access all data and even start up from the troubled computers hard drive from another machine. Also, doing Repair Disc and Verify Disc gives me the result that everything should be fine.
- Starting up holding down either Cmd-S or Cmd-V freezes after 6 lines of code (Img 234). I have no possibilities to write anything.

Is this a problem with the launchd process? Or Hardware problems on the motherboard?

Damn it's frustrating.

And by the way - suddenly my iMac 27 (early 2010 model, i5) wouldn't boot from a CD either...
I'm not really going to do anything about that since it works fine. But it's not really promising if anything should go wrong in the future.


Again, thanks for all the help so far, and if you have new ideas, please let me know.

MrFox
 

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I think that you should try reseating your RAM memory sticks. Remove, then reseat the memory in the opposite slots.
Make sure that NOTHING else is attached to your MacBook Pro, except the magsafe adapter. No keyboard or mouse or even a network cable.

What sort of problem did you have before you tried an erase/install? Can you describe the symptoms that you were having?
 
Hi again,

I tried:

1) To reseat the existing RAM - nothing new.
2) Replacing the RAM with another brand - nothing new.

Booting from Vermose still seems like the process stops and freezes when loading the first driver (see img. 234 from previous post)

/MrFox
 
And you asked what went bad before I tried the re-install:

I felt my computer wasn't running optimal, maybe a little slow sometimes. Nothing was really wrong. But anyway, I felt it could help the performance to make a re-install.

But already before I wanted to reinstall I couln't boot from the DVD drive. So I hooked it up to my iMac as a FireWire disc and tried from there. The rest of the story is posted here.
 
And an update fyi. I have had the mac send to a repairshop. They had no idea why it was acting as it was, but by installing a 250 Gb hard drive (instead of the original 500 Gb), they made it work... So now my computer works again, but with 50% hard drive capacity... There's nothing wrong with the original 500 Gb HD, they tested it on other machines, so it's probably the controller on the motherboard or something. Anyway, it's still weird, and very annoying. But better with a 50% computer that works than no computer at all.

and changing the motherboard, well, you all know what that means $$$$

Over and out

Mrfox
 
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