imac Permissions + "Click of Death"

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wmthake

Registered
Hello,
I have an imac (4.1, early 2006, intel core duo, intel ICH7-M AHCI SATA2 HD)

It's been okay for a long time, and I just started having problems. I went through a series of re-installs and clearing of the HD because the speed was compromised.

Everything was going fine, then I heard the wonderful "click of death" on boot. I've searched the web and did a couple of the solutions

1. Repair disk from the install disk.
2. Repair permissions both from inside the OS and from the install disk.

The funny error I keep getting is that when I do a permission repair, Front Row and some other guys keep coming up. Here it is:

Repairing permissions for “My Computer”
Reading permissions database.
Reading the permissions database can take several minutes.

Permissions differ on "System/Library/CoreServices/Front Row.app/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrw-r--r-- .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/CoreServices/Front Row.app/Contents/PlugIns/DVD.frappliance/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrw-r--r-- .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/CoreServices/Front Row.app/Contents/PlugIns/FRSettings.frappliance/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrw-r--r-- .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/CoreServices/Front Row.app/Contents/PlugIns/FRSources.frappliance/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrw-r--r-- .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/CoreServices/Front Row.app/Contents/PlugIns/Movies.frappliance/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrw-r--r-- .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/CoreServices/Front Row.app/Contents/PlugIns/Music.frappliance/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrw-r--r-- .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/CoreServices/Front Row.app/Contents/PlugIns/Photos.frappliance/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrw-r--r-- .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/CoreServices/Front Row.app/Contents/PlugIns/Podcasts.frappliance/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrw-r--r-- .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/CoreServices/Front Row.app/Contents/PlugIns/TV.frappliance/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrw-r--r-- .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/BackRow.framework/Versions/A/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrw-r--r-- .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/CoreServices/Menu Extras/RemoteDesktop.menu/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrw-r--r-- .
Permissions differ on "Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-rw-r-- , they are lrw-rw-r-- .
Permissions differ on "Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/Frameworks/iPodUpdater.framework/Versions/A/CodeResources", should be -rw-rw-r-- , they are lrw-rw-r-- .
Permissions differ on "Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/Resources/iTunesHelper.app/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-rw-r-- , they are lrw-rw-r-- .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/DeviceLink.framework/Versions/A/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrw-r--r-- .
Permissions differ on "System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/iTunesAccess.framework/Versions/A/CodeResources", should be -rw-r--r-- , they are lrw-r--r-- .
Group differs on "Library/Internet Plug-Ins/JavaPluginCocoa.bundle/Contents/CodeResources", should be 80, group is 0.
Permissions differ on "Library/Internet Plug-Ins/JavaPluginCocoa.bundle/Contents/CodeResources", should be -rw-rw-r-- , they are lrwxr-xr-x .
Group differs on "Library/Internet Plug-Ins/JavaPluginCocoa.bundle/Contents/Info.plist", should be 80, group is 0.
Permissions differ on "Library/Internet Plug-Ins/JavaPluginCocoa.bundle/Contents/Info.plist", should be -rw-rw-r-- , they are -rw-r--r-- .
Group differs on "Library/Internet Plug-Ins/JavaPluginCocoa.bundle/Contents/MacOS/JavaPluginCocoa", should be 80, group is 0.
Permissions differ on "Library/Internet Plug-Ins/JavaPluginCocoa.bundle/Contents/MacOS/JavaPluginCocoa", should be -rwxrwxr-x , they are -rwxr-xr-x .
Group differs on "Library/Internet Plug-Ins/JavaPluginCocoa.bundle/Contents/MacOS", should be 80, group is 0.
Permissions differ on "Library/Internet Plug-Ins/JavaPluginCocoa.bundle/Contents/MacOS", should be drwxrwxr-x , they are drwxr-xr-x .
Group differs on "Library/Internet Plug-Ins/JavaPluginCocoa.bundle/Contents/Resources/Localizable.strings", should be 80, group is 0.
Permissions differ on "Library/Internet Plug-Ins/JavaPluginCocoa.bundle/Contents/Resources/Localizable.strings", should be -rw-rw-r-- , they are -rw-r--r-- .
Group differs on "Library/Internet Plug-Ins/JavaPluginCocoa.bundle/Contents/Resources", should be 80, group is 0.
Permissions differ on "Library/Internet Plug-Ins/JavaPluginCocoa.bundle/Contents/Resources", should be drwxrwxr-x , they are drwxr-xr-x .
Group differs on "Library/Internet Plug-Ins/JavaPluginCocoa.bundle/Contents/version.plist", should be 80, group is 0.
Permissions differ on "Library/Internet Plug-Ins/JavaPluginCocoa.bundle/Contents/version.plist", should be -rw-rw-r-- , they are -rw-r--r-- .
Group differs on "Library/Internet Plug-Ins/JavaPluginCocoa.bundle/Contents", should be 80, group is 0.
Permissions differ on "Library/Internet Plug-Ins/JavaPluginCocoa.bundle/Contents", should be drwxrwxr-x , they are drwxr-xr-x .
Permissions differ on "private/var/spool/cups/cache/rss", should be drwxr-xr-x , they are drwxrwxr-x .

Permissions repair complete
Click to expand...

Anyway, a couple times I was able to reboot just by restarting with finger, now it's getting worse because I have to insert the install disk and after I quit the installer, magically after 1 or 2 death clicks, it finds my hard disk and boots up normally.

After it boots up, I run permissions and get the same stuff (see above).

So, I'm wondering if either
A) my hard drive is shot and I need a new one (major headache, don't even want to open up this thing)
B) It's a permission problem that re-installing or something would fix.

Thanks for the help,
wmthake
 
A) New mechanical noises, especially if you know that they come from the hard drive - are never good news.
Back up your files while you still can.
Replace your hard drive. (Now the headache begins, I know it's a challenge to get inside!)

B) It's not a problem that repairing permissions will fix. Repairing permissions seldom helps with much of anything, unless there's an actual permissions issue. This time - it's a hardware problem, fixed by replacing the hard drive.
 
So, from your response, I take it that

A) The fact that I insert the install disk, open disk utility, don't see my disk, restart and (magically) it restarts into my OS is just a fluke and my computer is just playing dirty before it crashes.

B) The chances of using this hard drive externally after I replace it is probably nil.

I got an estimate for new HD and install, and installation and it was 129 euros. Not bad at all. Hopefully this solves the problem.

thanks again,
wmthake
 
A) Yes, the hard drive is probably not coming up to speed properly. The Disk Utility will try to find all drives that exist, and may be 'kicking' the drive at that point, then restarting when the drive is already running and your Mac boots to that drive then. It's not working too well now.

B) After you replace the old drive, that drive might have some use in an external case, but you shouldn't expect it to work any better than it does now, and you surely shouldn't trust it for anything important, like your files or backups.
 
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