Mac OSX not booting up.

[Grant215]

Well, I have had this problem for a while. I login to a login screen that asks for my password, I put it in and it boots to a greenish-screen. It stays blank, then blinks and goes back to the same login screen. I don't have much knowledge on Mac's but I know how to troubleshoot most problems with computers. I have reset the PMU and therefore the PRAM. I have also checked the hard drive in the UNIX prompt by doing the sbin/fsck -f command and the results said that my hard drive was alright. I am stumped, anyone got anything I can try?

Thanks in advance

Edit: Oh, its a PowerBook G4 12".

 

[symphonix]

Load the install CD into the drive, and boot from it by holding "C" during power on. You should then be able to do an "Archive and Install" (one of the custom install options) which basically backs up your old system to a seperate folder before it sets up a clean, new install of the system.

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107120

 

[Grant215]

This won't clear my hard drive, will it? I am trying to save the data on my hard drive if possible.

 

[Satcomer]

No and yes. what it does is put your old files in a special folder and the re-install the main system files like new. Once it finishes you can dig into that special folder and move applications and/or personal files to their new locations and delete the rest that you don't need. That is the literal meaning of "Archive & Install".

 

[Grant215]

Thanks!