Need help: MacOSX desktop-ran fsck

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bluebonnet01

Registered
Hi! Thanks to your site, I am in the middle of trying to fix my computer at startup. History: Started getting the blue screen and the little gear icon instead of regular startup and login. So, ran the fsck -fy in the single user mode. First time, the file system was modified, then it said "***REBOOT NOW***" followed by "...Feb 19 16:26:25 lauchd; Bug; launchd,c:492:30: chown(ourdir, getuid(), getgid()) != -1" and it stopped. So I typed in "reboot" and it said "hfs_swap_BTNode; invalid forward link (0x43357945) node=126 fileID=4 volume=Macintosh HD device=root_device -sh; reboot; command not found localhost:/root#"

So, I ran the fsck -fy a second time to make sure that everything was okay. It checked everything and said that "The volume Macintosh HD appers to be OK." followed by "localhost:/ root#"

Then I thought that I must need to type in reboot, which I did and it gave me all that info again about an invalid forward link, etc. and reboot command not found.

Should I just turn off my computer and try to restart it since it won't let me reboot from this coding screen?

Thank you so much for any help you can give me!
 
This is when you will need an OS X installer disk.

Which Mac do you have?
which version of OS X are you using?
Do you have an OS X installer disk?
 
I have an iMac desktop running OSX 10.4.11. Nope, do not have a disk - came preloaded. And if I did have a disk, would it wipe out my files? I don't want to lose my photos!!
 
You've gone as far you can to test your hard drive.
Now, you probably need to reinstall OS X - and you need an OS X installer disk to do that.
You won't lose your photos, unless you CHOOSE to erase the hard drive. The default is simply to reinstall.

However - you may have a hard drive that just isn't working properly. It may test OK, but is preventing booting, perhaps because the startup software just isn't quite right.

Keep in mind that Disk Utility just checks on the directory structure. That can be correct and good, yet the actual files are missing, or just corrupted in some way. THAT'S when you need to reinstall OS X.

Next (and most important) step - if you have important files (your pictures), then backup your hard drive before you reinstall. You want to make sure that your photos are safe.
 
Ok - here's more about my computer: iMac 2.0 ghz intel core duo processor desktop. Has 1 GB memory and 250 GB hard drive. 8x SuperDrive with 4x double-layer burning and built-in iSight camera.
 
Thank you, DeltaMac! So, if I need to reinstall my OSX, (1) how do I get a disk since it all came on my computer when I got it and (2) how can I backup my photos from the black/white screen since it won't restart like normal and let me get to my files? (I do have an external hard drive available to use.) Sorry for all the questions.
 
The 'code' on your booting iMac - will likely mean that your operating system is corrupted, or some part of it is missing...
To correct that, you will need OS X reinstall or restore DVDs.

If you have had your iMac since new, then it came with the restore disks.
If you bought it used, then it SHOULD have come with those disks. They would be grey, and there would be a set of two DVDs.
If you do not have those disks, then the only disks that will work are that set of grey DVDs, or one that came with an identical iMac. There's a commercial OS X install disk, but that won't work with your iMac. If you can't find an original disk, then - you have to upgrade to 10.5 or 10.6
 
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