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themachead
Level 3 (769 points)
iPhone

Q: Al G4 12" 1.33GHz boots in safe mode, otherwise blue screen before desktop

+Found many an "Archived" posts about this but NO SOLUTIONS.+

Target mode works too. Diagnosed with TTP 5 and Diskwarrior, Verified drive and repaired permissions but (nothing booted normally) including the install CD -

New install of 10.5 via Firewire - I installed OS via firewire. Updated all software to 10.5.8 Nothing in login items. Cleaned Caches.

Hang Occurs with and without airport card. With and without the airport.kext in extensions.

*SOMETHING IN THE OS lets the machine boot in safe mode only*... How can I find a list of items/extensions to check to see what is causing the conflict?

MacPro 1.1 G5, Dual-Core Intel Xeon 2.66GHz, Mac OS X (10.5.8), 15GB ram

Posted on Aug 20, 2009 12:53 PM

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themachead

Q: Al G4 12" 1.33GHz boots in safe mode, otherwise blue screen before desktop

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  • Helpful answers

  • by cornelius,

    cornelius cornelius Aug 20, 2009 7:57 PM in response to themachead
    Level 6 (17,825 points)
    Aug 20, 2009 7:57 PM in response to themachead
    themachead:

    When you ran TTP did you run the Hardware Test? If not, do so. Just to be sure it is not your HDD download and run SMART Utility - 2.0.2. Once the hardware checks out, we can look at software issues.

    cornelius

  • by themachead,

    themachead themachead Aug 26, 2009 10:35 AM in response to cornelius
    Level 3 (769 points)
    iPhone
    Aug 26, 2009 10:35 AM in response to cornelius
    *I could not get TTP to boot without safe booting.* The test claims *BAD VRAM* - So there's some changes to a setting for the display (I assume) in "safe boot" that to allows it to finish booting and have functionality.

    *Do you know +or can you find out+ what that setting may be? If* I can use that setting in "normal" boot mode then the book is functional.

    OR *Is there a shim I could use* that would overcome the VRAM problem?

    N.

  • by cornelius,

    cornelius cornelius Aug 26, 2009 4:27 PM in response to themachead
    Level 6 (17,825 points)
    Aug 26, 2009 4:27 PM in response to themachead
    themachead:

    Good troubleshooting. Unfortunately, the issue is beyond my paygrade. I will try to see if I can find anyone who is more familiar with the issue. If I can't I suggest that you make an appointment online at the Genius Bar of your local Apple Store and have them take a look. There is no charge for looking, and if the find anything that can be easily fixed the may do it for you on the spot without charge. Otherwise they will give you an idea of what is wrong and give you a cost estimate.

    cornelius

  • by Texas Mac Man,

    Texas Mac Man Texas Mac Man Aug 26, 2009 5:39 PM in response to themachead
    Level 8 (46,611 points)
    Aug 26, 2009 5:39 PM in response to themachead
    Some display settings are stored in NVRAM. So suggest you try a PRAM/NVRAM reset.

     Cheers, Tom

  • by cornelius,

    cornelius cornelius Aug 26, 2009 6:33 PM in response to Texas Mac Man
    Level 6 (17,825 points)
    Aug 26, 2009 6:33 PM in response to Texas Mac Man
    Tom:

    Thought of that, but didn't know if it would help. You will find directions in the article Resetting your Mac's PRAM and NVRAM

    cornelius

  • by BDAqua,

    BDAqua BDAqua Aug 27, 2009 1:07 AM in response to themachead
    Level 10 (123,506 points)
    Aug 27, 2009 1:07 AM in response to themachead
    Yes, that's a classic sign of bad Video Card/VRAM, Safe Mode loads Safe Video Drivers that use very little of the Video Card.

  • by themachead,

    themachead themachead Aug 27, 2009 6:28 AM in response to BDAqua
    Level 3 (769 points)
    iPhone
    Aug 27, 2009 6:28 AM in response to BDAqua
    Is there a way to use those drivers from a normal boot? That way airport and other extensions would load and work. I don't see spending $300+ for a new MB.

  • by themachead,

    themachead themachead Aug 27, 2009 6:34 AM in response to Texas Mac Man
    Level 3 (769 points)
    iPhone
    Aug 27, 2009 6:34 AM in response to Texas Mac Man
    Been there, done that, long before posting here. I would be helpful *if there was a list +or another way+ to identify what extensions are disabled* (as in classic) so that I could shift all the other "good" extensions into an alternate boot set.

  • by themachead,

    themachead themachead Sep 9, 2009 7:47 AM in response to themachead
    Level 3 (769 points)
    iPhone
    Sep 9, 2009 7:47 AM in response to themachead
    *Found the solution myself*

    Upgraded to Leopard, *did a safe boot and ran system profiler - looked at extensions running*.

    *While in safe mode I "trimmed" the extensions to that set* +(had to do with extraneous or corrupted video drivers)+ *put the unused extensions in a folder called "Extensions Disabled" restarted*, and. *+voilà was able to boot and use the computer with no freezing or Kernel panic!s+*

    Also used G4 Fan control to run the CPU cooler.

  • by cornelius,

    cornelius cornelius Sep 9, 2009 8:06 AM in response to themachead
    Level 6 (17,825 points)
    Sep 9, 2009 8:06 AM in response to themachead
    themachead:

    Good work. Congratulations!

    Thanks for posting back with your solution. It may be helpful to other users.

    cornelius

  • by BDAqua,

    BDAqua BDAqua Oct 13, 2009 7:43 PM in response to themachead
    Level 10 (123,506 points)
    Oct 13, 2009 7:43 PM in response to themachead
    Great work deducing there, I've bookmarked your post for others... used it once already... Thanks!