The Mac Bot
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Q: Stuck at Apple logo, won't boot from internal HD

My PowerBook G4 (Ti, 867MHz) just decided it didn't want to boot today...

 

The PowerBook has been asleep and not used for a few weeks. I woke it up last week for a few minutes to try and print out a document. It restarted just fine after installing the printer driver. Then it went back asleep until today.

I decided I had better shut it down as it has been sleeping a lot. It's shut down for about 5 minutes when I boot it back up to find it stuck at the Apple logo with the (spinning) spinner.

 

What I tried to do to solve the problem:

1. Booted into Terminal mode (command-s) and typed exit so I could see the boot log. It appears to attempt to boot yet repeatedly prints:

> localhost /System/Library/CoreServices/loginwindow.app/Contents/MacOS/loginwindow[92]: Login Window Application Started -- Threaded auth

> localhost loginwindow[92]: _RegisterApplication(), FAILED TO establish the default connection to the WindowServer, _CGSDefaultConnection() is NULL.

> localhost loginwindow[92]: [/SourceCache/loginwindow/loginwindow-1234.4/Login.m:566]: CGSCopyCurrentSessionDictionary returned NULL

> localhost loginwindow[92]: ERROR | -[Login1 resetDevicePermissions] | CGSCopySessionList returned NULL

> localhost ReportCrash[97]: Saved crashreport to /Library/Logs/CrashReporter/loginwindow_2014-06-23-HHMMSS_localhost.crash using uid: 0 gid: 0 euid: 0 egid: 0

2. Booted into Terminal again, and mounted the volume. I was able to do ls to list the file contents - so I CAN get to my files. It's not a disk issue. Then I ran fsck -fy. It reported the disk as OK.

3. Rebooted and reset PRAM. No change

4. Reset NVRAM. No change.

5. Popped in the Leopard install disc and restarted. Booted into Leopard disc.

6. Tried to repair permissions from Leopard disc - it just hung and I had to cancel the process.

7. Verified disk from Leopard disc. Reported as OK.

8. Clicked the next button on the install screen. Tried to install. "You don't have enough space"... The skimpy 40GB HD is so packed with stuff that it can't install. And my external HD won't connect to it, it never shows up. Not like I can move off anything anyway as it won't boot...

 

I CANNOT format the HD. I have stuff on there I can't lose. Does the Terminal recognize and mount USB devices so I can copy from the Terminal? If not I guess I could delete some apps and Xcode and stuff, maybe the System folder...

 

Any solutions here? Never had this happen before...

Posted on Jun 23, 2014 6:47 PM

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The Mac Bot

Q: Stuck at Apple logo, won't boot from internal HD

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  • by The Mac Bot,

    The Mac Bot The Mac Bot Jun 25, 2014 10:09 PM in response to The Mac Bot
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 25, 2014 10:09 PM in response to The Mac Bot

    So I had a crazy idea...

    Booted into the terminal (command-s) and manually created a .AppleSetupDone file in the right place to skip the setup assistant.


    With that done...

    It dumps me out at a blue screen with nothing but the pointer. After about 30 seconds the terminal very briefly comes up and then goes away. It just keeps doing this.

     

    Corrupted account?

  • by Drew Reece,

    Drew Reece Drew Reece Jun 25, 2014 11:10 PM in response to The Mac Bot
    Level 5 (7,659 points)
    Notebooks
    Jun 25, 2014 11:10 PM in response to The Mac Bot

    I don't believe your last paragraph is a good idea at all! (re: force restart installer)

    Archive and install always was a fustercluck. It tried to duplicate the System data. Sometimes that turned out to be bigger than it estimated & you end up in this mess.

     

    The installer has already complained at you about disk size in the first post.

    How big is a default 10.5.8 install 10-16 GB? My memory fails me but I doubt it leaves much space on a 40GB disk, Archive & install keeps 2 copies of the OS around!

     

    You have a disk in an unknown state that will not boot. It is crashing before login window that suggests some low level damage.

    Applying a new OS to what could be a corrupt disk catalog will not help matters.

     

    Once again…

    Erase the internal - you have a backup now right?

    Use Disk Utility to zero the disk (bad blocks will be mapped - excessive failure will break the process - a sign from the gods).

    Create a new partition table (with shiny new catalog)

     

    Clean install, 10.5.8.

    Test booting, kick the tyres etc.

    Then you can use Migration Assistant if you really want the user data from the backup, or manually copy it. Copying it all back will defragment the data, you may see better performance if the disk actually works.

     

     

    Poking at it with random ideas like killing the installer will not make your Mac work. We make these suggestions from experience not for laughs.

    I'm impressed you have a Mac this age running, but you must know the troubleshooting process better than this?

  • by LostAccount,

    LostAccount LostAccount Jun 26, 2014 1:15 AM in response to The Mac Bot
    Level 1 (125 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jun 26, 2014 1:15 AM in response to The Mac Bot

    Hello MacBot

     

    You could try the following (sorry I did not read all of Drew's reply)

     

    After reading your progress report I immediately thought about the following but before I outline what I would do please please make sure you have a backup!

     

    1) Boot from the install DVD

    2) Launch Disk Utility

    3) Partition the internal HD, ensure the 2nd partition is large enough for the Install

    4) Do a straight clean erase and install (even though the 2nd partition would have nothing to erase per se) on the 2nd partition

    5) Restart the mac after a hopefully good install

    6) While restarting hold the alt (option) key

    7) Choose the 2nd partition to boot from

    8) It should boot

     

    Alternatively, you could just do a complete erase and install BUT only if you have a backup!

     

    I hope this helps.

  • by LostAccount,

    LostAccount LostAccount Jun 26, 2014 1:16 AM in response to The Mac Bot
    Level 1 (125 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jun 26, 2014 1:16 AM in response to The Mac Bot

    Just saw this now

     

    OSInstaller[153]: An exception was thrown from the install queue while running IFPostArchiveInstallElement. NSFileHandleOperationException. *** -[NSConcreteFileHandle writeData:]: No space left on device.

    OSInstaller[153]: Install Failed: The Installer encountered an unknown error that failed the install. Contact the software manufacturer for assistance.

  • by LostAccount,

    LostAccount LostAccount Jun 26, 2014 1:19 AM in response to The Mac Bot
    Level 1 (125 points)
    Mac OS X
    Jun 26, 2014 1:19 AM in response to The Mac Bot

    Also, here is what happened after the failed A&I. It essentially means it left the contents originally there before the A&I intact. It's as though nothing changed.

     

    If you partition the HD, creating a second partition big enough for a fresh clean install, you will be able to boot to it after the fact hold the option key on restart and this will at least tell you the HD, the ribbon cable between the HD and the MLB are in good shape and ultimately tell you that something is just wrong with the data on the main partition.

     

    I would certainly try a new partition as the install point.

     

    NSFileHandleOperationException. *** -[NSConcreteFileHandle writeData:]: No space left on device.

    OSInstaller[153]: Deleting broken system

    OSInstaller[153]: Moving previous system back



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