MacBook restart in startup

Reboot from your 1st install disk while holding down the C key. When you get past the first welcome screens you will see a regular menu bar across the top. Open disk utility from this and do a verify and repair disk permissions. See if that helps.

Boot with same disk while holding the d key and run diagnostics. If you just got it there is a 14 day return window unless it was a build to order. If your near a store you might go show it to them.

SAME CONUNDRUM AS JOHN.
Computer wouldn't get past the apple and spinning gear. Used the install disc to do Archive & Install and the installation had an error:

The installer could not install some files on "/Volumes/Macintosh HD". Contact the software
manufacturer for assistance. (Then it forced me to restart)

After this the computer no longer recognized the hard disk (Startup Disk Utility couldn't find Macintosh HD anymore; on startup the gray screen would hereafter stop at the flickering apple/circle with the line/questionmark. But strangely enough, the Disk Utility DID recognize and verify the disk: "Macintosh HD appears to be OK", but permissions would not repair and presented the same error: "The underlying task reported failure on exit.").

Safe Mode didn't work. Booting in Single User Mode (fsck) and Verbose mode didn't correct anything. Booted holding down D but the long scan detected nothing. Was able to use Target Disk mode at the Apple Store to transfer the data, but ONLY after the Store technicians used DiskWarrior to rebuild the drive directory. Then I happily transferred my home folder to a new macbook. (AppleCare thought it was a hardware issue; Store people thought my empty Boot Camp partition was the culprit. Who knows?)

Went home last night and on the new machine downloaded and installed all the system updates I'd downloaded before (iLife, QuickTime) plus the one I'd neglected to download before (10.5.1), reorganized folders and installed a handful of the programs that I'd also had on the previous machine. Installed new printer drivers/software. Vowed never to touch Boot Camp or let it partition the drive again. Last thing I did was try to install the new iPhoto update, but the computer just stood still all night, so I shut down this morning and decided to deal with it in the afternoon.

Jump to the afternoon: Mind you I've had my 'new' machine for less than a day. Startup and suddenly--SAME ISSUE. WILL NOT GET PAST THE APPLE AND THE SPINNING GEAR. So I do exactly what Applecare told me last time: try Archive & Install. Same error. Restart. I get the flickering apple/circle with line/question mark. Try Single User/Verbose Mode and this time I get a new error:

efiboot loaded from device: Acpi (PNP0A03,0)/Pci
(1FI2) /SATA (o,0)/HD (Part 2, Sig 5C36
D5AF-8324-4991-9418-0CCE7AEC8C75)
boot file path: \Previous
Systems.localized/2008-02-10_1019\System\Library\CoreServices\boot.efi
Loading 'mach_kernel'...
Could not open file 'mach_kernel'
Error loading kernel 'mach_kernel' (0xe)

What gives?! I can't believe I have to go back to the Apple Store AGAIN and have them rebuild the directory. I just ordered a Diskwarrior CD so if this happens again I'll be prepared. Applecare told me I'm either the most unlucky person ever to get two defective machines, or more likely there is some software corruption as yet unknown by Apple?! I don't know what could be causeing these issues. Is the processor architecture causing incompatibility with old programs? Does anyone know of any programs that could have caused my computer to stop working like this?! Specifically SNES9x or Nestopia? (those are the ones I'm suspecting for now).

Sadly, I am seconds away from returning it and buying a PC 😟

HELP?!

Message was edited by: cecil444

Message was edited by: cecil444

cecil444 wrote:
SAME CONUNDRUM AS JOHN.
Computer wouldn't get past the apple and spinning gear. Used the install disc to do Archive & Install and the installation had an error:

The installer could not install some files on "/Volumes/Macintosh HD". Contact the software
manufacturer for assistance. (Then it forced me to restart)

After this the computer no longer recognized the hard disk (Startup Disk Utility couldn't find Macintosh HD anymore; on startup the gray screen would hereafter stop at the flickering apple/circle with the line/questionmark. But strangely enough, the Disk Utility DID recognize and verify the disk: "Macintosh HD appears to be OK", but permissions would not repair and presented the same error: "The underlying task reported failure on exit.").

Safe Mode didn't work. Booting in Single User Mode (fsck) and Verbose mode didn't correct anything. Booted holding down D but the long scan detected nothing. Was able to use Target Disk mode at the Apple Store to transfer the data, but ONLY after the Store technicians used DiskWarrior to rebuild the drive directory. Then I happily transferred my home folder to a new macbook. (AppleCare thought it was a hardware issue; Store people thought my empty Boot Camp partition was the culprit. Who knows?)

Went home last night and on the new machine downloaded and installed all the system updates I'd downloaded before (iLife, QuickTime) plus the one I'd neglected to download before (10.5.1), reorganized folders and installed a handful of the programs that I'd also had on the previous machine. Installed new printer drivers/software. Vowed never to touch Boot Camp or let it partition the drive again. Last thing I did was try to install the new iPhoto update, but the computer just stood still all night, so I shut down this morning and decided to deal with it in the afternoon.

Jump to the afternoon: Mind you I've had my 'new' machine for less than a day. Startup and suddenly--SAME ISSUE. WILL NOT GET PAST THE APPLE AND THE SPINNING GEAR. So I do exactly what Applecare told me last time: try Archive & Install. Same error. Restart. I get the flickering apple/circle with line/question mark. Try Single User/Verbose Mode and this time I get a new error:

efiboot loaded from device: Acpi (PNP0A03,0)/Pci
(1FI2) /SATA (o,0)/HD (Part 2, Sig 5C36
D5AF-8324-4991-9418-0CCE7AEC8C75)
boot file path: \Previous
Systems.localized/2008-02-10_1019\System\Library\CoreServices\boot.efi
Loading 'mach_kernel'...
Could not open file 'mach_kernel'
Error loading kernel 'mach_kernel' (0xe)

What gives?! I can't believe I have to go back to the Apple Store AGAIN and have them rebuild the directory. I just ordered a Diskwarrior CD so if this happens again I'll be prepared. Applecare told me I'm either the most unlucky person ever to get two defective machines, or more likely there is some software corruption as yet unknown by Apple?! I don't know what could be causeing these issues. Is the processor architecture causing incompatibility with old programs? Does anyone know of any programs that could have caused my computer to stop working like this?! Specifically SNES9x or Nestopia? (those are the ones I'm suspecting for now).

Sadly, I am seconds away from returning it and buying a PC 😟

HELP?!

From the error message, your MacOS X installation looks like it corrupted since the system could no longer find the mach_kernel anymore which is the heart of the operating system. Without the kernel your system can't do anything since it doesn't know what to do anymore... it may be a corrupting hard drive. A lot of Seagate hard drive with the 7.01 firmware is having a lot of issues with the hard drive dying.

deltatux

I guess the failed Archive & Install made things worse by swapping around my System and Library folders. Why couldn't Apple build the program to reset the disk if the process fails rather than allowing it to make things worse?! Diskwarrior rebuilt the directory but it still won't load on its own. I'm going to try Target Disk Mode again to get the info off and then Erase & Install.

Since when does installing possibly incompatible software render a computer unusable or trash the kernel?! I think the only outside programs I installed on this second Macbook were some Canon scanner apps that came with my MX310 along with the drivers, Acrobat 6, Omni Outliner 3.6.3, Big Bang Backgammon 2.3.4, iMovie 6 HD, SNES9x, NEStopia, MactheRipper, DVD2oneX2, and Toast 6. Is it possible that one of these cannibalized the mach_kernel? Or that one is critically incompatible with the Intel Core 2 Duo processor? This whole affair is just bizarre.

+NB: One kid with the initial "hang at startup" problem said to try starting up from the Leopard CD and then open the Password Reset Utility and tell it to Reset All Permissions. He said it worked for him. I unfortunately am unable to try this because the failed Archive & Install rendered my HD unfindable (except, oddly enough, by Disk Utility).+

The Apple Store 'Geniuses' have been less than helpful...they've more or less used my visits as an opportunity to sell me more of their products: "Yeah too bad... you should have an external hard drive. Have you seen our latest...?!" ***! I buy a computer that fails within one day, and the Store people ignore the crucial WHY issue and instead use it as an excuse to sell you one more piece of junk. I never thought I'd say this but I think I am done with all things Apple. I'm realizing the hard way that it is just not the same company anymore.