Using sound in Safe mode

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Level 1

8 points

Using sound in Safe mode

My Powerbook G4 has recently been experiencing huge problems. It can no longer start up in normal mode (I get the normal grey start up screen, then either a blank blue screen with no cursor, or another grey screen with lines all across it). For the time being, I'm running the machine in Safe Mode, but only until I can get it looked at by a pro. The trick is, I'm currently traveling and won't be in any one place long enough to have it looked at for several more months. So the question I have is this:

Is there any way to turn on sound when running the machine in Safe Mode?

I know that's kinda the point of safe mode, but nothing else seems to work, I don't have any start up CDs with me, and I'd really like to listen to music on my machine in the meantime.

cheers,
tim

Powerbook G4, Mac OS X (10.4.11)

Posted on May 2, 2009 2:33 AM

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Answer 1

BDAqua

Level 10

250,259 points

May 2, 2009 2:51 AM in response to TimInOz

Hi Tim, and a warm welcome to the forums! 🙂

Have you tried repair Permissions in Safe Mode?

Safe Boot , (holding Shift key down at bootup), run Disk Utility in Applications>Utilities, then highlight your drive, click on Repair Permissions, reboot when it finishes.

Tough without a Tiger Disk, but try fsck...

To use fsck, you must run it from the command line. Unlike using your mouse to open an application to do something, you'll need to type a text command at the prompt (#) to tell fsck what to do. The Terminal application (/Applications/Utilities) and single-user mode are two examples of command-line interfaces in which you can type such commands. To use fsck:

1. Start up your computer in single-user mode to reach the command line. Hold CMD+s keys down at bootup. Note: If necessary, perform a forced restart as described in the Emergency Troubleshooting Handbook that came with your computer. On desktop computers, you can do this by pressing the reset/interrupt button (if there is one) or holding down the power button for several seconds. On portable computers, simultaneously press the Command-Control-power keys. If your portable computer doesn't restart with this method, you may need to reset the Power Manager.

2. At the command-line prompt, type /sbin/fsck -fy
(space between fsck and -fy important)

3. Press Return. fsck will go through five "phases" and then return information about your disk's use and fragmentation. Once it finishes, it'll display this message if no issue is found: ** The volume (name ofvolume) appears to be OK  If fsck found issues and has altered, repaired, or fixed anything, it will display this message:  *** FILE SYSTEM WAS MODIFIED ***   Important: If this message appears, repeat the fsck command you typed in step 2 until fsck tells you that your volume appears to be OK (first-pass repairs may uncover additional issues, so this is a normal thing to do).

4. When fsck reports that your volume is OK, type reboot at the prompt and then press Return.

http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106214

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Answer 2

TimInOz Author

Level 1

8 points

May 3, 2009 7:04 AM in response to BDAqua

Thanks for the welcome to forums, and the advice!

I'd already repaired the permission,so we can check that box. With your advice, I started up in single-user mode and did the fsck thing. Everything checked out ok first time through. But when restarted, it booted up properly, but after about 3 minutes the screen got greyed out and I got the "You need to restart your computer now" message (in about 5 different languages). I forced a restart, and now it gets hung up on the grey screen or blank blue screen whenever I try to restart.

Is there anything else I can do without a start up disk or without sending the machine away? (incidentally, I've also done the 'zap the PRAM' thing as well, with no noticable improvement.)

I can still get it to boot up in safe mode. I can pretty much do everything I need to do in safe mode, with the exception of using sound. Is there anyway to enable sound (maybe using terminal) while running in safe mode?

thanks for the help.

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Answer 3

BDAqua

Level 10

250,259 points

May 3, 2009 9:40 AM in response to TimInOz

Tim, Safe Mode loads minimal/Safe Drivers amongst other things. It might be possible to use Terminal to engage sound some how, but I have no idea what it would be, other than a vague understanding.

Not that it would cure anything, but may give a clue as to whether it's SW or HW... Here's the list and downloads for AHT...

http://www.info.apple.com/support/aht.html

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