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Crossed out circle on start up

Hello all,
I'm having an issue with my 24" iMac (mid 2009). Whenever I start up my machine, I hear the start up chime then see the apple logo with the spinning gear. After about 30 seconds, the apple logo changes to a crossed out circle.

So, I tried booting in safe mode by holding down shift and turning on the computer. After this, OS X will boot up just fine. I will then restart the machine and OS X will reboot regularly. But after I shut down the iMac, I encounter the same exact issue again.

I have ran a hardware test with my Snow Leopard disk and found no issues. My hard drive seems to have no issues and my S.M.A.R.T. status is verified. I have also tried reseting my PRAM, but am still running into the same issue.

So, what do I do now???
Thanks,
-Ryan

24" iMac 3.06GHz Core 2 Duo, Mac OS X (10.5.4), Snow Leopard 10.6.2

Posted on Mar 2, 2010 8:06 PM

Reply
Question marked as Best reply

Posted on Mar 2, 2010 9:24 PM

HI,

Go here... Mac OS X: "Broken folder" icon, prohibitory sign, or kernel panic when computer starts

Also, start up with only the keyboard and mouse attached, no other peripherals and see if that makes a difference.

And go to your Apple Menu/Software updates. Make sure all your system software is up to date.

Repair disk permissions.

Quit any open applications/programs. Launch Disk Utility. (Applications/Utilities) Select MacintoshHD in the panel on the left, select the FirstAid tab. Click: Repair Disk Permissions. When it's finished from the Menu Bar, Quit Disk Utility and restart your Mac. If you see a long list of "messages" in the permissions window, it's ok. That can be ignored. As long as you see, "Permissions Repair Complete" when it's finished... you're done. Quit Disk Utility and *restart your Mac.*

Go to /Library/Startup Items. Move any files in that folder to the Trash.

And open System Preferences/Accounts and select the Login Items tab. Delete any apps listed there to launch on startup.













Carolyn 🙂
7 replies
Question marked as Best reply

Mar 2, 2010 9:24 PM in response to RemarkableRyan

HI,

Go here... Mac OS X: "Broken folder" icon, prohibitory sign, or kernel panic when computer starts

Also, start up with only the keyboard and mouse attached, no other peripherals and see if that makes a difference.

And go to your Apple Menu/Software updates. Make sure all your system software is up to date.

Repair disk permissions.

Quit any open applications/programs. Launch Disk Utility. (Applications/Utilities) Select MacintoshHD in the panel on the left, select the FirstAid tab. Click: Repair Disk Permissions. When it's finished from the Menu Bar, Quit Disk Utility and restart your Mac. If you see a long list of "messages" in the permissions window, it's ok. That can be ignored. As long as you see, "Permissions Repair Complete" when it's finished... you're done. Quit Disk Utility and *restart your Mac.*

Go to /Library/Startup Items. Move any files in that folder to the Trash.

And open System Preferences/Accounts and select the Login Items tab. Delete any apps listed there to launch on startup.













Carolyn 🙂

Mar 4, 2010 7:04 AM in response to iyacyas

Ok, it didn't work. After shutting down last night, the same issue occurred this morning after turning on the iMac.

Since I have Snow Leopard and not OS 9, would I be able to do the "mach_kernel" method? I have also read somewhere that I could copy the mach_kernel file from another mac (i.e. my macbook pro) and replace the one on my iMac. Could this be done?

Crossed out circle on start up

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