Froze while asleep (sleep light on, but not pulsing), now it won't start up--hangs on spinning wheel. No recent updates, installs, etc.
What I've tried:
-reset PRAM, PMU.
-Safe boot (still sticks on spinning wheel. For hours.)
-Verbose mode: displays disk0s2 I/O error, repeatedly. Creates crash log files.
-Single-user mode: fsck OK's drive. Can view logs (vim) and traverse HD.
-FireWire Target: Pulled crashlog files.
-Disk Utility from 10.4.11 PPC (via firewire) reports: Volume Header needs minor repair.
Questions: Is it safe to repair a GUID volume on an Intel Mac using my PPC's Disk Utility?
Is the system hosed (IE, archive and reinstall)?
Will post log files; hoping for a suggestion to fix without reinstalling the system as I do not have OS disc (bought MacBook used this summer, came with no discs).
Questions: Is it safe to repair a GUID volume on an Intel Mac using my PPC's Disk Utility?
Absolutely not. Do not use any PPC utility to repair your drive.
That's what I thought. =)
Is the system hosed (IE, archive and reinstall)?
Yes, most likely. A required system file is likely damaged.
...and I was afraid of that. =(
Do you not have an Intel version of OS X? Surely you must have a Leopard installer since you have Leopard installed.
That's the whole problem here, really. Bought the system this summer used with no discs. Not a problem at the time, as I was a tech at the local University. Lost the job, lost the resources. So I'm trying to find a local source for the disc, but no luck yet. Hence, this post.
You will have to purchase an OS X installer DVD. Leopard retail packs are scarce and expensive. You can call AppleCare and order one ($129) if they are available. Otherwise, you would need to buy third-party on eBay or from Amazon.com where they will cost even more. Or you can buy the $30 copy of Snow Leopard but you must have at least 1 GB of RAM (2 GBs would be much better.)
If it's merely a disk repair solution then you can do the following:
Print this post out in a mono-spaced font, and type carefully, paying attention to spaces and punctuation, since you cannot copy/paste in Single User mode.
Caution: in single user mode you have root privileges. Be careful!
Boot into
single-user mode which will eventually get you to a shell prompt (ending in #). Then type the following (Press RETURN after each command):
/sbin/fsck -fy
Press RETURN. Wait a few seconds for 8-10 lines of output. If the last line says repairs were carried out, repeat this command until you get a message 'The volume <yourdiskname> appears to be OK'. Then continue with:
reboot
Although this is not as useful as doing the same with Disk Utility you may be able to fix a basic problem if that's all it is. But if the above doesn't help you will need to get an installer disc in order to reinstall OS X.
If you get Snow Leopard then do not simply upgrade. You will need to first erase the drive then install Snow Leopard, so you want to backup your files if that's possible.
Kappy wrote:
You will have to purchase an OS X installer DVD. Leopard retail packs are scarce and expensive. You can call AppleCare and order one ($129) if they are available. Otherwise, you would need to buy third-party on eBay or from Amazon.com where they will cost even more. Or you can buy the $30 copy of Snow Leopard but you must have at least 1 GB of RAM (2 GBs would be much better.)
Thanks for the Snow Leopard tip. I had heard it was inexpensive, and promptly forgot. =) I do have 2GBs RAM, so that's what I'll do.
If it's merely a disk repair solution then you can do the following:
Print this post out in a mono-spaced font, and type carefully, paying attention to spaces and punctuation, since you cannot copy/paste in Single User mode.
Caution: in single user mode you have root privileges. Be careful!
Boot into
single-user mode which will eventually get you to a shell prompt (ending in #). Then type the following (Press RETURN after each command):
/sbin/fsck -fy
Press RETURN. Wait a few seconds for 8-10 lines of output. If the last line says repairs were carried out, repeat this command until you get a message 'The volume <yourdiskname> appears to be OK'. Then continue with:
reboot
Done--twice. Both times reports OK. Still won't boot.
Although this is not as useful as doing the same with Disk Utility you may be able to fix a basic problem if that's all it is. But if the above doesn't help you will need to get an installer disc in order to reinstall OS X.
If you get Snow Leopard then do not simply upgrade. You will need to first erase the drive then install Snow Leopard, so you want to backup your files if that's possible.
Are you saying I
shouldn't archive and install, but erase and install?
Yes, you should erase the drive before installing Snow Leopard. Your existing system is apparently damaged. Upgrading it may simply lead to a damaged Snow Leopard, so I would be prudent at this point and erase the drive first unless you absolutely can't afford to do so.
If you aren't willing to erase the drive, then be sure to run Disk Utility after you boot the Snow Leopard installer and repair both the hard drive and permissions:
Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions
Boot from Snow Leopard Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the installer. Now install OS X.
If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior and/or Tech Tool Pro to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X.
I first upgraded my leopard pre-installed with the new macbook pro mid2009 version 13" inch, i upgraded from the $29 DVD all was fine when suddenly one day it was showing the blue screen with cursor only moving. after all the solution i tried from the internet it didnt work so finally has to erase and re-install. I made a USB image from my DVD re-installed Snow leopard a couple of times it used to get stuck at when ever i tried to access any 3rd party software like google chrome and after running updates especially Safari 5.0.3 it would wreck the whole system.
Now i planned to erase and install leopard a couple of time from the DVD and it seems to be giving me errors like "input/output failed" some location files showing all the eropean location, plus when repaired and all it does give me error and the disk cannot be repaired, plus I have also seen the partition info on DU it says "cant repair permission: NO" why is the partition on which the MAC OS X is installed shows cant repair permissions.
Now i installed LEopard from DVD that came with it and it is stuck on main screen after the grey apple, now i am on a screen with grey background similar to snow leaopard boot failure described earlier and cannot go it to the system. the cursor is still moving.
Does this mean my system is used to snow leopard now or Leopard picks the same corrupted file on the HD, I ve also zero-out the drive. DO i need to change the hard drive to macbook will any normal Laptop hard drive do.
In my HP laptop i can format and install WIN XP professional sometimes or WIN 7 sometimes it never does that... what with make being so advanced but it is so delicate?
Please Help I know i didnt write it short but i am trying to resolve this issue since 7 days, it seems that it is not repairable either.
1. Disconnect all peripherals except the original mouse and keyboard.
2. Quit all applications if this is not an installation from an Installer DVD.
3. The installation process should not be interrupted. If a power outage or other interruption occurs during installation you may have to erase the hard drive and reinstall from scratch.
4. Once the installation begins do not use the computer in any way except to reply to dialog prompts or to restart when the installation is completed. This is especially critical during the installation stage known as "Optimizing the System."
System Update Procedure
A. Repair hard drive and permissions.
Repairing the Hard Drive and Permissions
Boot from your OS X Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Installer menu (Utilities menu for Tiger, Leopard or Snow Leopard.) After DU loads select your OS X volume from the list on the left, click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the installer. Now restart normally.
If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior (4.1 for Leopard) and/or TechTool Pro (4.6.2 for Leopard) to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X. Note that Disk Warrior will not work on Intel Macs.
B. Clone your existing system to an external Firewire drive.
How to Clone Using Restore Option of Disk Utility
1. Open Disk Utility from the Utilities folder.
2. Select the startup or source volume from the left side list.
3. Click on the Restore tab in the DU main window.
4. Drag the startup or source volume to the Source entry field.
5. Select the backup or destination volume from the leftside list and drag it to the Destination entry field.
6. Check the box to Erase Destination. Skip this step if you've already formatted the drive.
7. Double-check you got it right, then click on the Restore button.
C. Decide upon an installation option (
Does not apply to Snow Leopard.)
You have
three upgrade options. If you use the Upgrade installation option be sure you have repaired the hard drive and permissions first and made your backup. If you choose the
Archive and Install option then you only need to repair the hard drive.
Neither of the above options will erase the disk. Some of your software may not work with a new system. You will need to upgrade those programs. It would be best to do the upgrades to your software before upgrading to the new system version.
D. For Snow Leopard there are no installation options for the user to choose. If an existing system is already installed the Snow Leopard installer does an Upgrade type of installation. This installation is a bit like an Archive and Install installation so it applies both to pre-Show Leopard as well as to existing Snow Leopard installations. The user no longer needs to make a choice unless they wish to do a Erase and Install.
Because Snow Leopard does not pre-erase the drive the user must first erase the drive before installing Snow Leopard if the wish to do an Erase and Install type of installation.