Login problems, Loading lag, Finder crashes, Keyboard + Trackpad freeze

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Level 1

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Login problems, Loading lag, Finder crashes, Keyboard + Trackpad freeze

Hi, I've been having a problem with my macbook Pro (10.5.8). One day i was unable to login to my user (admin) account, the hard drive sounded like it was trying to find something but couldn't. After between 5-10 minutes of blue screen I would return to the login screen.

I set up a new admin account, and have been able to transfer my stuff over from the previous admin account (well, most of it). Once in a while when I am copying files in bulk to the new admin there are a few that won't copy, and the copy is aborted. Further, if I click on those files individually, the computer begins lagging, the hard drive sounding like it did before when I was trying to log in, and after a minute or so Finder crashes (while trying to load the file's info).

I have similar problems with loading various programs (such as Pages, Power Point) or opening documents. The programs and documents eventually load, but can take 1-2 minutes, with the hard drive making the same noise. Do you know what the problem could be? My keyboard and trackpad also freeze once in a while (even before I started having the problems just mentioned). My computer is about three years old.

Any help is appreciated.

Thank you,
Jesse.

Macbook Pro4, 1, Mac OS X (10.5.8)

Posted on Mar 5, 2011 2:25 PM

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Answer 1

Best reply

Jeff Kelleher

Level 4

3,075 points

Mar 5, 2011 9:57 PM in response to Jessiah87

There's a good chance your HD is corrupted (a software problem) or failing (a hardware problem).
You can boot from the install disk that came with your Mac and run DiskUtility to try to repair the problems. See here for help with that.
http://support.apple.com/kb/ts1417

If that fixes your Mac, you're probably good to go. If DiskUtility doesn't fix it (you get a message that there were errors but DiskUtility can't fix them) you can try a 3rd party disk utility such as DiskWarrior
http://www.alsoft.com/diskwarrior/
If DiskWarrior (or something similar) doesn't work, then you've just bought a program that you may or may not use again...the thing is DiskWarrior can fix some problems that DiskUtility can't, but there's no way to know for sure without trying.
You may be best off backing up all your data, and trying an erase and install.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1544?viewlocale=en_US
If you still have trouble after the erase and install, it's a good bet that your HD is failing. It's really a personal preference IMHO whether to erase and install or buy something like DiskWarrior to try to fix the issue. It's a good app, and you may use it again. On the other hand, if it's a hardware failure, no app is going to fix it. Then again, you may be able to save some data on a failing HD with DiskWarrior.
You may also poke around the troubleshooting section of
http://www.thexlab.com/faqs/faqs.html
or even google around for OS X 10.5 troubleshooting tips

Either way, if you have more questions, please post back as there are many knowledgeable and helpful folks here.

hth

Jeff

Message was edited by: Jeff Kelleher

Message was edited by: Jeff Kelleher

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Answer 2

Jessiah87 Author

Level 1

1 points

Mar 6, 2011 9:23 AM in response to Jeff Kelleher

Thank you Jeff, I will look into those and get back to you!
Jesse.

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Answer 3

Jessiah87 Author

Level 1

1 points

Mar 8, 2011 12:57 PM in response to Jeff Kelleher

Hey Jeff,

I booted off the install disk and ran Disk Utility, and it appears to have fixed the problem!

Thanks so much,
Jesse.

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Answer 4

Jessiah87 Author

Level 1

1 points

Apr 21, 2011 6:41 AM in response to Jeff Kelleher

Hey Jeff,

I've been having the similar hard drive problem again, and it seems to be getting worse. It will lag even while I'm not running any applications. I tried the disk utility a couple of times, and no warnings came up, it said the hard drive appeared to be okay. But still the problem persists.

So could my hard drive be failing but the disk utility is not picking it up??

Jesse.

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