Computer wont boot up!

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Level 1

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Computer wont boot up!

So i was messing around trying to figure out how to change the admin password without knowing the password because my mom factory restored the computer. The site i ended up told me to hold Command+S right as the computer was turning on and type this in-

mount -uw /

rm/var/db/.AppleSetupDone

shutdown -h now

So i did and no whenever i turn on the computer it starts the usual load up screen then it says checking disks and the little loading bar progresses a little bit after its done that. Then it quickly says Waiting for Network Installation but quickly goes away and then this screen shows up and nothing happens :/ please help me by telling me what i did wrong and how to fix this

!

Mac Pro, Mac OS X (10.3.x)

Posted on Jun 15, 2011 5:23 PM

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Answer 1

K T

Level 7

23,877 points

Jun 15, 2011 5:25 PM in response to sherkanator

Boot from the OS X installer DVD. Use Disk Utility/Disk First Aid to check drive/OS health. You might be able to reset the logon password there as well.

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Answer 2

sherkanator Author

Level 1

0 points

Jun 15, 2011 5:30 PM in response to K T

Thanks how can i boot up so it takes me to disk utility?

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Answer 3

Jun 15, 2011 8:21 PM in response to sherkanator

Let's try an NVRAM reset. Probably the skip-netboot? environment variable is set to something undesirable. You should boot holding down the cmd-option-O-F key combination until you get the white open firmware terminal screen.

You might check the environment variables with the following command:

printenv <enter>

and see what you get, if you are curious. It's not really necessary, though.

Then, to clear things up, do the following:

reset-nvram <enter>

set-defaults <enter>

reset-all <enter>

The last command will cause the machine to reboot and you should get the "welcome" setup assistant like it's a new installation.

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