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Level 1

9 points

Unable to Reboot After Latest Apple Updates (SA-2011-06-23-1 and Security Update 2011-004)

Hi All,

After applying today's updates (06/23/2011) in APPLE-SA-2011-06-23-1 Mac OS X v10.6.8 and Security Update 2011-004, my MacBook will no longer boot. Prior to updating, the MacBook workked perfectly (except for the occasional error entry in the system and kernel log). The MackBook model number is A1278, with a RAM upgrade (4 GB).

When booting in NORMAL mode, the grey screen with Apple logo (and spinning wheel) is shown for about 50 seconds. The device never shows the blue background or login window. It simply shuts down like the power was pulled.

When booting in SAFE mode, the grey screen with Apple logo (and spinning wheel) is shown for about 1 minute 30 seconds. The blue background is shown and quickly transitions to the login windows. About 45 seconds after the login window is shown, the machine shuts down like the power was pulled.

On the few occassions I logged in to take advantage of the 45 second safe mode window (before shutdown), I was *not* able to copy off my log files (in /log/var) to a thumb drive because the computer would not mount the USB device.

When I peeked at the system's log file, I caught the tail end of "signature validation failed" for a bunch of hardware - from video to audio. I can only peek because the computer will shutdown before I have an opportunity to study anything in detail. The failed verifications may or may not be related to the shutdown - signature verfication might be disabled in safe mode; I simply don't know.

It seems the world's most advanced operating system [tm] is performing the world's most epic failure. Any ideas to get this brick working again would be greatly appreciated.

Jeffrey Walton

Baltimore, MD, US

MacBook, Mac OS X (10.6.7), MacBook Model A1278

Posted on Jun 23, 2011 4:17 PM

Best reply

Eric Ross

Level 6

11,807 points

Posted on Jun 23, 2011 5:07 PM

First try restarting your system with the original DVD that came with your MacBook. Then run Apple Hardware Test, if all of your hardware checks out okay your need to run disk utility on your hard drive to repair it, also repair your permissions.

View in context

18 replies

Jul 1, 2011 10:28 PM in response to noloader

Apple was able to fix my problem - the 10.6.8 update hung and never finished installing. Why that would make the system unbootable even from the DVD I don't know, but reinstalling the update from an external hard disk fixed the problem.

pejot

Level 1

4 points

Jul 5, 2011 11:36 PM in response to noloader

Same issue here - MB Pro, bought late 2009 . Was operating without a problem , now bricked by the update. Spinning beach ball or spinning circle thing when I tried to shut down after update and when trying to start now. The screen seems to be blinking after a while, as if about to show login screen, but later comes back to spinnig circle.

I've tried repairing disk, repairing permissions - no effect. I decided to reinstal OS after booting from original DVD, but the installer won't let me install by overwriting, only by formatting the entire volume. Any ideas why? and how do I make it install by overwriting, is it due to unsufficient free space (54GB?). I've been owning macs for 5-6 years but never had to reinstall.

thanks

al_b

Level 1

4 points

Mar 19, 2012 5:08 PM in response to noloader

I hardly find my words to express my frustration. After a disastrous upgrade to Lion (I`m not talking about small disfuctionallities related to IOSization of Leopard, but technical failures - applications stopped responding, never ending shut down sequence, etc) and almost a week spent trying to put back on track my MBP 2009 (backing up things and formatting, and then installing good old Leopard seemed the only solution), I now hit this s@?#?% wall. Epic failure, is an elegant way of saying what is going on, a figure of speech my work (as it depends of this device I put in money to make sure it goes on smooth and I don`t waste time and nerves hammering it) finds it en euphemism.

Related to this case, as a back up from TM to a ante-update version did not help, still caught in grey screen of death, I think what solve the problem is a fresh installation of Snow Leopard and then a return to a TM backup.

This is a nightmare, like dreaming you cannot run and Microsoft is breathing in the back of your neck. I think whoever managed to stick the nail in the wheel of a such a fine working piece of OS, especially now with Lion wrapped in so many failures that echoes around the web, realizes who much harm done to the image of a used to be no-problemo product - that made people to pay above average money for.

Unable to Reboot After Latest Apple Updates (SA-2011-06-23-1 and Security Update 2011-004)