10.6.8 will not boot (MetaKine HandsOff)

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Level 1

0 points

10.6.8 will not boot (MetaKine HandsOff)

This message started as a 'help I am in deep... trouble'. I've solved my problem and thought I'd share.

Anyone running MetaKine hands off will be well advised to update to 1.3.1 before attempting an install of 10.6.8: the old version causes a kernel panic and will not allow booting after an update. As it loads a kernel extension, safe mode also doesn't work.

Simple solution: boot OSX install DVD, run terminal from utilities menu

cd /Volumes/yournormalbootdisk/System/Library/Extensions

mv HandsOff.kext /

reboot

Then load Hands off app, and run the update it finds.

Apple, is it possible to check for such kexts before installing the update? I realise it's not your problem, but it was Apple I was cursing for an hour this morning when I couldn't remove my EFI password which had locked everything down!

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.6.7), update to 10.6.8 with Hands Off

Posted on Jun 24, 2011 3:00 AM

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Answer 1

Jun 24, 2011 3:49 AM in response to chiark

chiark wrote:

Apple, is it possible to check for such kexts before installing the update? I realise it's not your problem, but it was Apple I was cursing for an hour this morning when I couldn't remove my EFI password which had locked everything down!

This is a user to user forum. Apple does not participate. They will not see your request.

You can send them feedback on OS X here:

http://www.apple.com/feedback/macosx.html

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Answer 2

fiord

Level 1

8 points

Jun 24, 2011 5:08 AM in response to chiark

Thank youchiark for solution description of your problem
I had the same problem

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3138069?answerId=15477714022#15477714022

but your solution did not help me ((
can you know what I did wrong?

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Answer 3

fiord

Level 1

8 points

Jun 24, 2011 5:12 AM in response to fiord

My MBP start normaly only after delete HandsOff

🙂

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Answer 4

Jun 24, 2011 3:08 PM in response to chiark

Boot into single-user mode (Cmd+S) then type exit to boot into OS X (in single-user mode). You can upgrade HandsOff from there and reboot.

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Answer 5

MacMastery

Level 4

2,490 points

Jun 24, 2011 4:54 PM in response to BitMethod

BitMethod, I think you're confusing Safe Mode (Mac OS X: Starting up in Safe Mode) with single-user mode.

Doing what you describe simply adds another step to a normal startup. Safe Mode would let you start without any third-party kernel extensions. Although on some configurations, it also disables AirPort (WiFi) and other non-critical functionality.

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Answer 6

Jun 24, 2011 5:28 PM in response to MacMastery

I tried safe mode and it was still crashing. The process I described, though just "another step" provided different results. There is no confusion on my part between the two modes.

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Answer 7

chiark Author

Level 1

0 points

Jun 27, 2011 1:10 AM in response to MacMastery

Safe Mode still loaded the HandsOff.kext when I finally got safe mode working (oh the joys of being paranoid and setting an open firmware password / locking OF features down!)

I ended up using terminal on the Snow Leopard install disk to move the kext, and that then allowed me to boot normally.

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Answer 8

Jun 27, 2011 6:51 AM in response to chiark

As I attempted to explain before MacMastery corrected me, safe mode does not seem to prevent boot errors. But I was able to boot into single-user mode (Cmd+S), then type "exit" to get into OS X to fix it.

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Answer 9

iHeini

Level 1

5 points

Jul 16, 2011 2:28 PM in response to chiark

Please help! I failed with uninstalling HandsOff, 'cause I dindn't used the uninstall option in the prefs. I just moved it to trash. Of course I cleaned the trash. Of course I haven't got an actual backup. It still panics. Any suggestions? I know, I'm stupid.

I just read that I have to uninstall it. Thats what I did in the typical way. Afterwards I found the complete instruction.

Please...

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Answer 10

iHeini

Level 1

5 points

Jul 16, 2011 3:15 PM in response to chiark

OK!

In safe mode I launched the new version of HandsOff, transferred via FW Disk. This way I was able to uninstall it completely. Restart - YEAH!

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