Q: OS X Lion freezes at login screen + App Store is slow

...just to let everyone know, I had a third clean login from cold boot, so the reset password-enable root-login root-repair permissions (at least twice consecutively) worked for me.

I also suspect that this may be the way to optimise for how the last video update would work as it should,

@Metalizer: Kudos! Hope it continues to work. Did you ever do any of the other things (e.g., replace or edit the info.plist file)? If all that is necessary is to hammer the root permissions then the rest of the discussed changes are not needed at all.

Hi Terry, if it hadn't worked out, the next step for me would have been replace/edit info.plist file, but it's also interesting that the same file shows up in the Disk Utility report along with all of the other Power Management files.

I suspect that just dealing with the info.plist file on its own does not address the underlying issue. I also suspect that part of the problem was that the nVidia chipset was being needlessly activated when AGS was set to automatic and that the Video update rectifies this. I also suspect that because of the way Apple configured Lion as a downloadable OS, within a new cloud eco-system, unintended problems arose around permissions and user privileges on the local hard disk. That might have, in turn, resulted in the failure of the Video Update to deploy properly – and why I reckon reset-password/enable root/login root/repair permissions addresses both issues of login and power management.

@ Terry Mahoney. I am using a Mac pro, so I just touched the power button to sleep the machine. You should be able to do the same instead of closing the MBP provided your preference settings in the Energy Saver control panel is set to "Allow power buton to put the computer to sleep"

The key though is to keep typing your login then the tab key and your password even though the beachball is there and rotating so that the entry is somewhat taken, then if it persists after 20 seconds or so... sleep it, and then wake. Where I get hosed up is when I react to the beachball and do not know what I typed last or whether I tabbed or not etc... If that happens... I pull power while in sleep, hoping for some semblence of a partial clean shutdown assuming things are tied off for sleep.

@Rotax:Thanks for the suggestion but my Energy Saver panel has 2 [tabs]: for [Battery | Power Adapter]. Neither tab has that setting for "Allow power button to put the computer to sleep".

@Rotax: Thought I would add that, if you are still having the SBBoD problem, I would probably try Metalizer's suggested repair of permissions (by enabling the root account and logging in as root before starting the repair). But, again, make sure you have a bootable backup drive before proceeding - just in case the worst happens.

My thought is now that, becasue several different Mac models are all affected, there must be something that is common to all of them - and the only thing left to guess at the moment is "permissions" - at the System-level.

@Terry  I can say that the problem does not happen 100% of the time on the mac pro. I can always login after reboot, but I do that with an encrypted boot disk, so the decrypt password at initial boot takes me to my account. Its later on after some period of time with fast user switching that it occurs. I also have a MBP early 2011 and have not seen the issue at all with fast user switching and with auto switching on the graphics on.

I'm betting its a third party extension. Reminds me of the old OS9 days where you would disable all 3rd party extensions and enable them half at a time to get to the one thats the problem. If its happening at initial boot and before any user has logged in, then thats my guess. A shift key held at boot should disable 3rd party extensions in safeboot, or whatever we call it.

...for those who might be a little put off by enabling and login to root acount – it looks exactly like any user account with dock, apps and utilities in all the familiar places.

You just want to go in there and use Disk Utility to repair permissions – nothing else.

(it's also useful to know about, to learn a little about how unix operating systems work)

@Metalizer: Re. UNIX - yes, a good thing to have a bit of background knowledge. One of my favorite references is the "slim" Visual QuickStart Guide to UNIX and Linux, by Deborah S Ray and Eric J Ray. A very handy refresher and introduction; Can be interesting as well.

The "Repair Disk Permissions as root" method has worked for me.

No more SBBOD at login, even after a one minute wait.

It seems like you realy cracked this one!

I have had success with this method too...

I repaired permissions as root several times, and no more freezes since then. Cross fingers. Thanks!

Just doing Metalizer's fix now. Just a note that there is a simpler way to enable root than using the emergency repair volume and terminal if (like me) you are able to get into your normal account the majority of the time.

http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1528

Apple details how to enable root from within your normal user account, then you log out and log back in again through the 'other users' route as before.

I repaired permissions as root several times... freezes always back.

Installed video updates... the same freezes.

I left the macbook pro 6.2 in an Apple Reseller and the laptop pass the test from apple so they didn't do nothing.

The freezes stops during 3 or 4 days after they pass the tests and a software named DiskWorrior.

Freezes back again and again, i am very bored with this situation.

Next friday Apple will open the first Apple Store in the south of Spain.

I have an appointment with a "Genius" next Saturday, maybe i have more lucky there.

Just a curiosity. Has someone of you enabled a "foreign" NAS drive for Time Machine backup (via a "hacking" described for example here)? Maybe inherited by old Snow Leopard installation before upgrading...