Black Screen of Death + partial access to computer
I've got the Black Screen of Death. I had it once before, but powering up repeatedly in Safe Mode got me back again. This time, not so lucky.
I know the computer is running, because I am able to see/change files using a computer running Lion. I don't have Screen Sharing enabled on the dark computer, but was struck with an idea. If there's a way to access whatever file remembers the toggled state of screen sharing, I could edit that file, reboot, and PRESTO! I'd be able to see the screen through the other computer and twiddle settings.
Regarding Black Screen of Death - I KNOW it's not a graphics controller issue, because I've gotten the screen to come back to life. Long ago, I repaired some old iMacs, and had this black screen problem. It was caused by having updated firmware in an old OS. Since I had some newer version install disk than the computer had last seen, when I put the install disk in the computer, the first thing it would do is update firmware. This caused the monitor to go dark. I remember blindly typing commands into the system to get it to fully install the new OS. It was a REAL pain in the buttocks. I think the same thing is happening here. Aspects of Lion are causing an inconsistancy in the graphics controllers.
If I had a way to upgrade the black computer remotely, I'd bet that would fix the black screen problem.
Does anyone know the answer to either question:
1) How do you recover from Black Screen of Death?
2) Which file do you alter, and what do you change it to in order to remotely enable screen sharing?