Serenna

Q: Deleted private/var/db folder.... Can't boot

Hi, first I know that what I did was stupid but I didnt know what I was doing.. and I still don’t know what are the consequences.

In order to save space on my MBP 2011 Snow Leopard, I deleted private/var/db folder, yes the whole folder to the trashbin and then I emptied it. Files that were in use weren´t deleted.

So I rebooted and the screen is stuck on apple logo with the turning wheel and safe boot start normally but end up with the turning wheel too.

 

How can I put fix this issue?

Can I recover the files deleted ? Or at least put back the files that are still in the trash bin ?

 

Thank you for any help.

MacBook Pro, Mac OS X (10.6.8)

Posted on Mar 14, 2012 2:22 PM

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Q: Deleted private/var/db folder.... Can't boot

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  • by WZZZ,

    WZZZ WZZZ Mar 15, 2012 11:55 AM in response to Kappy
    Level 6 (13,112 points)
    Mac OS X
    Mar 15, 2012 11:55 AM in response to Kappy

    Kappy wrote:Then I would find a suitable installer disc for your computer and reinstall OS X. You will need the same version as you now have installed or later. Otherwise, you will need to erase the drive to install a different point version (like 10.6 versus 10.7.)

     

    Hi Kappy, I'm a bit puzzled, maybe you can clarify. Are you saying that if, e.g., the current version installed is 10.6.8, the disc that came with the Mac, most likely 10.6.2 or 3, cannot be used to reinstall? This is not what I had always understood for the reinstall feature.

     

    Have I misunderstood what you meant?

  • by Kappy,

    Kappy Kappy Mar 15, 2012 2:39 PM in response to WZZZ
    Level 10 (270,972 points)
    Desktops
    Mar 15, 2012 2:39 PM in response to WZZZ

    You misunderstood or I wasn't sufficiently clear. Pick the option that best fits.

  • by WZZZ,

    WZZZ WZZZ Mar 15, 2012 3:01 PM in response to Kappy
    Level 6 (13,112 points)
    Mac OS X
    Mar 15, 2012 3:01 PM in response to Kappy

    Option 3: both?

  • by Kappy,

    Kappy Kappy Mar 15, 2012 3:03 PM in response to WZZZ
    Level 10 (270,972 points)
    Desktops
    Mar 15, 2012 3:03 PM in response to WZZZ

    You are too kind.

  • by Serenna,

    Serenna Serenna Mar 15, 2012 10:12 PM in response to Kappy
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 15, 2012 10:12 PM in response to Kappy

    So once I extracted the db folder with pacifist, how do I put it back at the right place on my MBP?

  • by Kappy,

    Kappy Kappy Mar 16, 2012 7:47 AM in response to Serenna
    Level 10 (270,972 points)
    Desktops
    Mar 16, 2012 7:47 AM in response to Serenna

    You don't extract it. You use the Install option in Pacifist and it will put it where it belongs.

  • by Serenna,

    Serenna Serenna Mar 29, 2012 11:41 AM in response to Serenna
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 29, 2012 11:41 AM in response to Serenna

    So after trying like 3 dvds of my friends, I got my hand on an original and retail DVD of Snow Leopard. Yet when I try to boot on it, after some time the gray screen with all the languages saying to reboot my laptop appears again.

    How come, it's a retail. I'm desperate...

     

    The good thing is that I can access my data with a live CD of Backtrack.

  • by FrenchToast,

    FrenchToast FrenchToast Mar 29, 2012 12:03 PM in response to Serenna
    Level 3 (645 points)
    Mar 29, 2012 12:03 PM in response to Serenna

    Just jumping on this train, don't mind me... If I understand correctly, you can't even boot on the Install DVD to the point where you can actually reinstall OS X, right? One option then would be to use a partitioning tool such as Gparted to partition your drive, shrink your OS X partition, format the free space in HFS+ file format (now supported by Gparted), install OS X in the newly created partition, transfer your personal data from the old OS X partition to the new one, delete the old partition using Disk Utility in the new partition, and remember never, NEVER to delete system files or folders...

     

    One other option could be to use AppleJack from a USB pendrive (see here for more details), and hope it can somehow let you boot OS X, even in Safe Mode.  From there, you can extract the deleted files from the install DVD using Pacifist.

     

    And remember to never, NEVER, er, I've already said that, haven't I...?

  • by jsd2,

    jsd2 jsd2 Mar 29, 2012 12:53 PM in response to Serenna
    Level 5 (6,210 points)
    Mar 29, 2012 12:53 PM in response to Serenna

    MBP 2011 Snow Leopard

     

    I got my hand on an original and retail DVD of Snow Leopard.

     

    You generally can't use an OS version earlier than the one that shipped with your computer, and a retail Snow Leopard DVD is too old for a 2011 MBP.  As seen on this support page, the earliest OS version that ever shipped with a 2011 MBP was 10.6.6, and the last retail Snow Leopard DVD was version 10.6.3.

    .

    Screen shot 2012-03-29 at 3.34.06 PM.png

    .

    You need to get a grey-labeled replacement Install DVD specific for your machine. Apple will send you one for a nominal charge if you call them with your serial number.

  • by Serenna,

    Serenna Serenna Mar 30, 2012 3:25 PM in response to jsd2
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Mar 30, 2012 3:25 PM in response to jsd2

    I see, then It should works with an USB/DVD of Lion no ?

  • by steve626,

    steve626 steve626 Mar 30, 2012 4:06 PM in response to Serenna
    Level 4 (1,551 points)
    Mar 30, 2012 4:06 PM in response to Serenna

    I would expect that the USB/Lion thumb drive will boot and enable you to (I guess involuntarily) upgrade to Lion. That thumb drive is $69 from Apple Stores. I do not believe that there is a DVD with Lion to install from.

     

    I am a huge fan of being cautious and making backups, and what I would recommend is, before you go ahead with such a Lion upgrade plan, find a way to boot into target mode to copy all your user data from the existing harddrive to some backup drive or other computer. Presumably you don't have a clone-type backup or you would not be asking for help as you would be able to boot straight to it. Iexpect a totally clean Lion install could still restore user files from a Time Machine backup made under 10.6 but I am guessing you don't have that either.

     

    The reason I suggest this is that the Lion upgrade approach assumes you have a working system in place and conceivably (a small, but probably finite likelihood) could run into trouble if you've deleted certain files that it expects to find. If that happens, and if it's bad enough, you might need to erase before installing Lion. So getting the key files off and backed up somewhere else is important (in my opinion) to do before trying anything else.

  • by jsd2,

    jsd2 jsd2 Mar 30, 2012 4:35 PM in response to Serenna
    Level 5 (6,210 points)
    Mar 30, 2012 4:35 PM in response to Serenna

    Apple's USB Lion Thumb Drive requires Snow Leopard on the target volume for a normal upgrade-install. I suspect it would still accept a SL target volume that is missing the /private/var/db folder, but I'm not sure of this - I don't know what the Lion installer looks at before deciding that a target volume is acceptable. If it does accept the target, it would presumably create a new /var/db folder as part of the Lion installation.

     

    I agree with trying to backup your data before attempting this.

  • by steve626,

    steve626 steve626 Mar 30, 2012 6:15 PM in response to jsd2
    Level 4 (1,551 points)
    Mar 30, 2012 6:15 PM in response to jsd2

    According to at least two reviewers who posted in the Q&A area for the the Apple Store for the Lion Thumb Drive product, they have personally used the Lion thumb drive to erase their disks and install a new clean version of the OS.

  • by jsd2,

    jsd2 jsd2 Mar 30, 2012 6:35 PM in response to steve626
    Level 5 (6,210 points)
    Mar 30, 2012 6:35 PM in response to steve626

    I didn't say otherwise:

     

    Apple's USB Lion Thumb Drive requires Snow Leopard on the target volume for a normal upgrade-install.

     

    I assume the OP would like to keep her present stuff intact if possible.

  • by FrenchToast,

    FrenchToast FrenchToast Mar 31, 2012 1:49 AM in response to Serenna
    Level 3 (645 points)
    Mar 31, 2012 1:49 AM in response to Serenna

    Going out on a limb here, because I've never tried it (never had to, to be honest), but maybe you can boot in Single User mode (press the Command/Apple and S keys down on startup until you see a black screen with white characters), then enter the following commands (press Enter after each command; you may need to enter your admin password):

     

    /sbin/mount -uw /

     

    (press Enter)

     

    mkdir /private/var/db

     

    (press Enter)

     

    Could work, couldn't...

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