Robj22
Level 1 (4 points)
iPhone

Q: Why won't my Mac boot?

After using CleanMyMac (a mistake in hindsight), my MB Pro just hangs on the boot screen with the loading icon and doesn't boot. I tried safe mode, where I get a status bar, but after I think it will boot, it just reverts to the loading spinning icon. I put the computer in Target Disk Mode and ran Disk Utility to check the drive and repair and all systems are go. Tried Fsck in Single-User mode as well. I cannot, however verify or repair disk permissions as the buttons are greed out. My understanding is that they shouldn't be for a Macintosh HD boot.

 

I booted up in Verbose mode and found where it is hanging. I've searched everywhere and am not close to an Apple store. Any ideas? Thanks!

 

http://forums.macrumors.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=381788&d=1354755521

MacBook Pro, OS X Mountain Lion (10.8.2)

Posted on Dec 5, 2012 9:04 PM

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Robj22

Q: Why won't my Mac boot?

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  • Helpful answers

  • by Robj22,

    Robj22 Robj22 Dec 5, 2012 9:08 PM in response to Robj22
    Level 1 (4 points)
    iPhone
    Dec 5, 2012 9:08 PM in response to Robj22

    Buttons are *greyed* out.

    ...typing from my iPad....

  • by Linc Davis,

    Linc Davis Linc Davis Dec 6, 2012 8:08 AM in response to Robj22
    Level 10 (208,037 points)
    Applications
    Dec 6, 2012 8:08 AM in response to Robj22

    Back up all data. You can do that in target disk mode, if you don't already have a current backup.

     

    Boot into Recovery by holding down the key combination command-R at the startup chime. Release the keys when you see a gray screen with a spinning dial.

     

    Note: You need an always-on Ethernet or Wi-Fi connection to the Internet to use Recovery. It won’t work with USB or PPPoE modems, or with networks that require any kind of authentication other than a WPA or WPA2 Personal password.

     

    When the OS X Utilities screen appears, follow the prompts to reinstall the OS. You don't need to erase the boot volume, and you won't need your backup unless something goes wrong. If your Mac was upgraded from an older version of OS X, you’ll need the Apple ID and password you used to upgrade, so make a note of those before you begin.

  • by gumsie,

    gumsie gumsie Dec 6, 2012 9:52 AM in response to Robj22
    Level 4 (2,174 points)
    Dec 6, 2012 9:52 AM in response to Robj22

    Ah, the dreaded FIPSPOST.

    Have FIPS running on my system too. Don't know why as I actually never installed it. Did you?

  • by Robj22,

    Robj22 Robj22 Dec 6, 2012 10:10 AM in response to gumsie
    Level 1 (4 points)
    iPhone
    Dec 6, 2012 10:10 AM in response to gumsie

    I'm not even sure what FIPS is. Again, I just ran CleanMyMac and this is where it got me...

     

    I don't have access to an external drive to backup currently. I can boot must fine into my Bootcamp partiton, so I feel like the physical disk is just fine...

  • by gumsie,Helpful

    gumsie gumsie Dec 6, 2012 10:18 AM in response to Robj22
    Level 4 (2,174 points)
    Dec 6, 2012 10:18 AM in response to Robj22

    It's encryption and your installation has failed the Power On Self Test, see here and here.

  • by Robj22,

    Robj22 Robj22 Dec 6, 2012 10:29 AM in response to gumsie
    Level 1 (4 points)
    iPhone
    Dec 6, 2012 10:29 AM in response to gumsie

    Hmm. Thanks for the replies everyone. Now how exactly did FIPS become setup on my machine? After doing usr/lib...cc_fips_test -v I do indeed get a FIPS USER SPACE POST: Integrity Test Failed!

     

    What have I done to warrant this? Is there anything else to be do e besides reinstalling the OS? And does this have a direct correlation with why I can't verify/repair disk permissions?

     

    Thanks!

  • by gumsie,

    gumsie gumsie Dec 6, 2012 10:39 AM in response to Robj22
    Level 4 (2,174 points)
    Dec 6, 2012 10:39 AM in response to Robj22

    I bought a brand new MacBook Air and had FIPS preinstalled on it. Went through to Apple support and the long and short of it is that the OS needs reinstalling if you want to be rid of it.

    As Linc says, back up first.

     

    Once you have a new install, (assuming you would migrate you data to a completely clean disk), run sudo dmesg in Terminal and see what it says before you do anything.

     

    Actually if you run sudo dmesg > ~/Desktop/BootLog.txt in a Terminal window at any time it'll place a text file of your verbose boot on the desktop. The command will ask for your admin password before proceeding.

  • by Robj22,

    Robj22 Robj22 Dec 6, 2012 3:18 PM in response to gumsie
    Level 1 (4 points)
    iPhone
    Dec 6, 2012 3:18 PM in response to gumsie

    And the saga continues :/

     

    I tried to reinstall Mountain Lion from Recovery and I get the message: Could not find installation information for this machine. Contact AppleCare. I don't get what's wrong.

  • by gumsie,

    gumsie gumsie Dec 7, 2012 12:05 AM in response to Robj22
    Level 4 (2,174 points)
    Dec 7, 2012 12:05 AM in response to Robj22

    I've not seen that message before. Ok if it were I, (and I'd made a previous backup), I'd run boot from the recovery and erase/repair the disk. Then run the install again.