iMac shuts down itself in the middle of Safe Boot progress bar loading

Sounds like the drive is failing and is probably crippled, preventing booting from the install DVD.

hendry17 wrote:

Now Ive encountered a new problem, everytime I turn on my mac, it shows the Apple logo and the Safe Boot progress bar.

Not even reaching halfway through the bar, it just shuts down itself, every single time.. please help?

It's attempting to fix a problem with the file structure of the drive and failing.

can use wireless to do the keyboard pressing thing when it starts up?

no

I've also tried inserting my original OS installation disc and press C..it just shows a grey screen, then the disc got ejected,

Disk is dirty or scratched, or defective.

Use a tiny bit of rubbing alchol on the bottom and polish to a shine and try again, with the wired keyboard using c or option key held down.

If the machine has a firmware password, you will have to use option key and use the firmware reset utility to disable it before you can boot off the disk to perform repairs, erases or install OS X.

..Step by Step to fix your Mac

Please help, I just need to go into my system one more time and backup my important datas before i go for the 1TB Seagate Replacement Program.

You can install OS X on a external drive and boot from that to attempt recovery.

.Create a data recovery/undelete external boot drive

more asistance here

https://discussions.apple.com/community/notebooks/macbook_pro?view=documents#/

Disk is dirty or scratched, or defective.

Should read might be dirty or scratched, or defective. And this should be considered a very long shot.

If the drive is failing and now crippled, as the Safe Boot failure might suggest, that might be what is preventing booting to the install DVD. No amount of polishing the disc will fix that.

It may take a very long time to boot, but it might boot in Target Disk Mode, and Disk Utility repair might work from there, if it's only the drive directory.

EDIT: Could try booting in Single User and run fsck. I would try this next, before doing anything else.

Use fsck if necessary

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1417

Message was edited by: WZZZ

WZZZ wrote:

If the drive is failing and now crippled, as the Safe Boot failure might suggest, that might be what is preventing booting to the install DVD.

No it won't.

As long as the EFI firmware works, it will boot from the OS X install disk (if it's allowed), regardless of the condition of the boot drive or if there isn't one even.

The OP got it to read the disk, so the EFI firmware is working, but it spit it out for some reason. Which the OP says it's the original disk, so that leaves it being dirty, scracthed or defective.

No amount of polishing the disc will fix that.

If there is a fingerprint smudges on the bottom of the disk (or god forbid something else) polishing the disk does in fact work very well.

If it's scratched or defective, they will have to call Apple for a replacement machine specific disks.

WZZZ wrote:

EDIT: Could try booting in Single User and run fsck. I would try this next, before doing anything else.

Use fsck if necessary

That's what Safe Mode does, and it's trying to do it each time the machine is booting up.

The OP needs to get his 10.6 install disk working, then boot from it, then attempt repairs of the drive from Disk Utility on the boot disk and/or data recovery then erase and install.

..Step by Step to fix your Mac

As long as the EFI firmware works, it will boot from the OS X install disk (if it's allowed), regardless of the condition of the boot drive or if there isn't one even.

No, the only way to know for sure if the internal is holding on in some way and preventing booting to the install DVD would be to disconnect the data cable from the internal drive and then try the install DVD. I understand this is more the exception than the rule, but a hosed drive might sometimes prevent booting to the install DVD.

That's what Safe Mode does, and it's trying to do it each time the machine is booting up.

Of course I know that, but you can't keep repeating a Safe Boot, especially with the disc being spit out. You can keep repeating fsck until, possibly, it fixes the directory. Note, I said possibly. But it's worth a try.

Also, the OP should try booting in Safe Mode with all externals/peripherals disconnected. Might also try pulling one of the RAM sticks and then try. If it still doesn't boot, then put it back and try another one.

Message was edited by: WZZZ

WZZZ wrote:

but a hosed drive might sometimes prevent booting to the install DVD.

Nope, I've seen this countless times, it's the disk is dirty, scratched or defective (or the wrong one)

but you can't keep repeating a Safe Boot

The machine performs fsck when enough of OS X boots up, check your verbose mode and see for yourself. That's why the OP is stuck on the progress bar.

Safe Mode (shift key) is more, not only does it fsck the drive, it also puts OS X in a safe mode state with less features that could be causing problems. (like kext files)

So polish away--I never said the OP shouldn't--but then try fsck and keep repeating until maybe it repairs the directory (if that's what is wrong and if this isn't a mechanical failure) as the next step, if that doesn't help.

Safe Mode (shift key) is more, not only does it fsck the drive, it also puts OS X in a safe mode state with less features that could be causing problems. (like kext files)

But that's completely beside the point now, since it won't fnish booting into Safe Mode.

Message was edited by: WZZZ

WZZZ wrote:

and if this isn't a mechanical failure

It's not so far, the drive is working as part of OS X is loading enough to run fsck.

The next course of action is to get the OS X install disk working first, then boot from that and attempt Disk Utility to see if it will repair the drive.

If the drive is fixed and OS X won't boot again, is to #8 Reinstall Just OS X + Software Update should fix the corrpted OS X file that can't be loaded.

..Step by Step to fix your Mac

If it can't repair the drive file structure, then install OS X on a external drive and option key boot from that and recover files off the internal boot drive.

.Create a data recovery/undelete external boot drive

Then zero erase and install OS X.

How to erase and install Snow Leopard 10.6

If that doesn't fix it, then the drive or some other hardware issue is the problem.

It's been know that drives dying can cause problems and corrupting data, also by sudden shock when the heads hit the platters.

Also sometimes sectors fail with people's data on them just by themselves or cosmic radiation or something. If it's OS X data that gets corrupted then it won't boot.

But that's completely beside the point now, since it won't fnish booting into Safe Mode.

It's not in Safe Mode as invoked by the user (using Shift key) rather it's running the normal automatic fsck it always does upon boot because there was a problem with the drive brought on the the earlier Safe Mode w/fsck couldn't fix.

If the auto-fsck cleared, OS X would boot up not in Safe Mode, Safe Mode is only invoked if the Shift Key is held (but it also does fsck)

You won't be able to do a Time Machine or clone of your drive, since it's failing. You may be able to move important files and folders from your user accross to an external drive. Until you do a backup, you must stop using that computer. The more you use it, the more it will fail, ending in complete failure and you won't be able to do any backups.

A port powered drive won't have sufficient power to reliably power up that external.

I wouldn't recommend getting such a large drive. A 3TB drive will be far more prone to failure than a smaller one, say 1TB.

hendry17 wrote:

Is that similar with this article http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1553 on 'Instruction for backing up to an external hard disk via Disk utility' ?

No, that copies the entire drive IF it's entirely readable which you don't need, you only REALLY need is your files as everything else (OSX and programs) can be replaced)

Ds store: I read your article on creating a data recovery.

This is designed to install OS X onto a external drive, boot from it and then:

1: Attempt data recovery via normal drag and drop methods on your Users folders.

2: If the above fails, to see if the internal drive is working via Disk Utility, and/or use Data Rescue software ($100) to attempt recovery of the files themselves, bypassing the file structure and whatever is causing the problem.

3: Build your extenral boot drive of everything the way you need it, then Carbon Copy Cloner the external onto the internal drive (new or erased whatever the case may be)

May I ask you why not port powered?

Mac's have been shutting off ports that are drawing too much current, like what port powered hard drives do.

Am planning to get myself a 3TB external HDD 3,5" for all my backups in time for my AASP journey

Too large for a boot drive, you basically want a external boot drive equal too or slightly larger than the boot drive your recovering from, because later you can use it as a bootable clone backup of the entire boot drive and store it for emergencies.

These large drives like 1TB and 3TB are sometimes problematic (especially with 10.6) when formatting. Also I advise all boot drives be Zero erased before OS X is installed or cloned onto it to reduce bad sectors, a zero erase on a 3TB drive could take 6-10 hours.

If you want to use the 3TB, use it for file backup, not for your bootable clone your creating with the instructions I gave.

You see later on, once you got all your data off the internal boot drive, you build the external boot drive just like you would do a brand new erased internal drive. You add programs and whatnot, tweak it how you like. Because later on your use Carbon Copy Cloner to clone the external onto the erased or new internal drive. Get it?

So 3TB is excessive if your internal boot drive is only 500GB, you will have 2.5TB left over.

Sure you can partition, but I don't advise having so many backups on one piece of physical media, you drop it, lose it or fry it, you lost everything.

So more and seperate pieces of backup are safer in that regard, hardware and software redundancy.

Most commonly used backup methods

https://discussions.apple.com/community/notebooks/macbook_pro?view=documents

Also I advise all boot drives be Zero erased before OS X is installed or cloned onto it to reduce bad sectors,

Totally unnecessary waste of time. This has been thoroughly bebunked. (But I don't wish to enter into an endless discussion on this here.)

These large drives like 1TB and 3TB are sometimes problematic (especially with 10.6) when formatting.

What is this based on? Can't talk about a 3TB, but, from experience, formatting a 1TB is no problem whatsoever on 10.6.

Message was edited by: WZZZ