Probably a relatively simple fix, or series of steps, that will return it to normal.
iMac, Mac OS X (10.7.5), Late 2010 model
Hi Ross,
If 10.7.0 or later...
Bootup holding CMD+r, or the Option/alt key to boot from the Restore partition & use Disk Utility from there to Repair the Disk, then Repair Permissions.
Any change?
BD,
Had to leave for a while, but the power went down long enough that I disconnected all cables for a short period, plugged them back in, and when the power came on the screen went to the password log-in. I did that and all the symbols came up in the Dock and the background image as well. No icons appear yet but the Time Machine Backup window came on indicating that it is "Cleaning up..." It has been doing this for over an hour. I am inclined to wait this "cleaning up" out before engaging Disc Utility to Repair the Disk and Permissions. I am actually running OS X version 10.8.4 and had performed software updates this week. I did err in saying it was a late 2010 (that is my laptop). It is a late 2009 iMac w/3.0g GHz Intel Core 2 Duo processor, and 4GB of 1067 MHz of DDR3 SO-DIMM RAM. Hope this sheds some light... I will check back when Time Machine completes its task.
Ross
OK, good luck! 🙂
BD
That did the trick. Sorry to take so long to respond. I was away from the iMac for a while. Had a permissions issue with the printer that was resolved. Have also begun some serious cleanup that had been neglected and will be bumping up RAM, as well. Many thanks for some good advice!
BD,
It's been a while, but I have since upgraded RAM to 12Gb and gone to Mavericks 10.9.4. Everything has run well until recently. Time Machine will not function on a new Seagate, 1TB GoFlex external HD,even though it was properly formatted and HFS journaled. Seagate techs said it seems to be a failing drive, yet it works perfectly on my laptop, a 15" MacBook Pro with Mountain Lion. The drive completes less than 10% of the backup before it locks everything up on the iMac with the spinning beach ball and a gray screen. Left it that way for two days and no change. Removed the drive physically and the iMac works just fine. I am baffled and really a bit frustrated here and wonder if you, or anyone else, has an idea about correcting this? I am suspecting that there is something deeper in the system going on than I am seeing.
I have run a verification of Disc Permissions/Repairs and keep getting this coming up: "Permissions differ on “Applications/Safari.app/Contents/Resources/Safari.help/Contents/Resources/inde x.html”; should be lrwxr-xr-x ; they are -rwxr-xr-x ."
That keeps coming up every time and is not fixed. I don't know if that has anything to do with that.
Baffled...
27 ", late 2010, iMac won't boot after turning on. Spinning beach ball and white screen.
