Verbose start up mode

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Level 2

416 points

Verbose start up mode

After visiting the genius youngsters at apple, my 27" iMac running 10.8.5 will still not start up after they told me to erase my drive and reinstall the OS.

( long story as to why they told me to do that, which made no since )

Now I'm left to figuring out on my own.

Can not get past the the grey start up screen.

Have tried all the tricks and key options, to no avail. I can boot up in (option key) in recovery mode, however it gives me a choice of disk, or recovery disk.

If I go to disk, it stays frozen on the grey screen and will not go to finder.

If I go to recovery, I'm able to access disk utilities and use, (says all is good with disk) but when I leave that and go to start up disk, it again freezes.

Anything that goes to the finder( never makes it there), and it freezes.

I've reinstalled the OS 4 times with the same issue each time.

However, there are a couple of things I have noticed during the processes.

When I verify permissions, it tells me that,

"Group differs on library/preferences/com.apple.alf.plist, should be 80, group is 0"

Permissions differ on "system/library/framework/core graphics.framework/resources"

Permissions differ on "system/library/framework/core graphics.framework/core graphics"

Permissions differ on "system/library/framework/core graphics.framework/versions/current"

Not sure if that points to a hardware failure or not.

Also I noticed when I start up in verbose mode ( cmd-shift-V) that I get 1 line in the start up process that concerns me. ( all the text displays, just 1 line that raises a ?)

It says " boot cache control: unable to open /var/db/bootcaches/preheateduser/merged.playlist: 2 no such file or directory

Any thoughts anyone?

Thanks in advance

Posted on Sep 21, 2013 4:22 PM

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Answer 1

Best reply

Kappy

Level 10

361,741 points

Sep 21, 2013 4:25 PM in response to A.J. Jones

Install or Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion from Scratch

Be sure you backup your files to an external drive or second internal drive because the following procedure will remove everything from the hard drive.

Boot to the Recovery HD:

Restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the COMMAND and R keys until the menu screen appears. Alternatively, restart the computer and after the chime press and hold down the OPTION key until the boot manager screen appears. Select the Recovery HD and click on the downward pointing arrow button.

Erase the hard drive:

1. Select Disk Utility from the main menu and click on the Continue button.

2. After DU loads select your startup volume (usually Macintosh HD) from the

left side list. Click on the Erase tab in the DU main window.

3. Set the format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.) Optionally, click on

the Security button and set the ZeroData option to one-pass. Click on

the Erase button and wait until the process has completed.

4. Quit DU and return to the main menu.

Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion: Select Reinstall Lion/Mountain Lion and click on the Install button.

Note: You will need an active Internet connection. I suggest using Ethernet if possible

because it is three times faster than wireless.

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Answer 2

macjack

Level 10

111,168 points

Sep 21, 2013 4:26 PM in response to A.J. Jones

What happens when you run AHT (Apple hardware test)

http://support.apple.com/kb/PH11342

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Answer 3

Joe Bailey

Level 6

12,227 points

Sep 21, 2013 5:03 PM in response to A.J. Jones

The permissions errors you mention are common and nothing to be concerned about. In fact it is not uncommon for Disk Utility to report it has repaired permissions but if you immediately run it again the same errors will be reported. generally those can safely be ignored. My computer reports exactly the same permissions error yours does and it boots just fine.

Similarly I just checked /var/db/bootcaches/preheateduser and merged.playlist does not exist. I believe merged.playlist is an iTunes related file, by-the-way. I was going to suggest re-installing Mountain Lion, but since you have already done that, I think it safe to assume the OS is not the problem. Since you can boot from the Recovery drive there is no hardware fault, that leaves only something that is happening during the boot process. Most likely it is either a third party device driver (kernel extension) or some software task that loads as part of your boot process. Those can be a challenge to run down, but it would be a lot easier to trouble shoot if you could actually boot into the OS.

First disconnect any external devices except the mouse and keyboard including any hubs you may have and power your iMac down. Restart and Immediately after you hear the startup tone, hold down the Shift key. Release the Shift key when you see the progress indicator (looks like a spinning gear).

This is called booting into Safe Mode, which means only the absolute essential tasks are loaded. If the boot is successful then the problem will be in System Preferences > Users and Groups > login items, in the Library folder at the drive root in the LaunchItems, LaunchDaemons, or StartUpItems folders or possibly in similarly named folders in the Library folder in your user folder (in FInder press Shift+Command+g and type ~/Library) which will take you into the hidden user library.

You can further narrow the suspects by creating a test account in System Preferences > Users & Groups and turning off automatic login. Then restart normally, if you don't get to the point you are being prompted for the user account then the problem is most likely in the library at the drive root.) I beleive that is the most likely, but if you can login to the test user then it is in the hidden Library folder in your user account.

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Answer 4

A.J. Jones Author

Level 2

416 points

Sep 21, 2013 5:05 PM in response to Kappy

Yes, thank you kappy, I've already been down that road and way past that option. ( as I mentioned before, I erased and reformatted, and reinstalled the OS 4 times.)

That's where I am now..., now... Can you get me past that point.

Thanks for the recap.

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Answer 5

A.J. Jones Author

Level 2

416 points

Sep 21, 2013 5:14 PM in response to macjack

Mac jack, thanks for your reply.

Well..., I have, so did the genius at apple.

Supposedly you should be able (with my understanding) to pull up the AHT with mountain lion while holding down O when you start up. It still goes to grey screen. Genius verified that it was not a hardware problem... So they said.

Told me it was an software conflict. I had a partitioned disk, one running 10.8.4 and the other running 10.6.8

That's what they told me the problem was and that I should save my info erase the disk and install 10.8 with no partitions. So I did..., and it still does the same thing.

Thanks for your input.

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Answer 6

macjack

Level 10

111,168 points

Sep 21, 2013 5:20 PM in response to A.J. Jones

It is the D key if running 10.8.

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Answer 7

A.J. Jones Author

Level 2

416 points

Sep 21, 2013 5:44 PM in response to macjack

Yes,you are correct...., have the whole alphabet key combo going on in my head at the moment, and I'm a bit flustered.

Thanks macjack.

Presently I'm reworking through joe b info to see if I might have missed something.

Once done, I'll repost.... Thanks

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Answer 8

A.J. Jones Author

Level 2

416 points

Sep 21, 2013 6:27 PM in response to Joe Bailey

Joe, thanks for the input. I've gained a little traction, but seem to still be stuck in the mud.

Still following through your guidelines, but have noticed several things.

Occasionally, ( this has been going on for over 3 weeks now) I managed to get the finder up through pure luck.

2 things usually happen when the finder finally gives me a desktop.

A) the OS runs for a little while, then just freezes out of the blue. I can still move my mouse pointer around, however everything else is locked up, then I have to reboot, and it's a 50/50 proposition whether I can get it back up.

B) this concerns me..., when I move my windows around on the screen, there is always a slight hesitation on the windows part. Meaning...., like using an older computer, when you move stuff around really fast, it leaves a trail, like the processor is not able to keep up with the OS. I've never have seen this before on my Mac.

Anyhow, I'm going through the system folder now and looking for anything unusual.

After that, I will try and set up a guest account as you suggested and see where that takes me.

Right now, I've been open in my account for about 20 min, with nothing going on, but this has happened before, with me to get up the next morning and find it froze.

Seems to be kernel panics for some reason.

Once I work through it some more, I'll post back. Thanks for your help.

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Answer 9

A.J. Jones Author

Level 2

416 points

Sep 21, 2013 7:28 PM in response to Joe Bailey

Ok, Im begining to think this is a hardware issue...., as I did prior to going to the Apple store genuis 100 miles away.

More observations:

Tried placing a DVD in to play, would not mount to desktop, or play. (device box is checked in finder prefs to show up in side bar as well) Also tried a flash disk from my camera..., no go.

They all show up on disk utility, but thats it.

Remember the comment about the trailing issue on the windows? Now I have concluded that it only affects 2 inches of screen 3/4 of the way down the screen from edge to edge.

I don't dare click on launch pad, that seems to be a major issue there..., when you do, it freezes up temporarly, then it goes in very, very, slow motion to pull up launch pad.

right now I'm writing on the affected machine (waiting for it to crap out on me at any moment)

So.... I can't run AHT if I wanted to, and I can't seem to pull up the more recent on line apple diognostic test for 10.8

So at this point I'm guessing maybe a video card going bad? ATI Radeon HD 4850 512mb. Anyone know of any issues with this card?

But that still leaves me with the question as to why the Flash mem & DVD player will not show up.

Thoughts?

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Answer 10

macjack

Level 10

111,168 points

Sep 21, 2013 7:39 PM in response to A.J. Jones

A bad graphics card doesn't usually cause system problems, just display anomalies.

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Answer 11

A.J. Jones Author

Level 2

416 points

Sep 21, 2013 7:51 PM in response to macjack

well, I agree.... but I seem to have a fair share of those as well.

would there be any hints in the system console as to a path which could be causing this?

Here is a long shot...., could the logic board be effecting this some how?

I do a lot of video converting and use 3 external HD's <2usb><1 800FW> (not hooked up presently) to convert my videos. I had noticed in the past these drives would be humming along converting, then all of a sudden, take like a 20 second break, then start back to transfering again. just looking for an answer at this point.

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Answer 12

macjack

Level 10

111,168 points

Sep 21, 2013 8:09 PM in response to A.J. Jones

I think it's entirely possible it could be a logic board issue. On some models the graphics card is part of the logic board and one can't be replaced without the other. So, which it is may be a moot issue. If Apple does replace the logic board make sure they use the re-serialzation tool after they install it.

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