iMac will not boot after 10.10.2 update

Question

Level 1

8 points

iMac will not boot after 10.10.2 update

Hello all, I could really use some help. I downloaded 10.10.2 from the app store on my iMac (previously upgraded to Yosemite through app store), and when the system restarted, I would see the white screen with the apple logo and the progress bar about a third of the way across. then the system would ether restart or hang. Here is what I have done so far.

1. I am unable to boot to recovery mode using 'command R'... nothing happens and it goes back to the apple logo and a progress bar that get to a third of the way and stops.

2. I am able to press 'option' during boot and get 3 options for loading (system, recovery, and a Yosemite install disk i made on a USB). selecting any of these options returns me to the apple logo and the progress bar that gets stuck at a one third complete.

3. I am able to select safe and verbose mode. the machine will sometimes get all the way to "system up time in milliseconds" before it reboots.

4. I am able to boot to single user mode. I have run '/sbin/fsck -fy' until it no longer displays 'modification have been made' and it displays 'volume appears to be ok" (takes 2 runs). from here i have tried both rebooting, and exiting, both result in the white screen with the apple logo and the progress bar getting to a third of the way.

5. i have tried clearing the NVRAM

6. I don't have another mac with firewire or thunderbolt to try targeted disk mode

7. i have had 1 success in getting to the log in screen using verbose mode. during the boot there was a whole screen of the same line repeated many times, it said "BUG in process suhelperdt[167]: over-released legacy external boost assertions (1 total, 1 external, 0 legacy-external). after i logged in it reported that the system has un-expectedly shutdown, and that it would send a report to apple (is this a kernel panic?). i hit yes and then show the details. then the system hung up, and rebooted. then hung up again during boot with the same "BUG" message above.

I've got good time machine backups, and don't mind doing a complete reload if i can ever get to that option.

Thanks in advance for the help.

iMac, OS X Yosemite (10.10.2)

Posted on Feb 15, 2015 8:36 AM

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Answer 1

rkaufmann87

Level 10

140,370 points

Feb 15, 2015 9:00 AM in response to bentdiver

What version of OS X was installed prior to Yosemite and was Yosemite EVER running ok on this machine in 10.0 or 10.1?

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Answer 2

bentdiver Author

Level 1

8 points

Feb 15, 2015 10:51 AM in response to rkaufmann87

Yes, Yosemite had been running great since it was released. it was only this last update through the app store that had messed up. Actually this is the only issue that this iMac has ever had. I think I bought it about 2 years ago. I think it came with Lion, then i have been doing the updates as they have been released, all updates through the app store. Mountain Lion, Maverick, etc. Hope this helps. Thanks for the interest.

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Answer 3

Feb 15, 2015 11:03 AM in response to bentdiver

Try booting into recovery and verify/repair the volume Macintosh HD in the SOS TAB

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Answer 4

Old Toad

Level 10

207,367 points

Feb 15, 2015 11:17 AM in response to bentdiver

Repair both the disk and disk permissions when booted into the Recovery volume as Daniele.p suggested.

If that doesn't fix the issue reboot into the Recovery volume and reinstall the system. Have the Mac hard wired to the internet rather than connected by WiFi. It's faster and more efficient.

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Answer 5

bentdiver Author

Level 1

8 points

Feb 15, 2015 11:35 AM in response to Old Toad

Hey guys, thanks for the suggestions... but I cannot boot into the recovery volume using either "command R" or "option" during boot . Please see items 1 and 2 in my original post for more detail. Any other suggestions as to how to get to recovery?

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Answer 6

Feb 15, 2015 11:38 AM in response to bentdiver

Read this: OS X: About OS X Recovery - Apple Support

follow the instructions to start the recovery from a USB device

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Answer 7

bentdiver Author

Level 1

8 points

Feb 15, 2015 12:29 PM in response to Daniele.p

Thanks Daniele, so if i keep rebooting, i can sometimes get as far as system log in, or recovery mode. but in either case the computer only stays running for about a min before it reboots (kernel panic?). in recovery mode, i only made it as far as selecting a language.

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Answer 8

Feb 15, 2015 12:41 PM in response to bentdiver

If you do not have a chance to work in recovery because the Mac is restarted, I honestly do not know how to help you. I think it's a hardware problem and not software. You should go into a genius bar, with diagnostic tools will rebound quickly to the problem

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Answer 9

bentdiver Author

Level 1

8 points

Feb 15, 2015 12:54 PM in response to Daniele.p

Daniele, I really appreciate your help thus far, but I'm not ready to give up yet and call it a hardware issue. I can boot to single user mode just fine, and this only started right after the 10.10.2 update (during the required reboot). seems like a strange coincidence to me. At an rate, i will take your advice and make the genius bar appointment (they are running about 5 days away), but would love to hear other's ideas as well in the mean time. thanks again.

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Answer 10

rkaufmann87

Level 10

140,370 points

Feb 15, 2015 1:58 PM in response to bentdiver

bent diver,

I suggest you take the machine in for service, I think your HD is severally damaged and needs to be replaced. Hopefully you have a strong backup!

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Answer 11

Mar 5, 2015 7:20 AM in response to bentdiver

Bent diver,

did you ever find a solution to your problem? I am having the exact same issue after the 10.10.2 update. I also don't have access to any of the tools many have mentioned Because of the white screen. Twice I was able to get through by (randomly) hitting the mouse pad repeatedly as soon as the apple logo would go away and the white screen would first appear. But now that temp fix has stopped working as well.

Thanks ands for any help you can provide

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Answer 12

psuodu

Level 1

0 points

Mar 7, 2015 2:37 PM in response to derekaroundtheworld

I had the same problem. I went into recovery mode and when prompted, downloaded Yosemite again (downloaded as 10.10.2). No start up problems after that.

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Answer 13

jimnwfl

Level 1

8 points

Apr 15, 2015 6:21 AM in response to bentdiver

I have a 27 inch imac (10,1 late 09) that was doing the same intermittently during 10.10.2. In a fit of frustration, I updated yesterday to 10.10.3 and now the computer is doing exactly as you describe. I cannot get past the white screen at all. I have booted into recovery, verified and fixed the drive even though it it checked out fine. and attempted a fresh download on a clean partition. nada... i can get into safe mode, and I tried installing the SMC fan control, switching off transparency, and lowering my resolution. none worked.

I was convinced my hard drive was dying (when I had 10.10.2), and replaced it last week with a SSD. The SSD ran great for about a week, then had the same problems. I never had a problem with 10.10.1 or prior. I have checked my ram, and that does not fix the problem (swapping all four into the front dime slots in sequence).

This computer has run great since 09, and I have never had any issues until now, but it is now a very expensive paperweight. I cannot do the internet recovery that sets up the original OS the machine shipped with (too old for that feature), and it will not let me download a previous version of OS X from the app store (I have mavericks, lion, etc there).

I think my apple love affair is officially over. Looks like i will be searching for a pre-yosimite computer to download a usb version of mavericks or lion, and I sure as **** am not buying another apple product in the near future! I was very close to pulling the trigger on a new macbook, sure glad I did not waste my money -again-.

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Answer 14

Aug 15, 2016 6:01 AM in response to jimnwfl

Bentdiver i really hope you resolved your issue. I would agree that your hardware checks out ok.

I've just recently ran across this, I know my cause was self inflicted but I'm now having the same issue. I can boot off an external USB, but I cannot get a USB recovery or internal recovery to boot at all.

I'm going old school, and creating a recovery on a firewire drive. I've exhausted every other possible scenario. I'll update later today.

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