Snow Leopard-Blue Screen Reset PRAM Problem

Hi, having problems with blue screen on startup.


Tried:

1. smc reset - nothing. Several times.

2. Safe Mode: starts up fine and see my normal desktop. Thought, great! On restart, same thing. Tried resetting permissions. Several times. If it starts well in Safe Mode, why is not restarting on its own.

3. PRAM reset: Tried, but can't do!!!! It chimes several times (as many as I let it) but never continues when I release the option, command, P, R keys. Am I doing something wrong on the PRAM set? I was told release after two chimes and 3. Both don't work.


Many, Many thanks for your anticipated help. Going crazy.


Best,


MJ

Posted on Sep 7, 2015 12:10 PM

Reply
16 replies

Sep 7, 2015 10:28 PM in response to mixmastermateo

Sorry, but you did not indicate in your post or profile what version of OS X you had installed.


Yes, they should be about the same. I think you will need to reinstall Snow Leopard:


Reinstall OS X without erasing the drive


1. Repair the Hard Drive and Permissions


Boot from your Snow Leopard Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu. After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the installer.


If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior and/or Tech Tool Pro to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X.


2. Reinstall Snow Leopard


If the drive is OK then quit DU and return to the installer. Proceed with reinstalling OS X. Note that the Snow Leopard installer will not erase your drive or disturb your files. After installing a fresh copy of OS X the installer will move your Home folder, third-party applications, support items, and network preferences into the newly installed system.


Download and install Mac OS X 10.6.8 Update Combo v1.1.

Sep 8, 2015 11:45 AM in response to Eric Root

Hi Eric,


First, I appreciate all those who have chimed in. Awesome support. I've actually seen your great references before on other threads... Thanks.


I have a question about your 3rd option. How do we we create a spare user account when the screen won't boot past the blue screen? Can we do this in Safe Mode? If so, how please. After, if the new account has no issues, how will this help me figure out the culprit? Hope that makes sense.


Many thanks.


Best,


MJ

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Snow Leopard-Blue Screen Reset PRAM Problem

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