It would seem to be a software problem, and if you have
no startup iterms, then it must be something thast runs automatically in the background. After you wiped the drive, did you reinstall all your apps? Unlike OS 9, where you could remove the extensions and replace them one by one, try this istead:
To use fsck, you must run it from the command line. Unlike using your mouse to open an application to do something, you'll need to type a text command at the prompt (#) to tell fsck what to do. The Terminal application (/Applications/Utilities) and single-user mode are two examples of command-line interfaces in which you can type such commands. To use fsck:
1. Start up your computer in single-user mode to reach the command line.
Note: If necessary, perform a forced restart as described in the Emergency Troubleshooting Handbook that came with your computer. On desktop computers, you can do this by pressing the reset/interrupt button (if there is one) or holding down the power button for several seconds. On portable computers, simultaneously press the Command-Control-power keys. If your portable computer doesn't restart with this method, you may need to reset the Power Manager.
2. At the command-line prompt, type /sbin/fsck -fy
3. Press Return. fsck will go through five "phases" and then return information about your disk's use and fragmentation. Once it finishes, it'll display this message if no issue is found:
** The volume (name
ofvolume) appears to be OK
If fsck found issues and has altered, repaired, or fixed anything, it will display this message:
*** FILE SYSTEM WAS MODIFIED
***
Important: If this message appears, repeat the fsck command you typed in step 2 until fsck tells you that your volume appears to be OK (first-pass repairs may uncover additional issues, so this is a normal thing to do).
4. When fsck reports that your volume is OK, type reboot at the prompt and then press Return.
Your computer should start up normally and allow you to log in.
About live verification in Mac OS X 10.4.3 or later
In Mac OS X 10.4.3 or later, you can verify your Mac OS X volume while started from it. This is known as live verification, and can be used in three different ways.
Option 1: Verify your disk using Disk Utility while started from the startup disk. To find out how to do this, see this article. Please note that live verification does not involve any disk repair, so if verification finds something that should be repaired, start up from your Mac OS X Install disc and use Disk Utility as described above in "Try Disk Utility."
Option 2 (advanced): Use the command line and the command-line utility, diskutil.
1. Start up your computer and log in as an administrator.
2. Open Terminal (/Applications/Utilities).
3. At the prompt, type the following command and then press Return:
diskutil verify /
Note: Don't use this method to check non-startup volumes.
You should see messages such as the following during the disk check:
Could not unmount disk for verification, attempting live verify
Started verify/repair on volume disk0s3 Macintosh HD
Checking HFS Plus volume.
Checking Extents Overflow file.
Checking Catalog file.
Checking multi-linked files.
Checking Catalog hierarchy.
Checking Extended Attributes file.
Checking volume bitmap.
Checking volume information.
The volume Macintosh HD appears to be OK.
Mounting Disk
Verify/repair finished on volume disk0s3 Macintosh HD
Option 3 (advanced): Use the command line and the fsck_hfs -l command.
1. Start up your computer and log in as an administrator.
2. Open Terminal (/Applications/Utilities).
3. At the prompt, type the following command and then press Return to determine your filesytem ID:
df -hl
4. Look for some lines of text that look like this:
Filesystem Size Used Avail Capacity Mounted on
/dev/disk0s3 37G 20G 17G 55% /
/dev/disk0s5 37G 37G 641M 98% /Volumes/Storage
5. Make a note of the first "disk" name that appears after /dev/, such as "disk0s3." This is your filesystem ID for your startup volume.
6. At the prompt, type the following command and then press Return:
df -hl
7. Then type the following command, where "disk0s3" is your filesystem ID you noted in step 4, then press Return:
sudo fsck_hfs -l /dev/disk0s3
8. When prompted, enter your admin password, then press Return to begin the verification.
9. You should see messages like these during the disk check:
** /dev/rdisk0s3 (NO WRITE)
** Root file system
** Checking HFS Plus volume.
** Checking Extents Overflow file.
** Checking Catalog file.
** Checking multi-linked files.
** Checking Catalog hierarchy.
** Checking Extended Attributes file.
** Checking volume bitmap.
** Checking volume information.
** The volume Macintosh HD appears to be OK.
Please post back,
Miriam
