Won't boot past welcome screen unless in safe mode

Question

Won't boot past welcome screen unless in safe mode

The only way I can get into my hard drive is to boot in safe mode. I've run disk permissions, repaired the disk, booted in recovery mode and reisntalled Mavericks, yet nothing I seem to do will fix the issue. I'm running a mid 2010 iMac, Mavericks - 10.9.5 processor is 302 GHz intel core I3 and have 4 gigs of memory, 1333 MHz DDR3. I have a back up from my time machine from 2013, should I try that or will that wipe out what I've got now? Can I backup my data to Time Machine now, while in safe mode? Please advise, I'm suffering from withdrawel =)

iMac

Posted on Jun 26, 2016 8:27 AM

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Answer 1

BobHarris

Level 9

57,185 points

Jun 26, 2016 10:53 AM in response to donnafromacworth

Chances are you have 3rd party software installed that is not being started when in Safe Mode.

Use EtreCheck to get a list of all the 3rd party software. If you like you can post the output here and someone will most likely spot what might be causing your problems.

<https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-6174>

<http://etrecheck.com>

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Answer 2

Jun 26, 2016 10:53 AM in response to donnafromacworth

This is what the report said:

EtreCheck version: 2.9.12 (265)

Report generated 2016-06-26 13:50:53

Download EtreCheck from https://etrecheck.com

Runtime 2:05

Performance: Excellent

Click the [Support] links for help with non-Apple products.

Click the [Details] links for more information about that line.

Click the [Remove] links to remove adware.

Problem: Other problem

Hardware Information: ⓘ

iMac (21.5-inch, Mid 2010)

[Technical Specifications] - [User Guide] - [Warranty & Service]

iMac - model: iMac11,2

1 3.2 GHz Intel Core i3 CPU: 2-core

4 GB RAM Upgradeable - [Instructions]

BANK 0/DIMM0

Empty

BANK 1/DIMM0

Empty

BANK 0/DIMM1

2 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok

BANK 1/DIMM1

2 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok

Bluetooth: Old - Handoff/Airdrop2 not supported

Wireless: en1: 802.11 a/b/g/n

Video Information: ⓘ

ATI Radeon HD 5670 - VRAM: 512 MB

iMac 1920 x 1080

System Software: ⓘ

OS X Mavericks 10.9.5 (13F34) - Time since boot: about 2 hours

Disk Information: ⓘ

WDC WD1001FALS-40Y6A0 disk0 : (1 TB) (Rotational)

EFI (disk0s1) <not mounted> : 210 MB

Donna's HD (disk0s2) / : 796.03 GB (639.69 GB free)

Recovery HD (disk0s3) <not mounted> [Recovery]: 650 MB

OPTIARC DVD RW AD-5680H ()

USB Information: ⓘ

Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver

Apple Inc. Built-in iSight

Apple, Inc. Keyboard Hub

Apple Inc. Apple Keyboard

Apple Internal Memory Card Reader

Apple Inc. BRCM2046 Hub

Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

Configuration files: ⓘ

/etc/hosts - Count: 45

Gatekeeper: ⓘ

Mac App Store and identified developers

Adware: ⓘ

/Library/Application Support/Conduit

One adware file found. [Remove]

Kernel Extensions: ⓘ

/Library/Extensions

[not loaded] com.squirrels.driver.AirParrotSpeakers (1.8 - SDK 10.8 - 2016-06-26) [Support]

/Library/StartupItems/ArcanaStartupSound/Resources

[not loaded] arcana.PRAM (1.1b1 - 2006-04-10) [Support]

/System/Library/Extensions

[not loaded] com.Cycling74.driver.Soundflower (1.5.1 - 2016-06-26) [Support]

[not loaded] com.agfa.driver.AgfaUsbScanner (1.0.0b1 - 2016-06-26) [Support]

[not loaded] com.squirrels.airparrot.framebuffer (1.4 - SDK 10.8 - 2016-06-26) [Support]

[not loaded] com.wacom.kext.wacomtablet (Wacom Tablet 6.1.5-2 - 2016-06-26) [Support]

Startup Items: ⓘ

ArcanaStartupSound: Path: /Library/StartupItems/ArcanaStartupSound

Startup items are obsolete in OS X Yosemite

System Launch Agents: ⓘ

[not loaded] 6 Apple tasks

[loaded] 145 Apple tasks

[running] 33 Apple tasks

System Launch Daemons: ⓘ

[failed] com.apple.ucupdate.plist

[not loaded] 50 Apple tasks

[loaded] 136 Apple tasks

[running] 61 Apple tasks

Launch Agents: ⓘ

[not loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist (2011-03-28) [Support]

[not loaded] com.adobe.ARMDCHelper.cc24aef4a1b90ed56a...plist (2016-05-12) [Support]

[not loaded] com.amazon.sendtokindle.launcher.plist (2015-06-30) [Support]

[not loaded] com.google.keystone.agent.plist (2016-03-02) [Support]

[not loaded] com.wacom.wacomtablet.plist (2010-02-25) [Support]

[not loaded] net.culater.SIMBL.Agent.plist (2011-07-10) [Support]

Launch Daemons: ⓘ

[not loaded] com.adobe.ARMDC.Communicator.plist (2016-05-12) [Support]

[not loaded] com.adobe.ARMDC.SMJobBlessHelper.plist (2016-05-12) [Support]

[not loaded] com.adobe.SwitchBoard.plist (2012-02-27) [Support]

[not loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist (2016-06-13) [Support]

[not loaded] com.google.keystone.daemon.plist (2016-03-02) [Support]

[not loaded] com.oracle.java.JavaUpdateHelper.plist (2015-02-02) [Support]

User Launch Agents: ⓘ

[not loaded] com.adobe.ARM.[...].plist (2012-07-26) [Support]

[not loaded] com.facebook.videochat.[redacted].plist (2014-08-09) [Support]

[not loaded] com.valvesoftware.steamclean.plist (2012-08-02) [Support]

Other Apps: ⓘ

[running] [0x0-0x19019].com.etresoft.EtreCheck

[running] org.mozilla.firefox.10592

[loaded] 437 Apple tasks

[running] 263 Apple tasks

Internet Plug-ins: ⓘ

o1dbrowserplugin: 5.41.3.0 - SDK 10.8 (2015-12-15) [Support]

WacomNetscape: 1.1.0-5 (2010-02-25) [Support]

ToontownBundleManager: Unknown (2006-11-28) [Support]

Default Browser: 537 - SDK 10.9 (2016-06-26)

WacomSafari: 1.1.0-5 (2010-02-25) [Support]

AdobePDFViewerNPAPI: 15.016.20045 - SDK 10.11 (2016-06-05) [Support]

FlashPlayer-10.6: 22.0.0.192 - SDK 10.9 (2016-06-25) [Support]

DivXBrowserPlugin: 2.1 (2011-05-25) [Support]

Silverlight: 5.1.20913.0 - SDK 10.6 (2014-01-27) [Support]

Flash Player: 22.0.0.192 - SDK 10.9 (2016-06-25) [Support]

iPhotoPhotocast: 7.0 - SDK 10.8 (2013-11-22)

googletalkbrowserplugin: 5.41.3.0 - SDK 10.8 (2015-12-11) [Support]

QuickTime Plugin: 7.7.3 (2016-06-26)

AdobePDFViewer: 15.016.20045 - SDK 10.11 (2016-06-05) [Support]

CANONiMAGEGATEWAYDL: 3.0.0.2 (2009-03-06) [Support]

CouponPrinter-FireFox_v2: Version 1.1.9 - SDK 10.5 (2012-11-14) [Support]

JavaAppletPlugin: Java 8 Update 31 (2015-02-02) Check version

User internet Plug-ins: ⓘ

KickStartPlugIn64: 1.1 - SDK 10.7 (2011-11-09) [Support]

Unity Web Player: UnityPlayer version 2.6.1f3 (2011-03-28) [Support]

Google Earth Web Plug-in: 7.1 (2013-10-07) [Support]

Safari Extensions: ⓘ

3rd Party Preference Panes: ⓘ

Flash Player (2016-06-13) [Support]

Perian (2011-07-23) [Support]

ArcanaStartupSound (2006-04-10) [Support]

WacomTablet (2010-02-25) [Support]

Time Machine: ⓘ

Mobile backups: OFF

Auto backup: NO - Auto backup turned off

Volumes being backed up:

Donna's HD: Disk size: 796.03 GB Disk used: 156.33 GB

Destinations:

Donna's HD 2 [Local]

Total size: 203.19 GB

Total number of backups: 8

Oldest backup: 11/22/13, 3:57 PM

Last backup: 11/23/13, 10:22 AM

Size of backup disk: Too small

Backup size 203.19 GB < (Disk used 156.33 GB X 3)

Top Processes by CPU: ⓘ

24% mdworker

4% fontd

1% WindowServer

0% kernel_task

0% imagent

Top Processes by Memory: ⓘ

401 MB firefox

307 MB kernel_task

143 MB softwareupdated

139 MB com.apple.IconServicesAgent

70 MB Dock

Virtual Memory Information: ⓘ

659 MB Free RAM

3.35 GB Used RAM (1.34 GB Cached)

0 B Swap Used

Diagnostics Information: ⓘ

Jun 26, 2016, 11:47:45 AM Self test - passed

Jun 25, 2016, 09:59:17 AM ~/Library/Logs/DiagnosticReports/plugin-container_2016-06-25-095917_[redacted]. crash

org.mozilla.plugincontainer - /Applications/Firefox.app/Contents/MacOS/plugin-container.app/Contents/MacOS/pl ugin-container

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Answer 3

BobHarris

Level 9

57,185 points

Jun 26, 2016 4:29 PM in response to donnafromacworth

Make a backup (even better, make 2) so you can undo any of the following the next suggestions, should things go bad.

Next. Ignore the "[not loaded]" prefix, as you were in Safe Mode, and it will not load any of these things in Safe mode. But on a normal boot they may be loaded. Some just get loaded on demand, however, in Safe mode you cannot easily tell which ones are always loaded and which are on-demand loaded.

Kernel Extensions: ⓘ

/Library/Extensions

[not loaded] com.squirrels.driver.AirParrotSpeakers (1.8 - SDK 10.8 - 2016-06-26) [Support]

/System/Library/Extensions

[not loaded] com.Cycling74.driver.Soundflower (1.5.1 - 2016-06-26) [Support]

[not loaded] com.agfa.driver.AgfaUsbScanner (1.0.0b1 - 2016-06-26) [Support]

[not loaded] com.squirrels.airparrot.framebuffer (1.4 - SDK 10.8 - 2016-06-26) [Support]

[not loaded] com.wacom.kext.wacomtablet (Wacom Tablet 6.1.5-2 - 2016-06-26) [Support]

Try removing these drivers (aka kernel extensions). It would be best if you use the vendor's uninstall instructions if you can.

if after removing your system boots, you know that one (or more) of them was at fault. If you are still using any of them, re-install a clean copy from the vendor, making sure you have a version compatible with Mavericks.

Adware: ⓘ

/Library/Application Support/Conduit

One adware file found. [Remove]

You should most likely address this. Unlikely to affect booting, but Adware is never your friend during normal operations.

If removing the device drivers does not do the trick, then start looking at all the Launch Agents and Daemons

Launch Agents: ⓘ

[not loaded] com.adobe.AAM.Updater-1.0.plist (2011-03-28) [Support]

[not loaded] com.adobe.ARMDCHelper.cc24aef4a1b90ed56a...plist (2016-05-12) [Support]

[not loaded] com.amazon.sendtokindle.launcher.plist (2015-06-30) [Support]

[not loaded] com.google.keystone.agent.plist (2016-03-02) [Support]

[not loaded] com.wacom.wacomtablet.plist (2010-02-25) [Support]

[not loaded] net.culater.SIMBL.Agent.plist (2011-07-10) [Support]

Launch Daemons: ⓘ

[not loaded] com.adobe.ARMDC.Communicator.plist (2016-05-12) [Support]

[not loaded] com.adobe.ARMDC.SMJobBlessHelper.plist (2016-05-12) [Support]

[not loaded] com.adobe.SwitchBoard.plist (2012-02-27) [Support]

[not loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist (2016-06-13) [Support]

[not loaded] com.google.keystone.daemon.plist (2016-03-02) [Support]

[not loaded] com.oracle.java.JavaUpdateHelper.plist (2015-02-02) [Support]

User Launch Agents: ⓘ

[not loaded] com.adobe.ARM.[...].plist (2012-07-26) [Support]

[not loaded] com.facebook.videochat.[redacted].plist (2014-08-09) [Support]

[not loaded] com.valvesoftware.steamclean.plist (2012-08-02) [Support]

Again, I do NOT think this has anything to do with your normal booting problems, but I find it strange that the DIMM0 slots are empty. Typically a from the factory iMac will have the DIMM0 slots filled, and the DIMM1 slots empty. This is NOT a problem, just something I've not seen. The important thing is that you did fill both DIMM1 bank1 and 2 which gives you proper interleaved memory access.

4 GB RAM Upgradeable - [Instructions]

BANK 0/DIMM0

Empty

BANK 1/DIMM0

Empty

BANK 0/DIMM1

2 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok

BANK 1/DIMM1

2 GB DDR3 1333 MHz ok

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Answer 4

Jun 26, 2016 3:58 PM in response to BobHarris

Thank you for your advice!

I cannot find the squirrel air parrot extensions; I'm doing a search right now but it's taking forever. How does one address the launch daemons and agents? Drag them to the trash? I've dragged the other extensions that I could find to the trash, and rebooted, same problem exists.

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Answer 5

BobHarris

Level 9

57,185 points

Jun 27, 2016 5:41 AM in response to donnafromacworth

Launch agents and daemon can be found in one of the following directories

~/Library/LaunchAgents

/Library/LaunchAgents

/Library/LaunchDaemons

You can get to any of these directories using Finder -> Go to folder

The first with the tilda ~ is the Library folder in your home folder, and are only active when you are logged in. The 2nd and 3rd are in the Application's Library folder and are system wide.

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Answer 6

Eric Root

Level 10

685,341 points

Jun 27, 2016 8:15 AM in response to donnafromacworth

SIMBL is a system hack. Try removing it.

SIMBL Uninstall See solution posted by Linc Davis .

Startup Issues - Resolve

Startup Issues - Resolve (2)

Startup Issues - Resolve (3)

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Answer 7

Jun 28, 2016 2:19 PM in response to Eric Root

There was nothing in the SIMBL folder, but thanks for the advice! I'm still not able to boot without being in safe mode.

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Answer 8

Eric Root

Level 10

685,341 points

Jun 29, 2016 8:00 AM in response to donnafromacworth

You are welcome. Did you try what is in the bottom 3 links I posted?

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Answer 9

Jun 29, 2016 2:28 PM in response to Eric Root

I did... ran the fsky single user mode at the beginning of boot up, I thought that was going to do the trick but no joy. I'm just about at my wit's end, looks like I'm going to have to either take this one in or get a new one. 🙂

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Answer 10

Eric Root

Level 10

685,341 points

Jun 30, 2016 8:52 AM in response to donnafromacworth

Try an erase and install if you have backups..

Boot to the Recovery Volume (command - R on a restart or hold down the option/alt key during a restart and select Recovery Volume). Run Disk Utility Verify/Repair Disk and Repair Permissions until you get no errors. Reformat the drive using Disk Utility/Erase Mac OS Extended (Journaled), then click the Option button and select GUID. Then re-install the OS.

OS X Recovery

OS X Recovery (2)

When you reboot, use Setup Assistant to restore your data.

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Answer 11

Jul 1, 2016 6:25 PM in response to Eric Root

Oh, so set up assistant will let me get all my pics and stuff back? That's awesome! Thanks!

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Answer 12

Jul 1, 2016 6:40 PM in response to Eric Root

Would it be possible to use my mac mini as an external hard drive to back up my photos and music before I do the clean install?

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Answer 13

Eric Root

Level 10

685,341 points

Jul 2, 2016 7:44 AM in response to donnafromacworth

Yes, you can copy the files there. If you do a backup, they should be in the backup. Copying the files to the Mini will give you an additional safety factor.

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Answer 14

Jul 2, 2016 8:04 AM in response to Eric Root

Thanks so much!

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Answer 15

Eric Root

Level 10

685,341 points

Jul 2, 2016 8:19 AM in response to donnafromacworth

You are welcome. Glad to help.

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