User profile for user: Mic.Z
Mic.Z Author
User level: Level 1
9 points

iMac won't boot in normal mode

My iMac froze last week and after I manually turned it off. Now it no longer will boot in normal mode. The gray loading screen with the Apple icon appears and the progress bar will get about 1/2 full before stopping. I can successfully boot into Safe Boot. I ran MacOs Sierra 10.12.6 for a couple of days.


I've tried serval things, each thing followed by trying to start in normal boot mode:


  • resetting the NVRAM and SMC
  • repairing / fixing my disks in Disk Utility
  • deleting all programs from my user LoginItems as well as all general system StartupItems
  • removed SSDFanControl from my /Library/StartupItems/ folder (it was the only item in there)
  • restored Time Machine Backups on the internal SSD (SATA) as well as on an external HDD using USB
  • did clean installs on the internal SSD (SATA) as well as on an external HDD using USB. After install booting showed the same result. Finishing configuration was only possible in safe mode.
  • checked for third party, Not Signed kexts (none found)
  • scanning system logs for clear startup failures (with a lack of knowledge however)


By installing on an external HDD leading to the same result, I conclude it's not an SSD issue.

Scanning for hardware issues by startup D was not possible for my configuration. I have no CD/DVD player, nor original installation disks. Used etrecheck to summarize hardware and software status (see below)


Can anyone please help me out?


-------


EtreCheck version: 3.4.4 (448)

Report generated 2017-09-14 23:54:15

Download EtreCheck from https://etrecheck.com

Runtime: 3:09

Performance: Good


Click the [Lookup] links for more information from Apple Support Communities.

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


Problem: Other problem

Description:

Only boots in safe mode


Hardware Information: ⓘ

iMac (27-inch, Late 2009)

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

iMac - model: iMac11,1

1 2,8 GHz Intel Core i7 (i7) CPU: 4-core

16 GB RAM Upgradeable - [Instructions]

BANK 0/DIMM0

4 GB DDR3 1067 MHz ok

BANK 1/DIMM0

4 GB DDR3 1067 MHz ok

BANK 0/DIMM1

4 GB DDR3 1067 MHz ok

BANK 1/DIMM1

4 GB DDR3 1067 MHz ok

Handoff/Airdrop2: not supported

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

iCloud Quota: 29.58 GB available


Video Information: ⓘ

ATI Radeon HD 4850 - VRAM: 512 MB

iMac 2560 x 1440


Disk Information: ⓘ

ST32000542AS disk0: (2 TB) (Rotational)

[Show SMART report]

EFI (disk0s1 - MS-DOS FAT32) <not mounted> [EFI]: 210 MB

BACKUP (disk0s2 - Journaled HFS+) /Volumes/BACKUP : 1.00 TB (171.40 GB free)

DATA (disk0s3 - Journaled HFS+) /Volumes/DATA : 999.89 GB (752.55 GB free)


KINGSTON SV300S37A240G disk1: (240,06 GB) (Solid State - TRIM: No)

[Show SMART report]

EFI (disk1s1 - MS-DOS FAT32) <not mounted> [EFI]: 210 MB

Kingston (disk1s2 - Journaled HFS+) / [Startup]: 239.20 GB (217.94 GB free)

Recovery HD (disk1s3 - Journaled HFS+) <not mounted> [Recovery]: 650 MB


USB Information: ⓘ

USB20Bus

hub_device

Apple, Inc. Keyboard Hub

Apple, Inc Apple Keyboard

Apple Card Reader

Apple Inc. BRCM2046 Hub

Apple Inc. Bluetooth USB Host Controller

USB20Bus

hub_device

Apple Computer, Inc. IR Receiver

Apple Inc. Built-in iSight


System Software: ⓘ

macOS Sierra 10.12.6 (16G29) - Time since boot: less than an hour


Gatekeeper: ⓘ

Mac App Store and identified developers


Kernel Extensions: ⓘ

/Library/Application Support/Citrix Receiver

[not loaded] com.citrix.kext.gusb (12.6.0 - SDK 10.9) [Lookup]


System Launch Agents: ⓘ

[not loaded] 7 Apple tasks

[loaded] 186 Apple tasks

[running] 89 Apple tasks


System Launch Daemons: ⓘ

[failed] com.apple.ucupdate.plist (Apple, Inc. - installed 2017-07-15)

[failed] com.apple.watchdogd.plist (Apple, Inc. - installed 2017-07-15)

[not loaded] 41 Apple tasks

[loaded] 178 Apple tasks

[running] 97 Apple tasks


Launch Agents: ⓘ

[not loaded] com.citrix.AuthManager_Mac.plist (? 1ce99fae d10bd3ad - installed 2017-09-12) [Lookup]

[not loaded] com.citrix.ReceiverHelper.plist (? bbfad3f1 11a76b0d - installed 2017-09-12) [Lookup]

[not loaded] com.citrix.ServiceRecords.plist (? 8e6543d 27768e09 - installed 2017-09-12) [Lookup]

[not loaded] com.google.keystone.agent.plist (Google, Inc. - installed 2017-07-10) [Lookup]


Launch Daemons: ⓘ

[not loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist (? 2afb3af7 4898e928 - installed 2017-08-29) [Lookup]

[not loaded] com.apple.installer.osmessagetracing.plist (Apple, Inc. - installed 2017-07-15)

[not loaded] com.citrix.ctxusbd.plist (? 44dc9c9f a85200a0 - installed 2017-06-09) [Lookup]

[not loaded] com.cleverfiles.cfbackd.plist (Justin Johnson - installed 2017-09-10) [Lookup]

[not loaded] com.google.keystone.daemon.plist (Google, Inc. - installed 2017-07-28) [Lookup]

[not loaded] com.microsoft.autoupdate.helpertool.plist (Microsoft Corporation - installed 2016-10-10) [Lookup]

[not loaded] com.microsoft.office.licensingV2.helper.plist (Microsoft Corporation - installed 2016-10-10) [Lookup]


User Launch Agents: ⓘ

[not loaded] com.spotify.webhelper.plist (Spotify - installed 2017-06-24) [Lookup]

[not loaded] org.xbmc.helper.plist (? 3660948c c33f75a4 - installed 2017-08-24) [Lookup]


User Login Items: ⓘ

MountNetworkServers Programma - Hidden

(~/Scripts/MountNetworkServers.app)


Internet Plug-ins: ⓘ

FlashPlayer-10.6: 27.0.0.130 (installed 2017-09-12) [Lookup]

QuickTime Plugin: 7.7.3 (installed 2017-07-15)

Flash Player: 27.0.0.130 (installed 2017-09-12) [Lookup]

o1dbrowserplugin: 5.41.3.0 (installed 2016-03-17) [Lookup]

CitrixICAClientPlugIn: 12.6.0 (installed 2017-09-12) [Lookup]

googletalkbrowserplugin: 5.41.3.0 (installed 2015-12-11) [Lookup]

Silverlight: 5.1.50901.0 (installed 2016-10-31) [Lookup]


Safari Extensions: ⓘ

[not loaded] Open in Internet Explorer - Parallels - http://www.parallels.com (installed 2016-01-07)


3rd Party Preference Panes: ⓘ

Flash Player (installed 2017-08-29) [Lookup]

FUSE (installed 2017-07-18) [Lookup]

MouseZoom (installed 2006-04-04) [Lookup]


Time Machine: ⓘ

Skip System Files: NO

Mobile backups: OFF

Auto backup: YES

Volumes being backed up:

Kingston: Disk size: 239.20 GB Disk used: 21.25 GB

Destinations:

BACKUP [Local]

Total size: 1.00 TB

Total number of backups: 8

Oldest backup: 10-09-17 18:00

Last backup: 14-09-17 23:38

Size of backup disk: Excellent

Backup size 1.00 TB > (Disk size 239.20 GB X 3)


Top Processes by CPU: ⓘ

14% Safari

14% WindowServer

2% com.apple.WebKit.WebContent

2% hidd

2% kernel_task


Top Processes by Memory: ⓘ

1.19 GB softwareupdated

920 MB kernel_task

396 MB com.apple.WebKit.WebContent

368 MB com.apple.WebKit.WebContent

344 MB Safari


Top Processes by Network Use: ⓘ

Input Output Process name

17 MB 24 KB kernel_task

2 MB 689 KB com.apple.WebKit.Networking

214 KB 16 KB mDNSResponder

13 KB 13 KB apsd

10 KB 1 KB netbiosd


Top Processes by Energy Use: ⓘ

6.08 WindowServer

2.94 com.apple.WebKit.WebContent

2.62 Safari

0.70 com.apple.WebKit.Networking

0.42 hidd


Virtual Memory Information: ⓘ

7.74 GB Available RAM

2.54 GB Free RAM

8.26 GB Used RAM

5.19 GB Cached files

0 B Swap Used


Software installs: ⓘ

Microsoft OneNote for Mac: (installed 2017-08-23)

AppleJack Distribution: (installed 2017-09-08)

vdmounter: (installed 2017-09-08)

snapshot: (installed 2017-09-08)

FUSE for macOS: (installed 2017-09-10)

snapshot: (installed 2017-09-10)

Adobe Flash Player: (installed 2017-09-12)

Citrix Receiver: 12.6.0 (installed 2017-09-12)

SSD Fan Control: (installed 2017-09-14)


Install information may not be complete.


Diagnostics Information: ⓘ

2017-09-14 23:25:45 Last shutdown cause: 3 - Hard shutdown

2017-09-14 01:01:55 ScreenSaverEngine.app High CPU use [Open] [Details]

2017-09-12 15:57:57 Citrix Receiver.app High CPU use [Open] [Details]

2017-09-12 11:42:54 Kernel Panic [Open] [Details]

3rd Party Kernel Extensions:

com.paragon-software.kext.VDMounter 118.2

2017-09-12 10:24:20 backupd High CPU use [Open] [Details]


Files deleted by EtreCheck: ⓘ

2017-09-12 14:02:38 - /Library/LaunchDaemons/com.citrix.ctxusbd.plist - Unknown

2017-09-13 23:35:11 - /Library/LaunchDaemons/net.exirion.ssdfanctrl.plist - Unknown

2017-09-14 01:02:50 - /Library/LaunchDaemons/net.exirion.ssdfanctrl.plist - Unknown

iMac, macOS Sierra (10.12.6), type 1.1, board Mac-F2268DAE

Posted on Sep 14, 2017 3:06 PM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply
User profile for user: Mic.Z
Mic.Z Author
User level: Level 1
9 points

Posted on Sep 15, 2017 9:43 AM

Fixed! 😁


After running several runs memtest with inconsistent results (some with failures, most testscyles went well) I decided to take them out one by one to see what would happen.


After taking out the first. The mac started smoothly. Decided to put it back in to see what would happen. Strange enough it is still booting normally. For the time being I wil leave it in place.


Whenever the problem (or others, like hangups) will occur again, I now know where look first now.


Thanks a lot guys! Great help!

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11 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply
User profile for user: Mic.Z
Mic.Z Author
User level: Level 1
9 points

Sep 15, 2017 9:43 AM in response to Mic.Z

Fixed! 😁


After running several runs memtest with inconsistent results (some with failures, most testscyles went well) I decided to take them out one by one to see what would happen.


After taking out the first. The mac started smoothly. Decided to put it back in to see what would happen. Strange enough it is still booting normally. For the time being I wil leave it in place.


Whenever the problem (or others, like hangups) will occur again, I now know where look first now.


Thanks a lot guys! Great help!

Reply
User profile for user: Brandon T
Brandon T
User level: Level 1
20 points

Sep 14, 2017 3:19 PM in response to Mic.Z

Hello,


In Safe-Mode you'll use a lot less memory since it loads the bare essentials to run. I looked at your report and it looks like you may have 4 memory modules? There are guides on ifixit to take the memory out of your iMac to check it out.


Since you may have 4 modules, I would take them all out and test them one at a time, re-adding until the machine stops working.


Also there are programs you can search for that may test your memory.

Reply
User profile for user: Kappy
Kappy
User level: Level 10
362,007 points

Sep 14, 2017 3:32 PM in response to Mic.Z

It is different from an incremental updater - such as 12.1.1 to 12.1.2. It is not at all the same as a Full Installer for upgrading - 10.11.x to 10.12.x.


If you updated Sierra with an incremental updater, then the Combo updater may be helpful. However, you stated that a clean Erase and Install (Item 8) was not successful. This suggests you have a hardware failure rather than a system software failure. Could be bad memory or failed HDD/SSD. If you reboot and hear several beeps then it's probably memory.


I would not test memory unless there are beeps coming at startup. Memory testing software is highly unreliable unless you can run it continuously for at least 24 hours. It would be better to remove a memory module one at a time to see what happens.

Reply
User profile for user: Kappy
Kappy
User level: Level 10
362,007 points

Sep 14, 2017 3:09 PM in response to Mic.Z

Possible Fixes for El Capitan or Later

You should try each, one at a time, then test to see if the problem is fixed before going on to the next.


Be sure to backup your files before proceeding if possible.


  1. Resetting your Mac’s PRAM and NVRAM
  2. Reset the System Management Controller (SMC)
  3. Start the computer in Safe Mode, then restart normally. This is slower than a standard startup.
  4. Repair the disk by booting the from the Recovery HD. Immediately after the chime hold down the Command and R keys until the Utility Menu appears. Choose Disk Utility and click on the Continue button. Select the indented (usually, Macintosh HD) volume entry from the side list. Click on the First Aid button in the toolbar. Wait for the Done button to appear. Quit Disk Utility and return to the Utility Menu. Restart the computer from the Apple Menu.
  5. Create a New User Account Open Users & Groups preferences. Click on the lock icon and enter your Admin password when prompted. On the left under Current User click on the Add [+] button below Login Options. Setup a new Admin user account. Upon completion log out of your current account then log into the new account. If your problems cease, then consider switching to the new account and transferring your files to it - Transferring files from one User Account to another.
  6. Install Combo Updater Download 10.12.6 Combo Update and install.
  7. Reinstall OS X by booting from the Recovery HD using the Command and R keys. When the Utility Menu appears select Reinstall OS X then click on the Continue button.
  8. Erase and Install OS X Restart the computer. Immediately after the chime hold down the CommandandRkeys until the Apple logo appears. When the Utility Menu appears:
  1. Select Disk Utility from the Utility Menu and click on Continue button.
  2. When Disk Utility loads select the drive (out-dented entry) from the Device list.
  3. Click on the Erase icon in Disk Utility's toolbar. A panel will drop down.
  4. Set the Format type to Mac OS Extended (Journaled.)
  5. Click on the Apply button, then wait for the Done button to activate and click on it.
  6. Quit Disk Utility and return to the Utility Menu.
  7. Select Install OS X and click on the Continue button.
Reply
User profile for user: Brandon T
Brandon T
User level: Level 1
20 points

Sep 14, 2017 3:10 PM in response to Mic.Z

Does your iMac have the fixed memory modules?


This is a long shot, but try starting up your Mac with one memory module installed (if you have two). If you only have one memory module, but two slots for it, try moving (with the machine off of course) to the other slot.


It's possible one of your memory sticks went bad causing your original reason you needed to manually turn it off


Hope this helps!

Reply
User profile for user: Mic.Z
Mic.Z Author
User level: Level 1
9 points

Sep 16, 2017 6:18 AM in response to Mic.Z

Too good to be true 😕.


After starting up te second time te screen went black after a while, only showing the mouse pointer.

The machine was frozen.


After manually taking the mac down I started up again. The same issue arised during startup. A frozen progress bar again. So I started to take out the memory modules again. One by one. After each one trying to startup normally again.

That did n't work.


I now have put back all memory again and am running memtests, figuring out what to do next.

Reply

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iMac won't boot in normal mode

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