iMac won't start in normal mode

Hello,


I desperately need help since I have a lot of very important information on this computer. I've been trying everything, all the commandos, external drives and different time machine backups. Nothing seems to help and I still cannot make it into the computer (unless in safe mode). The computer rebooting always stops before the loading bar is full. A forced shutdown has always been necessary unless booted into recovery or safe mode for the last weeks. Maybe you can get something out of this etrecheck report? I would be grateful.


EtreCheck version: 5.0 (5008)

Report generated: 2018-09-26 18:37:26

Download EtreCheck from https://etrecheck.com

Runtime: 4:41

Performance: Below Average

Sandbox: Enabled

Full drive access: Disabled


Problem: Other problem

Description:

Computer wont boot into normal mode no matter procedure


Major Issues: None


Minor Issues:

These issues do not need immediate attention but they may indicate future problems.


Unsigned files - There are unsigned software files installed. They appear to be legitimate but should be reviewed.

Low performance - EtreCheck report took over 5 minutes to run. This is unusual.

Vintage hardware - This machine may be considered vintage.

Heavy I/O usage - Your system is under heavy I/O use. This will reduce your performance.

Abnormal shutdown - Your machine shut down abnormally.


Hardware Information:

iMac (27-inch, Late 2009) - Vintage!

iMac Model: iMac11,1

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

16 GB RAM - At maximum

BANK 0/DIMM0 - 4 GB DDR3 1067 ok

BANK 1/DIMM0 - 4 GB DDR3 1067 ok

BANK 0/DIMM1 - 4 GB DDR3 1067 ok

BANK 1/DIMM1 - 4 GB DDR3 1067 ok


Video Information:

ATI Radeon HD 4850 - VRAM: 512 MB

iMac 2560 x 1440


Drives:

disk0 - ST31000528ASQ 1.00 TB (Mechanical - 7200 RPM)

Internal SATA 3 Gigabit Serial ATA

disk0s1 - EFI (MS-DOS FAT32) [EFI] 210 MB

disk0s2 - Macintosh HD (Journaled HFS+) 999.35 GB (717.87 GB used)

disk0s3 - Recovery HD [Recovery] 650 MB


disk1 - PI-239 USB 2.0 Drive 1.00 TB

External USB 480 Mbit/s USB

disk1s1 - EFI (MS-DOS FAT32) [EFI] 210 MB

disk1s2 [Core Storage Container] 999.86 GB

disk1s3 - B*******X (Journaled HFS+) 134 MB


Mounted Volumes:

disk0s2 - Macintosh HD 999.35 GB (281.21 GB free)

Journaled HFS+

Mount point: /


Network:

Interface Bluetooth-Modem: Bluetooth DUN

Interface en0: Ethernet

Interface en5: iPhone 2

Interface fw0: FireWire

Interface en1: AirPort

802.11 a/b/g/n

Interface en4: iPhone

Interface en3: Bluetooth PAN


System Software:

macOS High Sierra 10.13.6 (17G65)

Time since boot: Less than an hour


Configuration Profiles:

Information not available


Security:

SystemStatus
GatekeeperEnabled
System Integrity ProtectionEnabled


Unsigned Files:

Launchd: /Library/LaunchDaemons/PACESupport.plist

Executable: /System/Library/Extensions/PACESupportFamily.kext/Contents/Resources/paceload

Details: Exact match found in the whitelist - probably OK


Kernel Extensions:

/Library/Extensions

NIUSBMaschineController.kext (Native Instruments GmbH, 2.8.0 (R36) - SDK 10.9)


/System/Library/Extensions

NIUSBAudioDriver.kext (2.4.21 (R30))

DigiDal.kext (8.0.3x225)

DigiIO.kext (8.0.3x225)

M-AudioFastTrack.kext (M-Audio Fast Track USB 1.8)

PACESupportFamily.kext (5.9.1 - SDK 10.6)

CmUSBMassStorage.kext (1.0.7)


/System/Library/Extensions/PACESupportFamily.kext/Contents/PlugIns

PACESupportLeopard.kext (5.9.1 - SDK 10.4)

PACESupportPanther.kext (5.9.1 - SDK 10.-1)

PACESupportSnowLeopard.kext (5.9.1 - SDK 10.6)

PACESupportTiger.kext (5.9.1 - SDK 10.4)


Startup Items:

M-AudioFastTrack Path: /Library/StartupItems/M-AudioFastTrack


System Launch Agents:

[Not Loaded] 9 Apple tasks
[Loaded] 187 Apple tasks
[Running] 96 Apple tasks
[Other] One Apple task


System Launch Daemons:

[Not Loaded] 32 Apple tasks
[Loaded] 191 Apple tasks
[Running] 113 Apple tasks
[Other] One Apple task


Launch Daemons:

[Not Loaded] com.github.IngmarStein.Monolingual.Helper.plist (Ingmar Stein - installed 2015-09-22)
[Not Loaded] com.adobe.fpsaud.plist (Adobe Systems, Inc. - installed 2018-08-27)
[Not Loaded] com.apple.aelwriter.plist (Apple - installed 2012-03-08)
[Not Loaded] com.apple.qmaster.qmasterd.plist (Apple - installed 2010-08-26)
[Not Loaded] PACESupport.plist (? ab6b5614 - installed 2013-02-01)
[Loaded] com.apple.installer.osmessagetracing.plist (Apple - installed 2018-07-04)
[Not Loaded] com.native-instruments.NativeAccess.Helper.plist (Native Instruments GmbH - installed 2017-02-24)
[Not Loaded] com.paceap.eden.licensed.plist (? b8fa6e6c - installed 2015-08-10)


Internet Plug-ins:

Silverlight: 5.1.50901.0 (installed 2017-09-19)

FlashPlayer-10.6: 31.0.0.108 (installed 2018-09-13)

QuickTime Plugin: 7.7.3 (installed 2018-07-04)

Flash Player: 31.0.0.108 (installed 2018-09-13)


Audio Plug-ins:

DVCPROHDAudio: 1.3.2 (installed 2012-03-15)


3rd Party Preference Panes:

Flash Player (installed 2018-08-27)

Native Instruments USB Audio (installed 2015-09-18)

Paragon NTFS for Mac OS X (installed 2015-09-22)


Time Machine:

Time Machine information not available


Performance:

System Load: 1.92 (1 min ago) 2.14 (5 min ago) 1.29 (15 min ago)

Nominal I/O speed: 18.27 MB/s

File system: 62.37 seconds

Write speed: 66 MB/s

Read speed: 80 MB/s


CPU Usage:

TypeOverallIndividual cores
System1 %2 %0 %1 %0 %1 %0 %1 %0 %
User4 %8 %0 %9 %0 %7 %0 %8 %0 %
Idle96 %91 %100 %91 %100 %92 %100 %92 %100 %


Top Processes by CPU:

Process (count)SourceCPULocation
Other processes?28.55 %
EtreCheckApp Store6.03 %
helpdApple0.30 %
DockApple0.05 %
cfprefsdApple0.03 %


Top Processes by Memory:

Process (count)SourceRAM usageLocation
EtreCheckApp Store469 MB
SafariApple76 MB
DockApple55 MB
iconservicesagentApple54 MB
helpdApple52 MB


Top Processes by Network Use:

ProcessSourceInputOutputLocation
helpdApple2 MB27 KB
mDNSResponderApple91 KB64 KB
apsdApple4 KB3 KB
netbiosdApple229 B0 B
SystemUIServerApple0 B64 B


Virtual Memory Information:

Available RAM12.39 GB
Free RAM1.07 GB
Used RAM3.61 GB
Cached files11.31 GB
Swap Used0 B


Software Installs (past 30 days):

NameVersionInstall Date
Adobe Flash Player2018-09-13
EtreCheck5.02018-09-26


Diagnostics Information (past 7 days):

2018-09-26 18:23:03 Last Shutdown Cause: 3 - Hard shutdown



End of report

iMac, macOS High Sierra (10.13.6)

Posted on Sep 26, 2018 9:59 AM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Sep 26, 2018 10:35 AM

The computer is too old for an Apple Store to work on it, I suggest locating an independent AASP in your area that can work on it. I suspect the HD is damaged and should be replaced. If you decide to replace the computer with another Mac (which may be wise as your 2009 is 10 years old!!) you can easily restore your data using Setup Assistant on the new Mac and restore from the Time Machine backup from the old iMac. If you decide to take this route please review Set up your new Mac - Apple Support and also How to move your content to a new Mac - Apple Support

Similar questions

5 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Sep 26, 2018 10:35 AM in response to TempleOfHeaven

The computer is too old for an Apple Store to work on it, I suggest locating an independent AASP in your area that can work on it. I suspect the HD is damaged and should be replaced. If you decide to replace the computer with another Mac (which may be wise as your 2009 is 10 years old!!) you can easily restore your data using Setup Assistant on the new Mac and restore from the Time Machine backup from the old iMac. If you decide to take this route please review Set up your new Mac - Apple Support and also How to move your content to a new Mac - Apple Support

Sep 26, 2018 2:42 PM in response to TempleOfHeaven

Just a suggestion, you can get an Apple Refurbished computer to save money and they have financing available assuming your credit is decent. If you were not aware of these, the link to them is at the bottom of Apple's home page, www.apple.com. There is zero downside to an Apple refurbished computer, they are identical to new, have the same warranty as new, are eligible for AppleCare, have up-to-date technology and Operating System (which you currently don't have) and can save hundreds of $ over a new computer.


That is something you can do immediately and get a new computer within 3-5 days or take your computer in for repair and wait a diagnosis and repair. Personally I'd replace it if I was in your shoes, but then again I'm not in your shoes.


Good luck.

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iMac won't start in normal mode

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