DEAD MAC: Help please?
Bambouche
1,484 Posts
I have a G5 tower with two harddrives, running OSX (10.3.something I believe?). I put her to sleep two hours ago to go fix myself a snack, came back, woke her up, and the screen was like frozen TV static, nothing moved, no mouse, no icons, just this jumbled strata of data that make my stomach hurt just a little (I was, quite literally, just about to back up 30gig worth of work I just finished, but I got hungry...).So I shut her off. Waited a minute, restarted. I got the blue screen with the mac envelope+flashing question mark.Referring to apple's site, I found this, which I believe describes my problem:http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=58042Proceeding down their list: 1. I followed their suggested restarts with and without ethernet cables and keyboard/mouse connections. Nothing.2. I restarted from the Mac OSX reinstall disk (not reinstalling the OS). I got around that ugly blue screen, but, alas, Nothing. Just a spinning pinwheel and a noise from inside her like the sound of a jet.3. I tried accessing Disk Utility through the reinstall disk. Got to Disk Utility, but before I can get to the recommended "First Aid" tab, she locks on "Gather disk information." Endless minutes of the pinwheel again. She looks, and looks, but finds nothing. Nothing.4. I reset her parameter random access memory (PRAM) and nonvolatile RAM (NVRAM). Nothing.I am now at Step 4 on the above link, where they recommend I reinstall the OS in her. Above, however, they say this should be "the last step," which, again, gives me that feeling in my stomach. I am concerned for her, first, of course, yes, but also for my 30gig of work I just finished and was about to back up when I got hungry. Oh, am I full now!So, my specific question is, what exactly will reinstalling the OS do?I have two HDs, as mentioned above, the first contains all the libraries and system folder along with programs. The second drive contains all my work. The fruit. Those 30 gigs I was getting to, just after I snacked...What else can I do?What will I lose?What can be gained?
Comments
This, however, is beautiful.
If you do lose anything go cop
Use target disk mode as recommended by connecting a 2nd mac to your desktop. Hold down "T" at startup on your g5 until you see a flashing fw icon on the screen. Now you can either pull data off the drive or run disk utility from your 2nd computer. This will be faster than running disk utlity off the install/boot disc.
You can also try using a 3rd party disk utlity such as diskwarrior or drive genius. If you don't have access to any, I will be in town this weekend so I can give you a copy. Applejack is also a great option as it allows you to repair w/o the need of an external boot disc. It is accessed through single user mode, however it is uselss for you right now since you needed to install it before a problem arises. Good for future reference though.
Lastly, you said your data is on a secondary interal drive right? If so, reinstalling os x will only affect your master drive. However, doing a proper reinstall involves wiping that drive clean, so any data on it will be lost.
Just saw a black power history LP you might want. Preachin Woman (i think) is the artist- One side is a long poem comparing white and black views of all presidents up to Nixon and second side is assorted early black power poems. Cool electric piano and bluesy sounds abound. Selling for $25. Let me know if you are interested.
I assume you tried safe mode.
Not sure if this is relevant but you may be able to boot from the firmware by rebooting and holding cmd-opt-o-f then it will bring you to a prompt. then type: mac-boot and hit enter. If that doesnt work I think there is a way, assuming you have another mac and a firewire, to back up your harddrive from the firmware prompt. good luck!
Thanks everyone.
She was making that noise--the jet noise james beautified--and I couldn't help but think she was about to take off. So loud! Thinking so hard, obviously, as I turned the music up (thinking, "I'll give her a few minutes to find it?") and smiled at her like c'mon sweetie, you can do it, but finally had to force her off 'cause the noise sounding like it could eat 30gigs in no time.
Aser,
Yes, everything I made was saved on the secondary internal.
Also, I have diskwarrior, which I will try now.
I bought diskwarrior for my girlfriend's computer, the one that is working now, because I was worried all of her work would get lost. So after fixing this thing up all nice like, I started wondering about mine. Ironic, then, that the exact instance I was waking her up to perform a little Preventative Manliness on her, she goes cold. I say this about her now, only because I know she is asleep, and sure not to hear (james, here's your Bay-related reference), "FUCK WITH US, BITCH... AND SUMPIN'S GETTIN' BROKEN!"
I had you pegged as a Bukowskian, not of he who Cumms. Adjusting mental mine garden now.
with an Apple Macintosh
you can't run Radio Shack programs
in its disc drive.
nor can a Commodore 64
drive read a file
you have created on an
IBM Personal Computer.
both Kaypro and Osborne computers use
the CP/M operating system
but can't read each other's
handwriting
for they format (write
on) discs in different
ways.
the Tandy 2000 runs MS-DOS but
can't use most programs produced for
the IBM Personal Computer
unless certain
bits and bytes are
altered
but the wind still blows over
Savannah
and in the Spring
the turkey buzzard struts and
flounces before his
hens.
--Bukowski (:burp:)
I always knew I didnt need that hoe
I got the game from the motherfuckin E-S-O
--T. Shaw (:byeatch:)
I am taking a moment of record-related reprieve while she sleeps. I need the silence. My stomach needs the silence. The jets are down, and I am thinking about this "Preachin Woman" of whom you speak. This record, she is not familiar of me. It sounds like something I want, indeed.
Can I get back to you? (Are you selling or did you just see it?)
Depending on how many of my dollars this sleeping jet will demand, "Preachin Woman" might start to look like just another money hungry bitch.
#1 try starting up from diskwarrior CD. (hold down "C")I would bet this wouldn't work if you can't boot from the OSX install disk tho..... If this works, boot and try to repair the drive. If not....
#2 try unplugging your HD and starting up from diskwarrior CD. If this works, your HD is bad (ugh). If not....
#3 if the above still doesn't work, another component is probably to blame OTHER than the HD (yay?). In which case...
#4 get a cheap firewire or USB external drive and drop in the internal. Should be a standard 3.5" IDE.
A friend has it so it may go but believe me you need to hear what she says about Millard Fillmore and James Garfield.
An Update on my Timid Sleeping Beast:
DiskWarrior managed to start, rather than the spinning pinwheel+crashing jets sound+Data Eaters Anonymous Feeling that was happening with all the other attempts to access her Disk Utility (she's shy like that), so at 2:30 pm EST (yesterday!) I hit the "REBUILD" button. It is now 10:00am EST (today!) and DiskWarrior is on "Step 5: Locating Directory Data..."
I haven't seen steps this involved since those twelve famous ones that lead to the conscious contact.
Although, after about four hours of step five, DiskWarrior was kind enough to throw a little note--"(Speed inhibited by disk malfuntion)"--on the screen. Letting me know, like the chef at Hooters, "Dude, quit staring, she's trying to work here."
I hope this works. I'll let you know.
I've talked to a few people who have been in similar pickles, and they all suggested replacing the drive, even if this works, because it will likely fail again, and usually fail beyond repair.
I had a similar problem to this not too long ago (several months) and finally resolved the problem by doing this:
and then running this program.
http://www.maintain.se/cocktail/
Either way, I recommend this app for all mac users. Cleans up your system beautifully, and can get you out of numerous pickles.
Good luck with your current Diskwarrior adventure!
i partition my drives so i have seperate system and work drives, every couple months i re-insall a new system anyway just to keep it clean. and unless you're someone who clogs their computer with endless amounts of apps just because they can it would only take a small night to put your essentials back on.
Several reasons.
I bought the computer from my cousin, who had owned it less than a year (he's a dude who buys every new Mac as they come out), plus he was a computer teacher at a pilot school so he sent it to me chock-full of all the school discount programs I could need. He's moved across the country now, so re-installing some of them could prove tricky.
Plus, I believe Thunderbird is set to pull emails off my server and onto the HD that has the system on it (bad judgment on my part, in hindsight). There are thousands of emails that I would prefer not to lose.
It's my understanding that if I did a fresh re-install I would lose those programs, emails, as well as all the other little forgetful shit I've been storing on that drive in the last year?
Once I am running again, I will behave more like you described, though, that is for sure.
-----An Update-----[/b]
DiskWarrior has been working on her, my sleeping beast, since about 3pm yesterday. Making slow, but steady, progress through the steps, advising me as it went. About 11pm last night we hit "Step 5: Locating Directory Data..." and some time after one o'clock I went to sleep; it still on Step 5.
When I checked this morning, a little note had appeared in the Step 5 box that read: "(Speed inhibited by disk malfuntion)".
Nothing stopped, it's still chugging along; the pinwheel popping up now and again where the mouse cursor usually is, indicating, perhaps, that it's got another chunk of her bad data in it's clutches, soothing it back into a workable bit.
So, my question is one of time limits: I understand this is a time consuming process, but if the DiskWarrior approach isn't going to work, will it tell me, or does it just stay in this perpetual perception of activity (like mannequins in action poses) whether it's actually doing anything or not. Like, I'm all, is this shit frozen, dude? It's been, like, 14 hours.
Should I let it sit at Step 5 for another 14 hours (the other steps took about two hours each, roughly) assuming it will eventually get past the "disk malfuntion" area and into smoother sailing waters?
At what point do I give up with DiskWarrior and move to Target Mode?
As always, thank you, again and again.??