Death

[aijara]

Around 9:00 tonight (March 9, 2007) I got an Airport Extreme software update that required a restart. Upon restarting, it remained on the gray loading screen for quite a while before even displaying the rotating loading wheel.

Then there came the black screen. It's entirely solid black and flashes lines of code before finally ending with

localhost:/root#

I can't type anything even though it looks like I should be able to. I immediately looked for help online and found such suggestions as "well, boot up in single-user mode and type this". I performed a check that came out doing nothing and just returning to the same line of code. It was also suggested to hold down command, option, r and p, and wait for the computer to chime 3 times. I did that, and nothing was different. After messing around in single-user mode I always end up with the same code, something along the lines of localhost:/ I have no name!#

I have NO idea what to do with my computer. I have art projects on this this and use it almost all the time. I really need to get it working again as soon as possible but nothing I try works. The good thing is Spring Break is coming up soon and I won't need it for classes, and going down to Comp USA is a last resort for me. I would call the Apple help hotline or whatever but they aren't open until later.

I'm not a code monkey and I'm a new Mac user (just purchased in Summer of 2006). I'm just looking for some help. It's too bad that such a horrible thing has brought me to this forum, but this place seems really informative and I'll be sticking around for a while. :]

What's worse is I'm terrified of letting my dad (total PC lover) see my poor Mac in this state. He would laugh so hard. :C

 

[aijara]

Isn't there anyone who might know what's going on with my computer?

 

[bartelby]

Isn't there anyone who might know what's going on with my computer?

You need to learn some patience.
40 minutes is not long enough for most people to see your post.

 

[MacBoobsPro]

You need to learn some patience.
40 minutes is not long enough for most people to see your post.

Yeh you have posted when the US is asleep and the UK is just waking up so thr forums will be slow at the moment. The aussies however never seem to sleep.

I cant help you because it sounds quite serious and its never happened to me so couldnt possibly comment. Was it a firmware update or software?

If it was firmware and it was interupted it could of spannered something bad, but im just guessing.

 

[bartelby]

Have you tried booting from the OS CD/DVD?

 

[mad jew]

Sleepless Aussie here. What sort of Mac is it? At worst, an Archive & Install should be able to get you up and running without data loss (hopefully), but there might be a smoother solution. If you boot holding SHIFT, can you get into Safe Mode? In Single User Mode, have you tried running fsck?

 

[YanMasaryk]

I'm sure there are other ways to fix it but...
As you tell us you are not an advanced user, and you need your computer for your studies. I think it would be easiest and quickest if you booted up your mac in firewire mode (holding T on the keyboard at startup) copied all of your important stuff over to a mates computer then used the OS disks to wipe your hard drive and reinstall mac OSX, copying all your doo dahs back over. That is of course assuming it will enter firewire target disk mode. If it does not enter firewire target disk mode... Ouch -dead firmware, dead motherboard. BUT considering it is returning a promt with some semblance of the OS, that is very unlikely.
Happy troubleshooting.

 

[aijara]

I called the Apple help guys this morning after getting back from class and we went through multiple steps for about an hour and a half! @_@

Still not sure what happened to my computer in the first place, but it had something to do with the way my computer reacted to the software update I received for Extreme Airport. holding command option p and r did not work, holding shift did not work, s did not work, etc. The help guy and I finally resorted to inserting the install disk and found that not even a disk repair could be done due to an error. I'm in the process of reinstalling os x (archive, hopefully this will work and I will still have my data).

This is very disturbing to me as I barely got the computer last summer and rebooted it about 2 months ago because I planned on selling it. It's only been running (great, might I add, until now) for 2 months tops. I'm a little afraid to install any software updates anymore! I was convinced they came from a safe place! :[

Let's hope the install works! I'll keep anyone who's interested in this phenomenon posted.

 

[aijara]

Sleepless Aussie here. What sort of Mac is it? At worst, an Archive & Install should be able to get you up and running without data loss (hopefully), but there might be a smoother solution. If you boot holding SHIFT, can you get into Safe Mode? In Single User Mode, have you tried running fsck?

hullo! i was unable to boot into safe mode and yes i ran fsck, but the check didn't solve anything. it was pretty much a loop back to where i was.

this morning the computer didn't even make it to the black screen. it got stuck on the loading apple screen :c

my poor computer..

 

[aijara]

I'm sure there are other ways to fix it but...
As you tell us you are not an advanced user, and you need your computer for your studies. I think it would be easiest and quickest if you booted up your mac in firewire mode (holding T on the keyboard at startup) copied all of your important stuff over to a mates computer then used the OS disks to wipe your hard drive and reinstall mac OSX, copying all your doo dahs back over. That is of course assuming it will enter firewire target disk mode. If it does not enter firewire target disk mode... Ouch -dead firmware, dead motherboard. BUT considering it is returning a promt with some semblance of the OS, that is very unlikely.
Happy troubleshooting.

hehesadly holding t while booting did not work either i was pretty limited.

 

[aijara]

wow. my computer is REALLY messed up. while reinstalling os x (archiving) i got a message that said "there were errors installing the software, please try installing again." this is bad. :C

 

[suneohair]

I wouldnt tie the update to the problem. It sounds like your hard drive failed/is failing.

The spin up after the reboot was probably the final straw.

Honestly you should have stopped trying to fix it. With the install failing there is a chace you have damaged your data.

You hard drive is messed up. Stop now if you want to have any chace of recovering your data. do you have AppleCare? if so, get it fixed quick and then try to get the data off, if there is anything left.

 

[aijara]

I wouldnt tie the update to the problem. It sounds like your hard drive failed/is failing.

The spin up after the reboot was probably the final straw.

Honestly you should have stopped trying to fix it. With the install failing there is a chace you have damaged your data.

You hard drive is messed up. Stop now if you want to have any chace of recovering your data. do you have AppleCare? if so, get it fixed quick and then try to get the data off, if there is anything left.

yeah, after i called the applecare guy and what he told me to do didn't work, i just left the poor computer alone. if not even the experts can tell me what's wrong... :/

anyway, i went to comp usa earlier today and they said i would be able to bring it in for repairs. i'll see what they can do.

i just don't understand how my harddrive could go bad when i haven't even owned the computer for a full year. i guess i'll find out when i take it in to get fixed.

 

[NightFlight]

HDs can fail at any time, and yes even under a year.... It is uncommon though.

 

[velocityg4]

Be sure they don't just get rid of your hard drive though. I know that under Applecare if you have a bad hard drive they simply replace it.

What I do not know is if they take your hard drive to be refurbished or just throw it away. Ask the repair person if your hard drive is defective will they return it to you so that you can send it to a recover expert.

Assuming it has failed does it make a ticking or grinding sound. Then your read head could be damaged resulting in a very difficult recovery, if it scratched the disk surface. If not making any noises then it may be a failure in the drives board that can make recovery less difficult, as there would not be any damage to the drives platters.

 

[aijara]

Be sure they don't just get rid of your hard drive though. I know that under Applecare if you have a bad hard drive they simply replace it.

What I do not know is if they take your hard drive to be refurbished or just throw it away. Ask the repair person if your hard drive is defective will they return it to you so that you can send it to a recover expert.

Assuming it has failed does it make a ticking or grinding sound. Then your read head could be damaged resulting in a very difficult recovery, if it scratched the disk surface. If not making any noises then it may be a failure in the drives board that can make recovery less difficult, as there would not be any damage to the drives platters.

I've already given the computer to the repair people and right now they are just trying to figure out what's wrong with it. They'll keep me informed.

 

[mad jew]

For future reference, if Disk Utility can't perform repairs on your disk then don't do an Archive & Install. That's just asking for trouble. In this situation, I'd try and get data off the disk through either Target Disk Mode or an enclosure, and then I'd reformat the drive. Nevertheless, hopefully the repair guys will be able to get you back up and running soon.