So, I get home today, open up my MacBook, and attempt to connect to my shared documents drive (an external drive attached to my MacMini). Surprisingly, it won't connect. Then, after a short time, it connects me as a Guest. This doesn't seem right to me, so I click Screen Sharing. It refuses to accept my login. Okay, irritating, but not unsolvable. I change my TV to HDMI 1 (the MacMini's video connection) and pick up my wireless keyboard and mouse. I navigate to the System Preferences. Nothing shows up. Well, that's just precious. After waiting for about ten minutes, System Preferences decides to actually show itself (*insert mini hooray here*). Only problem: I can't do anything. I'm logged in as an administrator, odd. Well, no problem, I decide I'll just fix it the same way most other computer problems are resolved (restart). Here comes the fun part!
I can't restart the computer. Why? Well, apparently, I'm not an administrator and, as there are other people logged into the computer, I can't restart without administrative approval (since other users might lose data). None of the other user accounts work either. Well, not much else I can do...so I force the computer to shut down (holding the power button). It reboots successfully (sort of). Once the computer boots up, I'm greeted with the welcome video for Leopard. There are very few ways to think that bodes well. At least it started, I guess.
I decide I may as well just go through the setup process and I attempt to create a user account (Someone // Password). It accepts the information, then goes right back to the welcome video and asks me to perform the initial setup again (I try once more, and it fails once more). Well...I decide there's one last option here (at least one last option before I execute a Time Machine restore). I pop in the Leopard install DVD and navigate to Disk Utility. Everything checks out fine on my internal disk and my external disk (I decided to repair the external disk just for the Hell of it) with the small exception of a permission error on some part of Front Row. I reboot...and nothing happens. The Mini is now stuck in an infinite reboot cycle (white screen with grey apple >> random reboot >> white screen with grey apple >> random reboot, ad nauseam).
I boot from the Leopard DVD again and restore from a Time Machine backup from yesterday (hooray Time Machine).
So, after a couple hours of oodles of fun...I'm fifteen minutes away from my MacMini being functional again, my documents being accessible, and my HTPC being usable. My only question: does anyone have any idea what in all Hell happened?
I can't restart the computer. Why? Well, apparently, I'm not an administrator and, as there are other people logged into the computer, I can't restart without administrative approval (since other users might lose data). None of the other user accounts work either. Well, not much else I can do...so I force the computer to shut down (holding the power button). It reboots successfully (sort of). Once the computer boots up, I'm greeted with the welcome video for Leopard. There are very few ways to think that bodes well. At least it started, I guess.
I decide I may as well just go through the setup process and I attempt to create a user account (Someone // Password). It accepts the information, then goes right back to the welcome video and asks me to perform the initial setup again (I try once more, and it fails once more). Well...I decide there's one last option here (at least one last option before I execute a Time Machine restore). I pop in the Leopard install DVD and navigate to Disk Utility. Everything checks out fine on my internal disk and my external disk (I decided to repair the external disk just for the Hell of it) with the small exception of a permission error on some part of Front Row. I reboot...and nothing happens. The Mini is now stuck in an infinite reboot cycle (white screen with grey apple >> random reboot >> white screen with grey apple >> random reboot, ad nauseam).
I boot from the Leopard DVD again and restore from a Time Machine backup from yesterday (hooray Time Machine).
So, after a couple hours of oodles of fun...I'm fifteen minutes away from my MacMini being functional again, my documents being accessible, and my HTPC being usable. My only question: does anyone have any idea what in all Hell happened?
