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Can't reboot after interrupted software update

C

carl201167

macrumors regular
Original poster
May 31, 2005
135
1
London, UK
My dad, who lives elsewhere in the country, has called me in a panic to say his mac won't start up.

It seems that he interrupted a software update (the recent quicktime one I think) by shutting down thinking it was complete.

Now when he tries to start up, he is locked in an endless grey screen

I suggested holding shift whilst booting to go into start mode, but that did nothing

Is there anything else worth trying? He's not got a backup so a clean re-install is the last option
 
thanks, though....

1. does archive & re-install retain apps? (I know he can re-install, but...)

2. Forgive my ignorance, but does this option install the OS a second time? If so, he may well not have enough room on his mac :eek:
 
robbieduncan said:
Really? I've not done it for a long time. I thought it archived the old system an kept it until you decided you didn't need it any more?
Click to expand...

Unless something major has changed recently, this is what Archive & Install does. It renames your System folder "Old System" and installs a new one, leaving everything else, including user directories, intact.
 
IJ Reilly said:
Unless something major has changed recently, this is what Archive & Install does. It renames your System folder "Old System" and installs a new one, leaving everything else, including user directories, intact.
Click to expand...

I had the same proble,, getting grey screen with spinning wheel and Apple Logo after having interrupted by mistake a software update

Does Archive & reinstall REINSTALLS the original OS that shipped with the MAC (that would make sense ?). If then is up to the user to re-update the shipped version with the latest version ? In my case it shipped wih MAC OS 10.4.9. Does it mean I will have to reinstall MAC OS Leopard and all ist updates ?

Thanks
 
tamim2008 said:
I had the same proble,, getting grey screen with spinning wheel and Apple Logo after having interrupted by mistake a software update

Does Archive & reinstall REINSTALLS the original OS that shipped with the MAC (that would make sense ?). If then is up to the user to re-update the shipped version with the latest version ? In my case it shipped wih MAC OS 10.4.9. Does it mean I will have to reinstall MAC OS Leopard and all ist updates ?

Thanks
Click to expand...

Yes, if you use the original grey disks that came with your machine it will put the original system on it (10.4.9 or below). If, however, you purchased Leopard (can't update from 10.4->10.5 through Software Update) you can use that disk to Archive and Install, which is perfectly fine (no need to install 10.4 to install 10.5. I don't believe there are simple upgrade disks out there like that). It will start out as the base system (10.5.0, or 10.5.4 if you have a newer disk) and will need to be updated through the Software Update. Archive and Install (Preserving User and Settings) will save your Home folder and rename the old system folder to Previous System. So you will need a bit of extra space, ~10-15gb if you do the base install, less than 10gb if you chose not to install language packs/fonts/extra printer drivers (as iLife and such isn't going to be installed). As long as your confident no old important data in in the previous system folder, it can be trashed.

Some big third party apps like Adobe may need to be reinstalled. Most regular apps will be fine.

A&I is done by booting up from either system disk you have (grey or retail Leopard) while holding down the C key. It might take 2 tries as you'll have to turn on the machine in order to put the disk in, and then restart again while holding down C to boot from it. Let it through its course, and when it asks you to chose your destination for the install, make sure you click the Options button on the bottom, which will allow you to select Archive and Install and preserve user name, hit OK and then advance to the next screen to customize and finally install.
 
madog said:
Some big third party apps like Adobe may need to be reinstalled. Most regular apps will be fine.
Click to expand...

Actually, to my surprise, I've found that CS3 works with no problem after an archive & install. I haven't even needed to re-register.

Be sure to select the option to keep user and network settings during the install process. It makes everything much easier later on; you're basically just a software update away from where you were before the crash.
 
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