Deleted "usr" System Library on Powerbook G4

[ebea]

Hello there. First time poster and I'm a bit panicky. I searched through the forums and found a similar problem that got solved here.

My only problem is that I don't have another Mac computer around, and I don't have a start up disk either. Is there some other way to fix this? I do not know how to do any other strategies because I'm a bit of a Mac idiot to be quite honest.

I would really appreciate some help. Thank you.

 

[J the Ninja]

How the hell did you manage to delete /usr?

Do you have a Time Machine backup? You could use that, just use this code in the Terminal to get it to show up in the backup window:

defaults write com.apple.finder AppleShowAllFiles '1'
killall Finder


If not, and you can't find your startup disk, I'd recommend just finding a torrent of the startup disk, and using that to do an Archive and Install. Make sure it is of a retail disk for whatever version of OS X you have.

 

[ebea]

Like in the other thread, I was deleting some unneeded files and made the mistake of deleting the "usr" library. I know, stupid move.

I don't have Time Machine Backup I think. Right now, my Powerbook just loads the gray screen with the logo and does that never ending loading wheel thing. I don't know what to do next.

I'm going to try and find a torrent of the startup disk right now. When I do though, is it possible for me just to copy the /usr library instead of running the whole startup disk?

 

[snberk103]

If you can, buy a retail copy of the startup disk. Ethics and all that aside, hackers have started to target Mac users by putting trojans into some of the torrent downloads. So far, they have used iWork downloads, and the Photoshop key cracker. But, there is no guarantee that other Apple software is not already infected.

Additionally, if you have a retail copy you can call Apple - hopefully they will help you out.

I don't know what the proper installation sequence is for this, so can't help you there. But, Good Luck. I know that this is no fun.

 

[J the Ninja]

Not that I'm aware of. Just burn the image to a DVD, load it up and do an Archive and Install. Should get things mostly back to normal. And a few lessons you should take away from this:

-ALWAYS have a backup!
-Don't erase things that are hidden in the Finder.
-Don't erase things that are in the File Hierarchy Standard.
-ALWAYS know where you system disk is.
-If you don't know what it does, don't touch it!

 

[ebea]

Thanks for all the help guys. I'm downloading a torrent of the 10.4 startup disk now. If only I was lucky enough to be in a country that had Apple stores all over. Unfortunately I don't think any of the computer shops here would even know how to fix my problem if I asked.

And yes I'll always keep in mind the things I shouldn't do next time. Whew. My /usr library wasn't hidden in Finder though. So yeah, I should never ever touch that again.

I'll update when I'm having problems. Thanks again.

ETA: If I install the startup disk? Will I lose the files on my Powerbook? It may be a stupid question once again but I just wanted to know beforehand.

 

[ebea]

I now have the startup disks but I can't manage to let it load or whatever. I've already inserted the CD, but then the gray screen with the logo and loading thing just comes on. Is there some kind of command I need to enter in order to let the CD load?

And I can't get the CD out when I press the F12 button. *shakes head* I'm close to giving up.

ETA: Nevermind. I got things to work. Thanks for all the help again guys. Greatly appreciated.