Fixing BSOD with a time machine back up

[f7digital]

Hello,

Hopefully this is an easy one, but need some guidance...
I have recently encountered the GSOD (w/ spinning wheel) and then the BSOD (which flashes between dark and light forever).

Hopefully my set up will save me in the long run, here's what I have:
A G5 desktop Power PC w/ two internal drives. I have one whole drive devoted as my back up which Time Machine performs regular hourly back ups to.
Then my main hard drive is partitioned with an "eDrive" so I can boot up from it for times like this! I have booted from the eDrive and performed the basic litany of tests from TechTool and verified/repaired disk from Disk Utility -- all checks out ok (but, still doesn't boot)
Also zapped PRAM and repaired permissions.

I really suspected my Firefox to be the culprit since it wouldn't launch ("extra copy still open") right before the mac went down. So I deleted the invisible file ".parentlock" from its profile folder - but no dice, still won't start.

My next thought is hey, I have regular backups! BUT I don't own a Leopard install disk! So-- HERE'S MY QUESTION: Is there a simple way to use my back up to restore the probable part of my system files/folders that may be causing the hang up? Or do I need to go buy a Leopard install disk so I can use it to go through the restore process. I do have a good mac restore shop, but I'm trying to avoid the probable 250.00 fee to fix this!

Thanks for any help!

 

[wrldwzrd89]

You won't need to reinstall Leopard, most likely. You WILL need to boot the Mac from another disk other than the problematic one, in order to replace system files. If you have a bootable clone on an external drive (made with Carbon Copy Cloner or SuperDuper!), now's the time to use it.

 

[f7digital]

Isn't booting from a partitioned part of the problematic drive (since I can) good enough?
If not, I guess I need to go get that install disc.
If so how do I do the restore?
Thanks!

 

[wrldwzrd89]

Isn't booting from a partitioned part of the problematic drive (since I can) good enough?
If not, I guess I need to go get that install disc.
If so how do I do the restore?
Thanks!

Depends. If that partition contains another Mac OS X installation, then you should be just fine. If it has something other than Mac OS X installed, you'll probably need special software (unless that other OS is Mac OS 9, but even then it won't work so well) to read the HFS Plus format.

Anyway, assuming you've successfully booted from an alternate startup disk, you'll need to manually browse the Time Machine backup for the files you want to replace, and copy 'em over. You will almost certainly run into permission problems, but these can be overcome by temporarily disabling ownership for the destination drive (make sure you re-enable it again!).

 

[f7digital]

Still need help! I don't have a clue which files to copy over. Is this something I should automate w/ a new install?