kernel error - cannot start iMac (lion 10.7.2) !!! Please help :)

[eroxx]

I have been having the same kernel error for about a month now.
I wasn't doing much about it, because every time I restarted, it would work.

It just took me about 15 times restarting to get the iMac to boot up.

I have tried booting in safe mode (which works, but then I get the kernel panic the next time). I have tried unplugging all usb drives. I am at a total loss.

I DO have everything backed up under time machine ....

Is there anything I can do????

 

[Macman45]

Okay

I have been having the same kernel error for about a month now.
I wasn't doing much about it, because every time I restarted, it would work.

It just took me about 15 times restarting to get the iMac to boot up.

I have tried booting in safe mode (which works, but then I get the kernel panic the next time). I have tried unplugging all usb drives. I am at a total loss.

I DO have everything backed up under time machine ....

Is there anything I can do????

If you can still boot into Lion, run disk utility and check your HDD (Verify) If that comes up okay, Verify and repair disk permissions but I'm thinking you have a failing hard drive. Backup all you can before using the DU option.

 

[eroxx]

disc is fine (just checked).

permissions came back a bit wonky but I feel like I've tried this before ... anything else I can do?

Also, might be worth noting that iTunes is starting automatically. I have my iphone and ipad set NOT to automatically launch .. could that be related?!

 

[Macman45]

Sounds Like HDD

disc is fine (just checked).

permissions came back a bit wonky but I feel like I've tried this before ... anything else I can do?

Fail to me. But if the disk comes back okay, a clean install will confirm. Make sure your backups are up to date before you re-install.

 

[eroxx]

Thanks for the quick reply ... what to you mean "fail to me?"

I've never done a backup before ---> What exactly do I do? Thanks!

 

[Macman45]

Sorry

Thanks for the quick reply ... what to you mean "fail to me?"

I've never done a backup before ---> What exactly do I do? Thanks!

I have a habit of including the title of my posts with the first sentence.

Have you used Time Machine before? It's a built in feature that backs up your system on an hourly / daily basis.

in the top right hand side of the task bar you should see a little stopwatch icon. you really need an external device such as a USB hard drive that you can connect in order to safely backup your system.

When I said HDD fail, I meant it sounds like your internal hard disk might be on its way out. Before you do anything drastic, grab a cheap USB hard drive These are pretty cheap, and its better than losing all your data...Some suggestions:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&...x=aps&hvadid=9487056181&ref=pd_sl_18vbop4xy_b

Buying one of these, you can backup and later restore prior to the re-installation I mentioned above.

 

[eroxx]

Everything is already backed up to an external 3 TB drive through time machine -- I just don't know how to restore?