Not Showing User At Startup

[dooo]

Hey guys. I just upgraded to Leopard on my Macbook and after the upgrade, the username and password prompt came up. I entered my username and password, but then it came back to the prompt, signifying that it wasn't correct.

I tried numerous passwords and no success. I pressed back to see if I was listed as a user, but all it said was "Other...". It seems like my account has gone away, but after checking the the "Reset Password" feature, my account is still there. I even changed the password, but I couldn't still log in. What can I do to log back in?

 

[BobZune]

Try the solutions posted at
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1543

 

[dooo]

Thank you for the suggestion. I had some trouble while doing it. After step 6, the list of users are shown. Mine shows:
.Ds_Store .localized Shared myusersname


Then after step 8, it says:
delete: Invalid Path
<dscl_cmd> DS Error: -14009 (eDSUnknownNodeName)

And after step 10, it tells me that the username shown from step 6 is an unknown username. That is strange since in list of usernames, it shows that my username does exist. What is wrong?

 

[dooo]

?

 

[BobZune]

Some other options are at http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1541 but the link in the previous message is the most relevant to your problem. Other than that, you may want to apply the latest COMBO update from the Apple software downloads (not using the apple menu software download option) and see if there is any progress.

If you describe what version you upgraded FROM and TO (I assume 10.5.5). and if there were any other quirks, may be someone can help better. Otherwise, back up important data and doing an archive and install is an option you may want to consider (or manual clean up of your current installation, since nothing's missing, from what you have said/implied).

 

[dooo]

Thank you for the suggestion. How would I back up my data if I am not able to log in or applying the COMBO update? There is no other account I can log into to except for the one that it is not recognizing. By the way, I am updating from 10.4.x Tiger. I forgot exactly what version it was.

 

[BobZune]

It is worth a call to Apple support (I originally thought you had at least one working account).

Or you can do an Archive and Install (then check the "Previous Systems" folder Under "Machintosh HD" for older material after the new A&I install).

[Be careful NOT to select the Erase & Install].

Let us know the status.

 

[dooo]

Oh ok. If I do an Archive and Install, would I now have 2 copies of the upgrade on my HDD? Also, someone told me that if I do that kind of install, it might just be going in circles, but I guess it's worth a shot.

 

[BobZune]

You'll have the "new" install plus one copy of the old one. See http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1544 for a better explanation.

It is worth doing -- if that fails to give you an account you can log into (after you try that earlier fix), then at least you have more information before you call Apple.

[In case of continued trouble, you can use the Firewire Target Disk method to back up the data, if you have access to another mac.]

 

[dooo]

Thank you for your suggestions. I greatly appreciate it. I will give this a try and update about the status.