Please Please Plese Help, Serious Problem With Os X 10.4.7 Update

[daliscar55]

i installed the new 10.4.7 update onto my dual 867 mirrored mac yesterday along with the new security update and java update. upon the normal restart to activate message, the computer rebooted and stayed on the apple grey logo/white screen for nearly an hour. i made the decision to turn off the mac via the front power switch and rebooted. still the same problem. i have the original tiger software (mine only comes with one install disc and ive seen other posts on here that theirs come with two? i also have panther discs) to re-install but cant make it to the log-in screen, either using shift key or 'c' while disc is in drive. another aspect of this problem is that my internal optical drive is faulty and wont recognise any discs so im relying on my external firewire lacie dvd drive. this has helped in the past to install software but now im worried its not recognising it as the primary drive. the fan was making lots of noise throughout the hour i left it on so i figure it is trying to do something, but i cannot figure out what. can anyone give me some advice here? i am not really computer profficient, only know the basics and this is scaring the hell out of me as my life is on that thing!!!!

any help is greatly appreciated and ive noticed that a few people are having the same problem, i would say at this early stage of the update, if youre not sure you need it, dont download it! i wish i hadnt

 

[benthewraith]

Hmm, sounds like it's time to get a new computer or get the cd drive in your computer fixed.

 

[daliscar55]

dont say things like that, its not nice! there is always a way to sort these things out, i just need someone who is a bit more knowledgable to help

 

[simie]

If the optical drive is faulty then really I would replace it. As you won't get very far if it can't read your install disks.

I would try resetting your pram

Resetting PRAM and NVRAM

Shut down the computer.
Locate the following keys on the keyboard: Command, Option, P, and R. You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously in step 4.
Turn on the computer.
Press and hold the Command-Option-P-R keys. You must press this key combination before the gray screen appears.
Hold the keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the startup sound for the second time.
Release the keys.

Or go into Open Firmware

Start up into Open Firmware by pressing and holding the Command-Option-O-F key combination during startup.
At the Open Firmware prompt, type: reset-nvram
Press Return.
When prompted for your password, enter it and press the Return key.
It responds OK.
At the Open Firmware prompt, type: reset-all
Press Return.

then reboot

If that fails to boot then try to Start up in Single-User or Verbose Mode

. Shut down the computer if it is on.
2. Press the power button to start the computer.
3. Immediately press and hold the Command (Apple) key and one of the following:
the "s" key for single-user mode.
the "v" key for verbose mode.
4. To exit single-user mode type: reboot
5. Press Return.

 

[daliscar55]

thanks paul. my external dvd drive will read disks and has done in the past, i dont see any reason why it shouldnt now. holding down 'c' does nothing, i held it for almost 20 mins (picture the scene) ande shift does nothing either, just stays on the white /grey apple screen. i am currently in firmware and am trying to figure out a way to manually boot from there. any ideas? i have a second mac in my house which im typing this on, thank god for housemates

i will try your suggestions, will reseting pram/nvram have any long term effects?

aaargh yes after a little research resetting nvram resets to factory settings correct? id really like to avoid that if possible! or does it save data stored on the hard drive? im scared


ok, reset pram and nvram, now just a massive greyapple/white screen and no login. with the single user and verbose mode what should i do once in them?

 

[baleensavage]

If you're in Single User mode (white text on a black background) then you can try to type fsck -f. That does a basic disk repair. Repeat until it says it found no problems. Also you should be able to hold down the option key on startup. Make sure your CD drive is plugged in with the OS X disk in it before you reboot and it should show up in the list of hard drives that come up.

If those dont work I would recommend connecting your two computers by firewire and booting into target disk mode. Instructions here http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=58583

You can then run a clean install of 10.4 and all that Jazz.

 

[baleensavage]

Hmm, sounds like it's time to get a new computer or get the cd drive in your computer fixed.

The mirroed door G4s have plenty of life left in them. No need to go get a new computer. A new CD drive would be a good idea though. You can get internal drives pretty cheap.

 

[daliscar55]

thanks, i fully intend to. its only just got faulty iand i did intend to get a new one, but then this happens. so im stuck at the moment. ive got to the stage where i can boot from my ecternal dvd drive with tiger disk, but as soon as i highlight the tiger install disk pane, the mac kernel panics. any ideas? and i cant get into single user mode, command-s doesnt seem to get me into it......

it wont seem to let me into single user mode, is there an altenative keying for entering single user mode? what is the difference with verbose mode?

 

[daliscar55]

thanks for the help everone, it was just a simple case of unplugging my external hard drive to stop it kernel panicking, then i could re-install tiger via original disks. again, if anyone is not sure about installing the new update, i would say dont bother. its caused me a lot of problems.......