repair disc permissions error

[munshi]

hello,
i have a problem that everytime i restart my imac (late 2007) i get the blinking folder for 15 minutes up to a couple of hours then it starts up normally. i tried clearing up the PRAM. reset the SMC. and it still happens.
i tried to do from the system a repair disc permissions and i got back one error that cannot be fixed which was

<quote> Warning:SUID file"System/Library/CoreServices/RemoteManagement/ARDAgent.app/Contents?MacOS/ARDAgent" has been modified and will not be repaired.</quote>

i have even tried to fix the error from the bootable CD, but same error. i even upgraded to snow leopard but no apparent change. i dont even know if this is the cause of the problem. but all other stuff is OK. even the boot CD hardware thorough check was all ok.

i still get some noise of the fan when i boot up for a couple of minutes then it goes away.but temperatures are quite good and fan speed is around 800rpm at the moment and no sound is to be heard.

 

[GGJstudios]

Mac OS X: Disk Utility's Repair Disk Permissions messages that you can safely ignore

 

[calderone]

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1448?viewlocale=en_US

That permission is unrelated to your issue.

 

[munshi]

ok...that is great. that excludes the error in the system permissions. so what can i do about the blinking folder with the question mark. i tried clearing the PRAM, zapping the SMC. and the hardware test is all ok. hard drive working well. any ideas on what to check else

 

[GGJstudios]

Mac OS X: Gray screen appears during startup

 

[munshi]

i followed the steps on the link posted and again the problem occurred. and now some even weirder stuff is happening.
if i get the grey screen and i put in the OSX disc and try to boot up from it, it fails and ejects the disc. and i dont even get the mac chime at the beginning.

i tried that with ubuntu CD and same thing. but after a couple of hours it accepts booting from the disc and does not detect any HDD.

after a couple of more hours. ubuntu is able to detect the HDD, performed a thorough check and all is fine and then inserting the OSX disc does seem to get it up and running.

just to clear it up. i did the PRAM reset, performed a clean fresh install of the OS. but still the problem is there.

i thought the HDD might be bust, but if thats the case, why doesnt it boot up from the OSX disc or the ubuntu CD and ejects them? can it be a logicboard problem? and how can i fix that?