Stuck at Login Screen

[playmakerx]

After a seemingly successful install of Mojave, I'm now stuck at login screen. Every time it says "Your password is required to enable Touch ID", but after I input the password, the screen goes dark for 2 seconds, with cursor on the upper left corner, then it goes back to the login screen again. I went into the safe mode, and deleted all login items from the preferences. Also tried to disable Touch ID, but didn't find it there. Any ideas to solve this?
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UPDATE: managed to disable Touch ID from terminal in Recovery Mode. After reboot, the issue persists. So it's not related to Touch ID then. Still looking for fix...

 

[BLUEDOG314]

Try nuking plist files for the user related to say desktop settings, finder, etc.

 

[playmakerx]

Try nuking plist files for the user related to say desktop settings, finder, etc.

Thanks man. I used sudo mv command to rename the Preferences folder (under affected account name) to Preferences-Old, rebooted, and then could log in to the affected account. Then I ruled out some outdated/unwanted plist files from the Preferences-Old folder, and copy the rest to the new Preferenes folder. Another reboot and all is fine now. Thanks a lot for the direction.

 

[Offsetwooh]

Thanks man. I used sudo mv command to rename the Preferences folder (under affected account name) to Preferences-Old, rebooted, and then could log in to the affected account. Then I ruled out some outdated/unwanted plist files from the Preferences-Old folder, and copy the rest to the new Preferenes folder. Another reboot and all is fine now. Thanks a lot for the direction.

Could you ELI5? Am ignorant and would like this issue fixed too. Thanks!

 

[BLUEDOG314]

Thanks man. I used sudo mv command to rename the Preferences folder (under affected account name) to Preferences-Old, rebooted, and then could log in to the affected account. Then I ruled out some outdated/unwanted plist files from the Preferences-Old folder, and copy the rest to the new Preferenes folder. Another reboot and all is fine now. Thanks a lot for the direction.

Good to hear it. plist files are often overlooked when it comes to stuff like this.

 

[Pinandi]

Thanks man. I used sudo mv command to rename the Preferences folder (under affected account name) to Preferences-Old, rebooted, and then could log in to the affected account. Then I ruled out some outdated/unwanted plist files from the Preferences-Old folder, and copy the rest to the new Preferenes folder. Another reboot and all is fine now. Thanks a lot for the direction.

Can you explain step by step? cause i dont understand about how to play command and I have exactly same problem like you. Please help me, thanks.

 

[playmakerx]

Can you explain step by step? cause i dont understand about how to play command and I have exactly same problem like you. Please help me, thanks.

Could you ELI5? Am ignorant and would like this issue fixed too. Thanks!

What I did is basically:
1. Boot computer in safe mode, and log in to the problematic account.
2. Open Finder, click Go in menu bar, press option to choose Library.
3. Open Terminal app and type sudo mv, then drag the Preferences folder from Library folder to terminal window, then change it to a different name and/or directory, for example: sudo mv /Users/yourname/Library/Preferences /Users/yourname/Documents/Preferences-Old
4. Reboot and I'm able to log in to DAT account. But perhaps I still want my useful preferences back and want to know which files were the cause. So I move some files from Preferences-Old to Preferences folder in Library, and reboot to check if I can still log in normally. If yes, I move some other files back. If not, I repeat step 3 to name the Preferences folder to something different (so to keep different versions of Preferences backup), and try again, until I rule out good files and identify the culprit ones.

 

[Pinandi]

What I did is basically:
1. Boot computer in safe mode, and log in to the problematic account.
2. Open Finder, click Go in menu bar, press option to choose Library.
3. Open Terminal app and type sudo mv, then drag the Preferences folder from Library folder to terminal window, then change it to a different name and/or directory, for example: sudo mv /Users/yourname/Library/Preferences /Users/yourname/Documents/Preferences-Old
4. Reboot and I'm able to log in to DAT account. But perhaps I still want my useful preferences back and want to know which files were the cause. So I move some files from Preferences-Old to Preferences folder in Library, and reboot to check if I can still log in normally. If yes, I move some other files back. If not, I repeat step 3 to name the Preferences folder to something different (so to keep different versions of Preferences backup), and try again, until I rule out good files and identify the culprit ones.

i have tried this, but terminal result of sudo mv always showing this:
mv: rename /Users/Macbook/Library/Preferences to /Users/Macbook/Desktop/Preferences-Old: Operation not permitted

I don't know why. Is it same when delete the preferences folder after copying it to directory folder? can you help me again? Thanks for reply.

 

[playmakerx]

i have tried this, but terminal result of sudo mv always showing this:
mv: rename /Users/Macbook/Library/Preferences to /Users/Macbook/Desktop/Preferences-Old: Operation not permitted

I don't know why. Is it same when delete the preferences folder after copying it to directory folder? can you help me again? Thanks for reply.

Hmm, you might need to turn off SIP it seems.

 

[Pinandi]

Hmm, you might need to turn off SIP it seems.

Okay i'll try this

EDIT: THANKYOU SO MUCH! IT WORKS! But, it's like resetting the settings of user right? Is this user gonna be stuck at login again if I copy all of preferences-old files to preferences(new) folder? And, am I must enable the SIP again or not? Once again, thank you!

 

[playmakerx]

Okay i'll try this

EDIT: THANKYOU SO MUCH! IT WORKS! But, it's like resetting the settings of user right? Is this user gonna be stuck at login again if I copy all of preferences-old files to preferences(new) folder? And, am I must enable the SIP again or not? Once again, thank you!

That preferences folder contains your settings for system and apps. So if you don't want to configure them all over again, you might want the useful ones back.
As I said previously, I could only manually paste back files, see if I could still log in, and gradually narrow down to the problematic .plist files, as I don't know how to judge from the system log, especially when there're hundreds of plist files.

 

[Pinandi]

That preferences folder contains your settings for system and apps. So if you don't want to configure them all over again, you might want the useful ones back.
As I said previously, I could only manually paste back files, see if I could still log in, and gradually narrow down to the problematic .plist files, as I don't know how to judge from the system log, especially when there're hundreds of plist files.

Okay thankyou! So much knowledge that i got here. Once again, thankyou!

 

[LongZheng]

I also ran into an issue after upgrading from High Sierra to PB1, the first login was successful but then subsequently I was stuck at the login screen with the progress bar at 100%. Restart didn't work. Safe mode didn't work.

I finally fixed it by booting into Recovery with CMD+R and then restoring using Time Machine using what appears to be a restore point made by the Mojave installer.

 

[Swampthing]

Well, you think this would’ve been fixed BEFORE they released the product. After just installing the final release, I keep getting booted back to the login screen. Safe mode doesn’t fix it. Restart doesn’t fix it. No time machine back up made by Mohave. So my last resort is reinstalling Mojave…

 

[fixius]

I've got the same thing on my 2017 iMac 5K. Absolutely zero idea what to do to fix it. Currently can't even get it to boot into safe mode. How does Apple have a beta for 3 months and this issue still happen on release?

 

[Swampthing]

I’d really like to know how many people reported this during the beta instead of commenting about it on forums. That might’ve made a difference. I’ve reinstalled Mojave, and I’m still stuck.

 

[Jennglans]

Same issue. I login, see some Apps getting booted and 20 seconds after that I am at the login screen once again. Any solution for this infinite loop?

 

[Swampthing]

Everything seemed to work fine on my iMac 5K, but the Mac Pro is still stuck at the log in screen over and over. Is there a way to enter terminal mode and delete the preferences before logging in?

 

[mattrichards]

I've got the same issue on a brand new Macbook Pro. Installed Mojave and after the installation process, the initial login screen accepts my credentials, shows the desktop for 5-10 seconds, then goes back to login.

I spoke with an Apple tech about it today, and we tried reinstalling Mojave. No dice. We then booted into recovery mode, launched Disk Utility to mount the drive, then Terminal to remove "/Volumes/Macintosh HD/var/db/.AppleSetupDone" and reboot. That sent me back to the setup process after install. I created another user and had exactly the same issue with that user. They have escalated the issue and I have a call with them in two hours.

Has anyone with the issue post-release for Mojave tried moving/renaming/deleting /Users/yourname/Library/Preferences?

 

[Swampthing]

I think this glaring issue highlights some of the serious problems with the current beta program. Why is Apple just learning about this problem now when this thread has been discussing it since June? Didn't anyone report the bug to Apple? People seem to be using it to get firsthand access to software, finding solutions on MacRumors, and moving onward without telling Apple. That's not how the beta is supposed to work...

 

[alexander258954]

I also have this problem and just tried moving ~/Library/Preferences with Recovery Mode but when I booted back into Mojave the issue persisted. I’ve also tried turning off FileVault, disabling the firmware password, erasing the drive and reinstalling High Sierra on it in an unencrypted partition this time (then I restored from a time machine back-up and downloaded Mojave). I’ve also tried removing all my start-up items. None of these have given me any luck.

P.S. I found out today you can’t boot into Safe Mode if FileVault is enabled, so if anyone is having problems booting into Safe Mode keep that in mind.

I've got the same issue on a brand new Macbook Pro. Installed Mojave and after the installation process, the initial login screen accepts my credentials, shows the desktop for 5-10 seconds, then goes back to login.

I spoke with an Apple tech about it today, and we tried reinstalling Mojave. No dice. We then booted into recovery mode, launched Disk Utility to mount the drive, then Terminal to remove "/Volumes/Macintosh HD/var/db/.AppleSetupDone" and reboot. That sent me back to the setup process after install. I created another user and had exactly the same issue with that user. They have escalated the issue and I have a call with them in two hours.

Has anyone with the issue post-release for Mojave tried moving/renaming/deleting /Users/yourname/Library/Preferences?

[doublepost=1537841412][/doublepost]You know it’s interesting how I actually installed the public beta of Mojave on a second partition several weeks ago and successfully used I without issue, but now that the final release is available suddenly I can’t log in without getting kicked out to the lock screen within 5 seconds! I thought problems were supposed to happen in the beta not after! Lol

I think this glaring issue highlights some of the serious problems with the current beta program. Why is Apple just learning about this problem now when this thread has been discussing it since June? Didn't anyone report the bug to Apple? People seem to be using it to get firsthand access to software, finding solutions on MacRumors, and moving onward without telling Apple. That's not how the beta is supposed to work...

 

[Artakamoose]

I’m having the same issue. Safe Mode doesn’t help. I also tried booting into the recovery partition to reinstall Mojave but it says I can’t do that since I don’t have a metal compatible card (which I do) or have file vault enabled (which I don’t). I’m going to call Apple in the AM to report all these issues and then recover from my HS backup.

 

[mattrichards]

Resolution uncovered here: https://discussions.apple.com/thread/8551889

Looks to be issues with audio plugins. For many, it stemmed from software from Razer.

 

[Jennglans]

Trying to delete the library but I'm having difficulties. I searched for the correct path but I always get the response the file or directory doesn't exist. Can you spot the mistake?

 

[mattrichards]

Trying to delete the library but I'm having difficulties. I searched for the correct path but I always get the response the file or directory doesn't exist. Can you spot the mistake?

Make sure that you have used Disk Utility to mount the drive before you try to access it via Terminal. See the other thread for detailed instructions.