Resolved URGENT: HELP!! I Screwed up my eMac!

[MatthewLTL]

I used Secrets and tweaked a bunch of settings including OpenGL (Secrets automatically checked it) and also turned off BeamSync now i can't use the mac! It boots but that's about it. The Finder is the only thing that works nothing opens i cannot open any programs at all cant open System Preferences either! I tried to boot into Safe Mode but that didn't help a thing!!!!!

HELP ME PLEASE!!!!

 

[Intell]

I told you not to touch the beamsync settings.

 

[MatthewLTL]

I told you not to touch the beamsync settings.

I didnt even see that post til 30 seconds ago and i dont think that is the issue

 

[poiihy]

If you have another Mac then connect the eMac with target disk mode and find that configuration file and change the setting back.

If you don't have another Mac you could try an Ubuntu LiveCD.

 

[Xernicus]

Alrighty right, let's see if we can't get this thing back churning away with minimal effort.

Let's turn back on BeamSync, as the CRT monitor in the eMac requires it. Boot into Single-User Mode (Command+S at chime until you see the UNIX shell appear), and type this in:

"sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.apple.windowserver Compositor -dict deferredUpdates 1" (Minus quotes)

Now go ahead and give your eMac a reboot by typing in "reboot" minus the quotes. Let us know how it goes.

 

[eyoungren]

I didnt even see that post til 30 seconds ago and i dont think that is the issue

Look. We are all here to help. But if you keep asking questions and ignoring the answers we give you because you think they are irrelevant or incorrect then we cannot help you.

If the answers we give you are not the ones you are expecting or don't square with what you think the answer should be, why bother asking questions? Just go with your answers. Our help won't help you if it's not anything you are going to use.

Please don't mistake my tone as angry or condescending because it's not. It's just an observation.

 

[poiihy]

Wow that was fast

 

[MatthewLTL]

Look. We are all here to help. But if you keep asking questions and ignoring the answers we give you because you think they are irrelevant or incorrect then we cannot help you.

If the answers we give you are not the ones you are expecting or don't square with what you think the answer should be, why bother asking questions? Just go with your answers. Our help won't help you if it's not anything you are going to use.

Please don't mistake my tone as angry or condescending because it's not. It's just an observation.

the onlly reason i said i dont think its the issue is because i have no screen tearing

 

[poiihy]

How is it going? Have you fixed it yet?

 

[Xernicus]

the onlly reason i said i dont think its the issue is because i have no screen tearing

Alright, here's the thing. You NEED BeamSync to be enabled on your eMac. Why? Because it has a CRT monitor, and CRT's require Vertical sync.

 

[poiihy]

Alright, here's the thing. You NEED BeamSync to be enabled on your eMac. Why? Because it's a CRT, and CRT's require Vertical sync.

I thought someone said that you can use a CRT without V-Sync, but it would just be choppy and teary.

 

[eyoungren]

the onlly reason i said i dont think its the issue is because i have no screen tearing

OK.

Like I said, it was just an observation. Intell has been around for awhile and gets paid daily for the advice he gives out free here.

Others have made some suggestions and it looks like Xernicus has a good one. I'd try that.

Hopefully it's just down to beamsync and nothing else.

You may want to try just a few settings at a time as you go and see how it affects the Mac. That way you know it's stable before you try other settings. If you make a whole bunch of changes all at once it can be difficult to recall all of the changes you made.

 

[poiihy]

Intell has been around for awhile and gets paid daily for the advice he gives out free here.

He is paid? I didn't know that... huh

 

[eyoungren]

He is paid? I didn't know that... huh

He works in IT and has for quite a while. It's his career.

He's seen every possible combination of hardware and software for every model of Mac and he's paid to make it all work while supporting other people using those Macs in his organization.

So, we all benefit from what he knows.

 

[MatthewLTL]

Alrighty right, let's see if we can't get this thing back churning away with minimal effort.

Let's turn back on BeamSync, as the CRT monitor in the eMac requires it. Boot into Single-User Mode (Command+S at chime until you see the UNIX shell appear), and type this in:

"sudo defaults write /Library/Preferences/com.apple.windowserver Compositor -dict deferredUpdates 1" (Minus quotes)

Now go ahead and give your eMac a reboot by typing in "reboot" minus the quotes. Let us know how it goes.

Didn't fix it

 

[poiihy]

He works in IT and has for quite a while. It's his career.

He's seen every possible combination of hardware and software for every model of Mac and he's paid to make it all work while supporting other people using those Macs in his organization.

So, we all benefit from what he knows.

So who pays him? Is he employed by MacRumors?

 

[MatthewLTL]

i tried it again and this this message:

"Could not write domain com.apple.windowserver; exiting"

 

[Intell]

This is salvageable, but we need to know exactly what things you changed in Secrets.

 

[LightBulbFun]

if your eMac is NOT a 1.42Ghz one then enabling QurtzGL will break OS X as it only works on core image cards (bar the FX5200) and I see you enabled it so I suggest disabling it in single user mode

 

[Altemose]

the onlly reason i said i dont think its the issue is because i have no screen tearing

Like I stated in Intell, eyoungren, and I's guide, the results of disabling BeamSync on a CRT is unpredictable. For some it may work and for others it may catastrophic. That is why it is critical to read the whole thread before trying the tweaks as it was stated before what is appropriate for different video chipsets and CRTs or LCDs.

Didn't fix it

I suspect that you did more in Secrets than just disable BeamSync.

 

[eyoungren]

So who pays him? Is he employed by MacRumors?

Whomever his employer is (no idea, he's never mentioned it). But it's most assuredly not MacRumors.

 

[MatthewLTL]

This is salvageable, but we need to know exactly what things you changed in Secrets.

VSync Off, OpenGL was turned one and a bunch of things like finder tweaks

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if your eMac is NOT a 1.42Ghz one then enabling QurtzGL will break OS X as it only works on core image cards (bar the FX5200) and I see you enabled it so I suggest disabling it in single user mode

i am still in Single User mode. Gimmie the command(s) and ill give it a go!

 

[Intell]

In single user mode, do this:

mv /Users/{your username}/Library/Preferences/com.apple.finder.plist /Users/{your username}/Library/Preferences/com.apple.finder.plist.broken

Then type reboot and restart your machine normally.

 

[Natzoo]

wow i am never going to play with commands i don't know, one time i disabled my sound.

 

[catzilla]

wow i am never going to play with commands i don't know, one time i disabled my sound.

what?