Bluetooth errors (hundreds) in single-user mode

Never had this in Tiger or Panther but...
When starting in single-user mode I get hundreds of USB Bluetooth errors.
Also all too often (approx. every other day) when rebooting I loose use of my Bluetooth Apple keyboard and have to use Leopard Cache Cleaner to clean the user and system caches... after which the keyboard is once again functional.
Even though */sbin/fsck -fy* gives the system an okay after the hundreds of errors... I can restart and again get the same errors.
Here is an image of what it looks like (a little blurry but if you're familiar with such errors perhaps you'll recognize them). If necessary I'll take another photo of the screen and post it.
http://www.theimagecache.com/downloadarea/forum_images_misc/single_usererror.html
Thanks for any advice on how to get rid of these errors once-and-for-all.

A wireless bluetooth keyboard would only let you boot into Single User Mode, after that, you will need a regular USB keyboard to type in the prompts, same goes when doing a Hardware Test using the disc provided.
As for some users posted on this forum saying they have not able to continue the Single User Mode under a regular USB keyboard, I am afraid I am one of them... I have not been able to solve the problem as yet and it is kinda "annoying" that there "may be something wrong" with my iMac that I cannot perform fsck, nevertheless I have regularly booted from the OS disc and run Disk Utility, which is equivilent to booting to SUM, but supposingly much better, and my HD checks out fine... so at the moment I have no worries.
In my post there is another person who has regularly keeping me update about this problem and has deduced it maybe due to the internal bluetooth module and the USB inside... rather complex issue that may require me lengthy conversation with AppleCare or have something replace, or "worse" have my iMac sent away for a time for repair or replacement. Since my iMac is doing quite fine, I'll live with it for the moment...
Cheers

Similar Messages

What is this error message in single user mode?

When in single user mode, I was given this message at the prompt
:/ I have no name! #
If you want to make modifications to files
/sbin/fsck-fy
/sbin/mount-uw
:/ I have no name! #
HOW DO I FIX THIS?

Firefox's Error Console (Ctrl+Shift+J) collects lots of those style rule warnings. Some style rules only work in particular browsers (such as "filter" which is for IE), so Firefox notes that it doesn't recognize them. This information is more for the web developer's benefit than yours, since you can't do much to change the site.
To see serious errors and filter out the style warnings, click the Errors button at the top. Hopefully a lot less clutter.
Anyway, are you asking because something isn't working correctly?

Keyboard completely unresponsive in single user mode

Since upgrading to v10.5.1 I have been unable to get both my Apple USB and Apple Bluetooth keyboards to work in single user mode. I can get into single user mode using the command-s keys but once there the keyboard dies. This is the only time the keyboard fails. I have no other USB device attatched. I am using the white (non-aluminum) Apple keyboards. I'm curious to see if anyone else has this issue.

It appears to have been a Bluetooth only issue. I got the USB keyboard to work in single user mode. However I had to first turn off Bluetooth before rebooting into single user mode. Originally I kept Bluetooth on before rebooting using my USB keyboard. This for some reason prevented the USB keyboard from functioning in single user mode. When I have some time I'll further troubleshoot the Bluetooth keyboard issue and report back.

Errors while Changing the Database to Mutli User Mode from Single user mode in SQL Server 2012

Hi,
Good Afternoon :). Need your help in resolving one of the issue with SQL Server 2012.
Today, we kept one of the database in the Single User mode and wanted to bring back to Multi User mode. But we are getting the below error. There are no user sessions connected to this database which are blocking each other. I see multiple
SYSTEM sessions are in blocked state.  The blocking is not cleared even affter restarting the SQL services.
Verified the SQL Server Errorlog and couldnt get much useful information to troubleshoot the issue.
pasted the information from the sys.sysprocesses as well for your kind reference.
Msg 1205, Level 13, State 68, Line 1
Transaction (Process ID 55) was deadlocked on lock resources with another process and has been chosen as the deadlock victim. Rerun the transaction.
Msg 5069, Level 16, State 1, Line 1
ALTER DATABASE statement failed.
spid
kpid
blocked
waittype
waittime
dbid
login_time
status
cmd
18
1004
36
0x0005
144
5
4/9/2014 13:13
background
TASK MANAGER
35
1796
36
0x0005
35
5
4/9/2014 13:34
background
TASK MANAGER
36
2464
37
0x0005
363
5
4/9/2014 13:34
background
TASK MANAGER
37
5100
36
0x0005
254
5
4/9/2014 13:04
background
TASK MANAGER

Clearly 36 and 37 are causing deadlock.
see
https://www.simple-talk.com/sql/database-administration/handling-deadlocks-in-sql-server/
http://www.mssqltips.com/sqlservertip/1036/finding-and-troubleshooting-sql-server-deadlocks/
Please Mark This As Answer if it helps to solve the issue Visakh ---------------------------- http://visakhm.blogspot.com/ https://www.facebook.com/VmBlogs

Bluetooth problems in single user mode

I've already checked some of the discussions on this topic but did not find the answers that i am looking for. i need to get into single user mode because my computer will not completely boot the osx. however, after i hold down the command-s and the promt comes up, it is af if i have no keyboard at all. i cannot type anything. is this due to the fact that i have a bluetooth keyboard? would going out and purchasing a usb help me out (because i have read some posts that they have the same problem with a usb)? is there any way around this. single user is becoming one of my last alternatives to having to reformat. please help!
best

A wireless bluetooth keyboard would only let you boot into Single User Mode, after that, you will need a regular USB keyboard to type in the prompts, same goes when doing a Hardware Test using the disc provided.
As for some users posted on this forum saying they have not able to continue the Single User Mode under a regular USB keyboard, I am afraid I am one of them... I have not been able to solve the problem as yet and it is kinda "annoying" that there "may be something wrong" with my iMac that I cannot perform fsck, nevertheless I have regularly booted from the OS disc and run Disk Utility, which is equivilent to booting to SUM, but supposingly much better, and my HD checks out fine... so at the moment I have no worries.
In my post there is another person who has regularly keeping me update about this problem and has deduced it maybe due to the internal bluetooth module and the USB inside... rather complex issue that may require me lengthy conversation with AppleCare or have something replace, or "worse" have my iMac sent away for a time for repair or replacement. Since my iMac is doing quite fine, I'll live with it for the moment...
Cheers

Error Installing ruby with RVM Single User mode

I've just installed RVM on ArchLinux x64 in single user mode via the recommended install script
curl -L https://get.rvm.io | bash -s stable
I've also installed all the requirements listed in
rvm requirements
However, I'm having trouble actually installing any version of ruby. And getting the following error:
arch:~ % rvm install 1.9.3
No binary rubies available for: ///ruby-1.9.3-p194.
Continuing with compilation. Please read 'rvm mount' to get more information on binary rubies.
Fetching yaml-0.1.4.tar.gz to /home/christopher/.rvm/archives
% Total % Received % Xferd Average Speed Time Time Time Current
Dload Upload Total Spent Left Speed
100 460k 100 460k 0 0 702k 0 --:--:-- --:--:-- --:--:-- 767k
Extracting yaml-0.1.4.tar.gz to /home/christopher/.rvm/src
Prepare yaml in /home/christopher/.rvm/src/yaml-0.1.4.
Configuring yaml in /home/christopher/.rvm/src/yaml-0.1.4.
Error running ' ./configure --prefix=/home/christopher/.rvm/usr ', please read /home/christopher/.rvm/log/ruby-1.9.3-p194/yaml/configure.log
Compiling yaml in /home/christopher/.rvm/src/yaml-0.1.4.
Error running 'make', please read /home/christopher/.rvm/log/ruby-1.9.3-p194/yaml/make.log
Please note that it's required to reinstall all rubies:
rvm reinstall all --force
Installing Ruby from source to: /home/christopher/.rvm/rubies/ruby-1.9.3-p194, this may take a while depending on your cpu(s)...
ruby-1.9.3-p194 - #downloading ruby-1.9.3-p194, this may take a while depending on your connection...
ruby-1.9.3-p194 - #extracting ruby-1.9.3-p194 to /home/christopher/.rvm/src/ruby-1.9.3-p194
ruby-1.9.3-p194 - #extracted to /home/christopher/.rvm/src/ruby-1.9.3-p194
Skipping configure step, 'configure' does not exist, did autoreconf not run successfully?
ruby-1.9.3-p194 - #compiling
Error running 'make', please read /home/christopher/.rvm/log/ruby-1.9.3-p194/make.log
There has been an error while running make. Halting the installation.
The log files are as follows:
arch:~ % cat ~/.rvm/log/ruby-1.9.3-p194/yaml/configure.log
__rvm_log_command:32: permission denied:
arch:~ % cat ~/.rvm/log/ruby-1.9.3-p194/yaml/make.log
make: *** No targets specified and no makefile found. Stop.
arch:~ % cat ~/.rvm/log/ruby-1.9.3-p194/make.log
make: *** No targets specified and no makefile found. Stop.

I can't picture what is doing this other than something missing or muxed, but perhaps it's time for a relatively painless Archive & Install, which gives you a new/old OS, but can preserve all your files, pics, music, settings, etc., as long as you have plenty of free disk space and no Disk corruption, and is relatively quick & painless...
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107120
Just be sure to select Preserve Users & Settings.

Extremely slow startup/"Error loading kernel" when single user mode is run

My daughter's iMac has become very poorly responsive with a very slow startup time. It takes about 1 minute for the progress wheel to begin when I startup her machine. And then it takes another 2 1/2 to 3 minutes before the login screen appears. The computer runs very slowly with the spinning activity wheel occurring frequently. When I start it up in single user mode I get the following message on screen:
efiboot loaded from device: Acp:(PNP0A03,0)/PC: (1F12)/SATA(0,0)/HD(Part 2, Sig56BF F8F1-9ADB-4101-BD3C-BFBC38AEED26)
boot file path: \System\Library\CoreServices\boot.efi
.Loading Kernal cache file 'System\Library\Caches
com.apple.kext.caches\Startup\kernel cache_i386.AE149BE8'
Read error 0x7
Loading 'Mach Kernel'...
Could not open file 'Mach kernel'
Error loading kernel 'Mach_kernel' (0x9)
Could some one tell me what this means? And better still, what do I need to do to fix it?
Thanks.
JOhn

I can't picture what is doing this other than something missing or muxed, but perhaps it's time for a relatively painless Archive & Install, which gives you a new/old OS, but can preserve all your files, pics, music, settings, etc., as long as you have plenty of free disk space and no Disk corruption, and is relatively quick & painless...
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107120
Just be sure to select Preserve Users & Settings.

Copying a file in Single User Mode

Hi all,
I was in the hospital, trying to backup files from my 15 inch Macbook Pro (new in November, running the latest OS), when I knocked over a cup of coffee, burning me. I knocked the computer onto the floor as I jumped up and now it is locked and read only, no matter what I do (original attempts to fix can be found here: https://discussions.apple.com/message/21633118#21633118). I can boot into single user mode, or holding down 'option' when I push the power button, but not boot normally to save my life.
I need to copy the entire user file ("Liz") from the damaged HD in single user mode to an external drive ("passport"). Is this possible? I tried using disk utility to copy the files, but it gives me an IO error. Being a novice, I am unsure if this is possible. It's the last chance I think I have to save the files I was *trying* to backup when I spilled the coffee. Some of it is critically important, so if you have any ideas, PLEASE let me know.
Thank you in advance.
Liz

There are several ways to back up a Mac that is unable to fully boot. You need an external hard drive to hold the backup data.
1. Boot into Recovery (command-R at startup) or from a local Time Machine backup volume (option key at startup.) Launch Disk Utility and follow the instructions in the support article linked below, under “Instructions for backing up to an external hard disk via Disk Utility.”
How to back up and restore your files
2. If you have access to a working Mac, and both it and the non-working Mac have FireWire or Thunderbolt ports, boot the non-working Mac in target disk mode by holding down the key combination command-T at the startup chime. Connect the two Macs with a FireWire or Thunderbolt cable. The internal drive of the machine running in target mode will mount as an external drive on the other machine. Copy the data to another drive. This technique won't work with USB, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth.
How to use and troubleshoot FireWire target disk mode
3. If the internal drive of the non-working Mac is user-replaceable, remove it and mount it in an external enclosure or drive dock. Use another Mac to copy the data.

Internal HD on mac mini not well... need to boot in Single User Mode

Internal HD on mac mini not well... need to boot in Single User Mode.
I only have a Bluetooth Keyboard and Bluetooth Mouse so when I try to boot in Single User Mode (to do the /sbin/fsck hard drive fix thing) it doesn't see the Bluetooth Keyboard. What's the solution?
I also used SuperDuper to use as a boot drive but it won't unmount my internal HD. arghh..
Help

I have a corrupt drive and was unable to repair all the errors after booting from OS X installer disk and choosing Disk Utility...
I followed the "boot into single user mode" instructions hoping to complete my repair with fsck, however once I got to the localhost:/ root# prompt, my keyboard seemed to be unrecognized!
I tried 3 different USB keyboards - original Apple USB keyboard, Kensington Mac USB keyboard and an old SGI USB windows keyboard. All were able to enter the apple-S key to get into single user mode but NONE of them were able to type any commands whatsoever.....
I'm thinking my only option is to boot the mini as a target drive off my laptop and try to backup my 30GB of music and photos before wiping the drive...
2nd option might be to try Disk Warrior for $79??
Anyone else have ideas for me?

Data back up from Single User Mode

Hello,
I have a problem with my 700 MHz iBook, dual USB, with OS X 10.3.9.
Unfortunately the OS doesn't start up because of "overlapped extent allocation" problem...
I would like to re-install the complete OS but before doing it, I would like to back up some directories.
Is it possible to save some data, by connecting an Ipod or some sort of external peripheral, from the Single User mode?
If yes, how can I do it?
Thank you in advance from your kind support.

Before giving up the ghost check out these:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=25770.
Manually fix Overlapped Extent Allocation Errors without Disk Warrior
Overlapped overlapped extent allocation errors can be the bane of any Mac user's existence. Often, these errors go unnoticed until the problem becomes visible: your Mac might refuse to boot, crash unexpected, or worse, critical data might disappear from the Finder. Disk Utility can detect, but not fix overlapped extent allocation errors, and certain third-party utilities, such as Alsoft Diskwarrior, can fix them, but generally without reporting the consequences.
Overlapped extent allocation error occur when the file system thinks that two files are occupying the same area on the hard disk, hence overlapping on the same "inode," which is the structure which holds the location of the data blocks the file occupies, and also file permissions and flags.
Clearing the "overlapped" or "overallocated" extent allocation essentially means that you'll have to lose some data, because the only way to remove the overlap is to delete the file that's occupying the inode. So, if you suspect, or find out, that the guilty file is a critical system file that resides in one of the hidden system directories such as /etc /var /usr/ or visible system directories such as /System or /Library, and you don't want to reinstall the whole OS (which might not fix the overlapped extent allocation anyway), it's good to have another disk available to copy the files back to your original disk if necessary: a second bootable hard drive or a firewire drive connected to your Mac when you remove the misbehaving file. Just make sure that when you copy the file back to your boot disk that the permissions are correct, so it's best to use the "ditto" command, so that all sticky bits, flags, and permissions are preserved.
In case you didn't know, you don't have to boot from an install CD in order to check for overlapped extent allocations. All you need to do is restart your Mac, while holding down command + S to boot in "single-user mode."
At the command prompt that appears, type:
$ fsck -fy
If you have an overlapped extent allocation, you'll see:
"Overlapped Extent Allocation" (File 123456d)
No matter how many times you run fsck -fy, you'll never be rid of the error.
So, simply issue the following command:
find / -inum 123456 -print
Note the "d" was dropped, or any extra letter that appears after the inode number.
The find will return a file name that matches with the inode number, and the path to that file. If you remove the file then the fsck will not return this error next time you run it.
However, before you can delete the file(s) in single-user mode, you'll need to mount the file system. Type:
$ mount -uw /
When done, issue the "sync" command, and that will flush the write cache so that all pending writes are written from memory to the disk. Also, since most OS X 10.3 Macs use the HFS+ Journaled file system, it might be a good idea to disable the journal before booting into single-user mode by typing:
$ sudo diskutil disableJournal /
then re-enable it when done fixing the overlapped extents and rebooting normally:
$ sudo diskutil enableJournal /
Chris Anderson is a long-time Linux propellerhead who just got his first Mac, an ibook G4, and can't keep his hands off of it. He currently works as a "The Architect" and general visionary for a maker of world-class collectibles.
If you own Disk Warrior then it should be able to repair a drive with overlapped extents.
There are two backup utilities included in Unix - psync and rsync. You will find them in the /usr/bin/ directory. For documentation simply enter: man psync or man rsync. In order to write data while in single-user mode you need to issue the command: /sbin/mount/ -uw / (Note: there is a "space" between the "uw" and the "/".) To mount an external drive you will need to provide the mountpoint for it in place of the "/", e.g., "/Volumes/volname") without the quotes.

How do i repair my hard drive in single user mode when disk is full?

Hi there Apple Community!
I have an old Macbook Pro 17" with an upgraded 500GB harddrive and 4GB memory. I'm running Mac OSX Lion.
Was hoping you could help me out. THis is the situation:
Long story short I spilt wine on my macbook and the screen went a bit blobby. Switched it off for a few days, removed the battery etc. etc. Opened it up cleaned out as much of the wine as possible, but unfortunately some of it came in behind the LCD, so now the screen has a nice red stain. Obviously I'm not going to try to clean that out of the LCD.
My Macbook Pro still worked for a few days after that, but then my harddrive gave up. I booted in the Recovery HD menu, verified the drive and I got the error "Keys out of order - This disk needs to be repaired, click Repair Disk." I attempted to repair the disk but got the error "Keys out of order - Disk Full Error - The volume could not be repaired".
Unfortnately of this 500GB I only have about 7GB free on it, as I have a huge iPhoto and iTunes library. I did make a TIme Machine backup of my user directory, but not the system files. I don't really want to do a clean install because:
1) I'm paranoid that there's something I did not fully back up
2) I don't want to have to download the whole Mac OSX Lion again. I should have made a USB bootable backup when I had the chance. I don't have access to a broadband connection.
What I feel are my viable options, are as follows:
1) I did buy a replacement internal 500GB harddrive, so I can probably try to make an image of the hard drive to this new drive, but not sure how. I believe it's through the Disk Utility with the "New Image" option but not sure how to go from there.
2) Start up in Single User Mode and delete some unnecessary files and re-attempt to run the fschk -fy utility again (I tried this earlier and got the same Disk Full Error). - the problem with this is, I'm not familiar with the command line and have no clue how to delete files. I don't know my way around Unix.
3) I can also probably attempt to make a Ghost Image or Acronis Image of the failed drive to this new drive, but not sure if Norton Ghost or Acronis True Image will be able to read this HFS drive - I believe it's possible as it's a simple hard drive clone.
If you can guide me in the best option - probably there is a better solution than my proposed ones above, I appreciate any feedback and comments you might have!

hi Baltwo,
So I ended up copying my user folder to another harddrive. I managed to download the whole osx lion again, reinstalled, and recovered my home folder using this discussion:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1428
I have managed to get all my files back. My iTunes library works fine, but my iPhoto library when I open it, get the following error:
iPhoto cannot be opened because of a problem.
Here's the error log
Process:         iPhoto [1540]
Path:            /Applications/iPhoto.app/Contents/MacOS/iPhoto
Identifier:      com.apple.iPhoto
Version:         8.1.2 (8.1.2)
Build Info:      iPhotoProject-4240000~8
Code Type:       X86 (Native)
Parent Process: launchd [209]
Date/Time:       2012-09-19 19:56:45.528 +0200
OS Version:      Mac OS X 10.7.4 (11E53)
Report Version: 9
Sleep/Wake UUID: 7948ABE2-5294-4F87-B6E3-777095A2F2EE
Interval Since Last Report:          4780 sec
Crashes Since Last Report:           9
Per-App Crashes Since Last Report:   9
Anonymous UUID:                      70117D38-03EA-4F9C-B810-50B743864B9E
Crashed Thread: 0
Exception Type: EXC_BREAKPOINT (SIGTRAP)
Exception Codes: 0x0000000000000002, 0x0000000000000000
Application Specific Information:
dyld: launch, loading dependent libraries
Dyld Error Message:
Library not loaded: /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/iLifeSlideshow.framework/Versions/A/iLifeSlid eshow
Referenced from: /Applications/iPhoto.app/Contents/MacOS/iPhoto
Reason: image not found
I've done an Apple Software Update but it didn't find an update for iPhoto.
One thing to note is, this library was originally created on iLife 08, upgraded to '09 and it stayed on that version. It hasn't een upgraded to iLife '11. It worked fine on my previous install of OSX Lion. How do I recover the library without upgrading to '11 ?

Kernel panic on MacPro in Single-User mode after memtest.

I've had about 7 kernel panics in about 7 days on a new MacPro. 2 gigs of RAM (Apple Installed). Fresh install of OSX (no user import). While going through the troubleshooting process I ran memtest in single user mode. Ran it all night no errors.
So in the morning I typed ctrl-c and then exit (i think)... it seemed to start the process of booting and I got another kernal panic. I've actually done this three times now.
I checked panic.log and all the error messages but 1 were the same. Including the ones I got in single-user mode (copied below).
Should I be able to gracefully exit out of single-user mode without a kernel panic?
Does this point to a RAM error even though memtest and AHD for that matter ran all night without finding anything?
I'm all set to try again (taking careful notes this time) to see if I can reproduce but I was hoping for some feedback first.
Thanks,
Craig
Sat Jan 27 22:17:27 2007
panic(cpu 0 caller 0x41C47CC4): Uncorrectable Fbd memory error detected. ferr = 20000000 , nerr == 00000000, fErrFat = 20000000 nErrFat == 00000000
Backtrace, Format - Frame : Return Address (4 potential args on stack)
0x108cd8 : 0x128d08 (0x3c9a74 0x108cfc 0x131de5 0x0)
0x108d18 : 0x41c47cc4 (0x41c49f1c 0x20000000 0x0 0x20000000)
0x108da8 : 0x41c47f58 (0x406a180 0x406a180 0x2 0x820044)
0x108e38 : 0x66a712 (0x406a180 0x0 0x3ba3680 0x0)
0x108e68 : 0x66a59b (0x3b92780 0x0 0x0 0x1c)
0x108e88 : 0x67d9be (0x1c 0x108ef8 0x8 0x67f4be)
0x108eb8 : 0x67db68 (0x3b91b1c 0x17 0x3b928ca 0x3b81120)
0x108f18 : 0x68a743 (0x3b34348 0x0 0xafdd0c77 0x4cd5)
0x108f38 : 0x70a4fb (0x3b34348 0x0 0x3abac80 0x0)
0x108f68 : 0x67053f (0x3b88600 0x0 0x3b87580 0x49)
0x108f88 : 0x669c1f (0x3b6b800 0x0 0x3b87580 0x49)
0x108fa8 : 0x3ba298 (0x3b87100 0x0 0x3b92f00 0x49)
0x108fe8 : 0x19aa80 (0x25423e30 0x25423e30 0x19bad6 0xb26000)
0x25423f18 : 0x1a445b (0x10 0x1 0x4af85c 0x6)
0x25423f38 : 0x19d871 (0x0 0x0 0x25423f68 0x206)
0x25423f58 : 0x135f14 (0x0 0x0 0x0 0x19d23a) Backtrace continues...
Kernel loadable modules in backtrace (with dependencies):
com.apple.driver.AppleMCEDriver(1.1.2f1)@0x41c44000
dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOACPIFamily(1.2.0)@0x664000
com.apple.driver.AppleAPIC(1.2.0)@0x709000
com.apple.driver.AppleACPIPlatform(1.0.8)@0x668000
dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOPCIFamily(2.2)@0x57d000
dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOACPIFamily(1.2.0)@0x664000
Kernel version:
Darwin Kernel Version 8.8.4: Sun Oct 29 15:26:54 PST 2006; root:xnu-792.16.4.obj~1/RELEASE_I386
MacPro Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Welcome to Apple Discussions!
Yes, your memory or memory slot, or memory seating is bad or off. "Uncorrectable Fbd memory error detected. ferr = 20000000 , nerr == 00000000, fErrFat = 20000000 nErrFat == 00000000"
Clearly a memory related issue. It may also be that memtest doesn't know how to diagnose the new kind of memory and is reporting that back to the logs. Take it in to a service center to have all the boards replaced to make sure the issue isn't reproduceable with new memory. If it is, then I'd consider the slots on the logicboard a problem.

Single-user mode: How to mount and access an external USB drive?

My MacBook Pro HD is acting up. Cannot boot normally or into "safe mode". Cannot reinstall OS without wiping out the HD. Need to recover some critical files but DiskUtil First Aid and Restore options cannot successfully complete. Problem traced down to "invalid node structure" which means I either have a hardware problem or my filesystem partition directory structure is corrupted. I need to recover some files that are not backed up (timin issue with my regular backup process).
I can boot into single-user mode, mount the root file system (/sbin/mount -uw /) and can see/navigate the rot filesystem structure via good UNIX command line. Here's what I would like to do (in single-user mode):
1. Mount an external USB drive (250 GB already formatted as Mac OS X Extended)
2. Copy various files and/or directories from my HD to the external USB drive (UNIX cp command)
I realize I could go spend $$ for the Disk Warrior or Data Rescue products (or something similar) that SHOULD help me recover my HD or files, but it seems silly to do this when I can see, touch and taste them from within single-user mode....
Comments? Suggestions?
TIA --
Trent
P.S. Once I've recovered my files, I'll try to reformat the HD and then reinstall the OS. And THEN go have Apple look at my machine (thank goodness for AppleCare coverage)!

Resolution:
1) Boot system in single-user mode (SUM) with external HD attached.
2) Execute the following UNIX CLI commands once SUM boot process is completed:
# fsck -fy
# mount -uw /
# mkdir /Volumes/target_directory
# mount -t hfs -w /dev/diskXXX /Volumes/target_directory
# cp -RXv /source_directory /Volumes/target_directory
Where XXX is the device-level name for your external HD's data partition. In my case this was /dev/disk1s2. It may take some experimentation to identify this device name if your system has multiple HD's.
3) Verify contents were successfully copied onto the /Volumes/target_directory.
Comments and observations:
- Do NOT use "/" as your source directory - cp will make a second (redundant) copy of /volumes/target_directory
- I was able to successfully copy ALL files off my HD despite the fsck command's "invalid node structure" error message with this simple procedure. YMMV, depending on the state of your HD.
- The repeated disk0s2: I/O error warnings displayed during the SUM boot process did not seem to have a negative effect on this procedure. I also received this same error warning intermittently as I navigated the mounted filesystem did not seem to be a problem, either. Again, YMMV.
Commercial software:
I downloaded ProSoft Engineering's Data Rescue 3 product (trial version) before spending $99 to attempt to recover my "bad" HD's data via mounting to a good system with FW target mode. It could not successfully complete its "QuickScan" process and immediately hung on block 0 of 390M during its "Deep Scan" process. The product did seem to function properly on an operational system. ProSoft's technical support was responsive and helpful but had no answer for my "Deep Scan" error.
I did not attempt to use Alsoft's Disk Warrior 4 product. I could not find any trial software available and was reluctant to spend $100 based upon the mixed reviews and comments on this discussion forum as well as other reviews. Alsoft does claim to address the "invalid node structure" error in their marketing materials. Hindsight being 20/20 - I saved $100 by using this simple procedure.
Final note:
Neither Leopard nor Snow Leopard's installation DVD could recognize the bad internal HD when trying to do a reinstall. While DiskUtil was able to "see" the bad internal drive it immediately failed when I tried to do an "erase and format". Took the system to my local Apple store and the Genius ran a tool called "SMART Utility" from Volitans Software (www.volitans-software.com). SMART utility confirmed that my HD was bad so it was replaced. AppleCare pays for itself (once again!).

Single-user mode freeze

I am trying fsck a mac mini.
When I start up in single-user mode, the keyboard(Bluetooth and usb) do not work. I have to unplug the cpu.
Does this mean it's broke?

Leopard.

Single user mode USB support

My macbook HD has broken, and Im attempting to recover my files through a USB drive.
I've only been able to boot up in single user mode and I've ran fsck and its getting alot of I/O errors.
I've followed the instructions here: http://www.macsage.com/mounting-usb-drive-in-single-user-mode/ but I dont seem to be able to my attached USB drive.
I run [CODE]ls /dev/disk*[/CODE] by booting with usb drive attached and again without it attached and both times i get: disk0 disk0s1 disk0s2 disk0s3
I'm pretty sure disk0s2 is my main HD as thats whats getting the errors from fsck.
So I'm really needing to know how to mount the USB though I dont know which disk it is (by doing disk*)
Any help is greatly appreciated!

wonza wrote:
its MS-DOS Fat32, as my other computer is a PC. I've tried
oops, pressed post too soon! meant to delete the "I've tried"

Bluetooth errors (hundreds) in single-user mode

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