Computer boots to Darwin/BSD

When I turn on my computer it goes through all of the basic loading thingies, then it shows the log in GUI for a split second. After that it immediatly fades and Darwin/BSD (xxxx-xxxxx's Computer.local)(console) shows up.
I followed the post here http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=1280918#1280918
And I see a "Login Authorization Failed (-60008)!"
AusthotizationRef doesn't have a username (<LoginAuthRefMgr: 0x41b130>).
Any help?

Hello Charlie, Welcome to Apple Discussions!!
Sorry to be late to the party!
I'm sorry that rebuilding the NetInfo database didn't work for you. Your "Startup assistant has crashed" message is not one I remember in 10.3.
Since you have already tried altering the NetInfo database, without success, the best advice I can offer is to perform an Archive & Install:
Mac OS X : About the Archive and Install Feature.
This has helped others when resetting NetInfo didn't work.

Similar Messages

Blue screen - after booting into Darwin/BSD

Hi,
after I had the problem of my iMac G5 only booting into Darwin/BSD (which I posted here: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1093517&tstart=0), I followed the instructions for recreating the user accounts, as described here: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=320663&start=0&tstart=0
Now I'm able to get to the blue screen, and the system doesn't exit into Darwin/BSD any longer. However, the Setup Assistant doesn't start either.
I only see an empty blue screen (I guess it's the GUI base screen) and the menu bar. The menu bar only has to items: one menu 'loginwindow', which doesn't have any entries. And the Apple-logo menu, which has the following menu entries:
- About This Mac
- Software Update...
- Mac OS X Software...
- System Preferences...
- Dock >
- Location >
- Force Quit...
- Sleep
- Restart...
- Shot Down...
- Log Out System Administrator...
The 'Restart...' entry doesn't work. I can, however, launch the System Preferences window.
Tail command of /var/log/System.log shows:
configd[41]: WirelessConfigure: 88001003
kernel[0]: Registering For 802.11 Events
kerner[0]: [HCIController][setupHardware] AFH Is Supported
kernel[0]: ATY,Aphrodite2_A: vram [98000000:08000000]
mDNSResponder: Couldn't read user-specific Computer Name; using default bMacintosh-0014513219B8b instead
kernel[0]: ATY,Aphrodite2_B: vram [98000000:08000000}
mDNSResponder: Couldn't read user-specified local hostname; using default bMacintosh-0014513219B8.localb instead
/System/Library/CoreServices/loginwindow.app/Contents/MacOS/loginwindow: Login Window Application Started
loginwindow[141]: [Login.m:1867] Failed to launch /Applications/Server/Server Assistant.app/Contents/MacOS/Server Assistant (error -1)
mDNSResponder: Adding brows domain local.
Any recommendations on what to do next?
Thanks!
Torsten

Apologies, was a little vague. and as far as my profile goes i have loads of mac's here in the studio.
using MBP latest model, Snow Leopard with latest updates.
1. boot up in windows XP SP3 (bootcamp NTFS formatted 32GB partition) - all ok
2. shut down windows and re boot in OSX
3. boots up but fails to complete and hangs on blue screen (just prior to desk top picture loading)
4. press and hold power button to shut down
5. reboot in OSX - boots up fine this time

Booting to Darwin/BSD, Setup Assistant Crashing

Last night I was simultaneosly updating OSX and my iPod using Software Update, when the screen dimmed and turned grey with the message stating that I needed to restart my computer by holding down the power button. Upon doing so the screen turned black instead of booting up normal and went into Darwin/BSD (console). From there i followed the instructions posted to boot in single user mode and read the log. there i was given the message
crashdump[409]: crash report written to: /Lib...
/System/Library/CoreServices/loginwindow.app/Contents...
/System/Library/CoreServices...
crashdump[421]: Setup Assistant Crashed
Can anybody help? I can't get past the blue screen with the spinning wheel thing, it just keeps looping there.
iMac 20in 2.1Ghz Mac OS X (10.4.7)

hi there--
i would follow the instructions for a blue screen in this article. http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106464. make sure everything is unplugged from your computer. being able to do a safe boot or a boot to the install disk at this time would be extremely valuable. there are things you can do however from single user mode which will sometimes resolve the issue, like renaming the preferences folder or loginwindow.plist. also you might want to try booting to open firmware holding apple-option-o-f and typing the following commands--
reset-nvram (hit return)
set-defaults (hit return)
reset-all (hit return)
the last command restarts the computer. if none of these things work, you will probably have to archive and install your operating system. http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107120. it is not an uncommon thing to be done for booting to the darwin bsd screen. keep me posted as to whether or not you are making any progress. [ 8 ) ]

PowerMac G4 MDD booting into DARWIN/BSD screen.

Hi,
I've been sitting here for the past three days trying to figure out how to fix this problem. My computer keeps booting into the darwin/bsd screen and will not boot into the operating system. Apparently the kernel has a problem. I have tried everything including the "/sbin/fsck -yf" thing. None of it seems to work at all. It just brings me back to this "darwin/bsd screen.
I just found my installation dvd and put it in. Then I held the OPTION+D keys which brought me to the boot drive screen. This screen shows the Main HD symbol and the Mac OS X INSTALL CD icons. But, I am unable to switch over to the Install disc icon to run it. My mouse just doesn't respond at all on this screen, but somehow the keyboard does.
Can someone tell me whats going on???

Resetting your Mac's PRAM and NVRAM
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=2238
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=42642
Tried resetting the PMU?
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=14449
Might try applesetupdone...
This was Posted by: JoseAranda at September 9, 2006 3:48 AM
"OK, restart your computer, hold down Command-s and type in the following:
/sbin/fsck -fy Enter
Repeat until no errors.
/sbin/mount -uaw Enter
rm /var/db/.applesetupdone Enter
1. The rm command is the remove command which deletes the file.
2. Robert: I'd rename the file via: mv /var/db/.applesetupdone /var/db/.applesetupdone.old
reboot Enter
Once you've done that the computer reboots and it's like the first time you used the machine. Your old accounts are all safe. From there you just change all other account passwords in the account preferences!!
end of posted by: JoseAranda"

Booting to Darwin/BSD login/password

Help! Upon doing the recommended Apple Updates, my comuter boots to a black screen asking for
Darwin/BSD (my name-Computer.local) (console)
login:
I executed some suggestions from other posts and it accepted a login & password, but then I get "Welcome to Darwin".
Help!

Sojourner:
I thought I'd share the more technical Unix approach first. I am not at all adept at Unix. Michael Coniff, who posted that solution also posts in the Unix Forum, but also frequents these pages. My own solution was more rudimentary. I share it here not because it is any way exemplary, but because it worked for me.
Here is an account of how I dealt with the issue:Nov 3, 2005 11:54 AM
I was finally able to get the iBook to boot from the install disk, after failing to get it to boot from TechTool Pro CD. Disk Utility reports a lot of extent allocation file overlaps that it can't repair. I was able to select my LaCie external boot drive as a Startup drive. I have TechTool Pro installed on it and am now running TechTool Pro. Hopefully this will straighten out those overlapping extent allocation files. Will keep you posted.
Nov 4, 2005 1:24 PM
After being able to get into the iBook by booting from my LaCie boot drive I ran DU and found all kinds of overlapping directories that DU couldn't repair.
Went to TechToolPro and repaired, rebuilt directories, optimized drives (took all night; my son-in-law never did any maintenance and almost 20,000 disk fragments). So I thought, for sure we had taken care of Darwin. However, rebooted from the iBook this a.m. and, sure enough, there was Darwin again.
So I am in the process of cloning the entire drive to an empty partition on my LaCie reserved for just such emergencies. Then I plan to wipe the entire HDD and write zeros all over it. Then reinstall and restore. Hope that takes care of the little devil. Will let you know.
Nov 4, 2005 7:59 PM
The project is complete. I have reinstalled Tiger and restored the User Folder, and the computer boots on its own. Darwin must be lurking somewhere, which is fine, so long as he doesn't show up on the display.Here is the link to that thread: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=1047613&#1047613
Good luck.
cornelius

Screen boots into Darwin/BSD

I restarted my computer one day and it booted into a Black screen (Darwin/BSD).
I've tried the suggestions on various forums below:
http://missionitgroup.com/blog/?p=1490
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=320663
But I am still unable to get my computer to boot normally.
Every time I reboot, it either just goes to a blue screen, or the Welcome movie plays and can't get past a certain point.
Can anybody help with any further suggestions?
Thanks!

tsk80:
The 2 options they gave me was to:
-archive and reinstall everything
-erase everything and reinstall everything
There is a third option, which I believe is an option that will serve you better longer term. That option is to install a new larger capacity drive. This will
• Give you greater storage capacity
• Give you a faster HDD
• Improve your computer's performance because of higher rotational speed, and greater areal density provided by a larger capacity drive allowing your computer to access larger blocks of data on each rotation.
• Allow you more free space which will boost performance with more room for swap files and sufficient room for growing the directory and avoiding overlapping volume structures. You should maintain a minimum of 15% of available capacity of your HDD as contiguous free space for the benefit of the directory.
When you have installed your new HDD you will need to format it before you can install to it. I would put a fresh installation instead of reinstalling a corrupted directory. If you think there is merit in this suggestion we can offer step by step directions for each stage of the adventure.
Let me know what you think.
cornelius

Michael C stopped my MacBook booting into Darwin/BSD, but it is now sloooow

I am testing a MacBook 2.16 GHz for possible use at work. Upgraded to 3GB RAM and Hitachi 200GB HD. Performance was great after a week, but one day I got a dark screen at bootup with the Darwin/BSD-login-password message that a lot of people seem to get. I followed Michael Conniff's advice (http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=4550428) and got the system to boot into the GUI properly. But ever since then performance has been very slow: e.g. selecting the Date and Time takes 5 seconds to launch and clicking on the AirPort icon takes the same amount of time to produce the drop-down menu. It's like the MacBook is running in slow-motion. The exception is the Dock: it pops up quickly and the Apps scroll by quickly. Launching the Apps is another matter, though.
NO OTHER APPS INSTALLED. Really. No MS programs or even freeware. Just iLife '08. All the current updates have been installed. Zapped the PRAM, ran Disk Utility to check the disk and verify permissions--even booted into single-user mode and ran fsck (disk was okay). Tonight I reinstalled the OS in a clean install, installed all the updates, and afterwards the MacBook is just as slow. What is going on? If it's this slow, I guess I won't be using Parallels anytime soon to replace my Dell!

Well, this has been frustrating. The original hard disk also will occasionally boot into Darwin and menu selection is still very sluggish. The local Apple Store won't touch an Apple recertified MacBook--even one that was just delivered a couple of days ago from the Apple Store Online. I then spent several hours on the phone, mostly on hold, but sometimes transferred in a closed loop from Customer Support to Tech Support and back to Customer Support. Sadly, the case number I was given by a rep (the third one I spoke to) isn't showing up as valid either. At this point I just want to return the MacBook (which I think I still can), but I can't reach anyone to arrange for this!

: Booting to Darwin/BSD Screen

greetings,
I noticed a link here with a solution to my inquiry but I can't understand if there are suppose to be spaces or all info is suppose to be closed. the link is here:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=320663&tstart=0&messageID=3088 809#3088809
I am sure the answer will work but I just couldn't figure out the segment, for instance the boot is written like this (/sbin fsck -fy) but when I tried it, I finally got the G4 to state it was actually /sbin/fsck -fy, where above it has spaces. after this I couldn't figure out how many spaces were between other codes listed here:
/sbin/mount -uw /
cd /var/db/netinfo
mv local.nidb/ local.nidb.bad
ls -ln /Users
can some rewrite it correctly?
would it be like this:
/sbin/mount -uw
cd/var/db/netinfo
mvlocal.nidb/local.nidb.bad
ls -in/users
I couldnt get past the first, the G4 gave me other options after i typed in command /sbin/fsck -uy. would appreciate any feedback, its like a million combos to me at this point.

hmmm I got stuck on the first part, after i put in FY, it told me it was a error and to Force start it with -F, after that, it worked, I got the okay, but after i put in the code of /sbin/mount -uw / it pulled up the word MOUNT: and three lines of different codes, none of which were familiar.
I followed the link:
Reset OS X Password Without an OS X CD...
http://theappleblog.com/2008/06/22/reset-os-x-password-without-an-os-x-cd/
that seemed to set me up with a new name, but when I control s, i dont get single anymore, only it popped up and said:
Welcome to Darwin!
"my name for admin"-powebook-g4-12:~ect.
I cant even get into single user anymore, it just comes up when i hit command s: Darwin/BSD (name, name-powerbook-) (console)
login:

Booting in Darwin/bsd question

Hello, I have a macbook that starts up to the darwin/bsd login: screen. I followed the first two steps from Micheal Conniff's posts to a similar question, but this is where i get stuck.
I get to where the log says:
loginwindow[64]: Login Window Started Security Agent
loginwindow[64]: Terminate WaitinForLoginWindow (51)
loginwindow[64]: AuthorisationRef doesn't have a username (<LoginAuthRefMgr: 0x338bc0>).\n
launchd: onoption repeating too quickly on port /dev/console, sleeping
If anyone has any advice or experience with the same problem, I would really appreciate the help. Thanks alot.
John

In all likelihood, securityagent is crashing because of a problem with the NetInfo database.
Oh, ok, if the NetInfo database is potentially the root cause and probably has to get fixed anyway, I'll work on that. Any idea why the NetInfo database would just suddenly start causing a problem, and how to prevent this from occurring again?
So I'm to rename local.nidb, delete .AppleSetupDone, then reboot? Is there a typo in your instructions, does the "/" after ".nidb" belong there?
This sounds similar to Apple's "Mac OS X, Mac OS X Server: How to Replace the NetInfo Database" instructions (except Apple doesn't seem to care about matching UIDs & shortnames!), in there they also mention the possibility of restoring from a potentially extant automated backup of your NetInfo database, is this a procedure I should be considering, would it be easier or better than restoring it via Setup Assistant?
If you still think going ahead via Setup Assistant is a better route, I have to figure-out if I think I can guide her through it over the phone. Do you have a rough idea of what info I need to be able to supply besides the UIDs & shortnames? If this works as you expect it to, what's the end state we're left in, is the system likely to be perfectly back to normal and function again as though none of this happened or is there expected to be additional recovery steps to do after this? How risky/disruptive would this be for me to intentionally do this (rename local.nidb) to my own machine (like hers, PB G4 17", except I'm OS 10.4.2) so that I know how it will look when she runs Setup Assistant, would that be a good idea?
bear in mind the time difference and the fact CSI is on tonight
I know there's lots of CSI fans out there but personally once I'd watched all the "Battlestar: Galactica", "24", & "Robot Chicken" sitting on my DVR I'd go watch re-runs of "Stargate" (many I've never seen). But enjoy!

Computer Boots to Darwin Screen

I have a iMac running os 10.4. When I restarted it, it went straight to the Darwin interface. I did a search for this, and tried the suggestions for os 10.3, but could not find anything for os 10.4. It is stating that it cannot find a valid username. After trying the tips for os 10.3, the computer no longer goes to the Darwin screen, it begins the start up process, and get stuck (freezes) on a blue screen. I tried to startup using the os install DVD, but it will not start up using the DVD, I also cannot eject the DVD either.
Please help

Hi Party Medics, and a warm welcome to the forums!
Which iMac anyway, there are tons of them!?
Might try fsck...
To use fsck, you must run it from the command line. Unlike using your mouse to open an application to do something, you'll need to type a text command at the prompt (#) to tell fsck what to do. The Terminal application (/Applications/Utilities) and single-user mode are two examples of command-line interfaces in which you can type such commands. To use fsck:
1. Start up your computer in single-user mode to reach the command line. Hold CMD+s keys down at bootup. Note: If necessary, perform a forced restart as described in the Emergency Troubleshooting Handbook that came with your computer. On desktop computers, you can do this by pressing the reset/interrupt button (if there is one) or holding down the power button for several seconds. On portable computers, simultaneously press the Command-Control-power keys. If your portable computer doesn't restart with this method, you may need to reset the Power Manager.
2. At the command-line prompt, type /sbin/fsck -fy
3. Press Return. fsck will go through five "phases" and then return information about your disk's use and fragmentation. Once it finishes, it'll display this message if no issue is found: 
The volume (nameofvolume) appears to be OK  
If fsck found issues and has altered, repaired, or fixed anything, it will display this message: 
*** FILE SYSTEM WAS MODIFIED ***   Important: If this message appears, repeat the fsck command you typed in step 2 until fsck tells you that your volume appears to be OK (first-pass repairs may uncover additional issues, so this is a normal thing to do).
4. When fsck reports that your volume is OK, type reboot at the prompt and then press Return.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106214
Tough without a Tiger Disk, but try fsck...
To use fsck, you must run it from the command line. Unlike using your mouse to open an application to do something, you'll need to type a text command at the prompt (#) to tell fsck what to do. The Terminal application (/Applications/Utilities) and single-user mode are two examples of command-line interfaces in which you can type such commands. To use fsck:
1. Start up your computer in single-user mode to reach the command line. Hold CMD+s keys down at bootup. Note: If necessary, perform a forced restart as described in the Emergency Troubleshooting Handbook that came with your computer. On desktop computers, you can do this by pressing the reset/interrupt button (if there is one) or holding down the power button for several seconds. On portable computers, simultaneously press the Command-Control-power keys. If your portable computer doesn't restart with this method, you may need to reset the Power Manager.
2. At the command-line prompt, type /sbin/fsck -fy
3. Press Return. fsck will go through five "phases" and then return information about your disk's use and fragmentation. Once it finishes, it'll display this message if no issue is found: ** The volume (nameofvolume) appears to be OK  If fsck found issues and has altered, repaired, or fixed anything, it will display this message: *** FILE SYSTEM WAS MODIFIED ***   Important: If this message appears, repeat the fsck command you typed in step 2 until fsck tells you that your volume appears to be OK (first-pass repairs may uncover additional issues, so this is a normal thing to do).
4. When fsck reports that your volume is OK, type reboot at the prompt and then press Return.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106214
Then Safe Boot , (holding Shift key down at bootup), off the HD & use Disk Utility from there to Repair Permissions, reboot once more.

System boots to Darwin/BSD (console) following Software Update to 10.4.6

Last night I used Software Update to download and install two updates. One for iPod software, and the other for Mac OS X 10.4.6.
I glanced at the machine and saw that it was about a third of the way finished downloading one of the updates.
A few minutes later, the system rebooted. When it came back up, it booted to the console login. The OS X graphical environment did not start up.
I am able to login, and the file system appears to be intact.
How do I fix this?
Thanx,
cool_1
12" Powerbook G4 Mac OS X (10.4.6)

Hmmm. Still not exactly what I'm seeing.
My /var/log/system.log only has a few lines:
Apr 21 03:15:03 SilverBullet cp: error processing extended attributes: Operation not permitted
Apr 21 22:31:07 SilverBullet kernel[0]: System Sleep
Apr 21 22:31:07 SilverBullet kernel[0]: System Wake
Apr 21 22:31:07 SilverBullet kernel[0]: Wake event 0008
Apr 21 22:31:07 SilverBullet kernel[0]: ADB present:8c
Apr 21 22:31:07 SilverBullet kernel[0]: [IOAppleBluetoothHIDDriver][willTeriminate]
Apr 21 22:31:07 SilverBullet kernel[0]: [IOAppleBluetoothHIDDriver][handleStop][00-0a-95-04-46-20] Stopped.
Apr 21 22:31:07 SilverBullet kernel[0]: [IOAppleBluetoothHIDDriver][free]
What's more interesting is the contents of /Library/Logs/CrashReporter:
drwxrwxr-x 8 root admin 272 Apr 20 20:34 .
drwxrwxr-x 9 root admin 306 Feb 20 11:24 ..
-rw-rw-r-- 1 root admin 21747 Apr 20 20:34 Safari.crash.log
-rw-rw-r-- 1 root admin 76288 Apr 20 00:40 SecurityAgent.crash.log
-rw-rw-r-- 1 root admin 44422 Apr 20 20:34 Software Update.crash.log
-rw-rw-r-- 1 root admin 84847 Apr 20 20:34 System Preferences.crash.log
-rw-rw-r-- 1 root admin 0 Feb 20 11:22 WindowServer.crash.log
-rw-rw-r-- 1 root admin 12821 Apr 16 18:09 mcxd.crash.log
I'm trying to find some way to mount a USB drive so I can pull the log files and put them on my other computer, but I didn't have much luck.
Inside the Software Update.crash.log file, there are entries like:
Exception: EXCBADACCESS (0x0001)
Codes: KERNINVALIDADDRESS (0x0001) at 0xffffefa0
Thread 0 Crashed:
and later -
Thread 0 crashed with PPC Thread State 64:
srr0: 0x00000000915967f0 srr1: 0x000000000200f030 vrsave: 0x0000000000000000
cr: 0x00000000915967e0 xer: 0x0000000000000004 lr: 0x00000000915967e0 ctr: 0x000000009158e880
etc.
Anyone know:
1. How to mount and use a USB drive that has been formatted for use with a Windows machine?
2. Who to send the logs to once I've gotten them off of the machine?
Thanks,
cool_1
12" Powerbook G4 Mac OS X (10.4.6)

Computer boots to black and white Darwin/BSD Screen

My iMac is running 10.4.11. While trying to edit user permissions for local networking, I made a huge mistake. I started changing a permission and realized in the middle that I had messed up. I quickly reset the launcher, and then reset the computer. when the computer was rebooting, It went directly to the darwin screen (black background white letters). I found a thread that gave me hope but ultimately did not solve the problem.
Booting to Darwin/BSD Screen (this is the like to the entire thread)
every thing worked as the article said it would until the end...
"Start up in Single User Mode and type carefully:
/sbin/fsck -y
Repeat the above until it says your disk is OK. Then:
/sbin/mount -uw /
cd /var/db/netinfo
mv local.nidb/ local.nidb.bad
ls -ln /Users
This last command will give you one line for each user, plus one for the "Shared" directory, which doesn't interest us. Each user will have a line like one of these:
<pre>
drwxr-xr-x 20 501 501 680 Jul 16 14:32 D. A. Hankerson
drwx------ 8 501 80 272 Jul 17 19:18 D.A. Hankerson
</pre>The second numeric field (501, 500) is the user ID (UID) and you need to list the uids against the shortname s given in the final column. Make sure you get the name right for UID 501! Then continue with
reboot
When you restart, you should get the Setup Assistant, just as if it was a new machine. You will be prompted for all of your user information. Be careful to use the same short name as previously for user 501." kind of confusing where to retype the user short name... in darwin or setup assistant
I followed all the steps then completed the Setup Assistant and just when it looked like problem solved, I was still sent back to the darwin screen.
Following the setup assistant only made more user accounts. the setup also would not allow me to input "." and " " (periods and spaces) as the article says.
Please help!
*Green text represents information specific to my machine.

While in the B/W desktop go to the System/Accessability preference pane and check to see if this checkbox is selected:
If it isn't toggle it on and then off again and see if there's any change.

Darwin/BSD Boot

I am currently booting in Darwin/BSD mode and am unsure what happened to the GUI interface. Please help me out of this I have a dual G5. Running Tiger.

Hi
http://discussions.apple.com/message.jspa?messageID=4479189#4479189 is a thread I am in regarding this problem, see if any of the suggestions & links give you an answer.
Steve

Darwin/bsd login

hey, i have a powerbook running OSX - a little while ago i was online and it froze up completely. i turned it off and turned it on again and now it refues to load OSX, instead it just goes to console mode.
it comes up with a message saying:
darwin/bsd (and the name of my computer)
it then asks me to login, however no combination of login name or password helps.
i've looked around online for solutions but have yet to find any, i would greatly appreciate some help.
thankyou

Some solutions are proposed in this discussion:
Apple - Support - Discussions - Booting to Darwin-BSD Screen

Security update 2007-004 boots into Darwin!?

I have an iBook G4 running Tiger. I regularly use auto updates so it is completely up to date. Yesterday I installed security update 2007-004 and now after logging in with my id and password the computer boots into Darwin!
I booted up from the Tiger install CD, ran 'disk permissions' and 'disk repair', then booted back to Tiger on my hard drive and... it still booted into Darwin.
Darwin asks for a user ID and password. I use my ID and password and it takes me to a prompt that's very similar to MS-DOS, meaning a colon followed by blinking cursor, waiting for my to type a command.
How do I fix this, and why did it happen?
FYI, my computer crashed a lot after the previous security update, but nothing this bad.
iBook Mac OS X (10.4.9)

Make sure you have a backup first. If you do an Archive & Install (remember to tick Preserve Network & User Settings), the computer will move everything into a folder called Previous System Folder. Move whatever you need out of that folder, then trash it. I don't know if A&I saves actual files or just preference settings etc.
Try putting "Security Update Darwin' into the search field, you should get some hits, if I find any myself I'll post them.
When you've got to the prompt, have you tried typing 'exit' or 'reboot'?
Steve

Computer boots to Darwin/BSD

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