Computer won't successfully start - stuck at "Login Window Starting"

Hello, I'm having a problem and would appreciate any help. I recently was trying to uninstall QT 7.4.5 and revert to earlier vers bc 7.3.5 was adversely affecting an app I use. I was unsuccessful so eventually I just reinstalled 7.4.5.
However, now my computer won't start successfully. The screen gets stuck with a 99% full progress bar and the message "Login Window Starting". It stays at that status indefinitely.
Any ideas as to how I can get to my desktop? Any help is much appreciated!!!!!

I would reinstall OS X. If the hard drive is OK you can do this:
How to Perform an Archive and Install
1. Be sure to use Disk Utility first to repair the disk before performing the Archive and Install.
Repairing the Hard Drive and Permissions
Boot from your OS X Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Installer menu (Utilities menu for Tiger.) After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported, then quit DU and return to the installer.
If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior (4.0 for Tiger) and/or TechTool Pro (4.5.2 for Tiger) to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X.
2. Do not proceed with an Archive and Install if DU reports errors it cannot fix. In that case use Disk Warrior and/or TechTool Pro to repair the hard drive. If neither can repair the drive, then you will have to erase the drive and reinstall from scratch.
3. Boot from your OS X Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When you reach the screen to select a destination drive click once on the destination drive then click on the Option button. Select the Archive and Install option. You have an option to preserve users and network preferences. Only select this option if you are sure you have no corrupted files in your user accounts. Otherwise leave this option unchecked. Click on the OK button and continue with the OS X Installation.
4. Upon completion of the Archive and Install you will have a Previous System Folder in the root directory. You should retain the PSF until you are sure you do not need to manually transfer any items from the PSF to your newly installed system.
5. After moving any items you want to keep from the PSF you should delete it. You can back it up if you prefer, but you must delete it from the hard drive.
6. You can now download a Combo Updater directly from Apple's download site to update your new system to the desired version as well as install any security or other updates. You can also do this using Software Update.

Similar Messages

IMac purchased at garage sale help. Gets stuck at "Login Window Starting."

Hi all,
I recently purchased an iMac at a barn sale, and it turns on and everything, but then gets stuck at "Login Window starting" screen (http://i605.photobucket.com/albums/tt135/gpd2paul4/IMG_0251.jpg). When Goggling this problem, I see that I am not alone in thee problem, but I am alone in the fact that I don't even know what model it is (I think G3, but not sure), let alone have the original CDs or paperwork. I have tried holding 'shift' right after the startup chime to start up in safe mode, but it still gets stuck at "Login Window starting." I have attached a few pictures of the computer to help you veteran Mac users identify it, which might help you help me. Any help is appreciated. (Step-by-step instructions are best, I am good at using a Mac, but this is getting pretty technical.)
Thanks!!!
Photos:
http://i605.photobucket.com/albums/tt135/gpd2paul4/IMG_0253.jpg
http://i605.photobucket.com/albums/tt135/gpd2paul4/IMG_0254.jpg
http://i605.photobucket.com/albums/tt135/gpd2paul4/IMG_0255.jpg

Try holding down the shift key when powering on. This will skip a few programs from loading.
Hold down the shift key when booting into Mac OS X. this will check your file structure and do a repair. This will also leave off some files from being used.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1455
"What is Safe Boot, Safe Mode? (Mac OS X) "
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1564?viewlocale=en_US
Try holding down the option key when powering on. This will bring up the startup manager. Perhaps 9 is installed. Click on icon then click on right arrow.
This is an iMac g3 slot loader.
Your Mac won't start up in Mac OS X (Mac OS X 10.3.9 or earlier).
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1411?viewlocale=en_US
Which iMac Is It? OK here are some more comparison charts:
http://lowendmac.com/macdan/05/0202.html
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=58669
You need to figure out the level of your firmware before installing 10.2 or greater. ( The PC name for firmware is BIOS. ) Installing 10.2 with a down level firmware will most likely make your iMac unusable and difficult to fix.
What is firmware?
The firmware software receives control when you poweron your machine. It does some hardware testing and some hardware configuration then passes control to your version of Mac OS. It reside on a PROM ( program read only memory ) chip on the logic board.
Open Firmware, boot into Open Firmware.
Power on your iMac while holding down commandoption+of
The first output line contains the firmware level. Mine reads:
Apple PowerMac4,1 4.1.9f1 BootRom built on 09/14/01 at 13.18.04
Copyright 1994-2001 Apple Computer Inc.
On my machine, I have 4.1.9f1.
What firmware do you need?
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=86117
For a slot loading iMac, this article indicates that you need to be running 9.1 or later version of Mac OS Classic.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=75130
"The iMac Firmware Update 4.1.9 will only run on iMac computers with lot-loading CD or DVD drives running Mac OS 9.1 or later from a local drive. If you are using Mac OS X you must boot from a local Mac OS 9.1 or later writeable partition (not a CD, or network disk) prior to following the update instructions."
You can download the Mac OS 9 updates from the Apple site.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1387?viewlocale=en_US
For tiger, you need 256meg of memory.
Mac OS X 10.4: System requirements
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1514
There is no need to partition. You can save hard drive space by doing a custom install. Leave out the print drivers you do not need and the languages you do not need. Doing so you will need about three gigabytes of space.
You need to get into single use mode.
This page will tell you how to get into single user mode.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1492
Basically, you hold down the command-s key then powering on your machine. The command key has a little apple symbol on the lower left. It is between the alt/option key and the space bar
When you are in single user mode, you are in Unix. you can try looking in the log files to see if you can find anything.
To see the current boot log you use the dmsg command.
dmsg
startup information is in /var/log/system.log
to display the last 500 lines use the tail command.
tail -n 500 /var/log/system.log | more
For these commands you will need to gain write access to your startup disk. There are some comments at the end of the startup process that list the needed commands.
mac $ ls -lF ~/zztemp.txt
ls: /Users/mac/zztemp.txt: No such file or directory
mac $ tail -n 500 /var/log/system.log | cat > ~/zztemp.txt
mac $ nano ~/zztemp.txt
mac $
I assume the message contained /Library/Logs/CrashReporter. Do a change directory:
cd /Library/Logs/CrashReporter
mac $ pwd
/Library/Logs/CrashReporter
mac $ ls
???.crash.log VoiceCenter.crash.log
Exited process.crash.log
mac $ tail -n 400 \?\?\?.crash.log
Host Name: ???
Date/Time: 2008-09-15 14:28:37.577 -0400
OS Version: 10.4.11 (Build 8S165)
Report Version: 4
Robert

IMAC G3 Stuck On Login Window starting

I have a blue IMAC G3 with OS X Panther.
I was tampering with files years ago on this computer and deleted a file that stops the computer from going past "Login Window starting".
I have tried the trick where you reset everything on the computer except your files by using the commands
mount -uw /
and
rm /var/db/.applesetupdone
(if i didn't type right now, i did at the time and it says that it doesn't exist.)
I also tried going into safe mode and it was still stuck.
I tried pressing the option, apple, r, and p keys 3 times trick and it didn't work.
I bought the Mac OS X cds to rewipe it and the cd drive doesn't work.
I thought the cd drive had something in it so i tried a trick to use the emergency cd thing with a ruler and also tried to use a utility which both didn't work.
So since all that didn't work, I was wondering if someone could help me solve whats wrong in different ways then that.
Do you think I can wipe it with a usb containing Mac OS X Panther? If i could how would I do this.
When I bought this computer it completely worked, even the cd drive, after I tampered with it, it hasn't been the same. This is a dead loved ones machine and I would like it to work again for a two year memorial on 4/20.
Please get back fast so I can have it ready in two days.
Thanks!

Does this blue iMac have a slot-loading or tray-loading optical drive? If it's a slot-loading type and if the iMac has a FireWire port, an external FireWire optical drive should boot the computer for installation of the OS. Keep in mind that the slot-loading iMacs have shown a tendency to develop problems with the PAV board (the major power-providing component) with age. When this occurs, the wise thing is to retire the computer. There are no new PAV boards and the expertise level required for replacing one would be described as "very skilled," because of the potential for serious electrical shock or worse. Because of this, you should decide how much money you'd want to invest to get it up and running. An external FireWire DVD±RW drive is $99 at Other World Computing. You might find a suitable external FireWire drive at ebay — even an older CD-ROM, CD-RW, or DVD-ROM. For that matter, you might also find a used/pulled internal optical drive for the slot-loading iMacs, which would be a CD-ROM, CD-RW, or DVD-ROM drive. Pulled drives are also old and likely to have high mileage. The slipping problem with old slot-loading drives, wherein the disk needs a push on insertion or a yank on eject, is also very common and the result of dried out rubber rollers that have lost their natural capability to grip the disks.

Stuck at 'Login Window Starting'

I just downloaded the latest iPod and Security update. I restarted and have been stuck at the 'Login Window Starting' field.........Can anyone offer a fix for this issue
Powerbook G4 Mac OS X (10.3.9)

Doug,
I have played with this a little bit and have a scheme for transferring the file via Target Disk Mode. This procedure has been a little bit tricky for me due to permissions issues. It looks like it is best to copy the file from the host computer directly to the directory where it needs to be on the target machine. So, here is a recipe, partly lifted from the Apple KB article:
1. Make sure that the target computer is turned off. If you are using a PowerBook or iBook as the target computer, you should also plug in its AC power adapter. The target computer is the one that is having the startup problem.
2. Use a FireWire cable (6-pin to 6-pin) to connect the target computer to a host computer. The host computer does not need to be turned off.
3. Start up the target computer and immediately press and hold down the T key until the FireWire icon appears. The hard disk of the target computer should become available to the host computer and will likely appear on its desktop.
4. Find the good file on the host computer. There are different ways to do this. The standard way would be to drill down through bunches of folders to find the one of interest. Another way is to select Finder>Go>Go to Folder. Copy and paste the following into the window that pops up:
/System/Library/Frameworks/ApplicationServices.framework/Versions/A/Fr
ameworks/CoreGraphics.framework/Versions/A/Resources
Note that there cannot be any spaces in this address. Once the folder opens, look for the libPDFRIP.A.dylib file.
5. Find the folder of interest on the target computer. The easiest way to do this may be to again select Finder>Go>Go to Folder. For me, I enter
/Volumes/Macintosh HD/System/Library/Frameworks/ApplicationServices.framework/Versions/A/
Frameworks/CoreGraphics.framework/Versions/A/Resources
Notice that this is almost the same name as used before except that it has the /Volumes/Macintosh HD in front of everything. This points you to the hard drive of the target computer, EXCEPT that you might have a different name for your hard drive. So, you might have to replace Macintosh HD with the name of the target hard drive as it shows on the desktop. Also, if the hard drive has two words in the name, there does need to be a space between them. I don't know how this will post, but for me, there has to be a space between Macintosh and HD.
6. If all goes well, you will have two folders named Resources on your desktop. Make sure not to confuse which is which. Drag libPDFRIP.A.dylib from the host folder to the target folder. You will be prompted to authenticate and you will have to do that and enter your password for this to work.
7. The libPDFRIP.A.dylib file that you transferred to the target machine will probably have you as the owner. It is root on the host machine and I definitely think it should be set to root. So, do a Control-click on the libPDFRIP.A.dylib file on the target machine and then select Get Info. Under Ownership and Permissions, click the triangle by Details so that it points down. Open the lock by owner, and then change ownership from you to the system. Close the lock again.
8. When you are finished copying files, drag the target computer's hard disk icon to the Trash or Eject from the File menu.
9. Press the target computer's power button to turn it off.
10. Unplug the FireWire cable.
I hope this works. If you do this and still have startup problems, I suppose that you could use the same procedure to copy over the entire CoreGraphics.framework folder. I would worry that the ownership of the files in this folder would all change, and I don't know how much of a hassle it would be to deal with that. Alternatively, you could back up your Home folder and any other files of interest via the Target Disk Mode and then do an Archive and Install on the problem computer.
Rich
EMAC G4 1.0 GHz Mac OS X (10.4.3)
[ Edited by Apple Discussions Moderator; wrap long lines ]

Oh Lord! I messed it all up :( stuck on "Login window starting"

Have had a mess all week here. I did a CCC on my drive, reformated the partitions and now testing my backup from my ext. Hard Drive it jsut sits there forever on "Login window starting" and them eventually a blank blue screen.
I tried to do a fresh install of Panther, by installing 10.2 first but Panther CD won't work. Now after yet another format my Panther Upgrade CD still won't work
I am really screwed I think.

LOL, ok.
*I take it you cloned your internal HDD to an external HDD. Is that a Firewire External HDD? Did you do a complete backup of your entire internal HDD, OS and all?
- Yes I cloned the drive to an external Firewire drive. yes a complete clone/ made the HD bootable.
*Does reformatted partitions refer to the internal of external HDD.
- It referes to the internal HD since I reformetted and split the HD so I could install Panther on one and Tiger on the other in the end.
*"just sits there" refers to booting from internal of external HDD?
Ok, well both. a few days ago before I did yet another reformat. I had installed Tigar 1st, than I cloned back my Panther copy to the other partition.
I woud get the same exact problem when loading with the internal and external drive.
I assume there was an errore I did not notice when using CCC. Hope I have not made more confusion

HELP! Stuck on "Login Window Starting"

Hey everyone...sorry if this is gonna be a long story, but I have to share everything in order for y'all to be able to help me.
Ok, so I went to start up my iMac G4 earlier this afternoon and it let me login and everything fine. I went to install the updates and then I restarted once finished. When it started back up the screen started to flash a little question mark "?" and it said it was missing a Mac version, so I put in my Mac OS X Panther version 10.3 Disc 1 and it started to load.
Once the first disk was finished--the computer restarted again, but then instead of asking for Disc 2--it went to the Start up page and started to load everything. The bar gets to about 98% full, but the stops at the "Login Window starting" part. It's just sitting there doing nothing. It doesn't even get me to the "User Login page"
PLEASE HELP!
I would like to get back into the desktop!!!
Thanks,
D

To The Apple Discussion Boards!
If you have an iMac G4 then you really need to repost over in the iMac (Flat Panel) Includes all iMac's with PowerPC G4 700 MHz, 800 MHz G4, 1GHz, and, 1.25 GHz G4 Forums where the G4 iMac users hang out.
This discussion area is for G5 iMac issues.

Stuck on "Login window starting" screen

one night i was putting a big file, about 2-4 gb, into iphoto from my old imac and i forgot to make sure that it stayed on my external hard drive and there wasnt enough room on my main drive because they were small hard drives except for my external. iphoto said there wasnt enough room so i selected all the pics i just transfered and tried to put them back in my external but still in iphoto and then the screen dimmed a little and this message came up saying i need to restart my computer so i just turned it off because i was tired and thought i could deal with this some other time. then a week or 2 later i turned it back on and it got all the way to were it said "login window starting" and stopped about 98 percent. and i waited for a few minutes and decided to just leave it there and clean my room then i watched a movie and when it was done i checked back and it didnt move. whats wrong with it.

Hi Ian, and a warm welcome to the forums!
OSX will mess up the HD if space gets too low, Free space isn't really ours to use anymore.
Could be many things, we should start with this...
"Try Disk Utility
1. Insert the Mac OS X Install disc, then restart the computer while holding the C key.
2. When your computer finishes starting up from the disc, choose Disk Utility from the Installer menu. (In Mac OS X 10.4 or later, you must select your language first.)
*Important: Do not click Continue in the first screen of the Installer. If you do, you must restart from the disc again to access Disk Utility.*
3. Click the First Aid tab.
4. Select your Mac OS X volume.
5. Click Repair. Disk Utility checks and repairs the disk."
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106214
Then try a Safe Boot, (holding Shift key down at bootup), run Disk Utility in Applications>Utilities, then highlight your drive, click on Repair Permissions, reboot when it completes.
(Safe boot may stay on the gray radian for a long time, let it go, it's trying to repair the Hard Drive.)
If perchance you can't find your install Disc, at least try it from the Safe Boot part onward.
If that doesn't do it let us know.
You need a minimum of 10 GB free space.

Stuck on "login window starting"

My computer will not get to the login window. It's stuck trying to bring the login window up. Help!

What type of Mac mini is it - PPC or Intel? When did it start suffering this problem? Does it 'hang up' in the grey screen with Apple logo, the plain blue screen or the blue screen with progress bar?
The fact that the system begins the startup process is a relatively good sign, since that means it is at least getting past the power-on self test, so thus the basic hardware is OK. However, depending on where exactly the startup is hanging, it's possible you have a 'damaged' copy of MacOS on your hard drive, or that the drive itself has a problem.
The first thing I'd try in this situation is to insert the system's original install disk, and then reboot, holding the C key down to force it to start from the install disk rather than the internal hard drive. If that works, not only does it show the system is basically healthy, but also give you access to Disk Utility, which will allow you to check the drive to make sure it's OK. If you can run that and select the internal drive, then click "repair drive' it will report if there are any problems and try and fix any it finds. If there are errors and it fixes them, the system may then boot normally. If if doesn't, or finds errors and reports 'error on exit' it means the drive is corrupt and may need to be reformatted. (Beware, doing so will loose all your data).
The install disk also allows the system to be fully reinstalled, should that be necessary, but do not take that step unless and until you have checked the drive with Disk Utility!

Freezing at "Login Window starting"

Hello, my PB won't get past login screen. It freezes specifically when it says "Login Windows starting".
Apple Hardware Test comes out fine but I can't repair using Disk Utility (the disk or permissions). Haven't tried Disk Warrior yet. I've tried starting in Safe Mode to no avail. I tried resetting PRAM and PMU with the same result.
Is there any other possible solution to my startup woes before I concede defeat and take this bad boy in to an Apple store?

I'm sure you're ready to turn in the computer for repair or troubleshooting but I have a couple of suggestions if you haven't tried them already. First, when you open Disk Utility from your installation disc, on the bottom after selecting your hard drive, what does it say next to S.M.A.R.T. status? Does it say "Failing"? My experience is that this finds problems with hard drives better than Apple Hardware Test. If it says "Verified", have you tried to re-install your operating system, either "Archive and Install" or "Erase and Install?" I would attempt an Archive and Install first, then an Erase and Install and see how that goes. Good luck.

Stalls on 'login window starting'

Hi,
a couple of aeeks ago, out of the blue, one morning my computer started up as normal, but whilst loading the blue progress bar stalled on 'login window starting' and won't go past there. I tried starting in safe mode and single user mode, but still the same problem. Unfortunately i don't have the original disks as i bought the computer used, so i've no idea what to do now.
any help would be greatly appreciated =)

Hi, Helen. Welcome to Apple Discussions.
You are likely going to need a set of OS X 10.3 (Panther) Installation discs. Make sure you get a retail copy, and not a system-specific set.
Meanwhile, you can try booting into Safe Mode. This will take quite awhile longer than a normal startup because it does a file check and repair of the hard disk.
If this works you will see your normal desktop. Once completely started up in Safe Mode, try to restart normally, and go to Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility. Click on the top hard drive icon in the left sidebar and note the S.M.A.R.T. status at the bottom right of the pane. What does it say?
Select the named boot volume in the left sidebar, ("Macintosh HD" unless you've renamed it). What is the hard drive capacity and how much space remains available on it? Repair permissions on it.
See if you are able to do a little hard drive maintenance to help things out.

Stuck in login window after upgrading to Mavericks

I am unable to login with my (admin) account after upgrading to Mavericks yesterday.
This was very unfortunate considering that I didn't backup my data !!
On reboot (I do not remember whether it was the first or second time) I couldn't login anymore as I usually did.
I tried different procedures (entering secure mode, repair permissions, reinstall 2 times Mavericks) but cannot solve the stuck.
Then I thought it could be a nice idea to create a new admin user and followed this instructions (http://www.hackmac.org/tutorials/how-to-create-a-new-administrator-account/).
After that I was able to login with the new user, I backed-up my data but I was still in stuck on login window with the old user.
I tried to delete
com.apple.loginwindow.plist
com.apple.recentitems.plist
from /Users/XXX//Library/Preferences/ and tried to restart but nothing.
Now I wonder how my old and important user can start working again.
Thank you very much.
Giuliano

Restart and hold down the Command and R keys during startup.
On top, in the Menu Bar click the Utilities item then select Terminal.
In the Terminal window, type resetpassword and hit Return.
The Password reset utility launches/
Reset password.
Restart

Stuck on "Login Window Loading" screen

one night i was putting a big file, about 2-4 gb, into iphoto from my old imac and i forgot to make sure that it stayed on my external hard drive and there wasnt enough room on my main drive because they were small hard drives except for my external. iphoto said there wasnt enough room so i selected all the pics i just transfered and tried to put them back in my external but still in iphoto and then the screen dimmed a little and this message came up saying i need to restart my computer so i just turned it off because i was tired and thought i could deal with this some other time. then a week or 2 later i turned it back on and it got all the way to were it said "login window starting" and stopped about 98 percent. and i waited for a few minutes and decided to just leave it there and clean my room then i watched a movie and when it was done i checked back and it didnt move. whats wrong with it.

Hi Ian,
What they don't tell you is that Free Space on your Hard Drive is NOT YOUR Free Space, you need at the very minimum about 10% or 10GB at the very minimum, & in my experience, less than 40% will slow OSX down to one degree or another.
Very Important, how much Free Space is on your Hard Drive first of all? Click on the Macintosh HD on the Desktop, then do a Get Info on it.
Once you delete a few big files & empty the Trash, especially any on te Desktop that use 3 times the resources...
How much free space is on the HD, where has all the space gone?
OmniDiskSweeper is now free, and likely the best/easiest...
http://www.omnigroup.com/applications/omnidisksweeper/

Login Window starting problem

I just got a iBook G3 Dual USB for Christmas and it had 10.3.3 and i upgraded it to 10.3.9 and now all it does is boot to the loading screen and wont get past the Login Window start part, the mouse is still moving so its not freezed. I also get cant boot into safe boot because the same thing happens. I dont have the restore/install cd either.

Colton.
You need to purchase a set of Panther 10.3.x installation discs.
By using the Jaguar 10.2.x discs, or model specific discs on the iBook, you may have further compromised the system.
Tiger is available for purchase at The Apple Store (U.S.).
Panther, is no longer available directly from the Apple Online Store, as Tiger 10.4.x is the most up to date OS.
A Full Retail Version, of the Panther Install CDs, or a Full Retail Version, of the Tiger Install DVD, can also be purchased rather inexpensively, at some online Apple retailers, Amazon, eBay, AppleRescue, FastMac, etc.
Be sure not to purchase grey, upgrade or machine specific CDs or DVDs.
Panther is only on CDs, not DVDs.
The discs must look exactly like the images in the above links.
Additional info in these links.
Using OS X Install CDs/DVDs On Multiple Macs
What's A Computer Specific Mac OS X Release
Software Update, Upgrade: What's The Difference?
Once Panther 10.3.x is installed, you can use the 10.3.9 Combo Update, to upgrade to the final version.
If your Mac meets the System Requirements for Tiger, you could also consider installing that.
And then use the PPC 10.4.8 Combo Update, to upgrade to the current version.
Panther System Requirements
Additional Panther System Requirements
Tiger System Requirements
Additionally,
"Tiger ships on a DVD, but if your Mac doesn’t have a built-in DVD-ROM player, you’ll need CD media. When you buy Mac OS X Tiger, you qualify to purchase Tiger CDs for only $9.95."
Download The Order Form Here. Media Exchange Program
Orders must be mailed by March 19, 2007
AppleRescue, also sells a Tiger installation set on CD
Shop Carefully, Examine All Documentation, And Good Luck!
ali b

Login Window starting hang

A few days ago I downloaded the new security update for my iBook G4, as suggested by the auto update. After successful download and install and then rebooting like it asked, every time I restart my iBook it hangs at the 'Login Window starting' portion of the startup, even in Safe Mode.
It isn't just slow like I have seen others say in the forum, I left it running overnight and was still at the same point this morning. I have restarted many time hoping, but have failed.
iBook G4 Mac OS X (10.3.9)

Thanks for the reply.
I tried what was suggested first in that thread and didn't help. Tried the second posting, but when I get to:
/sbin/mount -uw /
cd /Library/Preferences
rm com.apple.loginwindow.plist
I get the error: rm: com.apple.loginwindow.plist: No such file or directory
Something tells me I may end up reinstalling but I would like to get the data off of the drive first. Hadn't had a chance to copy it to my new external drive with the rush of finals last week..

"Login Window Starting" haults boot on iBook G4

I'm trying to fix my friends iBook G4 that will no longer boot properly. The boot process hangs at "Login Window Starting" and I have tried several things including running fsck from single user mode (which found various errors that were fixed), resetting permissions, removing plist files and connecting it to a wired network - without any luck.
I'm pretty sure the iBook G4 is running 10.3.x but she (my friend) doesn't know for sure. Has anyone run into this before? Is there anything else I can try without reloading the iBook? Is it possible to access the HD on this Mac from another Mac via firewire?

Hi Eric,
Welcome to the Discussions.
You can access the iBook's hard drive with Firewire Target Mode. I would try repairing the drive with Disk utility and if it still won't boot, download and apply the 10.3.9 combined update again using Firewire Target Mode. It's available on the Downloads page. If that fails, do an Archive and Install.
John

Computer won't successfully start - stuck at "Login Window Starting"

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