HELP! my computer will not start!

Help Please...my powerbook g4 12" will not start up. when i power up, a white screen with a gray apple in the center is all that i see. i was reading some posts on this website, and found some information to bypass, and help move into safe mode, but when i get to the point where i am holding the shift key and the small gear looking thing is turning, it gets to a certain point and the computer shuts itself off. the computer was purchased in 2003, and has worked fine. the only thing i can think of that might have triggered a problem is that i just had to purchase a brand new power supply from apple, other than that there have been no changes in use. any and all assistance is greatly appreciated.
thanks
Karin K.

Karin:
i cleaned off my hard drive and started over...
I am not sure what you mean by "cleaned off", but if you mean an erase and install, you lose everything on the HDD. I recommend a reinstall only after we have exhausted other possibilities because it is the ultimate invasive procedure. It is also important to have a backup before attempting any major procedure.
i dont have the upgrades i made previously
If you mean the OS upgrades, try this:
Go to Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility.
Select your HDD (manufacturer ID) in left side bar.
Select First Aid in main panel.
Click Repair Disk Permissions.
Download and install Mac OS X 10.4.11 Combo update (PPC)
Computer will restart after installation.
Repair Disk Permissions as previously.
Go to Apple Menu > Software Update
Install all updates.
Repair Disk Permissions as previously.
is there any way to prevent this in the future?
1. Make sure you always have a current backup. The best way to do this is to clone your entire HDD to an external firewire HDD using a utility like SuperDuper or Carbon Copy Cloner
2. Develop a regular maintenance schedule. Here are a couple of articles that will help:
Mac OS X 10.3/10.4: System maintenance
Macintosh OS X Routine Maintenance
Please do post back if you have further questions or comments.
Good luck
cornelius

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    1. This procedure is a diagnostic test. It changes nothing, for better or worse, and therefore will not, in itself, solve the problem. But with the aid of the test results, the solution may take a few minutes, instead of hours or days.
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    You may not be able to understand the script yourself. But variations of the script have been posted on this website thousands of times over a period of years. The site is hosted by Apple, which does not allow it to be used to distribute harmful software. Any one of the millions of registered users could have read the script and raised the alarm if it was harmful. Then I would not be here now and you would not be reading this message.
    Nevertheless, if you can't satisfy yourself that these instructions are safe, don't follow them. Ask for other options.
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    ☞ Paste into the window of another application.
    ☞ Wait for the test to run. It usually takes a few minutes.
    ☞ Paste the results, which will have been copied automatically, back into a reply on this page.
    The sequence is: copy, paste, wait, paste again. You don't need to copy a second time. Details follow.
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    6. If you have more than one user, and the one affected by the problem is not an administrator, then please run the test twice: once while logged in as the affected user, and once as an administrator. The results may be different. The user that is created automatically on a new computer when you start it for the first time is an administrator. If you can't log in as an administrator, test as the affected user. Most personal Macs have only one user, and in that case this section doesn’t apply. Don't log in as root.
    7. The script is a single long line, all of which must be selected. You can accomplish this easily by triple-clicking anywhere in the line. The whole line will highlight, though you may not see all of it in the browser window, and you can then copy it. If you try to select the line by dragging across the part you can see, you won't get all of it.
    Triple-click anywhere in the line of text below on this page to select it:
    PATH=/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/sbin:/usr/libexec;clear;cd;p=(Software Hardware Memory Diagnostics Power FireWire Thunderbolt USB Fonts SerialATA 4 1000 25 5120 KiB/s 1024 85 \\b%% 20480 1 MB/s 25000 ports ' com.clark.\* \*dropbox \*genieo\* \*GoogleDr\* \*k.AutoCAD\* \*k.Maya\* vidinst\* ' DYLD_INSERT_LIBRARIES\ DYLD_LIBRARY_PATH -86 "` route -n get default|awk '/e:/{print $2}' `" 25 N\\/A down up 102400 25600 recvfrom sendto CFBundleIdentifier 25 25 25 1000 MB ' com.adobe.fpsaud com.apple.AirPortBaseStationAgent com.apple.installer.osmessagetracing ' ' 1274181950 464843899 1233118628 ' 51 5120 files );N5=${#p[@]};p[N5]=` networksetup -listnetworkserviceorder|awk ' NR>1 { sub(/^\([0-9]+\) /,"");n=$0;getline;} $NF=="'${p[26]}')" { sub(/.$/,"",$NF);print n;exit;} ' `;f=('\n%s: %s\n' '\n%s\n\n%s\n' '\nRAM details\n%s\n' %s\ %s '%s\n-\t%s\n' );S0() { echo ' { q=$NF+0;$NF="";u=$(NF-1);$(NF-1)="";gsub(/^ +| +$/,"");if(q>='${p[$1]}') printf("%s (UID %s) is using %s '${p[$2]}'",$0,u,q);} ';};s=(' s/[0-9A-Za-z._]+@[0-9A-Za-z.]+\.[0-9A-Za-z]{2,4}/EMAIL/g;/\/Shared/!s/(\/Users\/)[^ /]+/\1USER/g;s/[-0-9A-Fa-f]{22,}/UUID/g;' ' s/^ +//;/de: S|[nst]:/p;' ' {sub(/^ +/,"")};/er:/;/y:/&&$2<'${p[10]} ' 1s/://;3,6d;/[my].+:/d;s/^ {4}//;H;${ g;s/\n$//;/s: [^EO]|x([^08]|02[^F]|8[^0])/p;} ' ' 5h;6{ H;g;/P/!p;} ' ' ($1~/^Cy/&&$3>'${p[11]}')||($1~/^Cond/&&$2!~/^N/) ' ' /:$/{ N;/:.+:/d;s/ *://;b0'$'\n'' };/^ *(V.+ [0N]|Man).+ /{ s/ 0x.... //;s/[()]//g;s/(.+: )(.+)/ (\2)/;H;};$b0'$'\n'' d;:0'$'\n'' x;s/\n\n//;/Apple[ ,]|Genesy|Intel|SMSC/d;s/\n.*//;/\)$/p;' ' s/^.*C/C/;H;${ g;/No th|pms/!p;} ' '/= [^GO]/p' '{$1=""};1' ' /Of/!{ s/^.+is |\.//g;p;} ' ' $0&&!/ / { n++;print;} END { split("'"${p[41]}"'",b);for(i in b) print b[i];if(n<200) print "com.apple.";} ' ' $3~/[0-9]:[0-9]{2}$/ { gsub(/:[0-9:a-f]{14}/,"");} { print|"tail -n'${p[12]}'";} ' ' NR==2&&$4<='${p[13]}' { print $4;} ' ' END { $2/=256;if($2>='${p[15]}') print int($2) } ' ' NR!=13{next};{sub(/[+-]$/,"",$NF)};'"`S0 21 22`" 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's/\/(Contents\/)?Info.plist$//;p' ' { gsub("^| |\n","\\|\\|kMDItem'${p[35]}'=");sub("^...."," ") };1 ' p '{print $3"\t"$1}' 's/\'$'\t''.+//p' 's/1/On/p' '/Prox.+: [^0]/p' '$2>'${p[43]}'{$2=$2-1;print}' ' BEGIN { i="'${p[26]}'";M1='${p[16]}';M2='${p[18]}';M3='${p[31]}';M4='${p[32]}';} !/^A/{next};/%/ { getline;if($5<M1) a="user "$2"%, system "$4"%";} /disk0/&&$4>M2 { b=$3" ops/s, "$4" blocks/s";} $2==i { if(c) { d=$3+$4+$5+$6;next;};if($4>M3||$6>M4) c=int($4/1024)" in, "int($6/1024)" out";} END { if(a) print "CPU: "a;if(b) print "I/O: "b;if(c) print "Net: "c" (KiB/s)";if(d) print "Net errors: "d" packets/s";} ' ' /r\[0\] /&&$NF!~/^1(0|72\.(1[6-9]|2[0-9]|3[0-1])|92\.168)\./ { print $NF;exit;} ' ' !/^T/ { printf "(static)";exit;} ' '/apsd|BKAg|OpenD/!s/:.+//p' ' (/k:/&&$3!~/(255\.){3}0/ )||(/v6:/&&$2!~/A/ ) ' ' $1~"lR"&&$2<='${p[25]}';$1~"li"&&$3!~"wpa2";' ' BEGIN { FS=":";p="uniq -c|sed -E '"'s/ +\\([0-9]+\\)\\(.+\\)/\\\2 x\\\1/;s/x1$//'"'";} { n=split($3,a,".");sub(/_2[01].+/,"",$3);print $2" "$3" "a[n]$1|p;b=b$1;} END { close(p);if(b) print("\n\t* Code injection");} ' ' NR!=4{next} {$NF/=10240} '"`S0 27 14`" ' END { if($3~/[0-9]/)print$3;} ' ' BEGIN { L='${p[36]}';} !/^[[:space:]]*(#.*)?$/ { l++;if(l<=L) f=f"\n   "$0;} END { F=FILENAME;if(!F) exit;if(!f) f="\n   [N/A]";"file -b "F|getline T;if(T!~/^(AS.+ (En.+ )?text$|(Bo|PO).+ sh.+ text ex)/) F=F" ("T")";printf("\nContents of %s\n%s\n",F,f);if(l>L) printf("\n   ...and %s more line(s)\n",l-L);} ' ' s/^ ?n...://p;s/^ ?p...:/-'$'\t''/p;' 's/0/Off/p' ' END{print NR} ' ' /id: N|te: Y/{i++} END{print i} ' ' / / { print "'"${p[28]}"'";exit;};1;' '/ en/!s/\.//p' ' NR!=13{next};{sub(/[+-M]$/,"",$NF)};'"`S0 39 40`" ' $10~/\(L/&&$9!~"localhost" { sub(/.+:/,"",$9);print $1": "$9;} ' '/^ +r/s/.+"(.+)".+/\1/p' 's/(.+\.wdgt)\/(Contents\/)?Info\.plist$/\1/p' 's/^.+\/(.+)\.wdgt$/\1/p' ' /l: /{ /DVD/d;s/.+: //;b0'$'\n'' };/s: /{ /V/d;s/^ */- /;H;};$b0'$'\n'' d;:0'$'\n'' x;/APPLE [^:]+$/d;p;' ' /^find: /d;p;' "`S0 44 45`" ' BEGIN{FS="= "} /Path/{print $2} ' ' /^ *$/d;s/^ */   /;' );c1=(system_profiler pmset\ -g nvram fdesetup find syslog df vm_stat sar ps sudo\ crontab sudo\ iotop top pkgutil 'PlistBuddy 2>&1 -c "Print' whoami cksum kextstat launchctl sudo\ launchctl crontab 'sudo defaults read' stat lsbom mdfind ' for i in ${p[24]};do ${c1[18]} ${c2[27]} $i;done;' defaults\ read scutil sudo\ dtrace sudo\ profiles sed\ -En awk /S*/*/P*/*/*/C*/*/airport networksetup mdutil sudo\ lsof test osascript\ -e );c2=(com.apple.loginwindow\ LoginHook '" /L*/P*/loginw*' "'tell app \"System Events\" to get properties of login items'|tr , \\\n" 'L*/Ca*/com.ap*.Saf*/E*/* -d 1 -name In*t -exec '"${c1[14]}"' :CFBundleDisplayName" {} \;|sort|uniq' '~ $TMPDIR.. \( -flags +sappnd,schg,uappnd,uchg -o ! -user $UID -o ! -perm -600 \)' '.??* -path .Trash -prune -o -type d -name *.app -print -prune' :${p[35]}\" :Label\" '{/,}L*/{Con,Pref}* -type f ! -size 0 -name *.plist -exec plutil -s {} \;' "-f'%N: %l' Desktop L*/Keyc*" therm sysload boot-args status " -F '\$Time \$Message' -k Sender kernel -k Message Req 'bad |Beac|caug|corru|dead[^bl]|FAIL|fail|GPU |hfs: Ru|inval|jnl:|last value [1-9]|n Cause: -|NVDA\(|pagin|proc: t|Roamed|rror|ssert|Thrott|tim(ed? ?|ing )o|WARN' -k Message Rne 'Goog|ksadm|SMC:|suhel| VALI|ver-r|xpma' -o -k Sender fseventsd -k Message Req 'SL' " '-du -n DEV -n EDEV 1 10' 'acrx -o comm,ruid,%cpu' '-t1 10 1' '-f -pfc /var/db/r*/com.apple.*.{BS,Bas,Es,J,OSXU,Rem,up}*.bom' '{/,}L*/Lo*/Diag* -type f -regex .\*[cght] ! -name .?\* ! -name \*ag \( -exec grep -lq "^Thread c" {} \; -exec printf \* \; -o -true \) -execdir stat -f:%Sc:%N -t%F {} \;|sort -t: -k2 |tail -n'${p[38]} '/S*/*/Ca*/*xpc* >&- ||echo No' '-L /{S*/,}L*/StartupItems -type f -exec file {} +' '-L /S*/L*/{C*/Sec*A,Ex}* {/,}L*/{A*d,Ca*/*/Ex,Co{mpon,reM},Ex,In{p,ter},iTu*/*P,Keyb,Mail/B,Pr*P,Qu*T,Scripti,Sec,Servi,Spo,Widg}* -path \\*s/Resources -prune -o -type f -name Info.plist' '/usr/lib -type f -name *.dylib' `awk "${s[31]}"<<<${p[23]}` "/e*/{auto,{cron,fs}tab,hosts,{[lp],sy}*.conf,mach_i*/*,pam.d/*,ssh{,d}_config,*.local} {,/usr/local}/etc/periodic/*/* /L*/P*{,/*}/com.a*.{Bo,sec*.ap}*t {/S*/,/,}L*/Lau*/*t .launchd.conf" list getenv /Library/Preferences/com.apple.alf\ globalstate --proxy '-n get default' -I --dns -getdnsservers\ "${p[N5]}" -getinfo\ "${p[N5]}" -P -m\ / '' -n1 '-R -l1 -n1 -o prt -stats command,uid,prt' '--regexp --only-files --files com.apple.pkg.*|sort|uniq' -kl -l -s\ / '-R -l1 -n1 -o mem -stats command,uid,mem' '+c0 -i4TCP:0-1023' com.apple.dashboard\ layer-gadgets '-d /L*/Mana*/$USER&&echo On' '-app Safari WebKitDNSPrefetchingEnabled' "+c0 -l|awk '{print(\$1,\$3)}'|sort|uniq -c|sort -n|tail -1|awk '{print(\$2,\$3,\$1)}'" );N1=${#c2[@]};for j in {0..9};do c2[N1+j]=SP${p[j]}DataType;done;N2=${#c2[@]};for j in 0 1;do c2[N2+j]="-n ' syscall::'${p[33+j]}':return { @out[execname,uid]=sum(arg0) } tick-10sec { trunc(@out,1);exit(0);} '";done;l=(Restricted\ files Hidden\ apps 'Elapsed time (s)' POST Battery Safari\ extensions Bad\ plists 'High file counts' User Heat System\ load boot\ args FileVault Diagnostic\ reports Log 'Free space (MiB)' 'Swap (MiB)' Activity 'CPU per process' Login\ hook 'I/O per process' Mach\ ports kexts Daemons Agents XPC\ cache Startup\ items Admin\ access Root\ access Bundles dylibs Apps Font\ issues Inserted\ dylibs Firewall Proxies DNS TCP/IP Wi-Fi Profiles Root\ crontab User\ crontab 'Global login items' 'User login items' Spotlight Memory Listeners Widgets Parental\ Controls Prefetching SATA Descriptors );N3=${#l[@]};for i in 0 1 2;do l[N3+i]=${p[5+i]};done;N4=${#l[@]};for j in 0 1;do l[N4+j]="Current ${p[29+j]}stream data";done;A0() { id -G|grep -qw 80;v[1]=$?;((v[1]==0))&&sudo true;v[2]=$?;v[3]=`date +%s`;clear >&-;date '+Start time: %T %D%n';};for i in 0 1;do eval ' A'$((1+i))'() { v=` eval "${c1[$1]} ${c2[$2]}"|'${c1[30+i]}' "${s[$3]}" `;[[ "$v" ]];};A'$((3+i))'() { v=` while read i;do [[ "$i" ]]&&eval "${c1[$1]} ${c2[$2]}" \"$i\"|'${c1[30+i]}' "${s[$3]}";done<<<"${v[$4]}" `;[[ "$v" ]];};A'$((5+i))'() { v=` while read i;do '${c1[30+i]}' "${s[$1]}" "$i";done<<<"${v[$2]}" `;[[ "$v" ]];};';done;A7(){ v=$((`date +%s`-v[3]));};B2(){ v[$1]="$v";};for i in 0 1;do eval ' B'$i'() { v=;((v['$((i+1))']==0))||{ v=No;false;};};B'$((3+i))'() { v[$2]=`'${c1[30+i]}' "${s[$3]}"<<<"${v[$1]}"`;} ';done;B5(){ v[$1]="${v[$1]}"$'\n'"${v[$2]}";};B6() { v=` paste -d: <(printf "${v[$1]}") <(printf "${v[$2]}")|awk -F: ' {printf("'"${f[$3]}"'",$1,$2)} ' `;};B7(){ v=`grep -Fv "${v[$1]}"<<<"$v"`;};C0() { [[ "$v" ]]&&sed -E "$s"<<<"$v";};C1() { [[ "$v" ]]&&printf "${f[$1]}" "${l[$2]}" "$v"|sed -E "$s";};C2() { v=`echo $v`;[[ "$v" != 0 ]]&&C1 0 $1;};C3() { v=`sed -E "${s[63]}"<<<"$v"`&&C1 1 $1;};for i in 1 2;do for j in 0 2 3;do eval D$i$j'(){ A'$i' $1 $2 $3; C'$j' $4;};';done;done;{ A0;D20 0 $((N1+1)) 2;D10 0 $N1 1;B0;C2 27;B0&&! B1&&C2 28;D12 15 37 25 8;A1 0 $((N1+2)) 3;C0;D13 0 $((N1+3)) 4 3;D23 0 $((N1+4)) 5 4;D13 0 $((N1+9)) 59 50;for i in 0 1 2;do D13 0 $((N1+5+i)) 6 $((N3+i));done;D13 1 10 7 9;D13 1 11 8 10;D22 2 12 9 11;D12 3 13 10 12;D23 4 19 44 13;D23 5 14 12 14;D22 6 36 13 15;D22 7 37 14 16;D23 8 15 38 17;D22 9 16 16 18;B1&&{ D22 35 49 61 51;D22 11 17 17 20;for i in 0 1;do D22 28 $((N2+i)) 45 $((N4+i));done;};D22 12 44 54 45;D22 12 39 15 21;A1 13 40 18;B2 4;B3 4 0 19;A3 14 6 32 0;B4 0 5 11;A1 17 41 20;B7 5;C3 22;B4 4 6 21;A3 14 7 32 6;B4 0 7 11;B3 4 0 22;A3 14 6 32 0;B4 0 8 11;B5 7 8;B1&&{ A2 19 26 23;B7 7;C3 23;};A2 18 26 23;B7 7;C3 24;D13 4 21 24 26;B4 4 12 26;B3 4 13 27;A1 4 22 29;B7 12;B2 14;A4 14 6 52 14;B2 15;B6 14 15 4;B3 0 0 30;C3 29;A1 4 23 27;B7 13;C3 30;D13 24 24 32 31;D13 25 37 32 33;A2 23 18 28;B2 16;A2 16 25 33;B7 16;B3 0 0 34;B2 21;A6 47 21&&C0;B1&&{ D13 21 0 32 19;D13 10 42 32 40;D22 29 35 46 39;};D23 14 1 62 42;D12 34 43 53 44;D12 22 20 32 25;D22 0 $((N1+8)) 51 32;D13 4 8 41 6;D12 26 28 35 34;D13 27 29 36 35;A2 27 32 39&&{ B2 19;A2 33 33 40;B2 20;B6 19 20 3;};C2 36;D23 33 34 42 37;B1&&D23 35 45 55 46;D23 32 31 43 38;D12 36 47 32 48;D13 20 42 32 41;D13 37 2 48 43;D13 4 5 32 1;D13 4 3 60 5;D12 26 48 49 49;B3 4 22 57;A1 26 46 56;B7 22;B3 0 0 58;C3 47;D22 4 4 50 0;D23 22 9 37 7;A7;C2 2;} 2>/dev/null|pbcopy;exit 2>&-
    Copy the selected text to the Clipboard by pressing the key combination command-C.
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    Click anywhere in the Terminal window and paste by pressing command-V. The text you pasted should vanish immediately. If it doesn't, press the return key.
    9. If you see an error message in the Terminal window such as "Syntax error" or "Event not found," enter
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    14. This is a public forum, and others may give you advice based on the results of the test. They speak only for themselves, and I don't necessarily agree with them.
    Copyright © 2014 by Linc Davis. As the sole author of this work, I reserve all rights to it except as provided in the Use Agreement for the Apple Support Communities website ("ASC"). Readers of ASC may copy it for their own personal use. Neither the whole nor any part may be redistributed.

  • Mac OS 10.5 /  I deleted the " Private" folder ... and emptied the trash. So the folder and its contents no longer exists on my computer at all !!!  I do have the OS dvd that i purchased years ago...  But my computer will not start from it on its own. My

    Mac OS 10.5 /
    I deleted the " Private" folder ... and emptied the trash. So the folder and its contents no longer exists on my computer at all !!!
    I do have the OS 10.5 dvd that i purchased years ago...
    But my computer will not start from it on its own.
    My question is what is the open source or terminal language code used to tell my mac to look in the DVD rom drive for startup info?  I know that im not the only person in this world who has deleted the "PRIVATE" folder and emptied the trash so it no longer exists on their machine...
    That said theres gotta be a common fix for a Power PC G4 that has the OS X dvd in the rom drive but wont look to it to reinstall the vital contents of the PRIVATE folder.
    Once again there is not a copy of this file or its contents in the recycle bin...
    Also rebooting the machine , pressing and holding the letter C does not prompt the machine to look to the dvd rom drive.
    I was reinstalling pro tools and figured I would make some room by cleaning my computers HD...
    Lol It was a bad choice to delete this file ...
    Thanks guys

    Okay sorry it took forever to respond... But for a while there I gave up on this computer!!!!
    Money's been tight lately , so taking it in to a professional was not yet an option... though I did consider it eventhough.
    Anyway long story short im glad I didnt spend any money because I already had all the tools necessary to fix this issue but was going about it in the wrong way. Okay so here is my scenario and the breakdown... Though this may not fix the issue for everyone :( which *****... But I know we all will have different circumstances.
    Anyway here we go...
    Okay so first things first....  Years ago I purchased the OS 10.5.1 disk ... So that has always been in my possession!!!!
    I realize that some may not have a disk to reflash your OS to your hard drive... but if you do your in luck.
    2ndly ... I had an external harddrive with all of my itunes downloaded music so it was more than okay with me to delete my primary HD because all the important stuff could either be copied over or repathed to be located.
    -------If you dont want to read through the whole story the fix is summed up in the bottom section-------
    Okay so now the SOLUTION!!!!
    By trial and error , and pure boredom I opened up my computer to clean the inside...
    AND
    "Disconnected the primary HD"
    and just because ....... REBOOTED my computer. Just to see what it would do.
    Upon restart and though it looked like it would repeat its usual cycle...
    About 1 minute in to that process my computer froze for about 2 seconds and flashed to the OS installation screen.
    Mind you I havent seen this screen yet... Probably hasnt been since I installed the OS years ago.
    After a bit of trial and error...
    I decided to tell my computer to startup from the OS 10.5 disk located in my dvd rom drive and restarted once again...
    this setting is under
    Utilities / startup disk
    After a little more trial and error ... I realized that I could reconnect the primary HD , restart the machine and return to the OS installation menu.
    So upon this discovery
    I went to the Disk Utility located under Utilities
    Highlighted my primary HD located in the left hand column
    Once highlighted ...
    In the heading section on the right I selected the option
    Erase
    in which I erased My current OS on my primary HD ...
    I used the first option in the list under security... Because it seemed like the least invasive and would take the least amount of time to see if this process would actually work.
    I FORGOT to add something... 
    Another reason why I deleted my primary HD!!!!!
    I forgot to say that it WOULD NOT!!!!! Show up in the STARTUP list as an option...Even After multiple reboots....
    But like clockwork... Once I deleted its name IT SHOWED UP as an option!!!!
    So back to the next step...
    I returned to the STARTUP option under utilities ... And was then able to see MY primary HD now as a startup option...
    But ofcourse it had no name because it we previously erased it.
    So when Clicking my newly erased HD ... I was almost immediately prompted to REINSTALL the OS ...
    Which said it would take about 57 minutes ... But I believe was alot less...
    My issue was resolved ... My computer then stated the install was SUCCESSFUL!!!!!!! :))))))))))) lol ;)
    It was like I was setting up for the first time ;) asking for my registration info...
    The dilemma of deleting the private folder and emptying the trash is finally over resolved. Done ... and no extra money spent!!!!!!!!! 
    Its really crazy that the information for such a simple thing is not readily available. Especially being such a simple fix.
    I know im not the only person who's had this issue , because i've seen numerous posts with similar wording.
    I also know I wont be the last person to have this issue... So I hope this synopsis makes sense.
    -------One more time the fix------
    *Insert your OS dvd into your dvd rom drive.
    *Unplug your primary HD or corrupted startup disk
    *Reboot your machine...
    Upon restart your primary HD will not be recognized...
    * you will then be prompted to select your language.
    Once selected
    *Click Utilities/startup... Highlight the the selection that refers to the OS dvd located in the dvd rom drive.
    * Click restart...
    !!!!!!!!!!Be sure to reconnect your Primary HD Before your computer restarts and you hear the chime!!!!!!!!
    If you do not replug your HD before the chime it will not be recognized.
    In that case restart again.
    Upon restart once again
    *Choose your language...
    *Click Utilities / disk utility
    In the left column select and
    *Highlight your HD ...
    Then towards the top portion / center of the page
    *Click the heading Erase
    Then on the page toward the bottom
    *Click security options
    This will then provide erase options.
    I USED THE FIRST OPTION
    "Dont erase data"...
    *click OK
    * click erase...
    Once erased which should take a few seconds
    *Cancel the disk utility...
    * Click Utilities / startup
    And your newly erased HD should now appear in the list.
    * Select your drive from the list by highlighting
    It should no longer have a name.
    *Once selected, you will then be prompted to restart and install the OS to your newly erased HD...
    Thats it!!!!
    Once everything reinstalls re-add your personal info or registration info and you are up and running.
    Goodluck ;)

  • Hi, I need help my computer is not starting up at all, nothing happening when I press the button on/off. The battery charger is working as using it for another laptop. Not sure what to do. Anyone have any idea? many thanks

    Hi, I need help my computer is not starting up at all, nothing happening when I press the button on/off. The battery charger is working as using it for another laptop. Not sure what to do. Anyone have any idea? many thanks

    You could try a SMC reset:
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964
    If no change, do what Allan advises.
    Caio.

  • My computer will not start up. It powers up I get the gray screen with the apple and get the loading progress bar it loads to 25% and the screen goes black

    My computer will not start up. It powers up, I get the gray screen with the apple, then the loading progress bar starts loading to about 25% the the screen goes black. what can I try to get my computer up and running?

    Carolyn Samit wrote:
    iMac, Mac OS X (10.7.1)
    Use Command + R for Lion Recovery
    Try restarting, when you hear the startup tone hold down the Option key. Then choose the Recovery Partition.

  • HT3964 the indicator light on my mac book pro does not come on and the computer will not start

    what can i do if the indicator light on my mac book pro does not come on and the computer will not start?

    Here are a couple of trouble shooting articles that may assist you:
    http://support.apple.com/kb/ts1367
    https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-3353
    Ciao.

  • Please help my iMac will not start. The apple logo comes up and the wheel goes round and then I am left with an empty white sceen can anyone help

    Please help, my iMac will not start up, the apple comes up and the wheel goes round but then I am left with a blank white screen. Has anyone any ideas.

    Locate your original install disk (it's grey) and use it to restart your iMac by holding the "C" key during startup. Use the disk utility to repair your harddrive.

  • HT1883 I am trying to run a hardware test. The Computer will not start with the "D" key held?

    I am trying to run a hardware test. The Computer will not start with the "D" key held?

    If you are using a Blutooth keyboard, don't hold the "D" key until the keyboard is recognised (green light)
    Running AHT in Lion
    http://support.apple.com/kb/PH4510

  • My computer will not start up. the message diplaying says 'startup test failed'. any tips??

    my computer will not start up. the message diplaying says 'startup test failed'. any tips??

    Hi,
    Do you know which test your notebook failed?  If you don't know, try the following.
    Shutdown the notebook.  Tap away at f10 as you start the notebook to enter the bios menu.  Under the Advanced or Diagnostic tab you should find the facility to run tests on both the Hard Drive and Memory.  Post back with the details of any error messages.
    Regards,
    DP-K
    ****Click the White thumb to say thanks****
    ****Please mark Accept As Solution if it solves your problem****
    ****I don't work for HP****
    Microsoft MVP - Windows Experience

  • My computer will not start. Just the wheel spinning

    My computer will not start. I get the apple with a spinning wheel.
    What is happening?

    Take each of these steps that you haven't already tried. Stop when the problem is resolved.
    Step 1
    The first step in dealing with a boot failure is to secure your data. If you want to preserve the contents of the startup drive, and you don't already have at least one current backup, you must try to back up now, before you do anything else. It may or may not be possible. If you don't care about the data that has changed since your last backup, you can skip this step.   
    There are several ways to back up a Mac that is unable to boot. You need an external hard drive to hold the backup data.
         a. Boot into the Recovery partition, or from a local Time Machine backup volume (option key at startup.) When the OS X Utilities screen appears, launch Disk Utility and follow the instructions in this support article, under “Instructions for backing up to an external hard disk via Disk Utility.”
    b. 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. Use the working Mac to copy the data to another drive. This technique won't work with USB, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth.
    c. 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.
    Step 2
    Press and hold the power button until the power shuts off. Disconnect all wired peripherals except those needed to boot, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards. Use a different keyboard and/or mouse, if those devices are wired. If you can boot now, one of the devices you disconnected, or a combination of them, is causing the problem. Finding out which one is a process of elimination.
    If you've booted from an external storage device, make sure that your internal boot volume is selected in the Startup Disk pane of System Preferences.
    Step 3
    Boot in safe mode. Note: If FileVault is enabled on some models, or if a firmware password is set, or if the boot volume is a software RAID, you can’t do this. Post for further instructions.
    Safe mode is much slower to boot and run than normal, and some things won’t work at all, including wireless networking on certain Macs.
    The login screen appears even if you usually log in automatically. You must know your login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin.
    When you boot in safe mode, it's normal to see a dark gray progress bar on a light gray background. If the progress bar gets stuck for more than a few minutes, or if the system shuts down automatically while the progress bar is displayed, your boot volume is corrupt and the drive is probably malfunctioning. In that case, go to Step 5.
    If you can boot and log in now, empty the Trash, and then open the Finder Info window on your boot volume ("Macintosh HD," unless you gave it a different name.) Check that you have at least 9 GB of available space, as shown in the window. If you don't, copy as many files as necessary to another volume (not another folder on the same volume) and delete the originals. Deletion isn't complete until you empty the Trash again. Do this until the available space is more than 9 GB. Then reboot as usual (i.e., not in safe mode.)
    If the boot process hangs again, the problem is likely caused by a third-party system modification that you installed. Post for further instructions.
    Step 4
    Sometimes a boot failure can be resolved by resetting the NVRAM.
    Step 5
    Launch Disk Utility in Recovery mode (see Step 1.) Select your startup volume, then run Repair Disk. If any problems are found, repeat until clear. If Disk Utility reports that the volume can't be repaired, the drive has malfunctioned and should be replaced. You might choose to tolerate one such malfunction in the life of the drive. In that case, erase the volume and restore from a backup. If the same thing ever happens again, replace the drive immediately.
    This is one of the rare situations in which you should also run Repair Permissions, ignoring the false warnings it may produce. Look for the line "Permissions repair complete" at the end of the output. Then reboot as usual.
    Step 6
    Reinstall the OS. If your Mac was upgraded from an older version of OS X, you’ll need the Apple ID and password you used to upgrade.
    Step 7
    Repeat Step 6, but this time erase the boot volume in Disk Utility before installing. The system should automatically reboot into the Setup Assistant. Follow the prompts to transfer your data from a Time Machine or other backup.
    Step 8
    This step applies only to older Macs (not current models) that have a logic-board ("PRAM") battery. Both desktop and portable Macs used to have such a battery. The logic-board battery is separate from the main battery of a portable. A dead logic-board battery can cause a gray screen at boot. Typically the boot failure will be preceded by loss of the startup disk and system clock settings. See the user manual for replacement instructions. You may have to take the machine to a service provider to have the battery replaced.
    Step 9
    If you get this far, you're probably dealing with a hardware fault. Make a "Genius" appointment at an Apple Store to have the machine tested. If you can't get to an Apple Store, go to another authorized service provider.

  • HT1455 What if my computer will not start up in safe mode?  What next?

    What is the remedy for a MacBook that will not start up in safe mode?  The gray apple icon and progress wheel appear, I let go the shift key and the whole thing shuts off again.  Please help.  Thank you.

    My understanding is that the Apple logo is produced by the disk and the spinning wheel shows that the software boot process has started.
    1 - Shut down your Mac
    2 - Press the power button to start and
    3 - Immediately press and hold the Command (Apple) key and the S key
    4 - At the prompt type the following and then hit return:
    /sbin/fsck -fy
    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 issues were found:
    ** The volume (name_of_volume) 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 4 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). When fsck reports that your volume is OK, type the following at the prompt and hit return:
    reboot
    Your computer should start up normally and allow you to log in.
    Good luck.

  • Flexnet licensing service  Service on local computer will not start

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    At that point tech support had me run some more cs3 cleaner stuff under another user and ended up with an error 127....
    does anyone know how to completely remove the flexnet licensing service and reinstall it cleanly? any help??

    was running acrobat 8 standard. downloaded 9 trial--wouldn't work)uninstalled 9 trail had problems with 8 not working and uninstalled 8 (leaving the resource\cemap\identity-h and identity-v files (locked unable to delete). figured full version of 9 from CD would work but after installing 9 and accepting eul i received "Licensing for this product has stopped working. You cannot use this product at this time. You must repair the problem by uninstalling ... " After 2 hours with tech support during which I ran the cs3 cleaner multiple multiple times in multiple configurations we traced the problem to the Flexnet licensing service- it flat will not start I get error message "Could not start the Flexnet Licensing Service service on Local Computer. ERROR -5: Access is denied."
    At that point tech support had me run some more cs3 cleaner stuff under another user and ended up with an error 127....
    does anyone know how to completely remove the flexnet licensing service and reinstall it cleanly? any help??

  • Computer will not start up past "repair screen"

    My hp pavilion touch will not start up correctly. When turned on it tries to go through an automatic repair but pops up with a screen that says "automatic repair couldn't repair your pc. Two options you can either shut it down or go to advanced options. So far no matter what I do I can not get it to finish starting up or repair itself. 

    Hi @ACOKAY,
    Welcome to the HP Forums!
    It is a fantastic place to find answers and suggestions!
    For you to have the best experience in the HP forum I would like to direct your attention to the HP Forums Guide Learn How to Post and More
    How Do I Find My Model Number or Product Number?
    I understand that when you start your computer you get the automatic repair screen and neither option presented makes any change.
    Can you start it in safe mode?
    If not I would suggest going to the recovery manager for more options
    On start up of your notebook press the F11 key approximately once every second to access the recovery manager.  This may take a few moments to display so be patient.
    You will see different options available depending on what Operating System you are running.
    For further assistance please provide your exact model of HP notebook and your Operating System.
    Good Luck!
    Sparkles1
    I work on behalf of HP
    Please click “Accept as Solution ” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution.
    Click the “Kudos, Thumbs Up" on the bottom right to say “Thanks” for helping!

  • Mac book pro Computer will not start black screen

    Help, my Mac book pro will not start, blank screen.

    Read this: http://www.ifixit.com/Wiki/MacBook_Pro_13%22_Unibody_Troubleshooting
    Sometimes this helps too: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1379
    Also this discussion provides a lot of troubleshooting; https://discussions.apple.com/docs/DOC-3353
    Bye

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