How do I mount an external Firewire HD when booting into single user mode?

Hi,
How can I mount an external Firewire Harddisk from the Darwin Console, once I have booted into single user mode?
I'm trying to make a backup of all my files and then re-install my iMac G5 since it doesn't start the GUI anymore and I haven't gotten any responses to my question here: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1104762&tstart=0
Thanks,
Torsten

ok, I executed the following commands:
/sbin/fsck -fy
/usr/libexec/registermach_bootstrapservers /etc/mach_init.d
autodiskmount
There were two messages:
UniNEnet: Ethernet address 00:14:51:32:19:b8
and
Aug 29 20:55:29 launchd: server 2e3b in bootstrap 1103 uid 0: "/usr/sbin/lookupd"[16]: exited abnormally: Hangup
I don't know whether this has anything to do with the commands I entered.
And since I don't know what the volume name for the external Firewire HD is, I typed
ls -l /Volumes
but the only volume that is being listed there is my iMac's internal HD.
What should I do next?
Thx!

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Network / external access when booted in single-user mode from install CD?

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Message was edited by: David Chess; annoying typo

David
I think Ronda was hoping you had the Tiger Instal DVD, which has a copy of Terminal on it.
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If you can make use of this, post back and tell me what you get from which nvram when you are booted in SU mode from your CD. It's possible that command won't be available on the CD—so we need to check first. If it says "which: no such command", try ls -l /usr/sbin/nvram instead.

Mac mini i5 mid 2011 always boot in single user mode...how to get out of this?

my mac mini always boot into single user mode
how can i revert back to normal boot screen?
i tried formatting the hard disk and clean install of mac os x 10.9.2 but nothing change..
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Stuck while booting in single user mode. How to go back?

Guys. I'd appreciate your advice very much - this concerns my main system.
MacBook 3,1 with OSX 10.5.? (latest)
Did: activate single user boot in Onyx; reboot
Problem: stuck at boot (apple logo & spinning wheel on gray background for 2hours+). Persistent across reboots.
No different results for this key combinations: cmd-opt-p-r, power button for 5 sec whilst without battery/cable, cmd-s, C (possibly not recognized due to firmware password) Power button held down from switch-on moment makes the light flash a few times, produces a beep but no improvement.
Interestingly pressing alt lets me choose the os (HD or Leopard install disc) but gets stuck the same way regardless. It boots into Ubuntu tho.
I have a TIme Machine disk that I can restore from, and can read from the internal Leopard HD while in Ubuntu.
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Sorry, don't know how you'd recover from the apparent limbo you're in, but this would agree with the explanation you already hit upon.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1352
Features of Open Firmware Password Protection
Intel-based Mac computers Power PC Intel
Blocks the ability to use the "C" key to start up from an optical disc.
Blocks the ability to use the "D" key to start up from the Diagnostic volume of the Install DVD.
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Blocks the ability to use the "T" key to start up in Target Disk Mode (on computers that offer this feature).
Blocks the ability to start up in Verbose mode by pressing the Command-V key combination during startup.
Block the ability to start up a system in Single-user mode by pressing the Command-S key combination during startup.
Blocks a reset of Parameter RAM (PRAM) by pressing the Command-Option-P-R key combination during startup.
Requires the password to enter commands after starting up in Open Firmware, which is done by pressing the Command-Option-O-F key combination during startup.
Blocks the ability to start up in Safe Boot mode by pressing the Shift key during startup.
Requires the password to use the Startup Manager, accessed by pressing the Option key during startup (see below).

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

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

Resolution:
1) Boot system in single-user mode (SUM) with external HD attached.
2) Execute the following UNIX CLI commands once SUM boot process is completed:
# fsck -fy
# mount -uw /
# mkdir /Volumes/target_directory
# mount -t hfs -w /dev/diskXXX /Volumes/target_directory
# cp -RXv /source_directory /Volumes/target_directory
Where XXX is the device-level name for your external HD's data partition. In my case this was /dev/disk1s2. It may take some experimentation to identify this device name if your system has multiple HD's.
3) Verify contents were successfully copied onto the /Volumes/target_directory.
Comments and observations:
- Do NOT use "/" as your source directory - cp will make a second (redundant) copy of /volumes/target_directory
- I was able to successfully copy ALL files off my HD despite the fsck command's "invalid node structure" error message with this simple procedure. YMMV, depending on the state of your HD.
- The repeated disk0s2: I/O error warnings displayed during the SUM boot process did not seem to have a negative effect on this procedure. I also received this same error warning intermittently as I navigated the mounted filesystem did not seem to be a problem, either. Again, YMMV.
Commercial software:
I downloaded ProSoft Engineering's Data Rescue 3 product (trial version) before spending $99 to attempt to recover my "bad" HD's data via mounting to a good system with FW target mode. It could not successfully complete its "QuickScan" process and immediately hung on block 0 of 390M during its "Deep Scan" process. The product did seem to function properly on an operational system. ProSoft's technical support was responsive and helpful but had no answer for my "Deep Scan" error.
I did not attempt to use Alsoft's Disk Warrior 4 product. I could not find any trial software available and was reluctant to spend $100 based upon the mixed reviews and comments on this discussion forum as well as other reviews. Alsoft does claim to address the "invalid node structure" error in their marketing materials. Hindsight being 20/20 - I saved $100 by using this simple procedure.
Final note:
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Mounting external drive while in Single-User mode

Last night, a friend of mine's hard drive was failing in his Macbook (in San Diego, I'm in Colorado). Booting into normal mode would cause a lot of errors. He booted into single-user mode and could not figure out how to mount his firewire drive. I booted into single-user mode on my Macbook and hooked up my USB drive and did an 'ls -ltr /dev' to see if the device showed up. Since it did not show up on the listing of /dev, there's no obvious way to mount it. I can't seem to find any legitimate posting out there nor here. Is there an answer to this problem?
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Single User Mode - mount external drive and copy user files to there

I have an iBook G4 running (I think) Tiger (although it may be Panther). AHT reports a bad HD and it will not boot from that drive. Mounting it via Target Disk to another Mac won't permit me to even see beyond the root directory; just a spinning sunburst at the bottom of the Finder window.
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How do change boot disk from single user mode?

My G5 hangs when booting at the blue screen while "Loading printing services...". Attempting to boot into safe mode only hangs at the grey gear screen. It will, however, successfully boot into single user mode. I've run fsck but no change in bootability. I have another disk in the machine that has Tiger on it. How do I change the boot disk from the single user prompt?

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http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106464
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http://homepage.mac.com/hogfish/Personal11.html

Mounting Windows Disk within Single User Mode

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Can you mount a NTFS or FAT32 disk from Single User Mode? How?
Many thanks!

Everett
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Why won't single user mode recognize /sbin/mount command?

I need help from people who are knowledgable abou these Mac wonders of the world and single user mode.
I'm trying for the life of me to run "memtest" in single user mode and am finding it impossible.
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I found the solution to the problem. Somone on a different forum had the same issue at one time. The problem is my use of Refit. When you hold Command-S at start when using refit you go into a single user type mode inside the refit shell. So it is something different.
Instead I needed to let the Mac boot Refit like normal. With the Mac partition highlighted press "F2" and it will display boot options for the Mac partition. One of them is Mac OSX single user mode. Simply select and hit enter and then I enter the correct single user mode and I'm off.
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I changed my wheel group properties to no access at top disk level. I messed up, how can I change back in single user mode "command s" as I am now in Thailand and not able to access startup disks?

I messed up, I changed my "Wheel group" properties to No Access ( or something other than the default) at the top level of my startup disk "Macintosh HD".   Now my computer won't start up, I just get the spinning wheel of death.    I also am in Thailand right now, so I cannot go to a Genius at an apple store, nor do I have startup disks available.
So I was hoping there was a way to change back the properties of my disk (Volume) in single user mode (via Command +s) during startup, i.e. can I do a chmod command on the Macintosh HD listing under the Volume Directory.    Or where do i fix this?   Is it fixable without startup disks, etc...
THANKS FOR ANY HELP!!!!
If you could also please let me know you have an answer, I WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE IT!!!
thanks so much
mark
<Edited by Host>

Thomas,
Thanks for the info on command-R, didn't know about that!!!
Yes I changed the sharing "Wheel Group" permissions on my hard drive via Get Info.    But that's all I did.    And then most of the apps wouldn't respond with anything.    So not knowing I did something stupid, I decided to re-boot, and then nothing but the Wheel of Death at startup.
I was trying to limit access to my computer on this network, changed my public folder settings, and then I thought why not the whole hard drive, but at that time I had no idea what the "Wheel Group" was... so I shouldn't have touched it, BUT IT DID ...... argggggg....
I managed to go to an internet cafe & research the problem yesterday.    I used the command +s single mode to get in, and then did the necessary steps to mount the drive so I could make changes.   I basically did this:
Boot into single-user mode (boot while holding down CMD-S)
Follow the on-screen instructions to mount the file system as read-write (a fsck command followed by a mount command)
Type the following: "chmod o+r /" followed by "chmod o+x /"
Type "exit" to leave single user mode and complete the boot sequence.
I found it at this link http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=416180
It worked... thank God!!!   Well so far so good.
I was going to try my own fix by chmod on the Hard drive listed under Volumes directory, but that doesn't seem to match the info under Get Info Window.    So I just used the fix above.    I probably should now go and do "Disk Utility - repair permissions", however I am a little gun shy right now, so I will probably wait until I am back in the States so I can go to an Apple store if it messes up.   Right now I'm following the "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" MOTTO...
So Thomas I just wanted to say THANKS for replying so quickly, and I really appreciate your help!!!
(yes I know I shouldn't have used my email addresses, but I WAS DESPERATE, but that's still no excuse)
Hopefully maybe this thread will help someone else out in the future....
Okay, thanks again!
Mark

To mount a CD-ROM in Single User Mode. How?

Thank you for reading my question.
I need to run single user mode on my iMac because of a disk problem. I would like to be able to mount the cd drive while I am in single user mode. I would also like to be able to mount usb hard drives with confidence, so that I can copy off files from the internal hard drive.
I am in single user mode, which I get to by holding down Command-S on startup. I can look at the disks that are attached to my computer by executing
ls -l /dev/disk*
However this appears to be adding disks. I started with /dev/disk2 and /dev/disk2s1 etc which I understand are partitions on that external drive. Now when I list /dev/disk* I have /dev/disk3 and a couple of partitions on those devs. Is that normal? Have I not unmounted disks properly?
I have been using a directory that already exists as the mount point for my usb drives using
mount -t hfs /dev/disk1 /cores
which worked fine. Alas the disk I mounted on that directory was too small. Now I can't mount a disk on there. Do I need to unmount or fix up that assignment?
If I were to create a directory in /Volumes is that advisable? How do I make the root directory readable is that by using 'mount -uw'?
Thank you. Please if you answer my question, try to be clear on what commands to use and why. Bear in mind that other people will read this, and no one on the web seems able to write suggestions very clearly. Maybe we can be the first! If I have not been clear, please feel free to ask for clarification. i am not a total unix newbie. Rather in the 20 years since I was a sysadmin, my memory has faded.
Pete

I think you need to post this in a different forum. I think the Developer Forums would be the right choice.
In any event from the little Unix I know you can't mount a removable device until it's connected which means you need to put a CD/DVD into the optical drive. At that point if you enter 'df' you should see the device if it is mounted automatically (which I believe it does.)
In single-user mode the entire drive is readable and all files accessible. You are the 'root' user. In order to put the system into write mode you must enter 'mount -uw /'. Note the '/' at the end of the comnmand line. That makes the entire system writeable.
You do not need to create a directory in /Volumes. When the CD/DVD is recognized an entry in /Volumes will appear unless the disc is unformatted.
Now take some of the above with a grain of salt. I'm certainly no Unix expert.

Can I mount a firewire device in single user mode?

I've still got this idea I can rescue data from a hard drive that won't mount.
I put my external backup drive on another iMac to simulate what would happen. Briefly,
I plug in the drive, note the device name.
I reboot into single user mode.
The drive automatically powers off. Grrr.
I turn it back on again. It does not show up in /dev

How far did you go under "single user" mode? In "Tiger", running 'sh /etc/rc' (instructions to use this are included among the messages displayed starting up in single-user mode) starts up all sorts of things. Perhaps plugging in the drive after the script has run will have it show up in '/dev/' (I haven't tested this)...

Mounting disk0s2 while in single user mode

My mac mini wont boot. The recovery mode tells that disk0s2 has I/O Error and more specificly, its a "Disk full error". To delete some files and free up space, I booted mac into single user mode. But how to month disk0s2 from here so that I can delete some files?

An I/O error indicates either a corrupted file system or a physical disk failure. If you couldn't repair the boot volume (disk0s2) in recovery mode, it's most likely the latter and you need to get your HDD replaced. If you have access to another Mac, you can attempt to mount the mini as an external hard drive using Target Disk mode to salvage data. Hopefully you have a current back up. Best of luck.
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Mount USB Device in Single User Mode

Hi All,
Can anyone give me any assistance of mounting a USB stick in single user mode?
I am trying to use the command:
$ mount -uw /dev/disk2s1 /Volumes/usb
But it get the error:
--specified device does not match mounted device
If I put the USB stick in normal OSX mode, then run 'df -k' in terminal, it is mounted by automounter, but I can't seem to get it to mount in single user mode.
Thanks,
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Hi Nik,
   I don't believe that there are enough services started in Single User Mode to do this; you'll have to start the services yourself. However, I haven't tested this so I don't know. Wanna be a Guinea Pig?
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/sbin/mount -uw /
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/usr/libexec/registermach_bootstrapservers /etc/mach_init.d
The above should be one line, modulo wrapping. Then start diskarbitrationd:
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Gary
~~~~
   Computers are like air conditioners. Both stop working
   if you open windows.
      -- Adam Heath

How do I mount an external Firewire HD when booting into single user mode?

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