HT201262 Will not boot into safe mode

Hello,
My MacBook pro 2012 crashed last night. Could not force quite so closed it down. On restart it would get halfway then stop. I have japped p-ram (I know it is my called this anymore) but then loads halfway and the turns off. I booted into disk repair and it found a couple of problems so repaired successfully. On restart it still gets halfway then turns off.
From reading the apple support it seems other people have the same problem. All mention booting into safe mode. For the life of me I cannot get my machine to boot into safe mode!
I do exactly like the instructions say but it always just goes to the page where I choose whether to log in as me or a guest.
What am I doing wrong?!
I am on a MacBook pro running Yosemite.
Many thanks for any help.
Chris.

Startup Issues - Resolve
Startup Issues - Resolve (2)
Startup Issues - Resolve (3)

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I have a macbook 2011 and its booting to the apple with a loading bar. it gets halfway and changes to a screen with the apple and a spinning circle. It spins untill it dies. will not boot to safe mode. Do not have orriginal osx disk either.... HELP :(

i have a macbook 2011 and its booting to the apple with a loading bar. it gets halfway and changes to a screen with the apple and a spinning circle. It spins untill it dies. will not boot to safe mode. Do not have orriginal osx disk either.... HELP

It happened after an update

Intel Mini will only boot into safe mode - hangs on ANY Mac OS volume

I have an Intel Mac Mini... the core2duo 1.83GHz or whatever.
I acquired it from it's previous owner, as it was "broken".
He could not get it to run an install disc.
It will not boot any of the Mac OS install media (DVD or CD - 10.4, 10.5, 10.6).
It will not boot/install a Linux disc (I haven't tried, but that's what I was told).
It WILL boot/install Windows !?!?
So... anyway, I removed the HDD, and installed OS 10.6 Leopard on it (FW Target mode installs kept failing at the end - regular retail DVD). I then reinstalled the HDD back into the machine.
The system keeps hanging at the same point it would when trying to boot an install DVD - after the screen turns blue, it goes back to the gray screen, then immediately freezes.
However, I eventually discovered that it WILL boot into safe mode !
Everyone kept saying it's the logic board failure, but if it boots into safe mode, can that be true ? It doesn't seem to me that it would be hardware based in that case - unless it's just a specific component, like the Airport module or something.
The last line displayed in Verbose mode when it hangs is:
"athset_txchainmask[5124] sc->sc.config.txchainmask 5 mask 5"
It also says something about the Airport just before that.
I tried removing the Airport module and it still hangs.
I also tried different RAM, with the same results.
I ran the 10.6.2 combo update in Safe Mode. It still hangs. Haven't tried 10.6.3 yet, though I do have it downloaded and ready to install.
This thing is driving me crazy. Please tell me there's a fix, OTHER than replacing the logic board ?!?! It just doesn't seem like it should be so complicated considering that it runs in safe mode.
It's rare I can't figure out a Mac problem - please help !
Message was edited by: maxtechsystems

Very strange, and getting stranger !
Ok... so, from safe boot mode, I installed Windows XP Pro using the boot camp assistant.
Everything installed perfectly. I started up from Windows, and put in the Mac Mini recovery disc, in order to load the drivers. The Boot Camp software started with Auto Run, and I clicked through to install everything. The drivers start loading...Windows reacts positively, with the system tray announcing "new hardware installed" every 30 seconds or so. Airport/WiFi IS working (in Windows), as it detected my router/network...this is where it gets F'ed up - when the installer gets through with the drivers, and installs the boot camp software for Windows - the system reboots, goes through the usual Windows startup...the desktop background appears, but no icons or start menu - then it reboots again...same thing, again, over and over in a loop.
Went back into OS X (safe boot mode). Installed reEFIt (a bootloader utility), to see if maybe I can bypass the Mac OS/Boot Camp bootloader. No luck. Install worked, but still had the same issues.
For the heck of it, I try installing Linux Mint 8. The live CD starts up OK, but only as far as the boot menu. I tried the installer first - after the splash screen, it hangs on a plain gray screen (w/o the normal linux installer language selection menu - just solid grey).
I tried running the live CD w/o the installer - the actual OS. Same thing - after the splash screen, it hangs, only it's a black screen this time. If I use verbose mode, it still seems to hang on the WiFi card.
Here's the strangest thing yet - Ok, remember, it wouldn't boot normally into ANY Mac OS volume - including the installer DVDs - only in safe boot mode...
So, I try the "hackintosh" IPC osX86 10.5.6 DVD - it boots into the installer with NO problem, WITHOUT safe boot mode ! I tried installing it unsuccessfully. I forget now which options I choose, if any, though I may try it again later and pretend it's just a non-apple PC with the same specs as the Mini (or try just the "base system", and the bootloader - then run the official Apple updates)
This last thing really makes me think it has something to do with the EFI/bios - however, I've only been able to find info on how to update it, not replace or restore it - and it's only from a working install, not forced from a flash drive or CD (plus when I do try the installer from safe boot mode, it says it's current and unneeded).
I still haven't changed the hard drive. After almost successfully installing Windows, I made the assumption the -hardware- was OK, and reassembled everything.
Currently, I'm trying a direct installation of Windows XP Pro SP2 with which I'll try installing the drivers WITHOUT the boot camp software, to see if the WiFi (Airport card) and everything else is indeed working OK (remember too that the system passed ALL the ASD 3S116 tests).
So anyway, that's the current status. Any new ideas anyone ?
Thanks.
Message was edited by: maxtechsystems

13 inch mid 09 MBP will not boot in safe mode or os disc. originally kernal panic but now blank screen. is this logic board? no liquid damage.

I upgraded the ram and hdd a while back(RAM first with no issues, then hdd around 2 months later). The computer started freezing a few days after the hdd upgrade.
I reformatted the hdd and it worked fine for a few weeks then same freezing issue. Instead of wiping the drive again I repaired the disc and this had it fixed for about a month. I was booting in safe mode for a few days with no issue and went about uninstalling 3rd party apps. Then the Kernal panic issue started, When I inserted the OS cd the screen went blank and has not come back on after repeated boots.
Can we put this down to logic board and if so can it be repaired rather than replaced?
Thanks

thanks for the reply,
just reinstalled the factory RAM and HDD. Same issue of blank screen. At the moment i have no way of connecting to external monitor.
The OS cd is still in drive and i can hear the drive spinning for a few seconds at the start but it stops after about 20 seconds.

CFP-2110 will only boot into safe mode + communication error?

Hello all,
I have a new cFP-2110 and I'm trying to configure it. I'm using Realtime 8.0, Fieldpoint drivers 5.1.2 on WIndows XP. My host computer versions match the FP controller software version and the safe-mode dip switch is in the 'off' position.
I even re-formatted the controller memory (like someone suggested in a different thread) but I keep getting the same thing: Connected - Safe Mode (Improper Installation)
Attached is a screen shot of the error I get when I try to 'find devices.' I have a good ethernet connection (although I have a yellow blinking LED on the RJ45 of the controller but not the green). I know this because I can reboot the controller from the host - It just always reboots into safe-mode. Does anybody have any suggestions for me?
Thanks - Paul
Attachments:
cFP-2110 error.JPG ‏365 KB

I finally found the problem and thought I'd share in case anyone else has similar issues:
In troubleshooting I wanted to eliminate network communication errors so I decided to connect directly to my host PC. I got a crossover ethernet cable and connected straight to my host PC's ethernet card. I had to log in as administrator on the host in order to change it's IP address to a static address. Then I re-formatted the FP controller, re-assigned it's IP and finally re-installed the RT and FP drivers. Finally - I had a normal connection!
This made me wonder if it was being directly connected to the host or being logged in as an administrator that was the fix. So I went to a second host PC, logged in as administrator (leaving it as a normal network connection), reformatted my second controller and re-installed the software - and hot damn - it worked!
Moral of this story is - be logged in as admin. before attempting to install any software...

Pre-Intel Imac G5 17" Will not boot past safe mode, tried everything!

I have a 17" Imac with leopard that has been working fine until just recently stopped booting in anything other than safe mode. It will load the apple screen fine, then a ghost mouse image appears in the top left corner, which then appears, and sticks like you can move it. The blue screen appears and you now have your normal mouse that you can move around with the other one still froze in place, then the blue screen turns dark blue, then black and thats it. Your left with the mouse and a black screen and nothing else. I have tried resetting the ram, the hard drive checker command, apple, F O commands, single user mode, I checked the LEDS on the back the first one is always on, the second comes right on and the third lights when its supposed to. I did a complete erase and install of leopard and when the computer booted up you saw the the ghost arrow, and the same thing, but I waited awhile and you could hear the "Welcome to Leopard" music playing in the background It just doesn't make sense why the computer is not booting. Any advice is appreciated. I have tried it all. I am an apple lover, but this is one time where I am honestly about to throw it to the road.

Welcome to Discussions - from what I have seen, this could be your capacitors on your logic board about to fail, I'm afraid the cure would be a new logic bard. If you can take the back off and check to see whether the tops of the caps are bulging, that would be a definitive clue.

Macbook will not boot in safe mode

I tried to install the new Maverick OS X software but it is telling me that the install failed because the disk Macintosh HD is damaged and can't be repaired. I tried to restart my mac in safe mood so I can back up my important documents but the gear just keeps spinning. Can someone please help me!!!

Which model MacBook Pro do you have? Have you tried booting into your Recovery partition (holding down the command and R keys whilst booting)? If your MBP supporst it, have you tried Internet recovery (holding down the command, option and R keys whilst booting)?
Call back,
Clinton

Hard drive won't boot into safe mode

My mid 2010 Macbook Pro has suddenly decided to not boot up after installing BitDefender and running a scan.
I installed it on a whim when I saw minor malware that hijacked Safari, and decided to run a scan. While I was working on Photoshop, the scan must have finished because all of my windows disappeared and I was left with my desktop and the spinning gray loading at the bottom of my screen. I waited 20 minutes, realized it wasn't going anywhere and force shut down the Macbook by power button.
Now, I cannot successfully get it past the grey apple loading screen. Attempting to boot into safe mode still leaves it at the same screen. Tried to reset the PRAM, still can't get past the loading screen. I still have my OS disk, however it is Snow Leopard and my current is Mavericks and I'm unsure if it is a wise idea.
15 inch mid 2010 Macbook Pro running OS X Mavericks, how dead in the water am I and how much would this cost me to "fix"?

Use the original Snow Leopard installation disk and start the MBP as if you were going to reinstall the OSX. Early in the process you should see a menu bar on the top of the display. Click on UTILITIES and from the dropdown menu select Disk Utility. Run Disk Utility>First Aid, Verify and Repair. If it is not successful, the HDD will have to be replaced.
Ciao.

Can't boot into safe mode or prompt login window, need help.

Hello all,
This is cross-posted from the installations and set-up list.
Can anyone suggest a remedy for what's ailing this powerbook. its a g4 powerbook, i don't have much more info other than that. all indications are that it is running 10.2.6, although i was told that it had been updated to 10.2.8, its possible that it was updated only to 10.2.6. following the update, you get to the apple and spinning pinwheel screen and it will not proceed. literally, the pinwheel will spin for 24 hours+.
it looks like it gets to the point of the startup(login) items and hangs indefinitely. ie it will
if i start in verbose mode it will, give some clues:
truncated or malformed library: /System/Libray/Frameworks/Security.frameworks/Versions/A/Security
Some starup items failed to launch due to conflicts
/usr/libexec/crashreporterd: crashdump terminated by signal 5
init: getty repeating too quickly on port /dev/console, sleeping
/usr/libexec/crashreporterd: crashdump terminated by signal 5
last message repeated 10 times
/usr/libexec/crashreporterd: crashdump terminated by signal 5
init: getty repeating too quickly on port /dev/console, sleeping
/usr/libexec/crashreporterd: crashdump terminated by signal 5
last message repeated 5 times
this will continue to be repeated and i assume a new core.## file is sent to the /cores folder, until the hard drive is maxed out.
I can boot in single user mode and everything is fine but i cannot boot into safe mode.
fsck says the disk is fine, as does disk first aid, i have also corrected permissions, and followed many of the things that have been previously posted.
It looks like ther are conflicts with some startup items, what can i move from the starup folder and is best not to be touched?
what about the truncated library message?
also can i update to 10.2.8 from the single user mode, if i cannot get into safe mode?
any suggestions?
thanks in advance-
todd

I have solved this problem. I mounted the laptop in target mode and replaced this file:
/System/Library/Frameworks/Security.framework/Versions/A/Security
with the equivalent file from a machine running 10.2.8.
It booted all the way through then i upgraded to 10.2.8.

OS hangs at grey startup screen, won't boot into safe mode

I rebooted my G5 this morning and when it came back up, it hung on the grey screen with the Apple logo and the spinning 'gear' progress bar. I tried rebooting several times, but that didn't help. I tried booting from the install DVD (which it did) and ran disk utility (both verify & repair on the start up drive and on permissions. It claims to have found permission errors and fixed them.) I hunted for answers online and tried to boot into safe mode, which did not work.
Someone mentioned booting into verbose mode and I saw that the load sequence was choaking on the login.
What could the problem be and how can I fix it?

Hi Yosarian,
Minor permissions repairs are no concern: The good news is that your data is probably OK.
Three things can be happening: Some of the machines boot settings are corrupted, or the OS files or settings are damaged, or there's a hardware problem.
Resetting the machines power management chip, called a PMU or SMU, depending on your computer, and the PRAM will resolve machine boot settings problems. Run a google search for your model of Mac plus reset pmu OR smu for instructions. After that, reboot your computer and hold Option-Apple-P-R down as you power on. Hold all 4 keys until you hear the startup chime a second time.
You can test your hardware with the grey disk that came with it that ays AHT in little letters. Boot from the CD and run the extended test. Be patient: AHT can take a long time to boot and run.
If you reset your PMU and PRAM and pass a hardware diagnostic but still can't boot normally, in safe mode, or in single-user mode, the problem is system software. Reinstall from your latest installer, checking off Archive and Install and Preserve Users and Settings from the Options screen available at the screen where you choose which disk to install to.
Good luck,
John

Imac will not reboot in safe mode

Attempted to restart imac (10.8.4) by holding down shift key, went through progress bar, and now still apple logo with pinwheel - any suggestions?
I have unplugged the externals with time machine and the other external.

WZZZ,
I stand corrected sir - I have not been doing the bit highlighted below:
"To start up into Safe Mode (to Safe Boot), do this:
Be sure your Mac is shut down.
Press the power button.
Immediately after you hear the startup tone, hold the Shift key. The Shift key should be held as soon as possible after the startup tone, but not before the tone.
Release the Shift key when you see the gray Apple icon and the progress indicator (looks like a spinning gear).
During startup in Mac OS X v10.4 through Mac OS X v10.6.8, you will see "Safe Boot" on the login window, which appears even if you normally log in automatically. During startup in Mac OS X v10.2 through v10.3.9, you will see "Safe Boot" on the Mac OS X startup screen.
To leave Safe Mode, restart the computer normally, without holding any keys during startup."
Source: http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1455
Step 1 is NOT a requirement however as you suggested. If I follow step 3 I can boot into Safe Mode now with a restart as opposed to a shutdown.
regards,
dave

No reboot after booting into safe mode

For a few years I've just ignored the problem but thought I should take time to mention it now.
When I boot into Safe Mode (holding down the shift key during boot up) I can always click on restart when the password screen comes up and the computers will restart.
But if I log in after safe boot and let the system boot up past the login screen THEN try a restart I get hours of beach ball. I've left various computers running over night and it is always the same in the morning, no restart, no beach but lots of beach ball.
So I do a force shutdown (hold the on/off button for 10 seconds) or a forced restart.
This has been the case from Leopard OSX10.5 and up including Snow Leopard. And on five different Intel Core 2 Duo Macs including 2GHz & 2.4 GHz iMacs and Macbooks.
The common theme is that I have migrated my setup through all these Macs so maybe there is some legacy thing in my software.
Suggestions?

Well… some improvement.
Here’s what I did: (note that I did a restart and sometimes safe boot after each and every step.
1 – use FontNuke (free shareware) to blast away font cache files. It found 8 some dating from 2002.
2 – use Apple’s Font Book to reconcile duplicate fonts.
Those two steps fixed my slow down problems with playing movie files in Quicktime and VLC.
But not Skype video. The biggest CPU load with Skype is with the transmitted picture oddly enough.
Then for good measure I zapped the PRAM and PMU. No noticeable improvement from doing those. Obliviously repair permissions and verify disk was done long long ago and redone.
I still have the problem of not being able to reboot from safe mode.
The Startup folders are clean except for Qmaster which I do not believe is the cause of not being able to reboot out of safe mode.
Does anyone know of other files/locations that put 3rd party startup items? I remember finding things from Western Digital and Symantic a few years ago in unexpected places. Symantic was especially hard to track down and eliminate.

Unable to boot into safe mode with FileVault 2 enabled

I was trying to boot into safe mode earlier to try and fix a few things. It looks like I can't and I suspect it is because of FV2.
When the system starts I press shift after the tone, but then I have to release shift and enter the password and then Lion will only boot into normal mode.
I've also tried with sudo nvram boot-args="-x" from the terminal, but while it seesm that this way Lion starts to boot into safe mode, after a while it just restarts as if something crashed etc and then again, I have to enter the password for FV and all again as in a loop, i.e. Lion won't even start this way.
So I went into the recovery mode and I could make Lion start again at least in normale mode with sudo nvram boot-args="".
Any idea of what could be preventing Lion from entering safe mode?
Thanks in advance

The symptom may be unrelated to FileVault 2. I encountered the symptom with FileVault 2 disabled and with backward conversion (decryption) complete.
Apple reference for my bug report: 152162960. If the symptoms on your Mac compare to those on mine: progress may seem to cease during safe fsck.
Vito, as you are comfortable with the nvram command, please try the following:
sudo nvram boot-args="-v -x"
Restart the computer and note the last verbose lines that appear before you sense that progress has ceased. Then please add a note of those lines to this topic.
Additional questions
What model is your Mac?
What type of disk for the startup volume?
How many files on that volume?
Approximately how large are the attributes file and catalog file? (You might gain this information with a demo version of iDefrag.)
My current envronment
MacBookPro5,2
8 GB memory
startup from internal 320 GB rotational disk, Serial-ATA, Hitachi HTS723232L9SA62 (probably Travelstar 7K320)
3,961,791 files
495,744 folders /* not including the root folder */
catalog file 3.0 GB, not fragmented
attributes file 2.2 GB, not fragmented.
At http://www.wuala.com/grahamperrin/public/2012/01/09/a/?mode=gallery file speedy.txt includes details of the volume.

Hello to you all, my Macbook Air won's boot up and upon diagnosis, i realized my startup disk is full to 99% even with 2GB Hard Disk space. It wont also enable me boot into safe mode too. Please help as all my work documents and project files are on HD

Hello to you all,
My Macbook Air won's boot up and upon diagnosis, i realized my startup disk is full to 99% even with 2GB Hard Disk space. It wont also enable me boot into safe mode too.
when i power up, i get this prolong gray screen which wont change screen but remain so. Infact i am handicapped.
Please help as all my work documents and project files are on this machine and i can't afford to loose them all...
Please, should you have any solution please send me the details to [email protected]
Thanks you a millionh times.
Al.

The MBA seems to cause several problems to several users on boot ups
On start up my MBA would not boot up the apple logo came on but only a blank screen appeared no fan i followed several start up recommendations but to no avail so I took the MBA to the nearest Apple repair centre again the same symptoms on start up ......very sorry sir you need a new mother board that will be $500 not feeling confidant in the product declined and was going to put it on ebay for spares.
On return home I pressed the start up button and it started normally everything was working fine i decided to reinstall all the software what has caused the problem I have no idea but it is after several attempted reboots it finally started on its own so don't give up if you have this problem it may come to life

Login screen comes up repeatedly, booting into safe mode by default

Good Morning,
I have an iMac (Lion 10.8) that is having a lot of trouble. I manage an Elementary School's IT fleet. At the end of last year, the computer was booting into Safe Mode by default. Once the system came up, the teacher could use it - but it took so long to boot that she chose not to. The teacher left the school, and I was planning to just format it and reimage. Here is what I have happening.
Boots into safe mode on it's own
Once it's done booting, the login screen shows up - but entering any credentials just gets a grey screen, and the login screen comes right back. Even root. Which means I can't get logged into the computer at all.
Recovery mode will not allow me to erase the drive, says failed and not able to access the drive.
Target mode will also not allow me to erase the drive, nor will it allow me to push over an image. Scanning the drive failed, busy.
Disk repair says unable to repair disk - please format.
These are the things I have tried.
Reset PRAM (three times over the course of troubleshooting)
Replaced the RAM completely
Unplugged 15 seconds trick
Accessing via Target mode - Drive is greyed out, but shows up
Ran FSCK manually, and it completed
Tried to do a netinstall, but the disk does not show up in netboot as an option.
I thought maybe the drive was bad, but considering that it will boot into safe mode eventually (although you can't login), and FSCK completed successfully - I'm just not sure! I just thought I'd pick your brains. I'm usually a Windows \ Linux Administrator, so this Apple business is new to me I'm learning! Although I find them frustrating. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Thank you

I thought maybe the drive was bad, but considering that it will boot into safe mode eventually (although you can't login),
Some part of the disk may be bad while others are good. i/o could be trying multiple times and eventually succeeding.
Ran FSCK manually, and it completed
You run FSCK in single user mode? This is very surprising. FSCK verifies the filesystem is in order. Actual data blocks could be bad. Would be a surprise if no file system blocks were not also bad.
Except for this fact, it seems like a hd problem. Intermediate problem. Heat problem, etc.
Time to try a different hd. See if that works. Could be some other hardware problem. Try external drive/flash drive, etc.
Mac OS X is BSD Unix.

HT201262 Will not boot into safe mode

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