HT2956 OS X10.5.8 reinstall hass topped at disk two and I GET REPEATED requests to shut down the computer and restart. I can't go ahead, and i can't go back it seems.

Question

This is for a duo core iMac, the initial release for duo core. The drag and drop feature had stopped working and reinstalling was recommended as a way to recover the function. ABut now the re-install is stopped at disk two, won't complete without as 4 language screen coming on saying i must shutdown.restart the computer. The computer won't accept any disk but disk two of the reinstall.Am I trapped forever? Are there keys i can hold down to ensure completion?

Answer 1

Whoever recommended a reinstall was talking through their hat, and wasn't trying to troubleshoot.  They should have first checked if your data was backed up.   If it isn't now, your drag and drop can't be completed anyway because you have a much bigger problem.  4 language screens can only be bypassed by restarting the Mac.  They are known as kernel panics*:
http://www.macmaps.com/kernelpanic.html
And what you need to do is isolate the problem, not exacerbate it by adding new things to the machine.   Drag and drop fails if an application doesn't support it in a particular region.  Now I think the reinstall may have just filled up your hard disk and made it harder to troubleshoot.