I Cannot Complete Single User Mode (fsck)!!

Hello all.
I have the new iMac 20" Rev. B running on Tiger OS X 10.4.1, using wireless keyboard and mouse (I know I have to use a wired keyboard to complete Single User Mode)
When I do a 'Command Key + S key' after a restart
b using either the wireless or wired keyboard...
The "usual" string of text would appear on the black screen in Single User Mode, but it stops short of the below:
...(a lot more text lines)...
If you wish to boot the system,but stay in single user mode:
sh/etc/rc
CSRHIDTransitionDriver :: stop
localhost :/ root# [HCIController][start]
[AppleUSBHCIController][StopIsochPipeRead] - mInt1IsochInPipe = 0 - numReads Pending = 0
[start] 1
The last line just stays there without further prompts, I type anything on the keyboard and nothing happens, after a while the fans will pump up full speed and loud, waiting for a little longer also see no continuation of prompts etc...
HELP! May I know what is wrong here? The mac was just set up since Sun, I couldn't and wouldn't believe that after a few days that the OS system is already somehow "screwed"??
Thanks and cheers!

Hi a brody, thanks for the reply, I guess as much I'll have to go through that process again...! The fact and reason I am so reluctant is that my previous iMac 20" "fried" its logic board and was in the shop for almost 2 weeks then they told me there was a worldwide shortage of logic boards, so they replaced me with this new iMac 20" Rev.B, I got it late last week and just started setting it up last Sun... and till late Monday when I found out about the fsck problem.
Earlier tonight I just did the Archieve and Install and brought back all my data, files and stuffs, I think doing something like this within a week is really quite tedious and tiring...
For both occasions when I install Tiger, did its software update and also the rest of the software I only have the mac, keyboard, mouse and the ethernet cable (cable modem) connect to the mac, nothing else, and I repair permisson after each update and install...
Ya, you may be right that there may be something wrong with the mac, but c'mon, my 2nd "brand new mac" and it's like this??!! I can't really take it anymore??!!
Anyway, I think I am going to hold on to doing the reformat and testing it, like I say, it is 'working fine' right now, no any indication of glitch or anything, and besides unable to complete Single User Mode... well, I don't think "it is really that bad"...?? (me making sense??)
Maybe I will do the full reformat and reinstall when the next OS Update arrives or something go amiss with the mac, then I'll take that opportunity to test it...
Maybe in the mean time, I'll just ring up AppleCare and see what they say...?
Thanks and cheers.

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Macbook shuts off during start-up - can't get through safe-mode, single user mode (fsck -fy) and target-drive shows no problems when running disk utility repair

Hi everyone,
I'm simply all out of ideas on what to do - my best guess is the problem is not specifically hard-drive related since all the 'normal' fixes just won't work.
What could be the cause of my issue? The only way i've managed to keep the Macbook Pro on for longer than a minute is through target drive, where it seems to work just fine - i can access everything. To sum up everything:
1 - I tried resetting the PRAM
2 - I tried to go in to safe mode, it shut off before i could type the password
3 - I tried fsck -fy command from single user mode, sometimes i can get to actually typing it but mostly it shuts off before
4 - I tried to repair disk via target drive - success, no problems detected (and it didnt fix my issue)
5 - I reinstalled OS Mavericks.
The Macbook Pro previously had some problems with the power-button not working properly (a mac-cunning friend of mine had to open up the mac and start it by swiping to metal pins on a specific (battery/power?) part inside it. The problem kinda went away afterwards but it might be related to this?
This is way off my comfort zone of 'diagnosing' issues, so I'm crossing fingers for some good advice.
Thanks,
Aske
Denmark

I think you're right.
If it's hardware related, is it possible to guess at what it might be? It would be nice to know how much I should expect to pay for a repair before actually getting it fixed.

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Hi all
I get the drive full error when trying to run fsck saying drive full when trying to rebuild b-tree
along with some other errors invalid leaf count
any idea to be able to boot up do i need to post the whole results from fsck? what does this mean?
Thanks

I think you're right.
If it's hardware related, is it possible to guess at what it might be? It would be nice to know how much I should expect to pay for a repair before actually getting it fixed.

Unable to start in single-user mode - HD dead?

My MacBook Pro (Mac OS X) refused to start, it hung up on the loading screen where you see the apple and the spinning loading wheel. I found out how to fix this, I had to go into single-user mode and type "/sbin/fsck -fy" to repair/verify the disk (I was unable to do so from the Disk Utility via the Install Disc, the repair/verify buttons were just grayed out).
Anyways, doing this from the command line (single-user mode) fixed the problem and I could boot into Mac OS X (there were more issuses after this point which forced me to do an "Archive and Install").
^ that happened a week ago. And happened again yesterday, hung up on the exact same point. So I boot up my Mac into single-user mode, and type in "/sbin/fsck -fy" to start the process. Different from last time, I got a lot of text this time. It also kept going for a longer while. After about 10 minutes, there was a couple of minutes where nothing happened. So I typed "/sbin/fsck -fy" again (as I'm supposed to do so until it says "** The volume (nameofvolume) appears to be OK"), and I got some more text, then nothing happened for a while.
Inpatient as I am, I considered the process to be complete, and restarted my Mac by typing "exit".
I think I ****** up my Mac OS X partition at this point. Because when I try to start my Mac now, it automaticly boots into Windows XP (my other partition). Also I cannot enter single-user mode or Verbose mode, the Mac just ignores and goes right into Windows XP.
I've tried to boot from the Install Disc. When I run Disk Utility, the "HD"(name of Mac OS X partition) is grayed out. I can't do an Archive and Install because it cannot detect my main partition.
An interesting thing though: When I have the Install Disc inserted, I can enter single-user mode (by holding cmd+s at startup). However, when I type /sbin/fsck -fy, it starts verifying the Install Disc rather than the HD.
Also when I open My Computer in Windows XP, I can see the other partition (MacDrive). When I select it, I see:
Free Space: 219GB
Total Size: 168GB
This indicates that my HD is dead/erased, and that my last three months of work is gone. This just because I'm impatient, and didn't wait for the fsck process to complete.
What is the next step? How can I get into single-user mode so that I can verify/repair my disc?

On the point of contacting the folks at Alsoft, I have found that they seem to be unobtainable on www.alsoft.com at present.
I wanted to get in touch as I had a small problem with Diskwarrior on updating to 10.5.5 from 10.5.4 ,
Disk permissions ends with an error code.
I wonder if there were so many queries re this that they are unobtainable?
I run 3 machines from a wireless router, an iMac, an HP laptop with XP and a totally obsolete Dell into which i have squeezed W2000, with a resultant mix of browsers but no contact with the folks at Alsoft.
Am I in a minority of one here?

10.4.3 and Single User Mode, now Wireless Keyboard can

Hello all.
IN case you haven't found out which I did, just to let you know, with the latest OS 10.4.3 update, now you can boot into Single User Mode (fsck) with your
b wireless keyboard
and still at the same time
b continue to complete fsck process with your wireless keyboard!!
No more switching to a regular wired keyboard just to complete the process!
Cheers

Hi Steven, bit unclear on a couple things.
When I went into single user mode the fans went wild. But I knew this to be normal and proceeded with repairing the disk
Normal for fans to go wild in single user or when repairing the disk?
I replicated the problem applied the same fix and again every thing was normal.
The problem being screaming fan and the fix being resetting SMU? (unplug for 15secs). So how did you replicate it, and is it really fixed now?

MBP only runs if I start in single user mode and run fsck. WHY!

I am having trouble with my MBP. If I don't start in single user mode and run fsck -fy twice, I can't click on anything with my trackpad. I can't even log in. I've tried resetting pram/nvram, disk permission repair too but once i reboot... nada. I can't do anything in recovery mode, I can move around with arrows and tab but can't select anything. Safe mode hangs at about 20% and doesn't budge (left it for an hour, nothing). If I run fsck -fy it works but as soon as I reboot/ logout i'm back to square one again. Anyone know what causes this to happen? It just started tonight. I have a 2012 15" with Mountain Lion.

The boot drive is failing, or you have some other hardware fault.
Back up all data immediately, then make a "Genius" appointment at an Apple Store to have the machine tested.
If privacy is a concern, erase the data partition(s) with the option to write zeros* (do this only if you have at least two complete, independent backups, and you know how to restore to bare metal from any of them.) Don’t erase the recovery partition, if present.
*An SSD doesn't need to be zeroed.

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I mounted the drive, changed permissions, but it seems that I don't have the option to use vi, visudo, vim.
Thanks for the help.

I mounted the hdd using the command below.
I then made sure I could get to the file by cd to it.
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macbook does not boot. stuck at grey screen. have tried single user mode, but text stops at AppleIntelCPUPPowerManagement: initialization complete, without anymore prompts. no hash key appears that will allow me to type in: fsck -fy
have my trials for IB in one week and my history notes are all on my hard drive, that has not been backed up. help please =(

Cannot mount USB disk in SIngle-user mode (solaris 10)

Hi all ,
I need some help please :
I can read/write to my USB disks when i'm in muti-user mode but when to I swith to single-user mode ( init S ), I cannot mount it.
in Single-user mode , i started volume management daemon :
#/etc/init.d/volgmt start
#volcheck
but i'm still not able to mount it.
I tried to mount manually:
#mount /dev/dsk/c2t0d0p0 /testpoint , i have this error: < mount : not a UFS magic number ( 0x0) , dev/dsk/c2t0d0p0 is not of this fstype.
My system recognizes the USB device though in single-user mode:
This is an output of #iostat -En
c2t0d0 Soft Errors: 1 Hard Errors: 0 Transport Errors: 0
Vendor: BUFFALO Product: ClipDrive Revision: 2.00 Serial No:
Size:0.07GB <65339392 bytes>
Media Error: 0 Device Not Ready: 0 No Device: 0 Recoverable: 0
Illegal Request: 1 Predictive Failure Analysis: 0

Hi ,
thanks for your advice. My problem is resolved.
The USB drive was actually a FAT filesystem.
so I did # mount -F pcfs /dev/dsk/c2t0d0p0:c /testpoint and everything went fine
I can read/write to my USB disks when i'm in
muti-user mode but when to I swith to single-user
mode ( init S ), I cannot mount it.
in Single-user mode , i started volume management
daemon :
/etc/init.d/volgmt start
#volcheck
but i'm still not able to mount it.It probably requires other items to be started
first.
I tried to mount manually:
#mount /dev/dsk/c2t0d0p0 /testpoint , i have
this
error: < mount : not a UFS magic number ( 0x0) ,
dev/dsk/c2t0d0p0 is not of this fstype.
Looks like it's assuming UFS. If this is a pcfs
filesystem, give it the type on the mount line.
# mount -F pcfs /dev/dsk/c2t0d0p0 /testpointYeah, this was the right command, I had to specify option < -F pcfs >.
but I read somethere on this forum i had to specify :c as the drive for FAT at the end of c2t0d0p0 , so the full command was:
# mount -F pcfs /dev/dsk/c2t0d0p0:c /testpoint
>
DarrenThanks,
Sakolan.

Mac not booting normally after running '/sbin/fsck -fy' in Single user mode

HI, I tried to log in to single user mode and run the '/sbin/fsck -fy' command. This command failed. So I rebooted my Macbook pro by 'reboot' command. On bootup I hear the chime shoud and can see the Mac Symbol but never reach the login prompt. The round circle keeps rotating over the gray screen and nothing happens.
Then I again hard rebooted mac book and entered single user mode. I ran again '/sbin/fsck -fy' many times and after many attempts the command stuck and never returned.
Then I tried using the recovery method to reinstall MAC OS X. It asked me to choose the Harddrive where to install MAC OSX. But the option of "macintosh HD" was disabled and message was " hard drive locked".
Please help me how to boot my MAC normally :'(

Welcome to the Apple Support Communities
Boot in Recovery again and open Disk Utility. Then, choose "Macintosh HD" in the sidebar and repair the hard drive. If it is repaired, restart and OS X should start correctly. If not, you will probably have to format the hard disk.
You only have to use that command when you have problems with the Mac OS X volume filesystem that they couldn't be repaired with Disk Utility, and as this command got stuck, probably damaged the OS X volume filesystem

Keyboard completely unresponsive in single user mode

Since upgrading to v10.5.1 I have been unable to get both my Apple USB and Apple Bluetooth keyboards to work in single user mode. I can get into single user mode using the command-s keys but once there the keyboard dies. This is the only time the keyboard fails. I have no other USB device attatched. I am using the white (non-aluminum) Apple keyboards. I'm curious to see if anyone else has this issue.

It appears to have been a Bluetooth only issue. I got the USB keyboard to work in single user mode. However I had to first turn off Bluetooth before rebooting into single user mode. Originally I kept Bluetooth on before rebooting using my USB keyboard. This for some reason prevented the USB keyboard from functioning in single user mode. When I have some time I'll further troubleshoot the Bluetooth keyboard issue and report back.

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

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:
Neither Leopard nor Snow Leopard's installation DVD could recognize the bad internal HD when trying to do a reinstall. While DiskUtil was able to "see" the bad internal drive it immediately failed when I tried to do an "erase and format". Took the system to my local Apple store and the Genius ran a tool called "SMART Utility" from Volitans Software (www.volitans-software.com). SMART utility confirmed that my HD was bad so it was replaced. AppleCare pays for itself (once again!).

Bluetooth problems in single user mode

I've already checked some of the discussions on this topic but did not find the answers that i am looking for. i need to get into single user mode because my computer will not completely boot the osx. however, after i hold down the command-s and the promt comes up, it is af if i have no keyboard at all. i cannot type anything. is this due to the fact that i have a bluetooth keyboard? would going out and purchasing a usb help me out (because i have read some posts that they have the same problem with a usb)? is there any way around this. single user is becoming one of my last alternatives to having to reformat. please help!
best

A wireless bluetooth keyboard would only let you boot into Single User Mode, after that, you will need a regular USB keyboard to type in the prompts, same goes when doing a Hardware Test using the disc provided.
As for some users posted on this forum saying they have not able to continue the Single User Mode under a regular USB keyboard, I am afraid I am one of them... I have not been able to solve the problem as yet and it is kinda "annoying" that there "may be something wrong" with my iMac that I cannot perform fsck, nevertheless I have regularly booted from the OS disc and run Disk Utility, which is equivilent to booting to SUM, but supposingly much better, and my HD checks out fine... so at the moment I have no worries.
In my post there is another person who has regularly keeping me update about this problem and has deduced it maybe due to the internal bluetooth module and the USB inside... rather complex issue that may require me lengthy conversation with AppleCare or have something replace, or "worse" have my iMac sent away for a time for repair or replacement. Since my iMac is doing quite fine, I'll live with it for the moment...
Cheers

Problem in single-user mode

I've been having trouble with my ibook g4 lately; it won't fully boot and if it does (which is rare) it will suddenly freeze. I can still move the mouse, but the programs stop. I cannot enter safe mode (whenever I hold down shift for a certain period of time the computer turns off completely) and when I go into Single-User Mode this is what I get:
USBF: 21.984 OHCIDriver: OHCIRootHubPortPower bit not sticking (0)
USBF:22.807 [0x162a400] the IOUSBFamily was not able to enumerate device
jnl: replay_journal: bad block list header @ 0x6e4000 (checksum 0x0 !=ffffffff)
jnl: journal_open error replaying journal!
hfs: early jnl init: failed to open/create the journal (retval 0)
also: singleuser boot -fsck not done root device is mounted read only
when I run fsck: **checking catalog file.
Invalid record count
(4, 12)
**volume check failed
Alright, I don't expect to know what all of this means, but was wondering if anyone knows what it might indicate and any solutions. Thanks in advance for any advice. And again, I cannot seem to boot in safe mode.

An "Invalid record count" means you have some file directory damage. The file directory is the file that tells your Mac where all the various files on the hard drive are physically stored. These errors could be what's causing the messages you're seeing in the command line.
You may not be able to repair a problem like this with fsck in single user mode or with the Disk Utility on your Mac OS X install disk. But starting up from your install disk would probably be the next step to troubleshooting. Put your install disk in the iBook, restart and hold down on the "c" key. The installer will startup and ask you to select a language. Then, instead of continuing to install, if you have a Mac OS X 10.3 disk, choose to open the Disk Utility from the Installer menu or, if you have a Mac OS X 10.4 disk, choose to open the Disk Utility from the Utilities menu. Select your hard drive and click "repair disk" on the right-hand side. Hopefully it can repair the problem. When you're done, you can quit the Disk Utility and then quit the Installer to restart back to your hard drive.
If the Disk Utility cannot repair the trouble, then you might need a more sophisticated tool like to repair your drive.
-Doug

I Cannot Complete Single User Mode (fsck)!!

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