Macbook OS X 10.4 - Help - Start-up

-note- my OS may be wrong
Baseline:
*My Mac is not starting correctly. It will occasionally get to my "desktop" and begin to load things, but stop before any icons appear (even half the tool bar) appear.*
The Start of the Problem:
It was functioning normally. I was downloading a song from iTunes, updating a spreadsheat in Microsoft Excel (Mac version, of course), websurfing on Firefox (just facebook), I had a project up in Adobe Illustrator CS3, and I was running iChat. Other applications that were open, but were not being used were VoiceCommand, Adobe Photoshop CS3, and Microsoft Word. *It began going slow*. I tried exiting out of the programs that were running slow because that usually fixes them, but I couldn't even Force Quit them quickly. It got so bad that I tapped my power button and clicked "Shut Down" in hopes that it would help. However, *shut down even went slow*. I tried it again, wondering if I had clicked the wrong button, but after *my second attempt failed to respond, I held down the power button*.
Where things really get screwy:
As I restarted my computer, the off-white start up screen appeared as usual (the one with the swirling dot loader thing). However, it remained on that screen for 20-30 minutes. I believe I shut the computer off again before that and restarted it. I'm fairly certain this was when I removed the battery for fifteen minutes before trying again. *The screen turned black and brought up text.* It appeared to me that it was showing the process--what it was doing. It seemed that it was attempting to start something, but almost immediately it read something like:
Operation Failed
10 attempts remain
-something something- too quickly
Retrying in 10 seconds
Sorry that I didn't write it down. Well, the 10 attempts came and went and then it read "Too many failures in quick succession." I asked some friends online about it (using another computer, obviously) and they gave suggestions. I was able to enter into "Single-User" and "Verbose" modes, as well as use my Hard Drive disk to open Firmware. With *my OS disk in, I was able to see my "desktop,"* A.K.A. my background was my wallpaper. After a few more tries, it would start to load my upper toolbar, but only the search icon. A few more tries still, *it would show my search icon, the day and time (in Markerfelt font), battery life, volume, wifi, bluetooth, and the display, but it still didn't load the entire toolbar background. It would also load VoiceCommand.*
My Problem Now:
I removed my OS disk because it nows starts trying to install it again. *Now it will not even make it past the off-white screen (it won't even show the loading dots).* I plugged my iPod in so that it could charge, and a folder symbol with a question mark over it started flashing. I'm pretty sure it was just saying there are no folders to sync my iPod with.
I tried explaining it the best I could. *If there is any option of finding a way to back up my hard-drive, I want that option*, because the last time I did a backup was in December. I understand if that is not a possibility, but if there is a way, I want that. I'd rather buy a new computer if there is an option of saving my HD.

I assume you don't have a backup on an external HD. You always should, because then you could easily fix your problem.
Boot in Safe Mode. See What is Safe Boot, Safe Mode? (Mac OS X)
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107392 Takes a while to run, but it usually "fixes" problems.
Safe Boot takes longer than normal startup
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1884?viewlocale=en_US
 Cheers, Tom

Similar Messages

I upgraded to mountain lion a week ago and now on startup of my macbook pro, microsoft excel and word start up automatically and then crash? very strange can anyone please help? I have checked the login items under users and groups and there is nothing.

I upgraded to mountain lion a week ago and now on startup of my macbook pro, microsoft excel and word start up automatically and then crash? very strange can anyone please help? I have checked the login items under users and groups and there is nothing.

Are you using the Office for Mac 2011 version, as you need to do? The Office for Mac 2004 is Not at all compatible with Mountain Lion, and the 2008 version has been noted to have some problems running with ML.
Hope this helps

I have a Blackberry 8330 and a MacBook. For some reason I started having connectivity issues. The handheld will not sync with the computer via pocketmac. I have uninstalled, etc 15 times. Please help

I have a Blackberry 8330 and a MacBook. For some reason I started having connectivity issues. The handheld will not sync with the computer via pocketmac. I have uninstalled, etc 15 times. Please help

Hi Peter!
I'm sorry to read that you are having issues with your Sync account.
Your best bet is to follow the steps described in this blogposts and open a bug:
https://philikon.wordpress.com/2011/06/13/how-to-file-a-good-sync-bug/
After that, if you don't want to user Sync in your computer, you can stop it with this simple steps:
* At the top of the Firefox window, click on the Firefox button (Tools menu in Windows XP) and then click Options.
* Once the options window opens, click on the Sync tab.
* At the bottom of the Sync tab click on '''Deactivate this Device''' link

My MacBook Pro 15,4" doesn't start at all!

Hi everyone!
Today morning, normal day, after having my MacBook Pro charging all night (as always), I took it (without any cables) in the kitchen, in order to, very surprising, turn it on!
But nothing happens!! Checking battery status: ok (new), removing it and trying without, still nothing. I tried all reset techniques, as well as Ctrl + Cmd + Start button. But still nothing.
What is happening?
When I press the button, I hear the DVD player making his little "clac-clac", the fan is starting, and the light as well, but as soon as I take my finger off the start button, it stops again! If I keep my finger longer on the button, it stops as well after a while (normal forced stop), but the "gong" never sound.
Can anyone help me with this? Where does it come from? I'm a computer technician, and fixed a lot of laptops, but when it comes to Apple, I panic, and I don't know what to do anymore! I'm always a bit scared to open it myself...
Maybe I should add that it's making some noise on the right fan since 2 months (as if a plastic piece was blocked inside), some kind of "clac, clac, clac", and it was getting really warm sometimes. The DVD-player is also a bit "curved", and it's problematic to extract the discs sometimes.
Thanks in advance for your help!
Cheers,
Ron.

Hi everyone!
Thanks for the answers.
@Advanced User: I haven't tried that yet, but I will tonight. And I found a Store in my town, in case I cant solve it myself.
@eww: I always buy original parts, even more by Apple. Of yourse I tried without the battery. All the basic tests were done. I also opened the machine and test electrically if anything was interupted. But I couldn't find anything. I must say my son (2 years old) found it very funny last week-end to play piano (pretty strongly) on the keyboard of the MB... But I don't think he broke something, otherwise I'd be really disappointed in a 2000€ notebook...
The exact model of the MacBook is MB133D/A, and I cant access any System Profiler, because the MacBook.... doesn't start! The battery was still holding 3 hours.
<Edited by Host>

I've installed windows 7 with the help of bootcamp on my macbook pro 2011. Please help me how to install mac drivers for windows7 64 bit???

I've installed windows 7 with the help of bootcamp on my macbook pro 2011.
Please help me how to install mac drivers for windows7 64 bit???

You either download drivers from within Boot Camp Assistant and save to USB FAT disk, or you insert and use 10.6.x OS X DVD when in Windows and install and run the SETUP from there.
General Help:
Boot Camp 4.0, OS X Lion: Frequently asked question
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4818
http://manuals.info.apple.com/en_US/boot_camp_install-setup_10.7.pdf
create a Windows support software (drivers) CD or USB storage media
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT4407
Installation Guide Instructions for all features and settings.
Boot Camp 4.0 FAQ Get answers to commonly asked Boot Camp questions.
Windows 7 FAQ Answers to commonly asked Windows 7 questions.
- support articles and tips, how to.
http://www.apple.com/support/bootcamp/
Macs that work with 64-bit editions of Microsoft Windows Vista and Windows 7
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1846
Step 4: Install the Boot Camp Drivers for Windows
After installing Windows, install Mac-specific drivers and other software for Windows using your Mac OS X installation disc. The Mac OS X disc installs drivers to support Mac components, including AirPort,built-in iSight camera, the Apple Remote, the trackpad on a portable Mac, and thefunction keys on an Apple keyboard.
The Mac OS X disc also installs the Boot Camp control panel for Windows and theApple Boot Camp system tray item.
To install the Boot Camp drivers:
1 Eject the Windows installation disc.
2 Insert the Mac OS X disc. If the installer doesn’t start automatically, browse the disc using Windows Explorerand double-click the setup.exe file in the Boot Camp directory.
3 Follow the onscreen instructions.
If a message appears that says the software you’re installing has not passed Windows Logo testing, click Continue Anyway.
Windows that appear only briefly during the installation don’t require your input.
If nothing appears to be happening, there may be a hidden window that you mustrespond to. Check the taskbar and look behind open windows.
Important: Do not click the Cancel button in any of the installer dialogs.
4 After your computer restarts, follow the instructions in the Found New Hardware Wizard to update your software drivers (Windows XP only).
5 Follow the instructions for any other wizards that appear.
6 Check for updated Boot Camp drivers by using Apple Software Update or going to www.apple.com/support/bootcamp.
If You Have Problems Installing the Device Drivers
If it appears that the Boot Camp drivers weren’t successfully installed, try repairing them.
To repair Boot Camp drivers:
1 Start up your computer in Windows.
2 Insert your Mac OS X installation disc.
3 If the installer doesn’t start automatically, browse the disc using Windows Explorerand double-click the setup.exe file in the Boot Camp directory.
4 Click Repair and follow the onscreen instructions.
If a message appears that says the software you’re installing has not passed Windows Logo testing, click Continue Anyway.
If you need to reinstall specific drivers, you can install one driver at a time. For example,if your built-in iSight camera isn’t working, you can reinstall just the iSight driver.
Individual drivers are in the Drivers folder on the Mac OS X installation disc.

Macbook Pro 10.6.8 - 4GB started running extremely slowly.

All of a sudden my Macbook Pro 10.6.8 - 4GB started running extremely slowly. I verified the disk and got an OK. I have plenty of memory. Any clue?

I do need to learn how to use the communities...sorry. First time.
I do have lots of free disk space though.
The problem seems to be solved, after a whole day searching for help on the net.
I read somewhere to check my Console.app for repeated information. Then I saw my Mackeeper antivirus was sending the same message every 5 seconds for the last 15 hours. Thousands and thousands of the same message. I turned off the Real-time Protection, restarted the computer and all is fine. Just can't believe it.
Where I live it is kind of hard to get assistance.
Tks for your help.

MacBook Pro, late 2013 will not start up on battery.

Why won't my MacBook Pro (Retina, 13", late 2013) start up on battery, even though it's charged 100%? I can start it up with the power cord, then disconnect the cord and it runs fine and the battery doesn't seem to run down too quickly. I just downloaded OS X Yosemite 10.10.3 last night and this started today. Any help?

Try a SMC reset:
https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201295
Ciao.

Hi, i am badly in need of help. i partitioned my mac hd yesterday and now the boot camp is nt working as i was using win 7 on it. i am using macbook pro 13'' 2011. plz help me. anxiously waiting for response... specially from "Christopher"

hi, i am badly in need of help. i partitioned my mac hd yesterday and now the boot camp is nt working as i was using win 7 on it. i am using macbook pro 13'' 2011. plz help me. anxiously waiting for response... specially from "Christopher murphy"

you can't add or mofidy partition numbers. especially not if and once you have windows installed.
boot from Windows 7 DVD afterwards
but first you have to tell us and Christopher what and how you partitioned your system.
Successful setup of OS X Lion + Data Partition + Bootcamp Win7 Ult
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3293948
So after many, many hours I think I've finally figured out how to successfully setup Mac OS X Lion on one partition, a seperate data partition, and Windows 7 Ultimate on a Bootcamp partition . Here is a screenshot of my setup on my 13" MacBook Pro
Thread with suggestions on Windows backup methods:
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3798090
Paragon CampTune
Paragon CampTune is a commercial product that is designed expressly for this task. http://www.paragon-software.com/home/camptune/ It consists of a downloadable ISO that needs to be burned to a disc and booted from in order to resize the partitions costs US$19.95.
Securing Dual-System Configuration
Imaging is still the most affordable and robust way to secure computer data. Unfortunately Mac OS X backs up only HFS+ volumes, leaving Windows with dual-system configurations unsecured. You can permanently lose all of your data unless you have a Windows-compatible backup solution.
Paragon’s CampTune and Paragon’s Drive Copy for Mac can secure the entire dual-system configuration. CampTune creates traditional images of volumes or entire hard disks, Drive Copy can copy them to other disks. In case of an emergency, you can restore the previously created image or copy all your data back to its original state.
GParted Live
GParted Live is similar to CampTune as it is also distributed as a bootable image that needs to be copied to a CD/DVD or USB flash drive. As free and open source software, distributed under the GPL, it will always be available free. Since it has more functions than CampTune, it may be harder for folks who are not as experienced with partitioning hard drives. http://gparted.sourceforge.net/
iPartition
Coriolis Systems' iPartition is a £29.95 ($44.95 US) utility that runs in Mac OS X and allows resizing of all of the relevant partition formats, including HFS+, FAT32, and NTFS. It provides a Mac-oriented user interface that may be easier to manage than some of the free utilities. As it is not capable of resizing the boot disk, it requires a bootable external disk or a boot DVD. (A tool to create a boot DVD is included.)
Paragon Partition Manager
From the makes of CampTune is a commercial tool that is similar in functionality to GParted Live, but has a more polished/friendly user interface than GParted Live. Previously only the US$79.95 Professional version supported all the features required for this, but as of version 11 the US$39.95 Personal version has also been reported to work. http://www.paragon-software.com/home/pm-personal/
Winclone/Disk Utility
Winclone is a free tool for creating and restoring backup images of your Windows partition. One of its key features is that it can restore to a larger partition than the one the image was created from.
NOTE: Winclone has been discontinued, but for now remains available and capable of completing these tasks (including creating and restoring Windows 7 images).
Winclone updated to support Lion Winclone updates and download
Disk Utility can resize HFS+ (Mac OS) partitions, but is currently incapable of resizing NTFS partitions, so you could use it to reduce the size of the HFS+ partition and create a new larger placeholder MS-DOS (FAT) partition
The full process would be:
Backup Windows partition with Winclone.
(if the new Windows partition is smaller than the old one make sure you set the preferences in Winclone to save the image as an uncompressed dmg)
Delete old Windows partition
Resize current Mac Partition
Create new Windows partition as MS-DOS (FAT) in free space after Mac OS partition.
(If the new Windows partition is smaller than the old one an additional step is required: shrink the filesystem on the image by selecting Tools->Shrink Windows (NTFS) Filesystem)
Reboot your computer for the new Windows partition to mount properly (winclone may not restore if you don't reboot)
Restore Winclone partition over new Windows partition
An alternate Winclone based process is described in the External Guides section
Native OS utilities
MR user Kazyua reports that you can use the disk management utilities provided with the current operating systems if you want to do it manually. Windows 7 and OS X both have partition resizing functions built in. In OS X, open Disk Utility and manually shrink the mac HFS+ partition by dragging the lower right corner. Then in windows go to the start menu and type "disk management" into the search box then hit enter. You should get an overview of the drives you have and the individual partitions. Right-clicking on the partition gives an "Extend Volume" option. The Windows NTFS volume should then be extended into the free space you created with Disk Utility. This method has not worked for other users, so try at your own risk.
Resizing under VMWare Fusion
If you are looking to allocate more space to Windows under VMWare please refer to the following thread http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=828182
From http://guides.macrumors.com/Extend/Resize_Boot_Camp_Partition
Thread with suggestions on Windows backup methods:
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3798090

My Macbook is becoming very slow on start up and operation

My Macbook is becoming very slow on start up and operation. I have tried Mac Keeper but my small 2GB ram is always gone in the simplest of operations.
Any help would be usefull

Hello Chris,
A variety of things could be causing the slow startup. The first place I would look is at the Login items on your MacBook to see if there are items in this list that are set to automatically start. Having applications automatically start will increase startup time. This article has the steps to do this:
Mac OS X 10.6: If items automatically open when you log in
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH6811
The steps from the article should work for Mac OS X 10.4-10.8; the only difference in Mac OS X 10.7 and 10.8 is that the Accounts icon is named Users & Groups:
To permanently prevent items from opening at login:
Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, and then click Accounts.
Click Login Items.
Select any items you don’t want to open automatically, and then click the "-" button.
If you are still experiencing a slow startup after that, you might want to try the steps in the following article:
Mac OS X: Gray screen appears during startup
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2570
I hope this helps!
Best,
Sheila M.

My MacBook has become very slow to start up. What could be slowing it down?

My MacBook is now very slow to start up. What could be causing this and what is a way to repair?
Thanks, Chris

Hello Chris,
A variety of things could be causing the slow startup. The first place I would look is at the Login items on your MacBook to see if there are items in this list that are set to automatically start. Having applications automatically start will increase startup time. This article has the steps to do this:
Mac OS X 10.6: If items automatically open when you log in
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH6811
The steps from the article should work for Mac OS X 10.4-10.8; the only difference in Mac OS X 10.7 and 10.8 is that the Accounts icon is named Users & Groups:
To permanently prevent items from opening at login:
Choose Apple menu > System Preferences, and then click Accounts.
Click Login Items.
Select any items you don’t want to open automatically, and then click the "-" button.
If you are still experiencing a slow startup after that, you might want to try the steps in the following article:
Mac OS X: Gray screen appears during startup
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2570
I hope this helps!
Best,
Sheila M.

MacBook Pro doesn't want to start up anymore.

My MacBook Pro doesn't want to start up anymore.
When I turn it on, it turns on, followed by a white/light grey screen with apple logo. After a while a loading wheel appears beneath the logo and a loading bar beneath it. The loading bar loads to about 1/5 and then disappears, leaving the computer stuck on the the white screen with the apple logo and the loading wheel.
I tried to reset the PRAM, but it didn't help, it only got the startup sound to play when I turn the MacBook on.
What can I do about this? Hopefully I don't need to lose my files.
Thanks in advance,
Emil

lonelyplanet wrote:
Seems like I have to use my Time Machine backup drive to reinstall the OS.
No you don't.
OS X can be reinstalled all by itself leaving the programs and files alone, provided the drive is working correctly.
I'm not quite sure how to recover the files from Macintosh HD that I don't want to be deleted during this process.
The TM drive is almost useless because you can't boot from it to recover your latest files with.
That's why I gave the link for the undelete boot drive, you create and boot from that, access your internal drive and grab files, then you can restore from TM or other things, like the repair list of fixes I gave you.
Could you help me a little on how to backup files manually most easily?
The problem is your machine isn't booting to grab the files.
So you need to create a external boot drive, then you can access the internal boot drive directly and grab files out of your Music, Pictures, Movies, Documents folders (etc) to the external boot drive.
Most commonly used backup methods
Or is there a way to do this without deleting all of the files in my user folders on Macintosh HD?
Yes, you can choose to create a
Create a data recovery, undelete boot drive
and recover your filesnow , or you can chose to try fixing the machine without recovering your files, but your taking your chances as we don't know how seriously wrong it is yet.
If your willing to take a risk then proceed through this list, Step 1 - 8 etc., until the machine boots up.
Step by Step to fix your Mac
If the machine doesn't boot up then you need to create the external boot drive to get the files before proceeding with further steps.
If this is too much for you, then call a local PC/Mac data recovery/repair service and they will handle it for a large fee.

HI there all, have got a 2 year old macbook pro that just recently wont start up. Even if I know the battery is fully charged. What I have to do is remove the battery, wait a minute or so, insert back in and it will fire up. Any ideas?

HI there all, have got a 2 year old macbook pro that just recently wont start up. Even if I know the battery is fully charged. What I have to do is remove the battery, wait a minute or so, insert back in and it will fire up. Any ideas?

Try the old two stand-by's first:
Reset PRAM, and;
Reset SMC.
If that doesn't help, call back,
Clinton

My 2009 13 MacBook will not turn on or start up, the power cord won't show up green anymore either

My 2009 13 inch MacBook won't turn on or start up, and the power cord doesn't turn green anymore. When it first wouldn't turn on the power cord still turned green. Please help!!

Might be a problem with the power adapter > Apple Portables: Troubleshooting MagSafe adapters

TS3423 My MacBook Pro freezes on the blue start up screen. What can I do?

My MacBook Pro freezes on the blue start up screen. What can I do?

See if this will help:
http://support.apple.com/kb/PH7212
Ciao.

My MacBook Air 13' (2013) will occasionally start the fan at full blast, not connect to any wifi or detect any wifi, and will remove the battery icon from my menu bad as well as tell me there is no battery connected. How do I fix this?

My MacBook Air 13' (2013) will occasionally start the fan at full blast, not connect to any wifi or detect any wifi, and will remove the battery icon from my menu bad as well as tell me there is no battery connected. How do I fix this? I have restarted my computer multiple times, **** it down, and ran a diagnostic test to tell me nothing is wrong and my computer is not running any applications. There is no reason for the fan to be on full blast! when I try to set the option to show my battery icon in the menu bar, it will automatically uncheck. How do I fix all of this?

Have you tried SMC and PRAM resets?
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht1379
Ciao.

Macbook OS X 10.4 - Help - Start-up

Similar Messages

Maybe you are looking for