"sh-2.05a#" on crashing initial loading screen. Is this an error?

Question

Yesterday, I had a problem with my cd drive:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1559020&tstart=0
Trying to fix it, I followed these instructions:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106345
which involved updating the hostconfig file. I now wish I hadn't of done this.
I restarted my computer as was told and now it doesn't get past the initial grey loading screen and has a:
"sh-2.05a#"
code message at the top left hand corner of the screen. The loading wheel now stops too.
Please help!!!!
I seriously can't lose everything on my harddrive, it would be a major problem for me.
Message was edited by: tom_dutch69
Message was edited by: tom_dutch69

Answer 1

Hi Tom (and anyone else reading this message),
First, a warning: Terminal can be dangerous if not fatal to a Mac. Unless you know exactly what you're doing, I STRONGLY encourage people not to fiddle with it. Unfortunately, you seem to have found out the hard way.
I would post this issue in the OSX folder and see if someone knowledgeable in these matters can help you undo what you did in Terminal.
Beyond that, I'd try booting into FireWire Target Disk Mode. If that works, you can get your files off. If that's all you need, and if you don't get a fix from the OSX people, then I would erase and zero the HD, then remote install a new OS on it via another Mac.
Oh, and I almost forgot. Apparently you didn't believe in backups before. I hope you see the need for frequent backups now, the more important the data, the more frequent the backups. I do it at least daily. For the very little time it takes, it sure is a cheap insurance policy. External HD: $100. FW cable: $5. My data: priceless.