Single-user mode freeze

I am trying fsck a mac mini.
When I start up in single-user mode, the keyboard(Bluetooth and usb) do not work. I have to unplug the cpu.
Does this mean it's broke?

Leopard.

Similar Messages

Freezing with blue screen & can't boot from single user mode or disk

My keyboard is wired and plugged directly into my Intel iMac running OSX 10.5.8. I do not have the Leopard disks, but I do have the Tiger disks. I was trying to boot in single-user mode so that I could run AppleJack to try to fix another issue I'm having--I get the light blue startup screen flashed at me several times daily for the past week or so. When the blue screen flashes, it totally freezes my computer (obviously) and lasts from 1-10 seconds. I can't find anything that is triggering it. I haven't installed anything new that I'm aware of, and it happens whether the computer has previously been slept or not. I'm also not using an external display / additional monitor.
Also, for anyone who is nice enough to answer, please explain everything--I'm not an expert user.

Well since it is so time consuming and a security risk to turn off FileVault, I was hoping to hear from someone with more experience if this was the solution, or just something to "try"? Are you speaking from experience or just making a suggestion, leroydouglas? Thanks.

G5 freezing - no problems with ASD - crashing also in single-user-mode

Hello,
I have a PowerMac7,1 with MacOS X Server 10.5.8, which today started freezing and restarting.
After the system froze, sometimes it restarts automatically, or I have to manually reboot it with the power button. In both cases the restart also froze!
The only way to start the system is the clean the PRAM, but after a while it is crashing again!
I managed to run the full ASD 2.5.7 test without error for a few hours (then I stopped), and with the install DVD I also managed to run the system repair (there was nothing to repair).
Both from the system and from the install DVD I cannot run the repair permissions (it freezes!). So I tried to execute "fsck -fy" from the single-user-mode, but the computer froze again!
Is there something else I can try?
Thanks a lot!

Two things: DiskWarrior. New HD.
It seems that the crashes are coming into play when the HD is in the game in a meaningful sense, which isn't the case with the install disk or ASD, unless you are trying to do something like disk repair or permissions repair from the install disk. What's interesting is that you can boot into single-user mode, but when you invoke fsck, you crash, whereas disk repair from the install disk, which in essence fsck, runs and reports no errors.
You can also try a safe boot and see how things run there. If you can do that, I would suggest running AppleJack on the system, if you can.
Finally, it's possible that NVRAM has gotten corrupted (a possibility but not a high possibility) so an NVRAM reset might help things out.
After trying the safe-boot and NVRAM routes, if no help, my next tool would be DiskWarrior. In the past, I have had situations where DW found problems that Disk Utility didn't find, though that was in DW 3, probably. Fortunately (knock on wood) DW 4 has not had to confront a disaster situation yet for me.

Freeze in Single User mode

Hi, my iMac G5 is freezing right away when I boot in single user mode. I mean right away at the prompt. I cannot even start typing anything. The fan start at 100% and I have to hard shutdown the machine. This happens ALL the time I boot in single user mode. EVERY TIME no exceptions.
I am trying to run a memory test (using MEMTEST) to see if my 1gig memory is defective. My iMac freeze randomly without me able to find a consistent pattern.
Questions:
1- Does the freeze at boot could be a problem with me using a bluetooth keyboard and mouse?
2 - If not, the fact of freezing at boot in Single User mode a possible explanation of memory problem (does the single user mode lock-up memory that could be bad?) as my iMac do not freeze (for a while) when booted in multi-user mode.
My setup: 2 ghtz iMac G5, 1x1gig Kingston PC3200 memory (sold and installed by my Apple reseller). My G5 is 7 month old still under warranty.
I am new to the Mac - I switched from PCs.
Thanks for the help.
iMac G5 + Thinkpad T40 Mac OS X (10.4.2)

With the PC-Viewsonic keyboard, Pierre, the symptoms you describe are exactly what you would expect.
Third party, non Apple, keyboards, even wired ones, can't usually be used to do anything beyond simply starting up in SU mode (you can start them up and get to the prompt, but when you are there you can't do anything further).
The same applies to Apple Wireless keyboards when running versions of the OS 10.4.2 or earlier, or if the bluetooth firmware isn't up to date. Again, you CAN start them up in SU mode, but you can't do anything with them after you reach the prompt.
As far as the BT issue goes, as you say its running 10.4.6 I'm beginning to wonder if there was a problem with one of your OS updates. I'd be inclined to download a fresh copy of the full 10.4.6 Combo updater, and run it again. Probably worth running the Blue Tooth firmware update again, too, just in case.
Rod

Single-User Mode Copying Files/System Does not Boot Past Apple Logo Screen

I have a Macbook 2.0GHZ, 2GB RAM, that recently tried to download a secuirty and keynot update. Following the download the system will no longer boot past the Apple Logo Screen with the spinning wheel. I do not have access to a OS disk yet or to a firewire cable either. I've have seen posts from others that describe how to use traget disk mode to reinstall the secuirty update manually and then they can boot their computer. Safe mode will not work. I did boot into single-user mode and run the disk utility there and it says my HD is OK. Since I do not have a firewire or an OS Disk, I am wondering if there is a way to copy those files i need to a USB pen stick then install them onto the computer via single-user mode, considering this is the only way I can boot and manipulate the machine at this time. If this is not possible please let me know so I can find a way to scrounge up a firewire cable or disk. Thank you in advance for any assistance.
Ted K

Thanks to Limnos and BDAqua I know you guys have helped others with these kind of problems from the other posts I read. I just want to list what I did exactly in case anyone wants to try to do this with a usb drive or does not have access to a boot disk or firewire cable.
1: Install security update on a pen drive
2: Boot in single user mode, CMD-S on startup
3: /sbin/mount -uw /
4: mkdir /Volumes/usb (usb can be any name, name of usb drive or anything you want)
5: ls /dev (you need to get the drive listing for the usb drive to mount it appropriately, it should be disk#s# but this is close to what the HD and Cd drives are listed as so you may need to list once before you put the usb stick in and once ater. I had issues inserting the usb drive in single-user mode and it would freeze up the root drive)
6: /sbin/mount_msdos /dev/disk1s1 /Volumes/usb (this mounts the usb drive, i had to use msdos because of how my usb drive was formatted, you may need to check your usb drive format, hfs is the apple format for usb drives but it did not work for me)
7: cp /Volumes/usb/SecUpd2009-001Intel.dmg (this copies the files from the usb drive to the root drivel, at this point you no longer need the usb drive)
8: hdiutil mount /SecUpd2009-001Intel.dmg (this mounts the disk image)
9: cd /Volumes/"Security Update 2009-001" (after i mounted the image this is how it appeared in the Volumes directory, you might need to do ls /Volumes to get the name, the quotes are important to get the whole file directory changed)
10: installer -pkg SecUpd2009-001Intel.pkg -target / (this installs the acutal update, i used the SecUpd2009-001Intel.pkg and it worked though I think you might be able to use "Security Update 2009-001" with quotes as well.)
11: reboot
i hope this helps anyone looking to do this. Thanks again to those who helpes and all the other posts that had information that helped me identify and then fix my issue! I still love my mac.

Powerbook -can't start up in single user mode or from CD-why?

My daughter was gifted a Powerbook (15"). I've upgraded it to 10.5.8. It has enough speed, (1.67 Ghz), 2 gigs RAM- but it is a sticky little machine- it freezes a lot. Froze twice during the upgrade, froze once during login, Froze once while trying to do a software update, froze once while trying to get into the system preferences. It freezes pretty consistently after 15-30 minutes or so, no matter what it's doing -if a program is running or not. I tried downloading AppleJack to run a diagnostic. That requires starting up from single user mode. I tried to do that , but the machine just opens to the login screen. I also tried running TechTool from the CD, and the machine wouldn't start up from CD either. What should I try next?

Try this one for some information.

IBook Mac OS 10.3.9 not booting, even crashing in single-user mode

Yeah so about 2 weeks ago my iBook started crashing, then wouldn't properly re-boot. Gradually, it would start crashing after being on for less and less time until now it gets just past the apple symbol and then freezes on a blue screen.
I've been using the online help but now it's even freezing during single-user mode, meaning i can't even perform fcsk!! I can't even boot up on the Mac OS X CD to re-install the OS. Anyone got any idea what's wrong or what I can do? Thanks, Rob

What, exactly, is preventing you from starting up from the Mac OS X install disk?
Have you added any RAM yourself? You might try taking it out to see if that helps. You might also try to run the Apple Hardware Test. Depending on which bundle of install disks you got, it may be on the Mac OS X install disk or it may be a separate CD of it's own. It should be marked "AHT" and a version number on the disk. Put that disk in the drive, restart and hold down on the "option" key. This will give you a Startup Manager that should allow you to select the hardware test and continue (click the right arrow to continue). If you can't even get that far, then you probably have a hardware failure and you'll need to take your iBook in for service. What is your location?
-Doug

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

Data back up from Single User Mode

Hello,
I have a problem with my 700 MHz iBook, dual USB, with OS X 10.3.9.
Unfortunately the OS doesn't start up because of "overlapped extent allocation" problem...
I would like to re-install the complete OS but before doing it, I would like to back up some directories.
Is it possible to save some data, by connecting an Ipod or some sort of external peripheral, from the Single User mode?
If yes, how can I do it?
Thank you in advance from your kind support.

Before giving up the ghost check out these:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=25770.
Manually fix Overlapped Extent Allocation Errors without Disk Warrior
Overlapped overlapped extent allocation errors can be the bane of any Mac user's existence. Often, these errors go unnoticed until the problem becomes visible: your Mac might refuse to boot, crash unexpected, or worse, critical data might disappear from the Finder. Disk Utility can detect, but not fix overlapped extent allocation errors, and certain third-party utilities, such as Alsoft Diskwarrior, can fix them, but generally without reporting the consequences.
Overlapped extent allocation error occur when the file system thinks that two files are occupying the same area on the hard disk, hence overlapping on the same "inode," which is the structure which holds the location of the data blocks the file occupies, and also file permissions and flags.
Clearing the "overlapped" or "overallocated" extent allocation essentially means that you'll have to lose some data, because the only way to remove the overlap is to delete the file that's occupying the inode. So, if you suspect, or find out, that the guilty file is a critical system file that resides in one of the hidden system directories such as /etc /var /usr/ or visible system directories such as /System or /Library, and you don't want to reinstall the whole OS (which might not fix the overlapped extent allocation anyway), it's good to have another disk available to copy the files back to your original disk if necessary: a second bootable hard drive or a firewire drive connected to your Mac when you remove the misbehaving file. Just make sure that when you copy the file back to your boot disk that the permissions are correct, so it's best to use the "ditto" command, so that all sticky bits, flags, and permissions are preserved.
In case you didn't know, you don't have to boot from an install CD in order to check for overlapped extent allocations. All you need to do is restart your Mac, while holding down command + S to boot in "single-user mode."
At the command prompt that appears, type:
$ fsck -fy
If you have an overlapped extent allocation, you'll see:
"Overlapped Extent Allocation" (File 123456d)
No matter how many times you run fsck -fy, you'll never be rid of the error.
So, simply issue the following command:
find / -inum 123456 -print
Note the "d" was dropped, or any extra letter that appears after the inode number.
The find will return a file name that matches with the inode number, and the path to that file. If you remove the file then the fsck will not return this error next time you run it.
However, before you can delete the file(s) in single-user mode, you'll need to mount the file system. Type:
$ mount -uw /
When done, issue the "sync" command, and that will flush the write cache so that all pending writes are written from memory to the disk. Also, since most OS X 10.3 Macs use the HFS+ Journaled file system, it might be a good idea to disable the journal before booting into single-user mode by typing:
$ sudo diskutil disableJournal /
then re-enable it when done fixing the overlapped extents and rebooting normally:
$ sudo diskutil enableJournal /
Chris Anderson is a long-time Linux propellerhead who just got his first Mac, an ibook G4, and can't keep his hands off of it. He currently works as a "The Architect" and general visionary for a maker of world-class collectibles.
If you own Disk Warrior then it should be able to repair a drive with overlapped extents.
There are two backup utilities included in Unix - psync and rsync. You will find them in the /usr/bin/ directory. For documentation simply enter: man psync or man rsync. In order to write data while in single-user mode you need to issue the command: /sbin/mount/ -uw / (Note: there is a "space" between the "uw" and the "/".) To mount an external drive you will need to provide the mountpoint for it in place of the "/", e.g., "/Volumes/volname") without the quotes.

How do i repair my hard drive in single user mode when disk is full?

Hi there Apple Community!
I have an old Macbook Pro 17" with an upgraded 500GB harddrive and 4GB memory. I'm running Mac OSX Lion.
Was hoping you could help me out. THis is the situation:
Long story short I spilt wine on my macbook and the screen went a bit blobby. Switched it off for a few days, removed the battery etc. etc. Opened it up cleaned out as much of the wine as possible, but unfortunately some of it came in behind the LCD, so now the screen has a nice red stain. Obviously I'm not going to try to clean that out of the LCD.
My Macbook Pro still worked for a few days after that, but then my harddrive gave up. I booted in the Recovery HD menu, verified the drive and I got the error "Keys out of order - This disk needs to be repaired, click Repair Disk." I attempted to repair the disk but got the error "Keys out of order - Disk Full Error - The volume could not be repaired".
Unfortnately of this 500GB I only have about 7GB free on it, as I have a huge iPhoto and iTunes library. I did make a TIme Machine backup of my user directory, but not the system files. I don't really want to do a clean install because:
1) I'm paranoid that there's something I did not fully back up
2) I don't want to have to download the whole Mac OSX Lion again. I should have made a USB bootable backup when I had the chance. I don't have access to a broadband connection.
What I feel are my viable options, are as follows:
1) I did buy a replacement internal 500GB harddrive, so I can probably try to make an image of the hard drive to this new drive, but not sure how. I believe it's through the Disk Utility with the "New Image" option but not sure how to go from there.
2) Start up in Single User Mode and delete some unnecessary files and re-attempt to run the fschk -fy utility again (I tried this earlier and got the same Disk Full Error). - the problem with this is, I'm not familiar with the command line and have no clue how to delete files. I don't know my way around Unix.
3) I can also probably attempt to make a Ghost Image or Acronis Image of the failed drive to this new drive, but not sure if Norton Ghost or Acronis True Image will be able to read this HFS drive - I believe it's possible as it's a simple hard drive clone.
If you can guide me in the best option - probably there is a better solution than my proposed ones above, I appreciate any feedback and comments you might have!

hi Baltwo,
So I ended up copying my user folder to another harddrive. I managed to download the whole osx lion again, reinstalled, and recovered my home folder using this discussion:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1428
I have managed to get all my files back. My iTunes library works fine, but my iPhoto library when I open it, get the following error:
iPhoto cannot be opened because of a problem.
Here's the error log
Process:         iPhoto [1540]
Path:            /Applications/iPhoto.app/Contents/MacOS/iPhoto
Identifier:      com.apple.iPhoto
Version:         8.1.2 (8.1.2)
Build Info:      iPhotoProject-4240000~8
Code Type:       X86 (Native)
Parent Process: launchd [209]
Date/Time:       2012-09-19 19:56:45.528 +0200
OS Version:      Mac OS X 10.7.4 (11E53)
Report Version: 9
Sleep/Wake UUID: 7948ABE2-5294-4F87-B6E3-777095A2F2EE
Interval Since Last Report:          4780 sec
Crashes Since Last Report:           9
Per-App Crashes Since Last Report:   9
Anonymous UUID:                      70117D38-03EA-4F9C-B810-50B743864B9E
Crashed Thread: 0
Exception Type: EXC_BREAKPOINT (SIGTRAP)
Exception Codes: 0x0000000000000002, 0x0000000000000000
Application Specific Information:
dyld: launch, loading dependent libraries
Dyld Error Message:
Library not loaded: /System/Library/PrivateFrameworks/iLifeSlideshow.framework/Versions/A/iLifeSlid eshow
Referenced from: /Applications/iPhoto.app/Contents/MacOS/iPhoto
Reason: image not found
I've done an Apple Software Update but it didn't find an update for iPhoto.
One thing to note is, this library was originally created on iLife 08, upgraded to '09 and it stayed on that version. It hasn't een upgraded to iLife '11. It worked fine on my previous install of OSX Lion. How do I recover the library without upgrading to '11 ?

Kernel panic on MacPro in Single-User mode after memtest.

I've had about 7 kernel panics in about 7 days on a new MacPro. 2 gigs of RAM (Apple Installed). Fresh install of OSX (no user import). While going through the troubleshooting process I ran memtest in single user mode. Ran it all night no errors.
So in the morning I typed ctrl-c and then exit (i think)... it seemed to start the process of booting and I got another kernal panic. I've actually done this three times now.
I checked panic.log and all the error messages but 1 were the same. Including the ones I got in single-user mode (copied below).
Should I be able to gracefully exit out of single-user mode without a kernel panic?
Does this point to a RAM error even though memtest and AHD for that matter ran all night without finding anything?
I'm all set to try again (taking careful notes this time) to see if I can reproduce but I was hoping for some feedback first.
Thanks,
Craig
Sat Jan 27 22:17:27 2007
panic(cpu 0 caller 0x41C47CC4): Uncorrectable Fbd memory error detected. ferr = 20000000 , nerr == 00000000, fErrFat = 20000000 nErrFat == 00000000
Backtrace, Format - Frame : Return Address (4 potential args on stack)
0x108cd8 : 0x128d08 (0x3c9a74 0x108cfc 0x131de5 0x0)
0x108d18 : 0x41c47cc4 (0x41c49f1c 0x20000000 0x0 0x20000000)
0x108da8 : 0x41c47f58 (0x406a180 0x406a180 0x2 0x820044)
0x108e38 : 0x66a712 (0x406a180 0x0 0x3ba3680 0x0)
0x108e68 : 0x66a59b (0x3b92780 0x0 0x0 0x1c)
0x108e88 : 0x67d9be (0x1c 0x108ef8 0x8 0x67f4be)
0x108eb8 : 0x67db68 (0x3b91b1c 0x17 0x3b928ca 0x3b81120)
0x108f18 : 0x68a743 (0x3b34348 0x0 0xafdd0c77 0x4cd5)
0x108f38 : 0x70a4fb (0x3b34348 0x0 0x3abac80 0x0)
0x108f68 : 0x67053f (0x3b88600 0x0 0x3b87580 0x49)
0x108f88 : 0x669c1f (0x3b6b800 0x0 0x3b87580 0x49)
0x108fa8 : 0x3ba298 (0x3b87100 0x0 0x3b92f00 0x49)
0x108fe8 : 0x19aa80 (0x25423e30 0x25423e30 0x19bad6 0xb26000)
0x25423f18 : 0x1a445b (0x10 0x1 0x4af85c 0x6)
0x25423f38 : 0x19d871 (0x0 0x0 0x25423f68 0x206)
0x25423f58 : 0x135f14 (0x0 0x0 0x0 0x19d23a) Backtrace continues...
Kernel loadable modules in backtrace (with dependencies):
com.apple.driver.AppleMCEDriver(1.1.2f1)@0x41c44000
dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOACPIFamily(1.2.0)@0x664000
com.apple.driver.AppleAPIC(1.2.0)@0x709000
com.apple.driver.AppleACPIPlatform(1.0.8)@0x668000
dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOPCIFamily(2.2)@0x57d000
dependency: com.apple.iokit.IOACPIFamily(1.2.0)@0x664000
Kernel version:
Darwin Kernel Version 8.8.4: Sun Oct 29 15:26:54 PST 2006; root:xnu-792.16.4.obj~1/RELEASE_I386
MacPro Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Welcome to Apple Discussions!
Yes, your memory or memory slot, or memory seating is bad or off. "Uncorrectable Fbd memory error detected. ferr = 20000000 , nerr == 00000000, fErrFat = 20000000 nErrFat == 00000000"
Clearly a memory related issue. It may also be that memtest doesn't know how to diagnose the new kind of memory and is reporting that back to the logs. Take it in to a service center to have all the boards replaced to make sure the issue isn't reproduceable with new memory. If it is, then I'd consider the slots on the logicboard a problem.

Can't log in with valid password, can't boot from disk, can't access disk utility, in single user mode can't reset password as appears locked in caps mode with '?' for forward slash, can anyone help?

Can't log in with valid password, can't boot from disk, can't access disk utility, in single user mode can't reset password as appears locked in caps mode with '?' for forward slash, can anyone help?

Which keyboard layout you were using? German, French ... I suppose your layout is reset to the default: US and you are unable to find the "?" or "/" ...
Please have a look into the keyboard viewer, to see how the layout of your keyboard is actually.
marek

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

Why can't I enter single user mode on my Mac Mini for an admin password reset?

Hi,
I recently created a new user account for my mac and deleted the old one, not realising that this was the only account with admin priveleges. As such, I no longer have access to administrator priveleges, and cannot grant them to my new user account.
I have tried to boot in single user mode and recovery mode but neither command results in any reaction on the part of my computer.
This thread follows on from a previous, unrelated disscussion:
BDAqua: If you hold alt key at bootup do you see a lock in the middle?
Yenots: No...what does this mean?
BDAqua: If it did, it would mean Firmware Password Protection was enabled, which prevents booting in other modes, so that's not the problem, are you using a wired Mac KB, or Windows KB?
Yenots: I'm using an 'Apple Keyboard with Numeric Keypad' [ http://store.apple.com/uk/product/MB110B/B/apple-keyboard-with-numeric-keypad-br itish ]
If you find me here BDAqua, hit me with your knowledge!
Any other contributions are welcome and, now we're under the right heading, will hopefully help other users who have encountered this problem.
Thanks, Cristo

Hi,
Thanks for the link to MacPilot, and the sexy screenshot. I found an archived version for 10.4 on the koingosw website. That solves getting into single user/safe mode. Though I'd be interested to see whether sudo nvram boot-args="-s" will result in single user boot.
As for creating administrator priveleges for my new user account, I've found a method which looks good:
     \single user mode\
     cmd-s
     \mount drive\
     mount -uw
     \open 'directory access'\
     lauchctl load /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.opendirectory.plist
     \list users\
     ls /Users
     \change password\
     dscl . passwd /Users/<username> <password>
I think that this method intends that if I change the root users password I'll be changing the administrator password (as root is the only user with administrator priveleges), and subsequently be able to change my new user accounts priveleges using 'netinfomanager'. But I'm not 100%. Could you give me your opinion on this?
Furthermore, three keys 'L' 'O' and '(' aren't working on my keyboard, which means I can't try this until I find an intact keyboard to borrow. I was thinking maybe a mod version of the above instructions would work in terminal using sudo, so I could use the keyboard viewer to type the missing characters. If you have any ideas on constructing such a mod I would be interested to hear them.
Otherwise, Thank You for your help BDAqua! And enjoy your summer wherever you are.

Single User Mode : Read Only Filesystem

I can't edit files in single user mode as Root. When I try to edit them I get a msg saying "Read Only Filesystem".
I have tried chmod with no evial. I want to change my .profile as root so cls='clear'.
Any ideas?
Also when I try to login to my account in single user mode it says that account does not exist. However I'm in that accunt right now!
Thank You.

When you boot up into single user mode, there is a single recognized user -- root. That's why they call it single-user mode and not multi-user mode.
When you boot up into single user mode, the disk mounts as read-only. You have to make it writeable in order to do anything to it. I forget the actual command but it displays on the monitor nearby where it gives the "fsck" command syntax when you first boot into it. It's something like "mount -uw /" or something to that effect. It is saying to mount the root drive ("/") with user write privileges.
Then just "pico /Users/Mephux/.profile" (although I profess that I don't understand why you have to edit this file as root).
(if you find that this solves your problem, or is actually helpful towards arriving at a solution to your problem, please consider clicking on either the "helpful" or "solved" buttons above)

Single-user mode freeze

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