Stuck in a Setup Assistant loop

Ok I have a problem hopefully someone can help.
I reinstalled leopard and reformatted my hard drive for a clean start. After I reinstalled leopard I did a software update, I can't remember what updates were need but several were updated including firmware, security etc. The updates installed but upon restart I had the spinning ball with the leopard background for 8 hours+ so I force powered down my MBP and upon restart the setup assistant appears, I choose language, country network etc and when its complete it goes right back to the beginning of the setup assistant where I am supposes to choose language and country. After I submit registration it just goes back to the beginning of the setup assistant and I cant get out of this.
Other details: I am using a different copy of leopard than originally installed I bought the leopard family pack and that is what I am using to reinstall not the original disc - I lost that one.
Hopefully someone can help I have a useless but pretty looking piece of laptop right .

From the yellow bannered item at the top of http://discussions.apple.com/category.jspa?categoryID=235 one is led to http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1196

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http://forums.macnn.com/90/mac-os-x/352204/endless-setup-assistant-loop-in-leopa rd/

How do I get rid of the Microsoft Setup Assistant loop? I migrated my software/documents from another laptop so don't have the disk to reinstall. Please help! Can't open any Microsoft Office software, like Word, and stuck in a loop?

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First, export your contact from iCloud.com and save them on your computer in a safe spot some where (like you desktop). Use this to help you do this: http://support.apple.com/kb/PH3606
Next, on both of your devices, go to Settings > iCloud and turn on contacts and select Merge. Then turn off contacts and select 'Delete form my [device]' when prompted.
Now go back to iCloud.com and select a contact (yes they will all be messed up again) and select Command+A on a Mac or Control+A on a PC to select all of the contacts. Tap the delete key on your keyboard (or right click /control click a contact and select delete).
You iPhone, iPad and iCloud.com should not be empty for contacts.
Go back to Settings > iCloud on both devices and turn on contacts again (you should not see merge this time).
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Message was edited by: Bonnie Ward

Office 2008 Setup Assistant Loop for one user, but not for another

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Another copy of this question turned up a couple of weeks later and has been answered. Basically, you have to reinstall Office 2008 from the original media.
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3645235?start=0&tstart=0

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Casual_Tourist wrote:
There are three key problems with this system:
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The most commong problem in all these cases is the following:
A user signed up for Skype account "john.doe456" a few years ago using an email address [email protected]
Later the user linked their Microsoft account [email protected] to the Skype account
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Users will always be forwarded to the Microsoft account password recovery. To reset the Skype account password you need to request the password recovery to the [email protected] registered email address of the Skype account. Many users have forgotten what their Skype account registered email was because they haven't updated them for long. In this case you need to contact Skype CS and get your primary account email changed. The starting point for this process is to fill out the form for "I don't know my registered email address" here:
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↓ Did my reply answer your question? Accept it as a solution to help others, Thanks. ↓

Setup Assistant fails during file transfer and loops back to the beginnig

I have a PPC G5 running 10.4.11 and just bought an Intel-based MacBook Pro. (I haven’t gotten it to fully start up yet, so I’m not sure about the OS.)
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Let me know!

Even if it's a demo, it's unlikely it's got 10.5 on it. Maybe 10.6. I've used the 10.6 SA from Leopard, which ran perfectly with no problems. As for MA, here's one way to go about it, if you can't finish with SA. (Thanks to MonkeyBoy at XYMer's)
If you choose to use the migration assistant after installing SL to migrate settings over from Tiger, it'll copy over all your data intact from Tiger, as well as use the same account names & passwords.
What I typically do is choose a dummy name during the installation, then use MA to import the "real" accounts from the old install. After I'm satisfied MA moved over the accounts properly (I've logged into them and used them for a few hours/days and generally feel satisfied with the lack of crashes and similarly "odd" events) then I delete the dummy account.

Stuck in install loop in setup assistant

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I had the same problem, only in a strange order.
At first Leopard came up great. So I started tweaking the new Leopard settings and then ran Software Update.
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I'm in the process of doing another Archive and Install. I'll let you know how it goes.
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Cabal

Can't boot Classic from installation disk/stuck in Assistant loop

I have a Mac G4 on which I recently (and foolishly) decided to install the OX 10.0.4. The computer now is stuck in a loop in which it goes to Assistants (there are none to specify) and refuses to let me do anything else, including Force Quit, logout, or even shut down the machine without pressing the power button. I have even unplugged it and let it sit for a couple of hours with no effect. It will not boot from the installation disk of 9.2 by holding C at startup. I held down Ctrl and C at startup and arrived at a cursor and black screen, but I don't know what to do with that other than type exit and allow the computer to continue startup and its infernal loop sequence.
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jeffripple,
1. About getting out of the Setup Assistant:
• Will the Command + Period keys stop the Setup Assistant? (This is from OS 9. On some machines, that key combination will open or close the tray.)
• Is there a Quit option under the File Menu at the top of the screen?
• Is there an Assistants item in the Menu bar at the top of the screen?
2. About getting the machine to boot from a CD:
• What happens if you press Option - Command - Shift - Delete during startup to bypass primary startup volume and seek a different startup volume (such as a CD or external disk)?
See: Mac OS X keyboard shortcuts
• Have you tried the steps in this link to see if it clearing the parameter RAM allows you to start up from an Operating System install CD which is capable of booting your machine?
Resetting your Mac's PRAM and NVRAM
Sincerely,
No Alibi.
 Backup what you can't afford to lose. Mac OS X (10.4.8)

Basic Snow Leopard install with special customization: setup assistant infinite loop problem.

Hi, all,
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Here are the details:
MacBook Pro
Clean OS X Snow Leopard install (I was "told" by IT I had to wipe the disk and re-install OS X after backing up personal files).
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Per the above mentioned post, I have rebooted to the Install DVD and run disk utility, repairing permissions. No difference on reboot.
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So I booted to single user and checked for this file. It is not there. On the off chance the file is a simple flag and the content doesn't matter,
I did fsck/remount and touch /var/db/.applesetupdone but this did not change anything either.
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Many thanks.
Bob

Ah, it seems I finally found something useful, at http://hintsforums.macworld.com/showthread.php?t=84825
One of the responders supplied the content of their .applesetupdone file.
I was able to get this onto my Mac, in /var/db, as .applesetupdone (just to be safe, I linked that name to .AppleSetupDone, the name as mentioned on the above site). Note that both names begin with a dot (hidden, in UNIX parlance).
On reboot I was presented with the CompanyName specific login screen. It took a little bit more mucking around with passwords, but I was eventually able to login without any problem.
Bob

Stuck in "Mac OS X 10.5 Setup Assistant"

Hi there
Subject: Stuck in 'Mac OS X Setup Assistant'
I am stuck in "Mac OS X Setup Assistant" After rebooting following software upgrade, the Setup Assistant appears unexpectedly each time Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard starts up, and continues to appear even after completing all pages in the assistant,
I followed the steps advised by Joseph Kriz on 09 February 2008, in the enclosed webpage and achieved safe boot.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=306998
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This may be an issue with the pde plugins. PDE stands for print dialog extension and are included with vendor drivers to provide access to printer features not supported by the core printing system. If you are using a Power PC driver (or sharing it from the G4 to the MacTel) then that may be a possible cause. See if HP offers a Universal Binary driver for your model.

After Leopard install Mac OSX Setup Assistant is in a constant loop

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If I press go back ...it just goes back to the Welcome screen.
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Setup Assistant is stuck in migrating from an iMac to an iMac

Hi all.
Migrating from a 2-yr old iMac to a new iMac.
At Apple's suggestion, used Setup Assistant with a FireWire connection.
Started at 9 PM Friday last night.
Went to bed at 10:30 when it said still 3 hours remaining.
This morning, at 7 AM, it said "About 8 minutes remaining".
Now, almost 1 1/2 hour later, it's still saying "About 8 minutes remaining".
So. It's stuck. What now? Won't be able to reach Apple for another 1/2 hour, and then I'll be at work...
Do I Force Quit Setup Assistant? CAN I Force Quit Setup Assistant. Should I physically pull the FireWire cable?
And if I can, then what? Wipe the disk, re-install OS? Then what? Re-do the same thing (use Setup Assistant)? To eventually get the same result???
What a pain!
Any suggestions? Thanks in advance! (I'll carry the iPad th follow this thread during the day).
P.S. Monday morning, should I sell my shares???

My two cents and maybe someone else will come in to correct me, but I wouldn't trust the transfer even if it appears at first glance to be OK. There might have been Directory corruption on the source computer which was preventing the transfer from completing. You'll have to do a hard shutdown and remove the cable. Then I would first erase and then reinstall the system and bundled software on the new Mac using the two discs that came with the computer. When that's done go back to the source computer, the old Mac, open up Disk Utility to verify and, if needed, repair the Disk. To repair, see "Try Disk Utility."
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1417
If repairs were needed and the result is successful, then boot back normally and again from Disk Utility, repair Permissions. If no Disk repairs were needed proceed with a Permissions repair booted from the Mac's drive, not the Install Disk.
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IMac Stuck in endless Set-Up Assistant Loop

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I'm stuck in the same loop. Software update had a Garage Band and Quicktime update that required a restart. The computer wouldn't shut down, and the operation was glitchy (I couldn't interact with Dashboard widgets it would manipulate mail behind the Dashboard). I held the power button down to restart and I'm now stuck in the set up assistant loop. Anyone have any ideas?

Stuck in setup assistant, can't create account or access desktop

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When I first booted it up, I received a login screen. Not having the credentials, I booted in Single User mode to bypass the login screen.
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However, I cannot set up an account. Every time I try to set up an account and press continue, I am returned to the initial Setup Assistant screen.
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Ick.
Can you start from the Recovery HD?
If so, use Disk Utility there to erase the internal HD (indented, under the main line, probably named "Macintosh HD." See #2 in Using Disk Utility if you're not sure how to do that. It only takes a few moments.
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Stuck in a Setup Assistant loop

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