Stuck on "Login Window Loading" screen

one night i was putting a big file, about 2-4 gb, into iphoto from my old imac and i forgot to make sure that it stayed on my external hard drive and there wasnt enough room on my main drive because they were small hard drives except for my external. iphoto said there wasnt enough room so i selected all the pics i just transfered and tried to put them back in my external but still in iphoto and then the screen dimmed a little and this message came up saying i need to restart my computer so i just turned it off because i was tired and thought i could deal with this some other time. then a week or 2 later i turned it back on and it got all the way to were it said "login window starting" and stopped about 98 percent. and i waited for a few minutes and decided to just leave it there and clean my room then i watched a movie and when it was done i checked back and it didnt move. whats wrong with it.

Hi Ian,
What they don't tell you is that Free Space on your Hard Drive is NOT YOUR Free Space, you need at the very minimum about 10% or 10GB at the very minimum, & in my experience, less than 40% will slow OSX down to one degree or another.
Very Important, how much Free Space is on your Hard Drive first of all? Click on the Macintosh HD on the Desktop, then do a Get Info on it.
Once you delete a few big files & empty the Trash, especially any on te Desktop that use 3 times the resources...
How much free space is on the HD, where has all the space gone?
OmniDiskSweeper is now free, and likely the best/easiest...
http://www.omnigroup.com/applications/omnidisksweeper/

Similar Messages

Stuck on "Login window starting" screen

one night i was putting a big file, about 2-4 gb, into iphoto from my old imac and i forgot to make sure that it stayed on my external hard drive and there wasnt enough room on my main drive because they were small hard drives except for my external. iphoto said there wasnt enough room so i selected all the pics i just transfered and tried to put them back in my external but still in iphoto and then the screen dimmed a little and this message came up saying i need to restart my computer so i just turned it off because i was tired and thought i could deal with this some other time. then a week or 2 later i turned it back on and it got all the way to were it said "login window starting" and stopped about 98 percent. and i waited for a few minutes and decided to just leave it there and clean my room then i watched a movie and when it was done i checked back and it didnt move. whats wrong with it.

Hi Ian, and a warm welcome to the forums!
OSX will mess up the HD if space gets too low, Free space isn't really ours to use anymore.
Could be many things, we should start with this...
"Try Disk Utility
1. Insert the Mac OS X Install disc, then restart the computer while holding the C key.
2. When your computer finishes starting up from the disc, choose Disk Utility from the Installer menu. (In Mac OS X 10.4 or later, you must select your language first.)
*Important: Do not click Continue in the first screen of the Installer. If you do, you must restart from the disc again to access Disk Utility.*
3. Click the First Aid tab.
4. Select your Mac OS X volume.
5. Click Repair. Disk Utility checks and repairs the disk."
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106214
Then try a Safe Boot, (holding Shift key down at bootup), run Disk Utility in Applications>Utilities, then highlight your drive, click on Repair Permissions, reboot when it completes.
(Safe boot may stay on the gray radian for a long time, let it go, it's trying to repair the Hard Drive.)
If perchance you can't find your install Disc, at least try it from the Safe Boot part onward.
If that doesn't do it let us know.
You need a minimum of 10 GB free space.

HP Compaq dc7700 won't boot up. Beeps continuously and is stuck at the Windows loading screen.

My computer is a HP Compaq dc7700 Convertible Minitower desktop computer. The operating system is a Windows 7 32-bit.
When I try to boot up my desktop it just has the continuous beeping noise, there's no real pattern or red light. About 5 days ago I got a blue screen, but ignored it since when I rebooted it the pc worked fine. The only big change I've amde recently is installing World of Warcraft on the computer, other than that I don't remember making any big changes to the computer at all.

Hello @ Jjradb
Welcome to the HP support boards. Lets see if we can help you out with your boot issue.
If you could please post back with your complete system information. What I will need is your complete model number and product number, along with that your notebooks Operating System.
Here is a link you can use that will help you find your model and product number for your hp notebook.
How Do I Find My Model Number or Product Number?
One thing you can try until you post me that information is. This resolution was provided by @DavidPK on the following link.
My Hp Laptop freezes at the startup screen.. Help!
Thank you
Please click the "Thumbs Up" on the bottom right of this post to say thank you if you appreciate the support I provide!
Also be sure to mark my post as “Accept as Solution" if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others who face the same challenge find the same solution.
D5GR
I work on behalf of HP

IMac purchased at garage sale help. Gets stuck at "Login Window Starting."

Hi all,
I recently purchased an iMac at a barn sale, and it turns on and everything, but then gets stuck at "Login Window starting" screen (http://i605.photobucket.com/albums/tt135/gpd2paul4/IMG_0251.jpg). When Goggling this problem, I see that I am not alone in thee problem, but I am alone in the fact that I don't even know what model it is (I think G3, but not sure), let alone have the original CDs or paperwork. I have tried holding 'shift' right after the startup chime to start up in safe mode, but it still gets stuck at "Login Window starting." I have attached a few pictures of the computer to help you veteran Mac users identify it, which might help you help me. Any help is appreciated. (Step-by-step instructions are best, I am good at using a Mac, but this is getting pretty technical.)
Thanks!!!
Photos:
http://i605.photobucket.com/albums/tt135/gpd2paul4/IMG_0253.jpg
http://i605.photobucket.com/albums/tt135/gpd2paul4/IMG_0254.jpg
http://i605.photobucket.com/albums/tt135/gpd2paul4/IMG_0255.jpg

Try holding down the shift key when powering on. This will skip a few programs from loading.
Hold down the shift key when booting into Mac OS X. this will check your file structure and do a repair. This will also leave off some files from being used.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1455
"What is Safe Boot, Safe Mode? (Mac OS X) "
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1564?viewlocale=en_US
Try holding down the option key when powering on. This will bring up the startup manager. Perhaps 9 is installed. Click on icon then click on right arrow.
This is an iMac g3 slot loader.
Your Mac won't start up in Mac OS X (Mac OS X 10.3.9 or earlier).
http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1411?viewlocale=en_US
Which iMac Is It? OK here are some more comparison charts:
http://lowendmac.com/macdan/05/0202.html
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=58669
You need to figure out the level of your firmware before installing 10.2 or greater. ( The PC name for firmware is BIOS. ) Installing 10.2 with a down level firmware will most likely make your iMac unusable and difficult to fix.
What is firmware?
The firmware software receives control when you poweron your machine. It does some hardware testing and some hardware configuration then passes control to your version of Mac OS. It reside on a PROM ( program read only memory ) chip on the logic board.
Open Firmware, boot into Open Firmware.
Power on your iMac while holding down commandoption+of
The first output line contains the firmware level. Mine reads:
Apple PowerMac4,1 4.1.9f1 BootRom built on 09/14/01 at 13.18.04
Copyright 1994-2001 Apple Computer Inc.
On my machine, I have 4.1.9f1.
What firmware do you need?
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=86117
For a slot loading iMac, this article indicates that you need to be running 9.1 or later version of Mac OS Classic.
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=75130
"The iMac Firmware Update 4.1.9 will only run on iMac computers with lot-loading CD or DVD drives running Mac OS 9.1 or later from a local drive. If you are using Mac OS X you must boot from a local Mac OS 9.1 or later writeable partition (not a CD, or network disk) prior to following the update instructions."
You can download the Mac OS 9 updates from the Apple site.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1387?viewlocale=en_US
For tiger, you need 256meg of memory.
Mac OS X 10.4: System requirements
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1514
There is no need to partition. You can save hard drive space by doing a custom install. Leave out the print drivers you do not need and the languages you do not need. Doing so you will need about three gigabytes of space.
You need to get into single use mode.
This page will tell you how to get into single user mode.
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1492
Basically, you hold down the command-s key then powering on your machine. The command key has a little apple symbol on the lower left. It is between the alt/option key and the space bar
When you are in single user mode, you are in Unix. you can try looking in the log files to see if you can find anything.
To see the current boot log you use the dmsg command.
dmsg
startup information is in /var/log/system.log
to display the last 500 lines use the tail command.
tail -n 500 /var/log/system.log | more
For these commands you will need to gain write access to your startup disk. There are some comments at the end of the startup process that list the needed commands.
mac $ ls -lF ~/zztemp.txt
ls: /Users/mac/zztemp.txt: No such file or directory
mac $ tail -n 500 /var/log/system.log | cat > ~/zztemp.txt
mac $ nano ~/zztemp.txt
mac $
I assume the message contained /Library/Logs/CrashReporter. Do a change directory:
cd /Library/Logs/CrashReporter
mac $ pwd
/Library/Logs/CrashReporter
mac $ ls
???.crash.log VoiceCenter.crash.log
Exited process.crash.log
mac $ tail -n 400 \?\?\?.crash.log
Host Name: ???
Date/Time: 2008-09-15 14:28:37.577 -0400
OS Version: 10.4.11 (Build 8S165)
Report Version: 4
Robert

Computer stuck on Windows loading screen

I did a recent windows update earlier today and had a sudden reboot of my computer. Now I cannot get past the windows loading screen on Windows 7. I can only use the pc on safe mode. Sadly System restore is not turned on and cannot be turned on in safe mode and OneKEY Recovery says driver not initilizied.
Is there a way to fix this problem?
THanks

Welcome to the forums!
When you open windows update look for the date on which you installed those patches and un-install them..does that help?
Cheers and regards,
• » νιנαｿѕαяα∂нι ѕαмανє∂αм ™ « •
●๋•کáŕádhí'ک díáŕý ツ
I am a volunteer here. I don't work for Lenovo

I accidently downloaded something that made my webcam flash on spuradically even once i deleted it. when i restarted my computer it got stuck at the white loading screen with the grey apple and wont go past there..what is wrong? will applecare cover this?

i accidently downloaded something that made my webcam flash on spuradically even once i deleted it. when i restarted my computer it got stuck at the white loading screen with the grey apple and wont go past there..what is wrong? will applecare cover this? my computer also slowed down drastically before it stopped working..thanks! HELP PLEASE!

Take each of these steps that you haven't already tried. Stop when the problem is resolved.
Step 1
The first step in dealing with a boot failure is to secure your data. If you want to preserve the contents of the startup drive, and you don't already have at least one current backup, you must try to back up now, before you do anything else. It may or may not be possible. If you don't care about the data that has changed since your last backup, you can skip this step.
There are several ways to back up a Mac that is unable to boot. You need an external hard drive to hold the backup data.
a. Boot into the Recovery partition, or from a local Time Machine backup volume (option key at startup.) When the OS X Utilities screen appears, launch Disk Utility and follow the instructions in this support article, under “Instructions for backing up to an external hard disk via Disk Utility.”
b. If you have access to a working Mac, and both it and the non-working Mac have FireWire or Thunderbolt ports, boot the non-working Mac in target disk mode. Use the working Mac to copy the data to another drive. This technique won't work with USB, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, or Bluetooth.
c. If the internal drive of the non-working Mac is user-replaceable, remove it and mount it in an external enclosure or drive dock. Use another Mac to copy the data.
Step 2
Press and hold the power button until the power shuts off. Disconnect all wired peripherals except those needed to boot, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards. Use a different keyboard and/or mouse, if those devices are wired. If you can boot now, one of the devices you disconnected, or a combination of them, is causing the problem. Finding out which one is a process of elimination.
If you've booted from an external storage device, make sure that your internal boot volume is selected in the Startup Disk pane of System Preferences.
Step 3
Boot in safe mode. Note: If FileVault is enabled, or if a firmware password is set, or if the boot volume is a software RAID, you can’t do this. Post for further instructions.
Safe mode is much slower to boot and run than normal, and some things won’t work at all, including wireless networking on certain Macs.
The login screen appears even if you usually log in automatically. You must know your login password in order to log in. If you’ve forgotten the password, you will need to reset it before you begin.
When you boot in safe mode, it's normal to see a dark gray progress bar on a light gray background. If the progress bar gets stuck for more than a few minutes, or if the system shuts down automatically while the progress bar is displayed, your boot volume is corrupt and the drive is probably malfunctioning. In that case, go to Step 5.
If you can boot and log in now, empty the Trash, and then open the Finder Info window on your boot volume ("Macintosh HD," unless you gave it a different name.) Check that you have at least 9 GB of available space, as shown in the window. If you don't, copy as many files as necessary to another volume (not another folder on the same volume) and delete the originals. Deletion isn't complete until you empty the Trash again. Do this until the available space is more than 9 GB. Then reboot as usual (i.e., not in safe mode.)
If the boot process hangs again, the problem is likely caused by a third-party system modification that you installed. Post for further instructions.
Step 4
Sometimes a boot failure can be resolved by resetting the NVRAM.
Step 5
Launch Disk Utility in Recovery mode (see Step 1.) Select your startup volume, then run Repair Disk. If any problems are found, repeat until clear. If Disk Utility reports that the volume can't be repaired, the drive has malfunctioned and should be replaced. You might choose to tolerate one such malfunction in the life of the drive. In that case, erase the volume and restore from a backup. If the same thing ever happens again, replace the drive immediately.
This is one of the rare situations in which you should also run Repair Permissions, ignoring the false warnings it may produce. Look for the line "Permissions repair complete" at the end of the output. Then reboot as usual.
Step 6
Reinstall the OS. If your Mac was upgraded from an older version of OS X, you’ll need the Apple ID and password you used to upgrade.
Step 7
Repeat Step 6, but this time erase the boot volume in Disk Utility before installing. The system should automatically reboot into the Setup Assistant. Follow the prompts to transfer your data from a Time Machine or other backup.
Step 8
This step applies only to older Macs (not current models) that have a logic-board ("PRAM") battery. Both desktop and portable Macs used to have such a battery. The logic-board battery is separate from the main battery of a portable. A dead logic-board battery can cause a gray screen at boot. Typically the boot failure will be preceded by loss of the startup disk and system clock settings. See the user manual for replacement instructions. You may have to take the machine to a service provider to have the battery replaced.
Step 9
If you get this far, you're probably dealing with a hardware fault. Make a "Genius" appointment at an Apple Store to have the machine tested. If you can't get to an Apple Store, go to another authorized service provider.

Stuck in login window after upgrading to Mavericks

I am unable to login with my (admin) account after upgrading to Mavericks yesterday.
This was very unfortunate considering that I didn't backup my data !!
On reboot (I do not remember whether it was the first or second time) I couldn't login anymore as I usually did.
I tried different procedures (entering secure mode, repair permissions, reinstall 2 times Mavericks) but cannot solve the stuck.
Then I thought it could be a nice idea to create a new admin user and followed this instructions (http://www.hackmac.org/tutorials/how-to-create-a-new-administrator-account/).
After that I was able to login with the new user, I backed-up my data but I was still in stuck on login window with the old user.
I tried to delete
com.apple.loginwindow.plist
com.apple.recentitems.plist
from /Users/XXX//Library/Preferences/ and tried to restart but nothing.
Now I wonder how my old and important user can start working again.
Thank you very much.
Giuliano

Restart and hold down the Command and R keys during startup.
On top, in the Menu Bar click the Utilities item then select Terminal.
In the Terminal window, type resetpassword and hit Return.
The Password reset utility launches/
Reset password.
Restart

790FX-GD70 - Blank screen after bios (never shows Windows Loading screen)

Setup:
Phenom II X4 955
790FX-GD70
750w PC Power and Cooling, Inc PSU
Western Digital HDD
ATI HD2900XT
x-Fi fatality sound card
Windows XP x64 Pro
So hardware wise this setup has not changed in over 8 months. However tonight I restarted (first sound cut out so i decided to reboot). Lo and behold on the reboot, it will flash the MSI splash screen and allow me into the bios but when I go to boot it will not show the windows loading screen. It sends me to an active (my monitor doesn't go into standby) black blank screen (no text or error msg) and won't respond to any keys.
Anyone else ever have similar issues?
Thanks
Verik

I appreciate it guys. I did a little more digging around the internet and found it was most likely due to a corrupted MBR. The fix usually involves booting from a win xp disc and typing in the command "fixmbr" in the recovery program. However I inserted my win xp disc and it simply went black..... then loaded up windows just fine. Pulled the disc out, did a normal restart and it seems to have solved itself.... At this point I'm not sure entirely what it did but I'm just being thankful its working haha.
Appreciate the input guys.

Macbook Stuck at Gray Apple Loading Screen

I just went through and deleted a lot of files from my macbook last night. I cleared off about 60GB of space and used some programs to delete various languages and clear my cache. I turned my computer off and then I woke up this morning and it was working fine. I surfed the net for a while and then installed a few apple software updates including the new iphoto update. I then restarted and tried to open iPhoto. It did not work so I just turned my laptop off and put it in my bag because I had to drive somewhere. About 2 hours later I tried to turn my macbook back on and now it is stuck at the gray loading screen with the apple. After a few seconds the little "loading circle" shows up but it just keeps spinning. I have tried restarting, taking the battery out, and resetting PRAM. None of these things work so I tried to boot up in safe mode but that didn't work either. Do you have any idea what could be wrong with it?

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1776445&tstart=0
Dave M.
MacOSG Founder/Ambassador  An Apple User Group  iTunes: MacOSG Podcast
Creator of 'Mac611 - Mobile Mac Support' (designed exclusively for an iPhone/iPod touch)

Ibook stuck on the grey loading screen

Stupidly i was messing around and accidentally unlocked the battery which fell out while my ibook was on sleep method. Now the ibook will only start up and get stuck on the grey loading screen.
I fear i have corrupted the hard drive, i have tried resetting the logic board by logging into the base router( i don't know if thats the right terminology), i did this by pressing power, then holding down apple key and v. But when i do this after the normal writing on the screen finishes, a message comes up saying
"Warning completing a zero block transfer"
I have reset my logic board before but this message has not come up.
Any help resolving this issue would be fantastic.
Thanks in advance!!!!!!!

Not resetting?
Well that presents a problem because you need to check the startup disk, repair the disk if necessary, or restore OS X using OS X Recovery
You can resstore from a Time Machine backup using OS X Recovery if necessary.

Neo 2 Plat Windows loading screen freeze

Hello all,
I have a little problem with my MSI Neo 2 Plat. I have a FX-53 + a 5900 Ultra. Everything works flawlessly beside one point.
Sometimes, when I boot/reboot, the screen freezes on Windows loading screen. It only happens like one time out of 10. But when it happens I have to reboot then I get the safe mode selection screen. It's not a major issue but it's a bit annoying. Anyone experienced something like that ? Would it be caused by video card ? I thought about a ram issue but after memchecks and torture tests with Prime95, I found no error !
Help please !
.Nicjac

you can start by reading the moan guiide.
alink to it can be found in my signature.

Computer won't successfully start - stuck at "Login Window Starting"

Hello, I'm having a problem and would appreciate any help. I recently was trying to uninstall QT 7.4.5 and revert to earlier vers bc 7.3.5 was adversely affecting an app I use. I was unsuccessful so eventually I just reinstalled 7.4.5.
However, now my computer won't start successfully. The screen gets stuck with a 99% full progress bar and the message "Login Window Starting". It stays at that status indefinitely.
Any ideas as to how I can get to my desktop? Any help is much appreciated!!!!!

I would reinstall OS X. If the hard drive is OK you can do this:
How to Perform an Archive and Install
1. Be sure to use Disk Utility first to repair the disk before performing the Archive and Install.
Repairing the Hard Drive and Permissions
Boot from your OS X Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Installer menu (Utilities menu for Tiger.) After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported, then quit DU and return to the installer.
If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior (4.0 for Tiger) and/or TechTool Pro (4.5.2 for Tiger) to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X.
2. Do not proceed with an Archive and Install if DU reports errors it cannot fix. In that case use Disk Warrior and/or TechTool Pro to repair the hard drive. If neither can repair the drive, then you will have to erase the drive and reinstall from scratch.
3. Boot from your OS X Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When you reach the screen to select a destination drive click once on the destination drive then click on the Option button. Select the Archive and Install option. You have an option to preserve users and network preferences. Only select this option if you are sure you have no corrupted files in your user accounts. Otherwise leave this option unchecked. Click on the OK button and continue with the OS X Installation.
4. Upon completion of the Archive and Install you will have a Previous System Folder in the root directory. You should retain the PSF until you are sure you do not need to manually transfer any items from the PSF to your newly installed system.
5. After moving any items you want to keep from the PSF you should delete it. You can back it up if you prefer, but you must delete it from the hard drive.
6. You can now download a Combo Updater directly from Apple's download site to update your new system to the desired version as well as install any security or other updates. You can also do this using Software Update.

OS 10.4.5 failure to startup-login window/ black screen/ blue screen-frozen

Hi there,
To anybody that can help me, I thank you very much indeed in advance.
G4 Powerbook, 1.5gHz, 2gb Ram (1gb kingston ram added since purchase date), OS 10.4.5, security update 2006-002 (v1.1 (?) recently installed).
My current problem is that i cannot log into OS X. It boots as far as the login window, which is unresponsive, and then it then flicks to a black screen with 2 or 3 lines of white text and then flicks to a totally 'mac-blue' screen with the black arrow pointer still active.
A history of my problem;
1) Yes, unfortunately I tried to get front row to work on my machine (the hack with the front row enabler etc), and subsequently removed all traces of it after it screwed up a few things (menu bar missing, failure to restart). This tidy-up involved doing something with system library, bezel services...etc.
2) I recently installed the first version of security update 2006-002. i am not saying this is the cause, but sometime after I did this, things started going wrong again. another thing i did recently which i hadnt in the past was to have itunes appear at startup and a few days later i emptied my hard drive of all my music and had this linked to a lacie 250gb via firewire 800. The problem at this was that login/startup was incredibly slow and sometimes the finder would keep relaunching itself on its own once the operating system was up and running. Also, when i tried safe boot, the login window would appear and then it would flick to a black screen. it would let me type in a username, but it would not let me input anything for the password.(I did use disk utility to repair permissions when i did manage to logon).
This whole problem seemed to go away for a day or two, but the login was still slower than usual the past few days.
I then turned on my powerbook this morning and login was extremely long and never completed fully- lots of pinwheel spins, menu bar not loading, itunes not appearing.
After a few forced shutdowns I left the computer for maybe 5-10 mins and it seemed to sort itself out after a few finder relaunches etc, and so i tried a few things;
3) I tried installing the newer version of the security update 2006-002 version 1.1 i think? At the same time i took itunes off the startup launches and also switched off auto login for my account (a silly idea it seems).
Since restarting from the security update, the operating system gets to the login window, which is unresponsive, and then it then flicks to a black screen with 2 or 3 lines of white text and then flicks to a totally 'mac-blue' screen with the black arrow pointer still active.(this is with the power adaptor connected only, no other cables etc)
I have tried Resetting PRAM, and using fsck, although I am slightly unsure as to whether or not this is useful to me anyway. I cannot reinstall the operating system until next week as my mum has my copy of tiger at home a few hundred miles away!
Any help at all would be so greatly appreciated, especially on the eve of my two year anniversary with my powerbook!
Kind regards,
Henry Harker

Hi Henry
I've just encountered this problem with one of our computers at work. Hopefully this will help.
It's a Login Window Prefs problem. It's probably corrupted so you need to remove the prefs file.
1. Startup in safe mode (hold down shift). You should get a login window for the master admin account.
2. Delete the file: userName>Library>Preferences>com.apple.loginwindow.plist
3. Restart.
Let me know how you go.
Cheers
MattD
PowerMac G5, dual 2.5 Mac OS X (10.4.5)

Stuck on login window at start up

Hello. I attempted installing a security update and when I restarted my computer (G5 dual 1.8 OSx.3) it stoped loading at "login window." I tried a safe-mode restart but it still froze up at the same time. I cannot open my DVD drive to insert a disc so I was wondering what I should do? Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
G5 dual 1.8 Mac OS X (10.3)

If you can boot into single-user mode then you might try the following:
You will need to type some Unix commands. If you are not comfortable with this, I don't know of anything other than a re-install. But if you are careful, you should be OK. I recommend you print this out in a largish mono-spaced font so you don't miss any spaces (or add extra ones). Note that case is important.
Be careful. Some of these commands are dangerous, since you are going to be root.
Start up in Single-User mode by restarting the computer. After the chime press and hold down the COMMAND-S keys. You can let go the keys when you see white text on a black background. When this has finished you will see a prompt ending in '#', although there may be other messages. Type:
/sbin/fsck -fy
followed by a return, at the prompt and wait a few seconds for 8-10 lines of output. If the last line says repairs were carried out, repeat this command until you get a message 'The volume <yourdiskname> appears to be OK'. (If you do not get an OK message after re-running the command seven times, then the drive cannot be repaired. Do not proceed until you are able to repair the drive.) Then continue with the following lines pressing return at the end of each:
/sbin/mount -uw /
cd /Library/Preferences
rm com.apple.loginwindow.plist
rm com.apple.windowserver.plist
cd /Library/Caches
rm -r *
cd /System/Library
rm Extensions.kextcache
cd /System/Library/Caches
rm -r *
reboot
This should now take you to a proper login screen after the normal boot sequence. You should then Repair Permissions by using Disk Utility (in your /Applications/Utilities folder).

Oh Lord! I messed it all up :( stuck on "Login window starting"

Have had a mess all week here. I did a CCC on my drive, reformated the partitions and now testing my backup from my ext. Hard Drive it jsut sits there forever on "Login window starting" and them eventually a blank blue screen.
I tried to do a fresh install of Panther, by installing 10.2 first but Panther CD won't work. Now after yet another format my Panther Upgrade CD still won't work
I am really screwed I think.

LOL, ok.
*I take it you cloned your internal HDD to an external HDD. Is that a Firewire External HDD? Did you do a complete backup of your entire internal HDD, OS and all?
- Yes I cloned the drive to an external Firewire drive. yes a complete clone/ made the HD bootable.
*Does reformatted partitions refer to the internal of external HDD.
- It referes to the internal HD since I reformetted and split the HD so I could install Panther on one and Tiger on the other in the end.
*"just sits there" refers to booting from internal of external HDD?
Ok, well both. a few days ago before I did yet another reformat. I had installed Tigar 1st, than I cloned back my Panther copy to the other partition.
I woud get the same exact problem when loading with the internal and external drive.
I assume there was an errore I did not notice when using CCC. Hope I have not made more confusion

Stuck on "Login Window Loading" screen

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