Stuck with safe sleep

My macbook has recently stopped going into normal sleep when I close the lid. Instead of going to sleep, it will go to safe sleep and shut down. I have tried swapping the battery with a friend of mine but to no avail, the laptop will always go into safe sleep.
How do I restore normal sleep behavior?

Hi spotmaxdog,
To check the sleep mode enter this command into terminal:
pmset -g
look through the list for "hibernatemode"
The default for MBPs is 3.
0 = off (normal sleep mode)
1 = on (exclusively hibernate mode, memory is dumped to save more power)
3 = on (hibernates as well as sleeping... keeps memory on and hibernates as a fail safe)
The 3rd option has the best of both worlds because it wakes quickly but still has the safety of hibernate mode, however it still has to save memory to disk so sleep is not instant.
to set the mode type this:
sudo pmset -a hibernatemode 3
If you only want normal super fast sleep (like the powerbooks) then use mode 0. However you cannot swap the battery with this mode as the MBP's don't have internal backup batteries like the powerbooks.
you will be asked for your password.

Similar Messages

Turn Off Safe Sleep?

Does anybody know of a utility that can turn off Safe Sleep for a Mac Pro running Leopard?
I have used Leopard Cache Cleaner to do it successfully for my MacBook, but it doesn't seem to keep Safe Sleep turned off for a Mac Pro.
- Ted.

I am not a mind reader so bear with me. In order to answer that, I'd have to know how many and large the swap files are now, what apps you use, and open concurrently, plus how hard and large files you work on etc.
I'd remove the 2 x 512s or whatever and add 4 x 1GB or 4 x 2GB.
http://homepage.mac.com/boots911/.Public/PhotoshopAccelerationBasics2.4W.pdf
http://www.adobe.com/go/kb401089
It's all in the details. Notice where this thread started, with "safe sleep" and the crux of the issues are low memory AND low disk space.
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/memory/Mac-Pro-Memory
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/hard-drives/
http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Western%20Digital/WD6400AAKS/
I will say that 5-6GB is probably fine for light work in Photoshop. And working on larger files you are headed for more than 8GB (10-16).

Pavillion N-15 030us stuck in safe mode with no display

The display is broken and I was using a monitor connected thru the HDMI cable. I restarted the notebook in safe mode which I take it does not enable the HDMI port? So now I am stuck in safe mode with no display.

Hello @LogicMantra,
Welcome to the HP Forums, I hope you enjoy your experience! To help you get the most out of the HP Forums I would like to direct your attention to the HP Forums Guide First Time Here? Learn How to Post and More.
I have read your post on how your desktop is not able to display after booting in safe mode, and I would be happy to assist you in this matter!
To correct this issue, I recommend borrowing an HDMI compatible monitor and updating the drivers for your system this way. If this does not work, please follow this document on Computer Starts but Monitor Remains Blank (Windows 8).
Please re-post with the results of your troubleshooting, and I look forward to your reply!
Regards
MechPilot
I work on behalf of HP
Please click “Accept as Solution ” if you feel my post solved your issue, it will help others find the solution.
Click the “Kudos, Thumbs Up" on the right to say “Thanks” for helping!

MBP (13-inch, early 2011) goes into hibernation instead of safe sleep upon closing the lid (only when using battery power)

MBP details
13-inch MacBook Pro, early 2011 (model identifier: MacBookPro8,1)
Running Yosemite, OS X 10.10.1 (however, problem started while using Mavericks)
2.5 GHz Intel Core i5
4 GB memory
Symptoms
* the MBP goes into hibernation instead of sleep upon closing the lid on battery power (i.e., when AC adapter is NOT connected)
-- problem does not occur when AC adapter is connected
* putting the computer to sleep by other means does not induce the problem; these other means include:
-- [i] option+command+Power,
-- [ii] Apple Icon --> Sleep,
-- [iii] in Terminal: pmset sleepnow
* the battery is NOT getting drained at all; if I close the lid on 87%, the battery is still at about 87% when I get the MBP back up and running
To be as clear as possible:
(1) MBP is on and in use (power source: battery); battery is at X%
(2) the lid is then closed
(3) the battery indicator light glows bright for about 10 seconds, then shuts off, and with it so does the MBP (all fans and sounds cease)
(4) opening the lid and pressing any key on the keyboard does nothing (the computer is not sleeping)
(5) to turn the MBP back on, I must hit the power button once; this brings up and the gray screen and loading bar indicative of returning from hibernation
(6) log in; battery is still at X%
Attempted Solutions / Fixes
There are Apple Discussions addressing similar MBP issues, many of which at least have work-arounds, if not full-blown solutions. However, I have tried many of the proposed work-arounds and solutions; nothing has solved my problem. Such attempted solutions include:
* made sure EFI/SMC firmware was up to date
* updated all software
* logged in as a different user
* booted in Safe Mode
* reset the PRAM
* repaired disk permissions using Disk Utility
* repaired additional disk permissions in recovery mode (a la this chron.com advice)
* ran the Apple Hardware Test multiple times (short test while plugged in, short test on battery, extended test while plugged in, extended test on battery)
* booted from an external known-good OS on USB drive
* reseated the RAM
* used MemTest to test the RAM's health (it was good)
* tested my battery's health with the app Battery Health (it is healthy!)
* booted my computer with one stick of the MBP's original RAM at a time (figured "why not?")
* booted my computer using other sticks of RAM
* checked my power management settings using PMSET in the terminal (e.g., pmset -g); tried various hibernation modes (e.g., sudo pmset -a hibernationmode X, where X=0,1,3, etc)
* searched/grepped through my power management logs and Console messages to look for googleable items (e.g., pmset -g log | grep WORD, where WORD=failure, sleep, etc); still have not found help online
* brought the MBP to a Mac Genius
-- he ran some further tests, but found nothing;
-- he re-installed my OS as a hopeful-hail-mary-just-maybe-last-ditch effort; the problem persisted!
-- we both agreed that we had ruled out a software cause
-- he offered me to leave my MBP to get fixed for a flat fee of $300.00 (which after a couple weeks of trying to figure this out is starting to sound more and more reasonable)
Given that it is likely not a software issue, what hardware might it be? By booting from an OS on an external drive, I think I've ruled out a bad hard drive or hard drive cable. Also, given that inducing sleep in any way other than closing the MBP's lid does not cause the problem, it seems there might be a wire (or something) in the hinge section of the MBP that gets moved when the lid is closed possibly causing some kind of short circuit...or something.
If someone with more experience interpreting Console messages, for example, can help, I'd be happy to provide some logs, or any additional information.
Thank you for your time and consideration.

Ok, this is a crazy-simple, quasi-embarrassing fix, but I'll post it anyway just in case anyone is having a similar problem (for example, this guy: Changes to pmset being ignored).
Some time around late last August / early September (2014) this issue began happening for me (specifically, issue = closing lid while on battery power induces hibernation / shut down instead of sleep --- independent of hibernation mode). Maybe it was when I upgraded to Yosemite (not sure what the exact date of that was). As detailed in my original post, I frantically tried everything I could think of... At that time, however, I had quite a few presentations and posters to create and present at meetings and conferences, so I held off fixing it for a couple of months and returned to it this past week, where I tried a few more things listed above, but again to no avail...
This morning, I simply tried fudging around with all my power management settings again (via pmset in Terminal). The simplicity of the fix surprised me. But now that I understand it, I know it is likely the same fix for other threads I've read, such as the one above:
(TLDR in bold)
(1) Take note of your power management settings (Terminal: pmset -g custom)
(2) Is the "standby" flag set to 0? If so, set it to 1. Wa-la! Done.
This fix is crazy and embarrassing b/c I was so close to it for so long. I tried changing my hibernation modes multiple times (sudo pmset -a hibernatemode X, where X=0,1,3,25,etc). I read about manipulating other PMSET settings that helped other people with newer MBPs, like "autopoweroff" and "autopoweroffdelay" --- settings that I do not have on the MBP early 2011 (check your settings: pmset -g cap). And most amazingly of all, I even messed with the "standbydelay" setting, trying to make it so long that my computer should never go into hibernation... Yet, from what I can tell by looking over my notes, I never simply set "standby" from 0 to 1.
There are interesting questions that arise due to this fix. For example, why did this problem persist on clean installs of OS Yosemite? Is "standby" being set to 0 the Yosemite default? I'm not sure. If it is, then Kappy was right: this was normal behavior... It just wasn't always the normal behavior...at least not for my MBP. Normal behavior (hibernatemode 3) used to be (and now is again) that the MBP goes into safe sleep, and then only after an allotted amount of time will it go into full-blown hibernation.
NOTE: the "standby" and "standbydelay" PMSET settings are not available in some earlier MBP models (e.g., my brother has a 2010 and does not have these settings); so if you're having a similar problem with an earlier model, this fix might not be of any help to you.

MacBook Pro- Stuck in safe mode!?

Hi, I am a first-time MacBook user and need a little help...
I am running lion software and recently performed a software update (pop-up screen general update). Since doing this, my Mac is now:
- Only allowing me to type in Shift Mode i.e. I cannot type '1' but it types '!', '3' becomes '£', etc etc
- Stuck in safe mode
- Will not recognise any USB's (however i suspect this is because it's stuck in safe mode!)
Any help would be much appreciated??? I cannot use it any more, and it makes me just want to get rid of it! :-(
Thanks in advance....... :-)

Try resetting the SMC - http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964 - see the drop-down menu on "Resetting the SMC on portables with a battery you should not remove on your own."
Good luck,
Clinton

Safe sleep hangs on my PBG4 1.67 HR

I just installed (myself) a new hard drive (went from the stock 80GB, which was almost full, to a 120GB Western Digital Scorpio WD1200VE). I think, but am not certain, that this problem appeared then (it could also be a coincidence).
When I sleep the PB now, the screen goes dark, however the white LED *stays lit* instead of pulses. I cannot wake the computer. The only thing I can do is force shutdown and restart. When I hold the power key to force shutdown, after a few seconds the LED goes out as I expect. But when I restart, the computer instead seems to wake from safe sleep (fuzzy greyscale window), and all my apps and documents are as they were before. I say "SEEMS to wake" because when I look at the Console log, I see that my PB actually doesn't write the ram contents to the hard drive (i.e., enter safe sleep) until I am pressing the power button to restart; then, one second later it spits it right back out to ram! So, all the time I think I'm "sleeping", it looks like the power is actually on but the screen is dark and the keyboard unresponsive. There is no activity reported in the logs during the "sleep" time, though.
I have so far tried resetting the PMU, and also run Tech Tool Pro4 tests (everything passed). Also, I deleted some plist files having to do with power management I read about here. Nothing has helped. After investigating more, I learned how to set the hibernate mode via Terminal; I set it to "0" (old style sleep), and that works -- the LED pulses and I am truly asleep, and opening the lid or pressing a key wakes the PB. hibernatemode 1 or 3 (both involving safe sleep) present me with the same problem I've described.
This is a tough one, I would like to be able to rely on safe sleep when I need to. Any ideas on the cause or troubleshooting tips are appreciated. Thanks!
1.67Ghz PBG4 "HR" Mac OS X (10.4.8) 1.5GB ram

Hi MasterG,
Yes, it's strange. However, you have given me a a further clue. I'd already checked the sleep timeout for when the system is idle - it was set at around 10 minutes, I think.
But, following your suggestion, I started looking at all the power options resulting in sleep, and setting them all to "do nothing". I found that changing the option for when the lid is closed from "sleep" to "do nothing" causes the screen to go blank for a second or so, and some disk activity to begin, but the laptop no longer sleeps. Instead, it resumes from where it left off after a few seconds, albeit only to repeat these steps almost immediately.
As a further test, I left the "When lid closed" setting on "sleep" for when the system is running on battery, and on "do nothing" for when it is running on mains. When on mains the system behaves as described above, when on battery it sleeps as I described in my first post (although I had initially thought that the problem didn't happen at all on battery).
So, the problem seems to be something to do with how the machine detects that the lid is closed. Do you know how that's achieved in L40s? Or is there a service manual available for it that might give a clue?
Many thanks,
Rob.

System shutdown instead of hibernate (Safe Sleep)

After upgrading to Mavericks I've been having problems with hibernation (Safe Sleep) not working, and instead causes a full shutdown that's hard to re-power back on. I have the problem on my own rMBP and my father's Macbook Air.
I have trouble getting it powered on after such a shutdown. I have to connect it to power and/or perform the 4 finger SMC reset.
I worked around the problem by disabling standby and autopoweroff with pmset (sudo pmset -a standby 0 -a autopoweroff 0), as it's the standby timeout which triggers the hibernation-turned-shutdown. I would however have preferred a proper switch to hibernation, so it does not run down the battery to nil if I forget to shutdown before a lengthy away.
If I 'sudo pmset -a standbydelay 60 -a standby 1' to test/repro the problem - the system does indeed shutdown completely to the difficult to re-power state after 60 seconds inactivity - no hibernation.
Is anyone else seeing this behavior?

I resolved my problem -shutdowns instead of hibernate.
It was caused by rEFInd, an EFI Boot Manager (http://www.rodsbooks.com/refind/) that prevented proper hibernation with its default installation.
By installing it on a separate partition instead of default on OS X Boot Volume, hibernation started working as it should. http://sourceforge.net/p/refind/discussion/general/thread/8bd60a7b/

Windows Stuck in Safe Mode - mouse won't work - need my data...

New Mac User, well two months of trying to get it to opperate correctly. Unbelievable! I've re-installed XP SP2 too many times to count, finally had it up and thought it was running fine for the last week, then I went over to the Mac OS tried accessing windows through boot camp, it shut down the Mac OS, then when I tried to go back to boot windows directly, I received the damning <windows root> \system32\hal.dll file is missing or corrupt - again.
I've gone through a bunch of posts, tried a number of the instructions, and now have a worse issue, my computer is now stuck in safe mode with Windows, by instructions, here, I'd disabled everything for start up in Configuration Utility and checked start up in safe mode there too, so now I can't get it out of it, and since my mouse and keyboard won't opperate in safe mode, I get to the log in page to select user but the mouse just won't move and pressing "CTRL ALTDLT" no response.
In the Recovery Counsole when I rean CHKDSK /r this is what it came back with...
"The volume appears to contain or or more unrecoverable problems."
97638572 kilobytes total disk space.
90877508 kilobytes are available.
406 bytes in each allocation unit.
24409643 total allocation units on disk.
22719377 allocation units available on disk.
So what does that mean? Not sure what the " volume appears to contain one or more unrecoverable problems" means when it's not telling me what they could possibly be. Thoughts anyone?
If anyone knows or has some good advice on how to get windows back up and running correctly, and without wiping out my data - as I can't get it backed up, I would be tremendously grateful...
2 months of this is really enough, dying to use my system, and praying that I can...
Thanks so much,
Kitti
Message was edited by: Kittikatt
Message was edited by: Kittikatt

Here's what worked: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/330184
I followed the instructions above and once I finished, After re-booting, I selected Microsoft Windows XP Professional and the System Configuration Utility came up.
On the “General” tab, it shows that the Start Up Selection is on “Selective Startup” with everything checked, but what’s marked “Using Modified BOOT.INI
Tried to change it to “Normal Startup – load all device drivers and services” then re-start.
Windows came back up, but so did the System Configuration Utility and still showing that it was starting up with “Selective Startup”
Now just need to figure out how to start it up in “Normal”, if in fact that’s possible. Will keep you posted and if anyone has any further suggestions, that would be much appreciated.
I do hope this will help all the others that have run into the main issue, which I have found is caused by the Parallels Desktop by they way, not Microsoft, and that start having issues by getting the dreaded " hal.dll " file is missing or corrupt on a direct Boot to Windows.
Very long and sleepless night….
Kitti

HT201210 I am stuck with "The iPad could not be restored because the firmware file was corrupt" message.

Hi
I have an iPad mini and it was on iOS 6.1.3, my friend came and he said that he knows how to install iOS 7 for me. I gave it to him and he tried to install it, but apparently he failed to do so and an "Activation Error" is appearing on the screen now asking me to register in the developers program.
Now, we are trying to restore it back to iOS 6.1.3 using iTunes, the software downloads well and it starts restoring but that I keep getting this error message "The iPad could not be restored because the firmware file was corrupt.".
I am sure that the file is not corrupted because it's downloaded via iTunes regular download and it's not from an outside source.
I am stuck with this now and my iPad is useless this way.
Please any suggestions ?

basselsamo wrote:
Please any suggestions ?
Yes, don't download Beta Software that you have no business or legal right to download and quit taking bad advice from friends.
Now to maybe get you out of the restoring jam, the only thing that I can think of that might work is to use recovery mode, unless you already tried it and it didn't work.
You can read about it here, but the instructions are posted below.
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht4097
Disconnect the USB cable from the iPad, but leave the other end of the cable connected to your computer's USB port.
Turn off iPad: Press and hold the Sleep/Wake button for a few seconds until the red slider appears, then slide the slider. Wait for iPad to turn off.
If you cannot turn off iPad using the slider, press and hold the Sleep/Wake and Home buttons at the same time. When the iPad turns off, release the Sleep/Wake and Home buttons.
While pressing and holding the Home button, reconnect the USB cable to iPad. When you reconnect the USB cable, iPad should power on.
Continue holding the Home button until you see the "Connect to iTunes" screen. When this screen appears you can release the Home button.
If necessary, open iTunes. You should see the recovery mode alert that iTunes has detected an iPad in recovery mode.
Use iTunes to restore iPad.

Safe sleep or hibernation won't work on my Macbook 13" Unibody (late 2008)

I have a 13" unibody Macbook which I bought in October 2008. The systems sleeps well once the lid is closed but if it runs out of battery it will not hibernate. I checked the output of pmset and everything is properly set for mode 3, which is the "safe sleep". I even tried setting it to hibernate only and it still goes to sleep.
I found several people with similar problems, but nobody seems to have solved the problem. I can't believe that such a simple thing as setting your system to hibernate can be so complicated to achieve with OS X.
My pmset output is below. The sleepfile is dated back to June 20 when I removed the file and it got automatically recreated during reboot, but no updates to the file since then. I don't have PGP installed (I did but I removed) and I have the system (including firmware) all updated to the latest versions.
mymac:~ user$ pmset -g
Active Profiles:
Battery Power -1
AC Power -1*
Currently in use:
sleep 0
sms 1
acwake 0
displaysleep 10
autorestart 0
hibernatefile /var/vm/sleepimage
hibernatemode 3
womp 0
halfdim 1
disksleep 10
lidwake 1
ttyskeepawake 1
mymac:~ user$ pmset -g cap
Capabilities for AC Power:
displaysleep
disksleep
sleep
womp
acwake
autorestart
lidwake
halfdim
sms
mymac:~ user$ ls -ls /var/vm/sleepimage
8388608 -rw------T 1 root wheel 4294967296 Jun 20 00:06 /var/vm/sleepimage
mymac:~ user$
Thanks,
Alberto.

I have found a solution to my Mac shutting down completely without using hibernation or safe sleep. It turns out about a year ago I ran SmartSleep. A piece of software to allow you to put the mac to sleep the old way. Turns out it corrupts the Powermanagment.plist file when uninstalled. It needs to be deleted to reset to system defaults. More info here:
http://markandkelley.com/mark/?p=75#comments
Whether this will stop my mac shutting down straight away anyway I have yet to find out, but at least the contents of the comp are saved first now.

Stuck in safe mode on windows 8.1. and it is not recognizing my password, so i cant get into anywhere to sort it.

NORTON WERE DOING A REMOTE ASSIST, WHEN THEY HAD TO RESTART MY LAPTOP, BUT WHEN ASKED FOR MY USER NAME PASSWORD IT WAS SAYING EITHER YOUR U/NAME, OR P/WORD IS INCORRECT. SO NORTON COULDN'T HELP. SO I CONTACTED MICROSOFT TO GET A NEW PASSWORD WHICH
WAS EASIER THAN I THOUGHT. BUT WHEN I TRIED ENTERING IT, I WAS STILL GETTING THE SAME WRONG U,N OR P,WORD? "HELP" PLEASE....MY HEAD IS DONE IN AS NORTON WANT NOTHING TO DO WITH IT AND MICROSOFT ARE WANTING CLOSE TO £100 FOR DOING A REMOTE ASSIST.
SOMEONE PLEASE "HELP"ME OUT OF HERE!!!

Hi
Please refrain from using caps! looks like you are shouting.
You say that your machine is stuck in safe mode. when you boot does it go straight there?
Good read on accessing the advanced options and repairing your machine.
http://pcsupport.about.com/od/windows-8/a/open-advanced-startup-options-windows-8.htm
Hope this helps. Please remember to click “Mark as Answer” on the post that helps you, and to click “Unmark as Answer” if a marked post does not actually answer your question. This can be beneficial to other community members reading the thread.

How can i get my bookmarks back, after mozilla crashed and got stuck in safe mode?

I was using mozilla as usual when suddenly it crashed and then my computer turned off. i restarted it and said it had gone into safe mode. i tried to restart the computer again but it was stuck on safe mode.
The bad part is that all my bookmarks are gone and apparently there is no way of getting them back.
please help!

See:
*https://support.mozilla.org/kb/Recovering+important+data+from+an+old+profile
*http://kb.mozillazine.org/Transferring_data_to_a_new_profile_-_Firefox
Did you check your hard drive with the chkdsk.exe utility?

How do I access compacted mail on a Mac version 10.5.8 stuck with Thunderbird version 16.0.2 ? I am unable to access needed documentation for Taxes, etc

How do I access compacted mail on a Mac version 10.5.8 stuck with Thunderbird version 16.0.2 ? I am unable to access needed documentation for Taxes, etc

Where in the world did you read Deleting All My Mail? I have reread my answer several times and cannot seem to find that in there.
When you mark a message for deletion it does just that. It marks it for deletion and hides the message. It is not truly deleted until you compact.
My point is that unless you deleted your important mail they should still be there somewhere.
Your question was about compacting and thinking it put your messages in a nice little box for safe keeping and now you want to open it.
I have to agree that Thunderbird did a horrible job of naming this process because most are like you and do not understand what it actually does. I included the link to the explanation of what compacting means in the Thunderbird world.
Your messages may still be available to your but finding them has nothing to do with compacting.
Thunderbird does not archive anything unless you use that process by selecting the message and pressing a. You have the option to setup where you want that archive to go and what folders to make.
The All Mail folder is a goofy gmail arrangement. If you have problems with that then you need to address that with Google.
If you go into your gmail account on the gmail site do you see the messages you are hunting in the All Mail folder there?

Stuck with a bad font in Safari

Safari used to have an option in an appearance setting to select a default font for webpages, and back in high school, I made it something dumb and illegible. It's still set to that same font through transferring my data from one computer to the next, but now the option to change it back is gone. I can't install an older version of Safari to change it, am I stuck with it? My MacBook Pro is completely up to date with all upgrades.

Please read this whole message before doing anything.
This procedure is a test, not a solution. Don’t be disappointed when you find that nothing has changed after you complete it.
Step 1
The purpose of this step is to determine whether the problem is localized to your user account.
Enable guest logins* and log in as Guest. Don't use the Safari-only “Guest User” login created by “Find My Mac.”
While logged in as Guest, you won’t have access to any of your documents or settings. Applications will behave as if you were running them for the first time. Don’t be alarmed by this behavior; it’s normal. If you need any passwords or other personal data in order to complete the test, memorize, print, or write them down before you begin.
Test while logged in as Guest. Same problem?
After testing, log out of the guest account and, in your own account, disable it if you wish. Any files you created in the guest account will be deleted automatically when you log out of it.
*Note: If you’ve activated “Find My Mac” or FileVault, then you can’t enable the Guest account. The “Guest User” login created by “Find My Mac” is not the same. Create a new account in which to test, and delete it, including its home folder, after testing.
Step 2
The purpose of this step is to determine whether the problem is caused by third-party system modifications that load automatically at startup or login, by a peripheral device, by a font conflict, or by corruption of the file system or of certain system caches.
Please take this step regardless of the results of Step 1.
Disconnect all wired peripherals except those needed for the test, and remove all aftermarket expansion cards, if applicable. Start up in safe mode and log in to the account with the problem. You must hold down the shift key twice: once when you turn on the computer, and again when you log in.
Note: If FileVault is enabled in OS X 10.9 or earlier, or if a firmware password is set, or if the startup volume is a software RAID, you can’t do this. Ask for further instructions.
Safe mode is much slower to start up and run than normal, with limited graphics performance, and some things won’t work at all, including sound output and Wi-Fi on certain models. The next normal startup may also be somewhat slow.
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.
Test while in safe mode. Same problem?
After testing, restart as usual (not in safe mode) and verify that you still have the problem. Post the results of Steps 1 and 2.

Stuck with the apple and the scrolling gear while booting

Hi there
i am using my mac for more than 2 years , i did not format it or even fix any thing into it but now something bad happend...
accdentaly my genius friend preesed the power putton for more than 5 seconds to start up the computer and i heared a sound and a the normal flashing light under the track pad and suddenly i was stuck with the apple gray booting screen and the scrooling gear and the computer does not go further .. i left for 2 hours and it still stuck with the same screen ... try to restart do any thing no results also ...
NOTE: THE BIG PROPLEM IS THAT I PUT A PASSWORD FOR THE FRIMWARE AND I FORGOOT IT SO I CAN NOT USE THE FOLLWOING:
1-the ability to use the "C" key to start up from an optical disc.
2-the ability to use the "N" key to start up from a NetBoot server.
3-the ability to use the "T" key to start up in Target Disk Mode (on computers that offer this feature).
4-Diagnostic volume of the Install DVD.
5-mode by pressing the Command-S key combination during startup.
6- a reset of Parameter RAM (PRAM) by pressing the Command-Option-P-R key combination during startup.
Requires the password to use the Startup Manager, accessed by pressing the Option key during startup (see below).
7- Safe mood.
8-Single mode acsses and the other one i forrgot its name.
SO I FIGURED THERE IS NO WAY BETER THAN THE PRIVIOUS WAYS TO SOLVE THE PROPLEM
IF YOU HAVE ANY IDEAS OR ANY THING SO I CAN FIX THIS THING ?
Thanks in advance >>>
iBook G4 Mid 2005 Mac OS X (10.4.8)

I was mistaken about the PMU..with a little more digging I found that Open Firmware password can be removed if you change the amount of memory installed.
I found this info here: http://archive.macosxlabs.org/documentation/firmwaresecurity/faqs/faqs.html#remove_passwordprotection
The following is a link from Apple's site to download the user's manual for your iBook:
http://manuals.info.apple.com/en/iBookG4(Mid2005)_UsersGuide.pdf
It provides the instructions to add or remove memory from the machine. If you do have additional memory installed then you'll be able to remove the memory, and reset the PRAM, that way your password is gone. Hopefully from there we can figure out and fix your startup issue.
Ben

Stuck with safe sleep

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