System Unresponsive Once Login Window Appears

Tomorrow afternoon I'll be brought an Intel Mac mini bought almost a year ago in hopes I can fix a problem. When it boots, it displays the login window, but then doesn't respond to any action, whether selecting a user or clicking on the restart or shutdown buttons. It turned out that the wireless keyboard batteries were dead, but replacing them resulted in a "connected" message but no improvement. I had the user reboot into normal and safe mode, but neither helped. What type of things should I look for? Thanks for any advice.

When I had a chance to look at that system, it worked fine. I wonder if the problem was entirely due to weak batteries in the bluetooth keyboard. When I booted it, I did see a message about the clock being set to a time before 2008, but I'm not sure what that would have to do with the login problem.

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IMac won't start up: No login window appears.

Hello, there, everyone. The problem I'm addressing here is that my iMac is simply refusing to start up. Two days ago I turned it off (because of irrelevant problems), and since then it just won't boot up completely. Whenever I turn it on, it loads past the blue and white loading screens and the grey Apple logo, but once it loads the default Apple wallpaper it won't go any farther. No login window appears, preventing use. I've tried various alternative ways of booting it up, but nothing seems to work. I've tried safe-booting it (Which really doesn't change anything), initiating the Apple Hardware Test (Which freezes once I choose a language), unpluggung the computer both when it is on and off and retrying the start-up sequence, but still no progress has been made.
My iMac is about four years old, which isn't exactly a short life for a computer, but it still surprises me to encounter such a major problem. If anyone would happen to have any experience with this situation, I would be very greatful for any help at all. Thank you in advance.

Three beeps usually indicates failed or no ram. Try removing and reseating all of the ram. If that doesn't help and you have access to another mac can you start the imac in Target Disk Mode? OS X Mountain Lion: Transfer files between two computers using target disk mode
You'll probably need to take it in for service, but hopefully you aren't about to learn the hard way about backing up.

Is there a way to log attempts to log into a system from a login window?

We have all users log into their systems via a login window. I've noticed that if I go to the "Other Users" option and attempt to login with some bogus user name and password, none of this seems to be logged anywhere.
For example, if a system has been set up to allow, say three user id's, like TedK, JenniferH, and ThomasT, and they all are allowed to login to the system, if someone (like a stranger) should scroll down from the login options, select "other" and then enter "root" with a password attempt, none of this seems to be logged anywhere. I am NOT talking about doing this through SSH or any network, I mean at the keyboard itself.
This logging doesn't seem to be available. Is there some system setting that can be set to turn this sort of thing on?

I ran across this the other day, from JN Software, the developer of Preferential Treatment.
Check Failed Password Attempts
Version: 0.1.9
Release Date: November 2, 2005
Requirements: Mac OS X 10.2+ & Administrator Access (AppleScript Studio/Xcode to edit source code)
Script Type: Editable
License: Freeware
Installation: Download & expand.
Description: This is a small application that parses the /var/log/secure.log file looking for failed authorization attempts. It presents a summary of the total number of failed attempts (and successes) per user. It will also optionally display the full log listing of each failed attempt, each successful attempt, and SSH information from the /var/log/system.log (see the preferences to enable/disable these options).
http://www.jonn8.com/html/FailedPWAttempts.html
I haven't tried it yet myself ... but had been intending to check it out.

Login window appears, but it takes 40-72 seconds to get the

hello,
We have the following problem with Windows XP SP3 Novell Client 4.9 SP5 IR1.
Novell login screen appears, but it still takes 40-72 seconds to send a DHCP-Request
from Windows XP to DHCP-Server (Novell OES2 SP3)
What can be the cause for this delay?
(The NIC IEEE 802.1X Authentification delayed by 20-30 Sec)
For your efforts in advance, thank you.
Rolf

Originally Posted by partnernetrst
hello,
We have the following problem with Windows XP SP3 Novell Client 4.9 SP5 IR1.
Novell login screen appears, but it still takes 40-72 seconds to send a DHCP-Request
from Windows XP to DHCP-Server (Novell OES2 SP3)
What can be the cause for this delay?
(The NIC IEEE 802.1X Authentification delayed by 20-30 Sec)
For your efforts in advance, thank you.
Rolf
My first guess would be the setting of the switch port connected to the pc. It should be set to client mode (spanning-tree portfast as it's called by some vendors) or else the pc port won't directly get initialized while booting, resulting in the initial dhcp packets sent by the pc not finding their way to the network.
Could that be the issue?
- Willem

After SL login windows appears with wrong font encoding

I installed SL and the login windows when I switch accounts and the username and password windows before I install things have lost their default fonts. Instead I get squares with an A inside.
How can I get back to the correct font/encoding?

Reset the font databases by booting into safe mode, which also deletes all collections, and then reset things. See Font Management in OS X for more details.

How to set password login window appear for 'Mac Mail' app?

This is possible, when we remove the email password from my keychain using account preference. But some of our client wants login window password which is different from email password.
Is this possible??

no. but if you protect your iPhone with a password, I don't think you need a separate one just for your email.

Trackpad unresponsive in Login Window

Hello,
I have a mouse connected to my MacBook almost all the time when at home, so I don't come across this often, but when I do it's a huge problem.
Any time I am at the the Login Screen, I can move the mouse around with the trackpad, but nothing happens when I click on an item. I also can not tab around to select various UI elements so that I can just use a keyboard. The only workaround I've managed to find is to plug a mouse into my MacBook.
My trackpad and keyboard work fine any other time, it's just in the login screen where I am having issues. This has to be some sort of preferences setting that I am not aware of.
I am currently on Mavericks, but this has been an ongoing problem for several versions of the OS.
The trackpad on my MacBook is tap to click only - there is not physical button to press.
Any help is greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Thanks very much for the help guys, you know I thought this was a user based community

I use to be able to connect to my shares on my windows 2000 computer via smb. Now the login screen appears but it shakes when I try to login no matter what?

I hav just upgraded from Lion to Mavericks.
Connection to my windows 2000 with smb doesn't work after uppgrading to Mavericks.
The login window appears but shakes as it doesn't recognize my password even if it is correct.
Any solutions?

Back up all data if you haven’t already done so. There are ways to back up, even if you can’t log in. Before proceeding,you must be sure you can restore everything to the state it’s in now. If you’re not sure you can do that, STOP.
The procedure below may spare you the need for a clean reinstallation of OS X. If you don't feel comfortable carrying it out, don't. try.
Briefly, you need to delete the following file:
/var/audit/current
If you already know how to do that, you can skip the rest of this message. Do it, and try again to log in.
Boot in single-user mode by holding down the key combination command-S at the startup chime. If you’re using an external USB keyboard, it must be plugged directly into a built-in port on the Mac, not into a hub. Release the keys when you see a black screen with scrolling white text. In this mode, there’s no graphical interface; just a command line. Initially, you can’t make any changes to files.
When the text stops scrolling, and you see a line ending in a pound sign (“#”), type the following command:
mount -uw /
You must type the command exactly as given, with no mistakes. If you don’t feel able to do that, STOP. At this stage, no harm will be done if you make a mistake, but later, it will be. Press the return key.
Next, type the following command:
rm -i /var/audit/current
Press return. You should get the following output:
remove /var/audit/current?
If that's not what you get, STOP. Type the single letter N, press return, and try again. Otherwise, type the single letter Y and pressreturn.
Finally, enter the command:
exit
Press return. The text will start scrolling again, and then the system will reboot. Try again to log in.
Credit for this solution to ASC user AnthonyTW.

System Slow during Arabesque Screensaver with Login Window

Hello!
Has anyone else noticed a problem with the screen savers in 10.9?
I put my Early 2013 15" Retina MBP to screen saver with login window security settings enabled (only open applications are Mail, FireFox, and Terminal). Upon returning and waking it from screen saver, sometimes the screensaver doesn't disengage and display my desktop background image when the login window appears. What happens is Arabaesque keeps running in the background behind the login window, and slows the entire system down. Mouse movements and keyboard inputs are delayed significantly. This did not happen in 10.8.x.
I can't reproduce this all of the time, but it's annoying enough when it does happen. I did file a bug report with Apple on it, but I was just curious if anyone else had a similar problem?

Yes, I have this problem too (and I imagine that every single person who uses the Arabesque screensaver has the exact same problem). The strange thing is that apparently there has been a bug like this with the Arabesque screensaver after every new release of OS X. Maybe it's like a running gag or something at Apple.
The problem on my 2012 rMBP 15" is that the framerate fluctuates between very slow and normal, and this will carry over even to the typing in of the password to unlock the machine (it can take one or two seconds for the system to recognize a keystroke even). On my late 2012 27" iMac, the problem is that there is a big black square that uglifies the whole thing (but doesn't drop in framerate). Both systems have top of the line Core i7's and the best discrete graphics cards available at purchase.

Login Window Doesn't Show Windows Domain Straight Away...

Hi Folks,
I have a workgroup of Power Mac G5’s running OS X 10.4.4. The user accounts are stored in a Microsoft Windows Active Directory Server (ADS), however there is a local Administrator account on the workstation.
When the computer is restarted it boots up to the login window but for some reason the G5 doesn’t see the Windows ADS domain straight away so it doesn’t list the “Other…” account. If I login as the local Administrator and then log out the “Other…” account then shows. It also shows if I unplug the network cable and then re-plug it in. Once I am logged in as a user the connection is nice and quick with no physical problems.
Is this a bug?
I was wondering if there is a way to fix this, for example, can I make the boot process wait until Samba has fully started, or can I add a 5 second pause in somewhere, or can I tell the login window to refresh every 5 seconds?
Thanks,
Andrew McCall
G5 Mac OS X (10.4.4)

Hi again,
Thanks for your reply.
I have done the unbind and performed the bind operation again, but its still happening. I have now put a second system in and its doing it on that one too.
I was wonding if there is some way of making sure that Samba is fully started before the login window appears.
Thanks,
Andrew McCall

Login window crashing

Hello, I'v got an odd intermittent issue.... After entering my (correct) credentials into the login window the login window appears to freeze and prevents login.
I can move the mouse just fine, but the loginwindow becomes unresponsive. Trying other accounts on the Mac yields hte same results. I can drop into a shell by logging in as >console and I can login just fine in through safemode. This had me suspecting thrid party addins, but the problem persists when all addins (that I could find..) are disabled. This problem origionally happened a month ago and the fix was to remove third party launche agents/darmons. However the problem surfaced again today with some weirder results. The loginwindow froze, I sshed in and triggerd a reboot. The next login attempt caused iCal to pop up through the frozen login window (I also opened quicktime and got a screen recording). I was able to get terminal open via spotlight. I launched Finder manually, but I couldn't get the dock to open. This problem is really annoying becuase I was using my laptop all day without issue.
Throughout, the way I've been toubleshoot this I would ssh into the mac from another Mac and grabbed the contents of system.log (below). I can see loginwondow crashing out in the log. I can also "kick it" with launchctl but I get the same result.
I've also all of Onyx's cleaning routines, manually purged Cache and Application Saved State folders, repaired permssions, and ran Daily/Weekly/Monthly tasks to no avail.
I don't really don't want to reinstall Lion if at all possible, any advise would be great. Thank you!
MacBook pro 15" Mid 2011
8GB RAM
Mac OS X 10.7.2 server
bash-3.2# tail -f /var/log/system.log
Nov 30 22:57:59: --- last message repeated 1 time ---
Nov 30 22:57:59 Tesseract loginwindow[421]: Login Window Started Security Agent
Nov 30 22:57:59 Tesseract airportd[425]: _doAutoJoin: Already associated to “Emerald”. Bailing on auto-join.
Nov 30 22:57:59 Tesseract SecurityAgent[432]: Echo enabled
Nov 30 22:57:59 Tesseract SystemUIServer[437]: 3891612: (connectAndCheck) Untrusted apps are not allowed to connect to or launch Window Server before login.
Nov 30 22:57:59 Tesseract SystemUIServer[437]: kCGErrorFailure: Set a breakpoint @ CGErrorBreakpoint() to catch errors as they are logged.
Nov 30 22:57:59 Tesseract SystemUIServer[437]: _RegisterApplication(), FAILED TO establish the default connection to the WindowServer, _CGSDefaultConnection() is NULL.
Nov 30 22:57:59 Tesseract com.apple.SystemUIServer.agent[437]: _RegisterApplication(), FAILED TO establish the default connection to the WindowServer, _CGSDefaultConnection() is NULL.
Nov 30 22:57:59 Tesseract com.apple.SystemUIServer.agent[437]: Creating secondary hot key connection failed, 1000
Nov 30 22:57:59 Tesseract SystemUIServer[437]: ICNInitialize failed: -536870212
Nov 30 22:58:21 Tesseract SecurityAgent[432]: User info context values set for sonic84
Nov 30 22:58:21 Tesseract SecurityAgent[432]: Login Window login proceeding
Nov 30 22:58:22 Tesseract loginwindow[421]: Login Window - Returned from Security Agent
Nov 30 22:58:22 Tesseract loginwindow[421]: USER_PROCESS: 421 console
Nov 30 22:58:22 Tesseract applepushserviced[93]: Unable to bootstrap_lookup connection port for 'com.apple.iCalPush': unknown error code
Nov 30 22:58:22 Tesseract airportd[425]: _doAutoJoin: Already associated to “Emerald”. Bailing on auto-join.
Nov 30 22:58:22 Tesseract applepushserviced[93]: <APSCourier: 0x7fbdbbb07660>: Stream error occurred for <APSTCPStream: 0x7fbdbda00ff0>: Error Domain=APSTCPStreamErrorDomain Code=-65563 "DNSServiceQueryRecord() failed" UserInfo=0x7fbdbda01c20 {NSLocalizedDescription=DNSServiceQueryRecord() failed}
Nov 30 22:58:22 Tesseract com.apple.launchd.peruser.501[374] (com.apple.ReportCrash): Falling back to default Mach exception handler. Could not find: com.apple.ReportCrash.Self
Nov 30 22:58:22 Tesseract com.apple.launchctl.Aqua[459]: com.apple.RemoteDesktop.agent: Already loaded
Nov 30 22:58:22: --- last message repeated 1 time ---
Nov 30 22:58:22 Tesseract com.apple.launchctl.Aqua[459]: load: option requires an argument -- D
Nov 30 22:58:22 Tesseract com.apple.launchctl.Aqua[459]: usage: launchctl load [-wF] [-D <user|local|network|system|all>] paths...
Nov 30 22:58:22 Tesseract loginwindow[421]: -[__NSCFConstantString count]: unrecognized selector sent to instance 0x107fe38e0
Nov 30 22:58:22: --- last message repeated 1 time ---
Nov 30 22:58:22 Tesseract loginwindow[421]: (
                    0   CoreFoundation                      0x0000000107e90286 __exceptionPreprocess + 198
                    1   libobjc.A.dylib                     0x0000000107cfdd5e objc_exception_throw + 43
                    2   CoreFoundation                      0x0000000107f1c4ce -[NSObject doesNotRecognizeSelector:] + 190
                    3   CoreFoundation                      0x0000000107e7d133 ___forwarding___ + 371
                    4   CoreFoundation                      0x0000000107e7cf48 _CF_forwarding_prep_0 + 232
                    5   loginwindow                         0x00000001056b72c9 loginwindow + 74441
                    6   loginwindow                         0x00000001056b7293 loginwindow + 74387
                    7   loginwindow                         0x00000001056b4646 loginwindow + 63046
                    8   CoreFoundation                      0x0000000107e7fa1d -[NSObject performSelector:withObject:] + 61
                    9   Foundation                          0x00000001071aae44 __NSThreadPerformPerform + 214
                    10 CoreFoundation                      0x0000000107dfeb51 __CFRUNLOOP_IS_CALLING_OUT_TO_A_SOURCE0_PERFORM_FUNCTION__ + 17
                    11 CoreFoundation                      0x0000000107dfe3bd __CFRunLoopDoSources0 + 253
                    12 CoreFoundation                      0x0000000107e251a9 __CFRunLoopRun + 905
                    13 CoreFoundation                      0x0000000107e24ae6 CFRunLoopRunSpecific + 230
                    14 HIToolbox                           0x000000010c4be3d3 RunCurrentEventLoopInMode + 277
                    15 HIToolbox                           0x000000010c4c563d ReceiveNextEventCommon + 355
                    16 HIToolbox                           0x000000010c4c54ca BlockUntilNextEventMatchingListInMode + 62
                    17 AppKit                              0x0000000105e233f1 _DPSNextEvent + 659
                    18 AppKit                              0x0000000105e22cf5 -[NSApplication nextEventMatchingMask:untilDate:inMode:dequeue:] + 135
                    19 AppKit                              0x0000000105e1f62d -[NSApplication run] + 470
                    20 loginwindow                         0x00000001056aa142 loginwindow + 20802
                    21 loginwindow                         0x00000001056a9bf0 loginwindow + 19440
Nov 30 22:58:22 Tesseract com.apple.launchd.peruser.501[374] (com.apple.launchctl.Aqua[459]): Exited with code: 1
Nov 30 22:58:22 Tesseract UserEventAgent[17]: CaptiveNetworkSupport:CNSServerRegisterUserAgent:187 new user agent port: 48435
^C
bash-3.2# launchctl unload /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.loginwindow.plist
bash-3.2# launchctl load /System/Library/LaunchDaemons/com.apple.loginwindow.plist
bash-3.2# reboot

Well I may have answered my own question. I removed the contents of /Library/Internet Plug-ins and removed third-party preference panes. I can login just fine now.
Oddly, I can still login just fine after re-installing fresh copies of said plugins and preferences...
Here is a link to the movie I mentioned in my last post (~7MB): http://www.sonic84.com/files/LoginWindowCrashing.mov
for the record, I removed:
Pref panes:
Flash Player
Flip4Mac WMV
MacFUSE (Tuxera)
Perian
Tuxera NTFS
Internet Plugins:
CitrixICAClientPlugIn.plugin
Flash player.plugin
Flip4Mac.plugin
JavaAppletPlugin.plugin
QuickTime.plugin
SharePointBrowserPlugin.plugin
SharePointWebKitPlugin.webplugin
Silverlight.plugin
flashplayer.xpt
iPhotoPhotocast.plugin
nsIQTScriptablePlugin.xpt

Login Window on Wrong Screen in Dual Monitor Setup

I have two monitors attached to my MacBook Pro running OS X 10.10. When I boot up with the lid closed, I see the start up sequence (Apple logo and progress bar) shown on the monitor that is my "primary" monitor of the two monitors. But when boot up is complete and the login window appears, it shows on the secondary monitor, not the primary. My primary monitor is connected via Thunderbolt, and the secondary monitor is attached to the HDMI port on my MacBook Pro. Any ideas how to set the login screen to show up on the primary monitor?

I have exactly this same issue on a Late 2012 Hexacore Mac pro (The last real one LOL)
My primary screen (a 24inch VGA 1080p monitor) shows the Apple boot logo (with progress bar) whilst the secondary display (32inch HDMI 1080p LCD TV) is plain white
then when the initial login box appears that comes up on the 2nd display (Even if it is turned off) meaning I have normally have to turn that screen on, log in then turn it off again
I have also noticed that the screen layout is wrong. Once logged in the 32" display is logically located above the 24" one. However for the login dialog they default to side by side. meaning movingthe mouse up to the TV to log in means going left ot right... Not very good really.
Not enough to make me revert to Mavericks from Yosemite, but still quite annoying.
Craig

Login Window doesn't show all account

Hi all folks,
I migrate an old OS X Leopard with some Accounts to OS X Yosemite but the Login Window doesn't show all Accounts.
And the Guest Account and the Other Account icon is outside the screen.
Any idea how to order the Accounts in the Login Window, it seems to be the Login Window can't handle more than five Accounts.
Thanks for any suggestion,
Lutz

Hi again,
Thanks for your reply.
I have done the unbind and performed the bind operation again, but its still happening. I have now put a second system in and its doing it on that one too.
I was wonding if there is some way of making sure that Samba is fully started before the login window appears.
Thanks,
Andrew McCall

When I click a link to open a new window, the new window appears in the bottom right corner and I have to drag it up every time to enlarge.

This problem only began today and only with Webkinz.com
When my daughter went to login, the new window where she logs in was in the bottom right corner. I pulled it up to the display and it stayed there. When she tried to log in again later on in the day, the login window appeared in the bottom right corner of the screen again.

Open Firefox -> Help Menu -> select "Restart with Add-ons Disabled"
Firefox will close then it will open up with just basic Firefox. Now you can Enable the Add-ons and it should be ok. Check and tell if its working.

How to select the desired language in the item Startup and Login Windows?

Users can individually select the language in which applications are displayed by moving the entries in the Language list of the International pane in System Preferences into the desired order. However, this language preference only affects applications started by each user, it does not apply to the startup phase of the operating system and its login window. Under normal circumstances, this kind of language preference can only be set when installing or reinstalling the operating system.
How to modify this language preference without having to reinstall the system. Select the desired language in the item Startup and Login Language ?

The language used by the login window is written in /Library/Preferences/.GlobalPreferences.plist. The file name begins with a dot . , so it is hidden in the Finder.
If it is OK for you to use unix command line, then you can modify this plist file by using "defaults" command as follows (CAUTION! please be careful no to make any mistakes, and do it at your own risk).
Open /Applications/Utilities/Terminal.app. and type
cd /Library/Preferences
cp .GlobalPreferences.plist saved-GlobalPreferences.plist
to make a backup copy of the plist. (if you get permission error, then try
sudo cp .GlobalPreferences.plist saved-GlobalPreferences.plist
and enter the admin password.)
Then type
defaults read /Library/Preferences/.GlobalPreferences AppleLanguages
to show the current setting. You can rearrange the list of languages as you like, for example,
defaults write /Library/Preferences/.GlobalPreferences AppleLanguages '(fr en)'
(or sudo defaults write .... if you get permission error)
I think you may make the list as short as you like.
If you don't like to use Terminal.app, then install Xcode (you can find it in Tiger install DVD, or download the latest version from Apple -- you need to register at Apple website to download it). It will install /Developer/Applications/Utilities/Property List Editor.app. You can edit /Library/Preferences/.GlobalPreferences.plist by this app by typing the following into Terminal.app (it's hidden in Finder so you must use Terminal.app to start editing it by Property List Editor):
open /Library/Preferences/.GlobalPreferences.plist
PowerMacG4, PowerBookG4, iMac(C2D) Mac OS X (10.4.8)

System Unresponsive Once Login Window Appears

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