Tried to install 10.5, it failed, now computer won't start

I have 400mhz g4 with a 1.0ghz accelerator and 1 gig of ram in it. Tried to install 10.5 on, the installation failed for unknown reasons, now the computer gets stuck on start up. Specifically, I get the grey apple and spinning pinwheel, but the system just hangs there, even after 20 minutes.
I tried sticking the 10.5 and 10.4 disk in and starting up from (i.e. holding down the C key). I tried booting in safe mode and from the usb 2.0 disk that's attached via a PCI card. I have a complete backup of the machine, made via Super Duper, so I'm not really worried, but I just need to figure out a way to boot the machine. Any ideas?

What kind of 10.5 disk did you use? If it was a grey system disk from a newer Intel-based Mac, that disk has no 10.5 code that a G4 processor can read and could leave you with what you describe.
I tried booting ........... from the usb 2.0 disk that's attached via a PCI card.
In spite of what Apple says (here), it's hard to find a G-series Mac that likes to boot from a USB device. Do you have one with FireWire connectivity? And some system software may have to load before the USB bus wakes up. You can try it on oneof the logic board 1.1 ports--has a better chance of getting a boot from there than a PCI card. But don't be surprised if it still doesn't boot.
The 10.5 installer requires a minimum 867 mHz processor and may look at something stored in ROM on the computer rather than actually polling the new processor before deciding if it can install. Although you have an upgraded processor, the installer may be reading the original specs off the Machine type code or other parameter that was not affected by the upgrade.

Similar Messages

  • Mountain Lion update, and now computer won't start up?

    Writing this for a friend, as his computer is inop at the moment.  Hence this message. 
    He has a new 27" iMac.  He upgraded to Mountain Lion a few weeks ago, and then had intermittent problems with apps unexpectantly shutting down. 
    Now he did a ML update this morning, and his computer won't start up.  It gets to the point of the Apple logo coming up, a progress bar, and then the spinning wheel, but then shuts itself down right afterwards.
    A safe boot yields the exact same result.
    Any thoughts out there on what he could try to get it up and running again?
    Thanks much for any and all help. 

    Thank you for the fast response.
    He was able to get into Disk Utility with the Command and R keys, but when he tried verifying the disk, in red it said 'Invalid Node Structure, volume could not be verified completely'.
    He went ahead and verified it anyway, then proceeded to repair it.  Howver, it stopped repairing, said it cannot repair, and that he should back up files and reformat the disk.
    How can he back up his files?  He cannot see a way to do it.  Is there anything else he can do besides having to reformat the disk? 
    This is his first Mac (after much prompting from me to go Mac), and he's afraid he's now lost everything on there.

  • Messed with System/Library files now computer won't start

    Ok, I wanted to go about fixing a Photoshop issue I had with 10.4.6. So I replace the following files with the files from 10.4.5...
    /System/Library/Filesystems/AppleShare
    /System/Library/Frameworks/AppleShareClientCore.framework
    /System/Library/Frameworks/AppleshareClient.framework
    My network drive went all haywire and I tried to replace the files with the original 10.4.6 files. After that did not solve the problem, I downloaded and used Pacifist to retreive the files from Mac OS X 10.4.6 for PPC downloaded from Apple. After replacing the /System/Library/ from this file, my computer went completely haywire and would not shutdown, start any aps or do anything. Now it won't work at all.
    Am I completely screwed? I don't want to have to wipe everything (I have Quark on there that I no longer have a disk for) but I think I may have to.
    Please if you have any suggestions for this stupid idiot, who should not have messed with their computer, they would be so welcomed!
    Thanks!

    HI, c.i.
    See my "General advice on performing an Archive and Install" FAQ. Perform the steps therein in the specified order.
    Good luck!
    Dr. Smoke
    Author: Troubleshooting Mac® OS X
    Note: The information provided in the link(s) above is freely available. However, because I own The X Lab™, a commercial Web site to which some of these links point, the Apple Discussions Terms of Use require I include the following disclosure statement with this post:
    I may receive some form of compensation, financial or otherwise, from my recommendation or link.

  • Ran updates, now computer won't start up

    Hi,
    My sister just ran a bunch of software updates. A message appeared that said couldn't update iDVD because program could not be found. Then it asked to restart the computer, which she did. A grey screen appeared with the apple in the middle and a spinning disk. Then after a long while it went to a blue screen sometimes with a spinning disk again. She has tried to reboot but the same thing happens. Any thoughts? Thank you!!

    Hi help209, and a warm welcome to the forums!
    Could be many things, we should start with this...
    "Try Disk Utility
    1. Insert the Mac OS X Tiger Install disc that came with your computer, 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. Click the disclosure triangle to the left of the hard drive icon to display the names of your hard disk volumes and partitions.
    5. Select your Mac OS X volume.
    6. 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.)
    The usual reason why updates fail or mess things up, is if Permissions are not fixed before & after every update, with a reboot... you may get a partial update when the installer finds it doesn't have Permissions to change one obscure little part of the OS, leaving you with a mix of OS versions.
    Some people get away without Repairing Permissions for years, some for only days.
    If Permissions are wrong before applying an update, you could get mixed OS versions, if Directory is the slightest messed up, who knows!
    If many Permission are repaired, or any Directory errors are found, you may need to re-apply some the latest/biggest updates.
    May even need to do an Archive and Install if you have room on the HD, but saves all your files and gives a new OS...
    http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107120
    I only use Software Update to see what is needed, then get them for real via...
    http://www.apple.com/support/downloads/
    That way I can wait a week or so, check the forums for potential problems, and get Permissions & such in order before installing.
    If all the above fails, then it appears to be time for a relatively painless Archive & Install, which gives you a new/old OS, but can preserve all your files, pics, music, settings, etc., as long as you have plenty of free disk space and no Disk corruption, and is relatively quick & painless...
    http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107120
    Just be sure to select Preserve Users & Settings.

  • Updated OS to 10.5.7, now computer won't start properly...

    Updated to OS 10.5.7 three days ago. After installation, system prompted restart (as usual). I clicked "restart", system properly shut down, then began to restart, then was stuck in restart mode for 3 hours! Gray screen with apple icon appeared, along with circling lines indicating it was "thinking" (I guess), then finally it just shut off. Now, it won't restart at all, just goes to gray screen for a few minutes, then goes black. Tried restarting from the system disk (10.5) which came with the computer, but I then get an alert saying it can't restore software because it can't find 10.4 or newer on the system. It shows my computer, with 10.5.7 on the startup disk menu, but selecting it and restarting throws me back into the gray screen/shut down loop.

    Try starting in a different account or Safe Mode. Other issues have been related to font problems. You can test for this if things work in Safe Mode. A different account will check if it is something specific to your account.
    [Mac OS X: Starting up in Safe Mode|http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107393]
    [What is Safe Boot, Safe Mode? (Mac OS X)|http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1564]
    [Safe Boot takes longer than normal startup|http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107394]
    [Mac OS X 10.4, 10.5- Computer shuts down during Safe Boot|http://support.apple.com/kb/TA24054]
    Safe boot mode runs a directory check command similar to that used by Disk Utility's repair. In Tiger it ignores some stored information (cache) that is normally read that speeds up the boot process, and it moves some other caches to the trash. It also uses only System fonts and disables all Startup Items, third party items, and any Login Items.
    By the way, did you repair permissions with Disk Utility before and after doing hte update?

  • Just tried to install the recent updates and now Mac won't boot.

    Clicked restart and was presented with a screen that said "none of the software updates could be installed, an unexpexected error occured" I clicked OK, was was left wi a blank screen that did nothing. So I powered down, and restarted, now I'm presented with a UnIx screen indicating "unable to find driver for this platform" and a window instructing me to restart.
    Restarting in any mode, shift, command, command s, etc will not move me past the Mac OS version not yet set screen.
    This is a mess. I installed Lion over the Internet and do not have a startup disk I can use to recover and reinstall to even restore from my Tme Capsule ... Isn't there a way I can install over the Internet?

    Holding down Option seemed to get me into recovery mode, where I was able to run disk first aid, to repair the disk and permissions.
    It repaired dozens of permissions, and stated the HD was OK, but restored boot drivers.
    However, I still cannot startup, getting the exact same message.
    At this point should I restore from my Time Capsule, or should I reinstall Lion and then restore from my Time Capsule?
    Or is there any other way to recover at this point?

  • Plugged in external harddrive, now computer won't start

    So I had my Macbook Pro on and was doing stuff and then plugged in an external drive. All was fine, and then I went to open up Lightroom and Lightroom wouldn't open so I had to force quit a few times. Then the harddrive was "removed" even though I didn't touch it. I restarted my computer and now when it starts up, I get this. What happened? I was just about to back up everything on my drive.

    You are booted into the Recovery Partition. Try a restart while holding down the option/alt key and see if you can select/start from the OS disk.
    If not, boot to the Recovery Volume (command - R on a restart or hold down the option/alt key during a restart and select Recovery Volume). Run Disk Utility Verify/Repair and Repair Permissions until you get no errors. Then re-install the OS.
    OS X Recovery
    OS X Recovery (2)

  • Lost power, now computer won't start

    The power to my computer was accidentally disconnected while the computer was on. Now when I try to turn it on again it gets stuck on the white screen with the apple sign and the circel thinking wheel thingy. Don't know what's wrong and why it won't get past that point...

    reset smc, unplug all the cables to your iMac then plug it back again after 15 secs.
    reset pram, when you turn on the machine press option + command + P + R hold it down until you hear 3 chimes then let go
    If it won't get pass the apple and spinning gear then boot from the OS X CD and repair the disks

  • Firefox update failed, so I re-installed. Now firefox won't start up at all?

    ''locking as a duplicate of https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/questions/969557''
    So I ran firefox, and it was updating. While updating, firefox crashed for no apparent reason so I had to close it. Afterwards, every time I tried to start up firefox, it gave me the update failed error, followed by a crash less than a second later. I followed some instructions, uninstalling and re-installing firefox (without removing personal data), but now firefox won't start up at all!
    Now what?

    We're sorry to hear that your Firefox seems to be crashing when you open it. Please perform the following steps to give us a crash report ID that helps us find out more about the cause of the crash.
    #Press the following shortcut to get a Run window: [Windows] + [R]. This should bring up a window that contains a text field.
    #In that text field, enter %APPDATA% and press Enter. An explorer window should open.
    #From that explorer window, double-click on the ''Mozilla'' folder, then double-click on ''Firefox'' and then on ''Crash reports''. Double-click on ''submitted''.
    #Now, you should see a list of files that contain reports. Go to ''View'' > ''Arrange Icons by'' > ''Modified'' to get the most recent files at the top of the window.
    #Open the most recent 5 files with a text editor and copy the IDs.
    #Paste each ID with '''bp-''' into the reply window on the forums.
    Thanks in advance!
    You can find more information and troubleshooting steps in the [[Firefox crashes]] article.

  • Itunes update would not install due to an error, now itunes won't run and I get this message when I try to launch itunes: "This application has failed to start because MSVCR80.dll was not found. Re-installing the application may fix this problem"

    itunes update would not install due to an error, now itunes won't run and I get this error message when I try to launch itunes: iTunes.exe - Unable to Locate Component "This application has failed to start because MSVCR80.dll was not found. Re-installing the application may fix this problem."
    I'm on a Dell PC running Vista Home Premium.
    HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    try removing all itunes and all other apple program
    follow this link for more info. http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1923
    reboot ur window after uninstalling
    after that download the latest itunes setup and install.

  • I am trying to install final cut studio on my computer. I get to where it asks me to insert audio disc 2 and it fails.

    I am trying to install final cut studio on my computer. I get to where it asks me to insert audio disc 2 and it fails.How do I continue to install?

    What I've done to get around the problem of quircky DVD readers is to create a disk image of each of the installation discs and store them on an external firewire drive. When I need to install/reinstall, I open the images and put them all on my desktop then launch the installer from disk 1. Since all the disks are available, the installation happens without any intervention from me and is done within 30-45 minutes. (your time may vary depending upon computer variables)
    Best,
    x

  • HT1414 i have tried to update my i.phn 3g from 4.1 to 4.2 but it failed and then i tried to restore then its also failed,,now my device is not working,,,can somebody help me?????

    i have tried to update my i.phn 3g from 4.1 to 4.2 but it failed and then i tried to restore then its also failed,,now my device is not working,,,can somebody help me?????

    No one can help you without knowing the error message and error number when it fails.

  • Recently installed Creative Suite 6 and am using Acrobat Pro.  Suddenly it crashes and now it won't start.  I installed the current update but still not.  This happened before, in 2012, and was finally fixed.  what do I do?  Duncan

    Hi all,
    My recently installed (Windows 8.1) Acrobat Pro (part of CS6) suddenly stopped working - now it won't start.
    This happened on Windows 7 in 2012 and was eventually fixed.
    Any advice on what I should do?  [I can't find where to post a question to the adobe help people]
    - Duncan

    Well, the computer stopped starting up at all. It could never find the operating system. I tried safe mode and virtually every other non-standard start-up option. I then did target disk mode with another MBP and got the message: "The disk you inserted was not readable by this computer." I then tried using disk utility and it couldn't retrieve retrieve the data using restore (writing to an external drive). I suspect that this means the hard drive would need to be replaced. In your expert opinions, is this necessarily true? Could this still be just a software problem, or perhaps some other piece of hardware?
    Part of the reason I ask is that this laptop is now nearly five years old. It's needed a new battery for two years. If it's a virtual certainty that the hard drive is toast, I don't want to pay $150 for someone to take it out and try to recover any remaining data from it, only to reveal that the data is indeed irretrievable (since the computer itself is probably only worth $300-400 at this point). The nearest Genius Bar is also more than 2 hours away. Am I going about this the right way by using disk utility, given that the hard drive won't mount to the desktop of the other computer? If the hard drive can't be reat in target disk mode, does that confirm that it is the hard drive?
    Thanks
    Oh also, it does still make the startup noise, even though I can't run the AHT since I can't get it to start up in safemode. I thought this mean that it passing various hardware tests. Does this not apply to the hard drive?
    Message was edited by: Euain_ *add-on*

  • Trying to install cs4 program on my new computer.  my old computer is dead.

    I have all the install discs but when I enter the serial #, I get an "i'm sorry....."
    I own cs4.  My original computer die.  So I trying to install cs 4 on my new computer.  Please HELP~!!!!!

    After many hours on the phone and chat with adobe it appears that since I now have windows 8 on the brand new computer, i cannot use my current cs4.  I was told adobe does not offer upgrades from cs4 any longer but that an authorized adobe reseller would.  I am having a hard time finding out how to locate and verify that and I need to get back on Photoshop soon as mI have  a deadline - thanks

  • My Yahoo Toolbar is gone. I tried re-installing it several times but it just won't work.

    '''My Yahoo Toolbar has disappeared'. I tried re-installing it several times but it just won't appear in the Toolbar space. I looked in the Toolbar view and it is checked. I even tried unchecking and re-checking the Yahoo Toolbar view. No luck. Please help. I use that toolbar constantly.''

    Could be. They're in the midst of updating their servers at the moment so expect the odd mishap now and again.
    Oh, and could you click the "Solved" button so that it takes this thread out of the loop?
    Thanks.

Maybe you are looking for