[X-Unix] Re: Updates & login weirdness

[David Haines]

On 5/30/05 3:25 AM, "x-unix-request at listserver.themacintoshguy.com"
<x-unix-request at listserver.themacintoshguy.com> wrote:

> On Sat, May 28, 2005 at 01:46:21PM CDT, Ethan Rips <rips.ej at dreyfus.com>
> wrote:
> : 
> : I recently installed a bunch of software updates on my B&W G3/350MHz running
> : OS X 10.2.8, including OS X 10.3.9 & several security patches. On reboot,
> : the system hung on login processes, as an obvious result of which, I can't
> : log into my machine. I've been bequeathed my "new" old G4 from work (which
> : is why I'm in the office writing this e-mail on a Saturday), & I want to
> : retrieve data from the old old box to transfer to the new old box.
> : 
> : I logged in using single user mode & turned off the machine using shutdown.
> : However, I don't know enough command line stuff, nor do I know OS X's
> : architecture well enough to know how to find & clean up whatever's scrambled
> : in my startup login setup. Can anyone tell me what I should check, where &
> : by which commands?
> 
> You can try doing a safe boot by holding down the SHIFT key as soon as
> you turn on your G4.  If that doesn't work, consider re-installing Panther.


I'll second that: hold down the shift key after you hear the boot-chime,
and wait until you see "Safe boot mode" (or words to that effect).

If that works, then you likely have some bad .plist (preference) files in:
/<Macintosh HD>/Users/<your username>/Library/Preferences.

Drag that folder to the desktop, and reboot. NOTE that many applications
will -not- work as expected once you've removed the Prefs folder.

In dire situations, you can do the same in the command line, by following
the instructions shown as you finish booting single-user mode:
mount -uw /
and then hit the Enter or Return key to actually execute the command.

What it shows you is the full, or "literal" path, which you can also use:
/sbin/mount -uw /  

At which point, you'll want to do the following (this is not the most
graceful, but probably safest if you're new to the command-line):
cd /Users/<your username>/Library

(for example):
cd /Users/edreyfus/Library        ( I'm guessing here. It could be: eugene )
mv Preferences PreferencesBad
shudtown -r now


If you want to be more targetted in your approach, a common culprit is:
com.apple.loginwindow.plist
ie: 
cd/Users/edrefyus/Library
mv com.apple.loginwindow.plist com.apple.loginwindow.plist.com
(note the space between each "word" listed above)
though you might also want to rename
com.apple.finder.plist

You could also, once you've issued:
fsck -y
mount -uw /

diskutil repairPermissions /

and let that finish.
Although you can run Repair Permissions and also verify the drive, using
Disk Utility launched from one of the menus, while booted from the 10.3
installer CD.