Startup problem

milamila
Posted:
in Genius Bar edited January 2014
Hello boys,

When I start my Mac (PB, OS X), the startup screen freezes, and there is a message (in the left corner) saying :

etc/master.passwd: No such file or directory

etc/master.passwd: No such file or directory

sh-2.05a#

Can someone please help me.

Thanks honey

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 10
    altivec_2.0altivec_2.0 Posts: 995member
    Easiest way is to start up from a OS 9 disk backup all important data, and reformat and install...
  • Reply 2 of 10
    milamila Posts: 6member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Altivec_2.0

    Easiest way is to start up from a OS 9 disk backup all important data, and reformat and install...



    The problem is that I've no OS9 backup disk

    Could it be a virus on my Mac ?

    Thanks Al
  • Reply 3 of 10
    kickahakickaha Posts: 8,760member
    Er, no. Not a virus.



    Sounds like you had a bit of disk corruption that took out an unfortunate file needed for booting... :/



    Don't suppose you removed this file yourself, by any chance?
  • Reply 4 of 10
    milamila Posts: 6member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Kickaha

    Er, no. Not a virus.



    Sounds like you had a bit of disk corruption that took out an unfortunate file needed for booting... :/



    Don't suppose you removed this file yourself, by any chance?



    I just removed Adobe Acrobat Reader 6 before, because it seemed corrupted.
  • Reply 5 of 10
    milamila Posts: 6member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Mila

    I just removed Adobe Acrobat Reader 6 before, because it seemed corrupted.



    So, I guess I've to reinstall OS X ...

    Will I lose some of my datas ?

    How do I install the new version ?

    I'm such a novice
  • Reply 6 of 10
    kickahakickaha Posts: 8,760member
    PowerBook, huh? Which model?



    You are likely best off if you connect it to another machine in FireWire Target Mode, and run Disk Utility on it before doing anything else... sounds like you have some bad juju happening.



    Yes, that's a technical term. Juju. It's a step above fubar.
  • Reply 7 of 10
    kickahakickaha Posts: 8,760member
    Okay, reinstalling OS X *shouldn't* wipe any of your data... but it won't help fix anything if you have disk corruption.



    Here's a first step to try...





    Reboot, but do so holding down the 'S' key, until the screen goes black with white writing.



    When it gets to the prompt 'sh-2.05a', type in exactly what it says to do in the line above the prompt, as far as the 'fsck' command. Don't worry about the mount command. Just do the fsck. This does a disk check, and will repair anything it can. Do the same command multiple times, until it comes back OK twice in a row. (If it *doesn't*, then you're going to have to wipe the disk clean to erase the damage before reinstalling.)



    Then type 'reboot now'.



    Your machine should reboot. See how far it gets.



    At this point you *should* be able to reinstall from the CDs and they will just replace the missing files, leaving your files intact. Assuming all goes well above, of course.
  • Reply 8 of 10
    milamila Posts: 6member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Kickaha

    PowerBook, huh? Which model?



    You are likely best off if you connect it to another machine in FireWire Target Mode, and run Disk Utility on it before doing anything else... sounds like you have some bad juju happening.



    Yes, that's a technical term. Juju. It's a step above fubar.



    How do I connect my PB to other Mac. Firewire ?

    And how do I start ?

    Where do I find Disk Utility ? (my other Mac is running under OS9).

    Thanks so much for your help
  • Reply 9 of 10
    kickahakickaha Posts: 8,760member
    Heh. Do the S key at reboot first. Then, IF it's needed, we'll get to the rest.
  • Reply 10 of 10
    milamila Posts: 6member
    Quote:

    Originally posted by Kickaha

    Heh. Do the S key at reboot first. Then, IF it's needed, we'll get to the rest.



    Thanks buddy
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