Fairly recent switcher, huge problem @ late hour
I baught a Mac Mini in February, and up until now it's been running Panther with no trouble at all.
About two hours ago, however, while I was playing music and typing rather rapidly in Adium, the joyus beachball from hell appeared and, to my chagrin, the whole compute was frozen. Not even Alt/Apple/Control/Esc would work, so I cold booted 'er. When I turned 'er back on, it took FOREVER to load anything, and showed only a prohibited symbol (circle with line through it) where the loading screen Apple would usually be.
It has remained like this through several attempted boots. I don't happen to have my recovery CD here.
Anyone care to share some wisdom, please????
About two hours ago, however, while I was playing music and typing rather rapidly in Adium, the joyus beachball from hell appeared and, to my chagrin, the whole compute was frozen. Not even Alt/Apple/Control/Esc would work, so I cold booted 'er. When I turned 'er back on, it took FOREVER to load anything, and showed only a prohibited symbol (circle with line through it) where the loading screen Apple would usually be.
It has remained like this through several attempted boots. I don't happen to have my recovery CD here.
Anyone care to share some wisdom, please????
Comments
http://forums.appleinsider.com/showt...threadid=32364
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106805
Troubleshoot if a "broken folder" icon, prohibitory sign, or kernel panic appears when Mac OS X starts up.
This document can help when:
A "broken folder" or prohibitory sign appears during startup.
Note: The prohibitory sign replaces the "broken folder" in Mac OS X 10.2 or later.
A kernel panic occurs during startup.
A miscellaneous startup issue occurs.
Reset NVRAM and reselect startup volume
Reset the NVRAM and PRAM. See Note: Resetting NVRAM/PRAM may change some system settings and preferences. For example, your volume and mouse speed settings may change. You can use System Preferences to restore preferred settings.
Hold the "X" key during startup. This may force the computer to start up to Mac OS X. If it does, open System Preferences and be sure that your Mac OS X System Folder is selected.
If the issue is resolved, stop here.
The rest is to long and hopefully this will solve your problem. Also repair permissions after you get it backup.
reg
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=2238
Resetting PRAM and NVRAM
1. Shut down the computer.
2. Locate the following keys on the keyboard: Command, Option, P, and R. You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously in step 4.
3. Turn on the computer.
4. Press and hold the Command-Option-P-R keys. You must press this key combination before the gray screen appears.
5. Hold the keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the startup sound for the second time.
6. Release the keys.
Your computer's PRAM and the NVRAM are reset to the default values. The clock settings may be reset to a default date on some models.
reg