iMac Kernal Panic on Start-Up

trtamtrtam
Posted:
in Genius Bar edited January 2014
I have a slot-loading iMac G3 with Mac OS X 10.2.8 which I occasionally use to back-up files onto.



Recently, after I used the Open Firmware Console to disable the firmware password (so I could use target disk mode), the computer immediately upon start-up displays the graphical kernel panic dialog "You need to restart your computer..."



I still have access to the firmware console and target disk mode.



Basically, how do I resolve this issue? I have re-enabled the firmware password using the console which did not resolve anything.



Mahalo,

Travis

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 3
    toymakertoymaker Posts: 30member
    I'd be booting up using the install disks and get Disk Utility going. It's possible that it's a permissions/filesystem issue and a disk check may do the trick.
  • Reply 2 of 3
    trtamtrtam Posts: 111member
    Thanks, Toymaker.



    I tried what you said to do, but I still have the kernel panic issue.



    I then tried to "Verify Disk" and it showed this error:



    Invalid volume free block count

    (It should be 1518808 instead of 1520252)



    "Repair Disk" rendered: "Repair completed."



    However, even after this, I still have the kernel issue.



    Is it possible that it is a RAM issue or other hardware issue?
  • Reply 3 of 3
    toymakertoymaker Posts: 30member
    Ok, At work I deal with many a mac that is having similar problems to yours, and when I get an "invalid block count" error which can't be repaired by Disk Utility, it usually means one of three things, which I perform in the following order:





    -I need to try another disk checking software. I use DiskWarrior. It's similar in purpose to Disk Utility, but generally can find and repair things that the Apple utility can't. If it turns out that the hardware is at fault, this software will report it as a "disk malfunction".



    -The disk is irreperably corrupted. I should copy any data off that I can using target disk mode, and re-install the OS.



    -The disk itself has become faulty and needs to be replaced.





    Looking at the age of the mac in question, I'd say that any of the 3 above are entirely possible.



    As for other hardware being at fault, it's possible that the Logic Board or RAM have caused a problem, but replacing them at this stage would be unlikely to fix the problem, since the damage to the disk/data has already been done.
Sign In or Register to comment.