Computer Hangs on Boot

[BlueRevolution]

I just formatted my hard drive and reinstalled a fresh copy of Tiger. Software update ran, everything installed except DVD Player, which failed. It told me to restart, so I did.

Now when I try to boot, it just hangs at the Apple logo with the spinner spinning and spinning...

I've tried resetting the SMU, the PRAM and booting from my Tiger install DVD again. None of them have worked. If anyone has any ideas I'd very much appreciate hearing them, until I get my baby working again I'm stuck with using a Windows 98 box over a dial-up connection.

EDIT: ok, managed to get it booted to the DVD, nuked everything and reinstalled. so far so good, but I'm running Software update now so we'll see what happens when I restart. wish me luck.

I just noticed that I capitalize the first letter of sentences when I'm using an unfamiliar keyboard but not with my trusty milk-laced Apple keyboard. bizarre.

 

[MacsRgr8]

EDIT: ok, managed to get it booted to the DVD, nuked everything and reinstalled. so far so good, but I'm running Software update now so we'll see what happens when I restart. wish me luck.

Good luck!

 

[BlueRevolution]

thank you

while Software Update is running, I have a new question. I just bought a 250 gb external hard drive and I want to make sure the data on it is secure (ie. if it gets stolen nobody can get at my files). what's the best way to do this?

EDIT: also, I want to use part of the external to backup my 80 gb internal drive. should I partition it and make a RAID between the internal and one partition on the external or is there a better way to go about it?

 

[MacsRgr8]

Best way, IMHO, to create a password protected storage, is to make an encrypted diskimage.

Open Disk Utility.
Click on "New Image"
Choose an apropriate size (the hard part...)
Select the AES-128 Encryption
Choose for the Read / Write Disk Image (default)
Save on the external HD

When you click on "Create", you will be prompted for the password.
You could choose to deactivate adding the password to your keychain, resulting in having to type the password every time you want to open the image.

Once mounted on your desktop, you can add / remove files on it!

Good luck once again.

 

[BlueRevolution]

that would do the trick... the only thing that worries me is that if the dmg gets corrupted I've lost everything. I'm not sure I feel safe putting all my stuff in one file. or am I just being paranoid?

 

[frankblundt]

also, I want to use part of the external to backup my 80 gb internal drive. should I partition it and make a RAID between the internal and one partition on the external or is there a better way to go about it?

RAID seems like overkill. A utility like Xupport will create a (bootable) backup of your system on an external partition.
I find Sychronize X good too for updating backups.

 

[BlueRevolution]

the drive is USB, so having a bootable backup is a moot point.

edit: I'll check out Synchronize X, but I'd be interested to hear why you consider RAID 1 to be overkill. by my understanding a RAID 1 would result in faster access times and instant backups. though would there be a problem with running the computer with the external drive off?

 

[MacsRgr8]

You are not being paranoid.

This is the case with all File Systems. Partitioned hard drives, mounted AFP volumes (gotta trust your SysAdmins for that ), Disk Images....

Always make sure you keep a backup of your important data, preferrably on a medium you can keep with you (DVD).

So, keep the files on an encypted disk image, and backup frequently.

 

[MacsRgr8]

... oops ...

Sorry, double post

 

[frankblundt]

the drive is USB, so having a bootable backup is a moot point.

ah. There are a lot of utilities out there for backing up besides Sync X (CarbonCopy seems to get good reviews) - i've just found it the easiest to use - which means i keep it up to date more frequently. Xupport's good as a general maintenance utility also.

 

[BlueRevolution]

So, keep the files on an encypted disk image, and backup frequently.

that's the problem. I don't have the money for another 250 gb drive, and I only have a Combo drive in my computer. so I'm planning to use the drive for massive files where it's not the end of the world if I lose them. for example, as a scratch disk for video editing. still, I would rather minimize the chance of that happening.