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HELP ! why cant I click on the Apple or open any programs ????

EarthDawn

EarthDawn

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Feb 18, 2008
883
10
Long-eye Land, NY
OK.

I was syncing my iphone and when I came back to check on it all was good BUt it did not update and sync. I checked my iMac and it was not letting me do anything and it had closed iTunes ?
I tried clicking on the Apple in the top left corner to restart or even switch users and it would not let me. It kept reloading my home page !

I had to force it off with the power button and after serveral attempts including leaving it unplugged overnight, it still wont work.

If when i restart it I log in as another user though it works just fine .... but my User will not work correctly.

I cant even open a pic as it gives me an error and shows a blankspot where the pic should be....

ANY HELP !!!!!!!!! never ever had any issues EVER on a Mac and I am stumped.

I shot a quick video on my phone and uploaded it so you can see what I mean.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KsYEPNQktcA


.
 
Can you check the disc for errors? Run Onyx. Clear the cache?

Otherwise I would restart with the OSX disc in the machine. Boot up from the install disc by restarting holding down the "option" key. Then check for errors that way.

Or start in safe mode by restarting and holding down the space bar.

Run a backup before you do anything.
 
Kronie said:
Can you check the disc for errors? Run Onyx. Clear the cache?

Otherwise I would restart with the OSX disc in the machine. Boot up from the install disc by restarting holding down the "option" key. Then check for errors that way.

Or start in safe mode by restarting and holding down the space bar.

Run a backup before you do anything.
Click to expand...


Ill try those things out...

Do you have any thoughts on what would cause this ???

did you view the youtube of what it is doing ?


THANKS !!!!!!
 
Did you "try those things out"?

I saw the video. Looks like your OS is corrupted somehow. I have no idea what could or did cause your issue.
 
I could not get it into safe mode

the other user has full admin ability so since I had upgraded to snow leopard I am re-installing that to see if it fixes it.

It's acting like under my user that something is stuck running etc. andnwont let me do anything.

This is the first time in 8 years I have ever had an issue of any kind like this so I am not about to complain at all.

I'll update how this goes.... I have about 51 more minutes till it's done.
 
I had some real strange problems like this about 4 days after 10.6.2 release - I had not yet updated but that is about when similar things like what your video shows started to happen to me. I didn't know what it was - thought it was because I had a massive gaming session the night before in Win 7 like 10 hours straight of WoW and COD4 and Dragon Age and Borderlands and maybe something was fried. Indeed my iMac (last gen 24" 3.06 C2D 8GB DDR3 RAM and ATi HD 4850) was hot enough to make biscuits and gravy, but all was running fine and gaming was smooth as usual and all was good when I and my Mac went to sleep. Next morning not so.

Well after some rebooting time and time again I decided I was in the mood to do some early winter cleaning on my computers anyway and decided to wipe and reinstall clean on this particular iMac, migrating what I needed only in later on. All is well and my 'puter running like she was new. For what it's worth I did update to 10.6.2 despite the RUMORS round' here :). Good luck and by all means post back and let us all know what you decided to do and how things turn out.

* Edit * After another beer and reading my post (come on you do it to you know it!) I want to add that at first I in fact did a clean wipe - then rebooted and restored from a Time Machine Backup from only one week earlier. It was my first time doing a full restore using TM / 1GB TC and I was truly blown away at how seamless and successfully it worked (oh the long nights you would have saved me in the field years ago). It was only after learning how well a TM backup restore would work that I found the confidence to wipe clean my hard drive again, and migrate only what I wanted- iTunes, Pictures, Browser Prefs Bookmarks and the like (long time GMail user ]go go iMap[ so no worry's ever on bringing my emails with) and good to go.
 
Trying to install using snow leopard failed about a 1/3 into it. I got the big yellow yield sign ....

While I don't have a TM backup, stupid I know, all my movies and pics are on external drives.

It's just wierd to have it NOT work under one user but then have it work on another. iTunes loads fine as does iMovie and garage band etc. So I really don't understand what's going on.

Ill try and download onyx tomorrow morning when I get home from work to see if it helps otherwise I'll be calling apple support to see if I can get some support before I bring it down to the apple store.... Not AppleCare and it's 2 years old this past August.

I have the original discs that have the OS X leopard that it came with but not sure what that would due now that it has snow leopard on it....
 
well I have a 6:40 apple appointment tonight so ill be finding out soon enough whats going on ...

I came home this morning and it would only boot up till it got to the blue screen with the spinning wheel and thats where it stayed.

Online tech worked with me and we could not get it into safe mode.

PS... the tech I got on the phone from Apple Support was great and very helpful.
 
Well it's the hard drive that's died a slow death

And they don't have it in stock...

Would be $359 to swap it out and a few days turn around.

They said doing it myself would be tricky as the glass has to come out....
 
EarthDawn said:
Well it's the hard drive that's died a slow death

And they don't have it in stock...

Would be $359 to swap it out and a few days turn around.

They said doing it myself would be tricky as the glass has to come out....
Click to expand...


Do it yourself you'll not only save a ton of time and money but will lessen the frustration from waiting and wondering. By the way it's easy to break open an iMac. You'll feel like a man once you do it. Here is one of many many videos online that show what you need and how easy it is. BTW this procedure shown on this link is for the 24" but it's the same procedure for the new i5/i7 units. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Xs_1QCyPAg Just think you can probably go out buy a new hard drive right now and some suction cups and have your iMac back to working like new in the next couple of hours vs days.
 
itommyboy said:
Do it yourself you'll not only save a ton of time and money but will lessen the frustration from waiting and wondering. By the way it's easy to break open an iMac. You'll feel like a man once you do it. Here is one of many many videos online that show what you need and how easy it is. BTW this procedure shown on this link is for the 24" but it's the same procedure for the new i5/i7 units. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Xs_1QCyPAg Just think you can probably go out buy a new hard drive right now and some suction cups and have your iMac back to working like new in the next couple of hours vs days.
Click to expand...


that was my thought... especially after seeing a Seagate Barracuda 500 gig sata for 74.99 at Best Buy !!!


PS.. I have the 20" iMac Aluminum...

Ill take that baby apart tonight and go to best buy in the morning to get it and start loading in the OS...


MUCH thanks to all the help I got in this thread !!! :apple:
 
hoo rah !!!

40 minutes from start to finish to install a new HD... 500gig Seagate Barracuda

Piece of cake !

took about 3 hours to get the OS back in as I had Tiger on the original discs lol

then used the leopard and then the snow leopard...

and of course I setup Time Machine ;)


$81 with tax !!!
 
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