04-08-2010, 12:55 AM

Hi --

I've searched for answers to this question but with no luck.

I have an eMac running OS X. A few days ago it got sluggish, and I was unable to click on anything on the desktop. I could move open windows, but I could not minimize them, could not click on desktop items, or properly shut down my machine. I manually turned it off, and it has failed to boot ever since. I hear the start up sound and get the gray screen with the turning gear, but that screen never goes away. When I boot in verbose mode the last thing that appears is the message "Got boot device."

I have:
- disconnected all peripherals
- reset PRAM
- tried booting in safe mode (didn't work -- just got the gray screen)
- tried booting from OS X install disk (kept ejecting the disk)

Any advice? Is this likely a hard drive failure?

04-08-2010, 10:42 AM

Hold down the option key on boot and see if your HD shows up. It could be a bad hard drive, but given that it won't even boot from your install disk I suspect it's the logic board.

04-08-2010, 02:22 PM

Im going for HD is crashed. Open it up and pull the ribbon off the HD and try to boot from your OS disc.

04-08-2010, 04:35 PM

Originally Posted by Avenger2SER

Hold down the option key on boot and see if your HD shows up.

Thanks for the suggestion. It shows up, but when I click on the --> arrow it takes me back to the never ending gray screen. If the hd shows up does that prove something?

04-08-2010, 05:01 PM

It means it's still reading the HD so it might not be bad. What OS Disk were you trying to use to reinstall?

04-08-2010, 11:34 PM

I've tried two disks. I think the first was mislabeled (these are disks coming from the tech who runs the lab loaning me the computer for work purposes -- he is, by the way, absolutely no help in such matters) because the cd drawer kept ejecting it.

I tried the second disk tonight, and it wasn't ejected, but I could not get anything to happen when I held down 'c' during startup. Just the gray screen. It's an OS X Tiger install disk. I also tried Option-Command-Shift-Delete, and nothing happened. I just kept getting the gray screen.

Would FireWire Target Disk mode work if the target computer never fully boots? That way I could at least attempt to retrieve my files until I can figure this out. I haven't tried it yet because I don't have a cable.

04-09-2010, 12:38 AM

We have to persist here - *what* Tiger OS disk? For your eMac there are two options:
1. the grey, Restore disks that were issued with the eMac (there are usually two dvds)
2. the black, Retail version of Tiger.
Hopefully you have the latter.

Target disk mode might work, you can but try it, since Option-startup 'sees' your HD.

Let us know what happens ....... Hugh

04-09-2010, 08:31 PM

I'm not sure which ones they are. The tech guy gave me copied cds (I'm assuming he doesn't want to part with the originals) of what he said was installed on the machine. There are 4 disks.

Tonight I was able to boot in FWTD mode and retrieve all of my files, but when I ran Disk Utility on the drive I got the message that Verify had stopped because "The underlying task reported failure on exit." The verify log ended with:

Overlapped extent allocation (file 3807528 /System/Library/Frameworks/QuickTime.framework/Resources)
Overlapped extent allocation (file 3807536 /System/Library/Frameworks/QuickTime.framework/Versions/Current)
3807536 /System/Library/Frameworks/QuickTime.framework/Versions/Current
ocation (file %@)",1)
3811822 /System/Library/CoreServices/RemoteManagement/ARDAgent.app/Contents/PkgInfo
Overlapped extent allocation (file 3816610 /Applications/iTunes.app/Contents/Resources/iTunesHelper.app/Contents/PkgInfo)
Overlapped extent allocation (file 3826210 /System/Library/Frameworks/ApplicationServices.framework/Versions/A/Frameworks/ImageIO.framework/Versions/A/Resources/Info.plist)
Overlapped extent allocation (file Overlapped extent allocation (file ervices.framework/Versions/A/CoreServices)
Overlapped extent allocation (file 3829497 /usr/lib/libbsm.dylib)
Checking volume bitmap.
Volume Bit Map needs minor repair_
Checking volume information.
Invalid volume free block count_
(It should be 5621666 instead of 5621101)
The volume Dee needs to be repaired.

Error: The underlying task reported failure on exit


1 HFS volume checked
Volume needs repair

Can someone decode that for me? And does any of this explain why I can't boot from the cd? I keep wondering if the cd drive went bad, but then that wouldn't keep the computer from booting, right?

It seems to me that it would either be:
1. harddrive crash in which case I wouldn't be able to access the drive through FWTD mode
2. cd rom drive went bad in which I should be able to boot up like normal
3. corrupted system file (somehow) in which case I should be able to boot from cd

The fact that I can't boot from cd AND I can't boot normally just seems odd.

04-11-2010, 03:14 PM

There may be bad sectors of the hard drive, in particular the boot. In short, the repair job will require either a boot from your Tiger disk - which doesn't work - or Disk Warrior.

DW is an expensive animal @ ~US$100, so a visit to a technician who has DW to use might be your better option.

If feasible, I'd also suggest that you return the eMac to the tech who's lent it to you, so that the original Tiger disk can be used to attempt a repair.

I take it you used Disk Utility from the remote computer - because you cannot repair a volume from the faulty HD itself. It's good that you've at least been able to retrieve your important files.

04-13-2010, 11:05 PM

Yes, I ran Disk Utility from the remote computer.

Thanks everyone for the suggestions! They were much appreciated.

04-13-2010, 11:15 PM

Disc Warrior ($100 from Alsoft) will fix the problem with the directory (the overlapped stuff you posted), as hughvane suggested. It will fix this problem right up unless the hard drive is actually going bad.