02-26-2012, 01:11 AM

i have tried to boot my Mac in safe mode. i could not type at the command prompt. i could not boot (COMMAND + R) at the start up either. do you have any other ideas? my Mac is about 6-7 years old

02-26-2012, 01:15 AM

Please do not hi-jack someone else's thread. I moved your post to a separate thread by itself.

02-26-2012, 04:09 PM

Originally Posted by jengles

i have tried to boot my Mac in safe mode. i could not type at the command prompt. i could not boot (COMMAND + R) at the start up either. do you have any other ideas? my Mac is about 6-7 years old

If your Mac is "6-7 years old" it could not possibly be running Lion, so command-r will do nothing for you.

I didn't see whatever thread you previously posted in, but a better description of your system (including what OS version if you know it), what the problem is and what you've done so far would be helpful.

As I understand this fragment of a post, you say you tried to boot up in Safe Mode (by holding down the Shift key, right?) but couldn't type when you got to the login screen. Are you using a wireless keyboard? If so, do you have access to a USB keyboard (even a PC one would do)? If you do, try it again using that keyboard instead of the wireless one and let us know if that helps.

02-26-2012, 11:59 PM

I have a little laptop. I do not know what OS I'm running. I don't know anything about the workings of the computer; I know that right now, it's not working.

02-27-2012, 02:48 AM

Okay. So you're saying the built-in keyboard on the laptop isn't letting you type in your password when you boot in safe mode.

Next questions, but I have a feeling I know the answers:

1. Do you have the original System DVD or CD that came with your laptop?

2. Do you have a backup?

02-27-2012, 08:05 PM

I cannot use my CD drive. The drive has been jammed for about a year. I cannot eject the disk that's stuck in the drive. I am hoping that I can get some important information of my laptop. I have pretty much given up on my Mac ever working again.

02-27-2012, 09:10 PM

You didn't actually answer my questions, but nevermind, I have some new ones:

1. When you say "cannot eject" the stuck disc, do you mean "I have already tried the standard ways of getting the disk to eject, such as holding the mouse key down for a long time on startup until the drive attempts to eject the disk"?

2. Does your laptop have a Firewire port?

02-27-2012, 11:15 PM

The disk eject motor tries to eject the disk but it doesn't eject the disk.

I am pretty sure that the computer has a FireWire port; it's opposite the disk slot.

Sorry for dodging your questions the first time.

02-28-2012, 02:30 AM

Focusing on the stuck disc for a moment, have you tried this:

Turn the laptop so that the disk drive slot is facing downwards (balancing the non-disk portion of the laptop on a table is often helpful) and try the disk eject trick I described before again. Gravity may be able to budge the thing a little further so that you can grab the disk with your fingers (it might even just fall out).

Now then, about the Firewire port: if you have one, and a Firewire cable and access to another Mac, you can connect the two machines together via the cable. Turn on the "bad" machine and hold down the T key and keep holding it till you get a giant firewire symbol on screen.

The other Mac should then be able to "see" the bad Mac's hard drive as though it was an external drive, allowing you to run utility programs on it or just recover the important files (the latter being the first priority I think).