won't do a reinstall

Joined
Apr 20, 2011
Messages
10
Reaction score
0
Points
1
this is a odd problem my friend lost her password so she goes in to single user mode and types

mount -uw /
rm -rf /var/db/.AppleSetupDone
shutdown -h now

Now i know the -rf shouldn't be there
anyway it messes it up and sticks it in a start up loop
now when i hold down C to start it from the disk I just get a grey screen
Please help.

Other then that when it starts there is sound and the apple logo but all it does is spin until it resets
 
Joined
Oct 22, 2010
Messages
2,571
Reaction score
79
Points
48
Location
Bretforton, Worcestershire
Your Mac's Specs
MacBook Pro 15" 2014, 2.2GHz i7, 16GB RAM, 250GB SSD, OSX 10.9.5 - iPhone 5s 16gb
She didn't need the "shutdown -h now" part either, if she has just done the "exit" command it would have continued booting then got the "Welcome to OSX" screen.
Doing the shutdown command may have made the system think there was a problem.
Have you tried starting up in safe mode to see if that gets you anywhere? Hold the shift key just after you hear the startup chime.

Hope this helps

- Simon
 
Joined
Oct 22, 2010
Messages
2,571
Reaction score
79
Points
48
Location
Bretforton, Worcestershire
Your Mac's Specs
MacBook Pro 15" 2014, 2.2GHz i7, 16GB RAM, 250GB SSD, OSX 10.9.5 - iPhone 5s 16gb
The best thing to do would probably to buy an external USB enclosure, backup everything she needs from it then wipe it clean, put it back into the machine and re-install the OS again.

- Simon
 
OP
S
Joined
Apr 20, 2011
Messages
10
Reaction score
0
Points
1
the thing is how Do i wipe it clean? I can't figure out how
the **** thing is stuck in a start up loop and I can't access the Install disk
 

chscag

Well-known member
Staff member
Admin
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Messages
65,248
Reaction score
1,833
Points
113
Location
Keller, Texas
Your Mac's Specs
2017 27" iMac, 10.5" iPad Pro, iPhone 8, iPhone 11, iPhone 12 Mini, Numerous iPods, Monterey
Try a PRAM - NVRAM reset, and then see if you can boot from the startup disk. LINK
 

chscag

Well-known member
Staff member
Admin
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Messages
65,248
Reaction score
1,833
Points
113
Location
Keller, Texas
Your Mac's Specs
2017 27" iMac, 10.5" iPad Pro, iPhone 8, iPhone 11, iPhone 12 Mini, Numerous iPods, Monterey
Make sure you're trying to boot that machine with the correct install disk. OS X install media is specific for the hardware and attempting to boot with a disk that's not for the machine will often result in what you're experiencing.

It would also help if you had provided some details about the machine: Model, year, and which version of OS X it's running.
 

Shop Amazon


Shop for your Apple, Mac, iPhone and other computer products on Amazon.
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon and affiliated sites.
Top