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Hello and thanks in advance for reading my topic and attempting to help me out. I have used these forums for a long time, but this is my first ever post as, although the blue screen issue has been discussed at length here and other places, nothing that I've read so far has been able to help me resolve my problem, so I appreciate your understanding and patience.
I am currently running my intel macbook in safe mode, as it's the only way I can get it to start. It's old; I purchased it over three years ago, but I have not had a problem with it until now. Recently, last Christmas to be specific, I switched the OS from Leopard to Snow Leopard. It ran fine for weeks, but today, I switched my macbook on to find the apple loading/gear screen taking longer than usual before finally switching over to the light blue screen where it remains. I cannot load from either my Snow Leopard or original Leopard install discs (which has me nervous, since I can't even reinstall my OS) and I have tried many suggested remedies to no avail.
Here is a list of the things I have attempted thus far:
1) Booting from Install Discs by holding C at start-up. Whether I do this with the Snow Leopard disc that I recently purchased or the original Leopard disc that came with my computer, the result is the same: the screen remains stuck on the spinning apple gear and does not continue.
2) Trying to load Install Discs from safe mode. It asks me to enter my password, then restarts the computer, and then, once again, becomes stuck at the spinning gear. When I attempt this, I cannot re-enter safe mode again until I eject the Install disc from my drive at start-up by holding the mousepad down, as I believe the computer is by default trying to load from the disc.
3) Entering single-user mode and typing in "fsck -fy". After attempting this, it tells me that "the volume Macintosh HD appears to be okay." After typing exit, it goes immediately to the blue screen.
4) Resetting the PRAM and NVRAM. I have tried this, following the exact steps that Apple lists on its website and waiting until the second start-up noise, but the results are the same: blue screen.
5) Resetting the System Management Controller. I'm not quite sure what this is or what it does, but resetting it, as others have suggested, has not helped.
6) Verifying and Repairing HD in safe mode through disk utility. It tells me that everything is okay, but upon a restart, I still get the blue screen.
7) Trying to reboot HD using time machine in safe mode. For some reason, time machine is not working properly in safe mode, and does not load the way that it normally does, although it still allows me to back up my HD.
If anyone has any advice as to what to try next, I would very much appreciate your suggestions. I can provide you with any information that you need, that is, if it's available through safe mode and you can instruct me on how to access it. I am not opposed to reinstalling the OS completely and all my important files are backed up, but, like I mentioned above, I am not currently able to boot from my install discs. To further complicate matters, my applecare protection ran out just two months ago, and I am currently living in a French speaking country where the closest apple service center is hours away (and I don't speak French). I use my macbook a lot to write, as well as to Skype back home, but I can't get either my word processor or Skype to work in safe mode, completely rendering my life meaningless.
Thanks again.
I am currently running my intel macbook in safe mode, as it's the only way I can get it to start. It's old; I purchased it over three years ago, but I have not had a problem with it until now. Recently, last Christmas to be specific, I switched the OS from Leopard to Snow Leopard. It ran fine for weeks, but today, I switched my macbook on to find the apple loading/gear screen taking longer than usual before finally switching over to the light blue screen where it remains. I cannot load from either my Snow Leopard or original Leopard install discs (which has me nervous, since I can't even reinstall my OS) and I have tried many suggested remedies to no avail.
Here is a list of the things I have attempted thus far:
1) Booting from Install Discs by holding C at start-up. Whether I do this with the Snow Leopard disc that I recently purchased or the original Leopard disc that came with my computer, the result is the same: the screen remains stuck on the spinning apple gear and does not continue.
2) Trying to load Install Discs from safe mode. It asks me to enter my password, then restarts the computer, and then, once again, becomes stuck at the spinning gear. When I attempt this, I cannot re-enter safe mode again until I eject the Install disc from my drive at start-up by holding the mousepad down, as I believe the computer is by default trying to load from the disc.
3) Entering single-user mode and typing in "fsck -fy". After attempting this, it tells me that "the volume Macintosh HD appears to be okay." After typing exit, it goes immediately to the blue screen.
4) Resetting the PRAM and NVRAM. I have tried this, following the exact steps that Apple lists on its website and waiting until the second start-up noise, but the results are the same: blue screen.
5) Resetting the System Management Controller. I'm not quite sure what this is or what it does, but resetting it, as others have suggested, has not helped.
6) Verifying and Repairing HD in safe mode through disk utility. It tells me that everything is okay, but upon a restart, I still get the blue screen.
7) Trying to reboot HD using time machine in safe mode. For some reason, time machine is not working properly in safe mode, and does not load the way that it normally does, although it still allows me to back up my HD.
If anyone has any advice as to what to try next, I would very much appreciate your suggestions. I can provide you with any information that you need, that is, if it's available through safe mode and you can instruct me on how to access it. I am not opposed to reinstalling the OS completely and all my important files are backed up, but, like I mentioned above, I am not currently able to boot from my install discs. To further complicate matters, my applecare protection ran out just two months ago, and I am currently living in a French speaking country where the closest apple service center is hours away (and I don't speak French). I use my macbook a lot to write, as well as to Skype back home, but I can't get either my word processor or Skype to work in safe mode, completely rendering my life meaningless.
Thanks again.