OS X keeps asking to restart on boot up. Help!

Sorry if this is not in the right forum section but I have searched many a forums the las 24 hrs.

My cousins Mac book pro we got in Feb of this year keeps on telling her to restart when she boots up. This started after she updated the other day. (Stupid Iphone crap update and apple) Well anyway she is in Greece and I'm in CO trying to help her out. We have tried safe boot and it will not safe boot. Tried many other things and commands and none have worked or helped. This is the only computer she has access to over there besides the work desktop and basially needs it to do work at home. any help is appreciated. If you post up something that we have tried I will let you know. Have tried to clear VRAM and i think it was PRM but nothing worked. Command+Option+O+F does not work either. I want to try all possible solutions before I have to go to her house and send her parents house here and find the CD's to send overseas.

GreekMac said:

My cousins Mac book pro we got in Feb of this year keeps on telling her to restart when she boots up. This started after she updated the other day. I want to try all possible solutions.

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From what you've described, this reads like a kernel panic, which is caused by something not quite right in the hardware eg. slightly loose RAM stick or video card. Maybe the computer was bumped or banged accidentally.

Kernel panics are identified by a black panel appearing on the screen, with several languages, prompting a restart. Your cousin might need to check several things in/on her Macbook, or have that done at an Apple repair shop.

I will see if she's bumped it any time at all. Really I doubt anything should have com loose. I have dropped my laptop from about 4ft and nothing happend but cosmetic damage. Only if she were here I could check it cause I know she doesn't know how and what to look for.

This started immediatly after she updated the other day. and yes it is a Kernel Panic. Don't know what color the panel is but it does have 3 languages. Already verified last night. Will get back to you as soon as she txts back. .15 cents to txt overseas.

hughvane said:

From what you've described, this reads like a kernel panic, which is caused by something not quite right in the hardware eg. slightly loose RAM stick or video card. Maybe the computer was bumped or banged accidentally.

Kernel panics are identified by a black panel appearing on the screen, with several languages, prompting a restart. Your cousin might need to check several things in/on her Macbook, or have that done at an Apple repair shop.

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Verified. She has not dropped it or bumped it at all. She is very picky on how she takes car of her things. She doesn't even have a sratch on her phone. Any ideas. Just got back from the apple store and they want me to make an appointment to come back to talke to a "Genius" in 2 days.

I would have her reseat the ram. It is not uncommon for one dimm to come loose. Just pull both sticks out and put them back in. If that does not fix it then I would try an OS reinstall. If it still does not work then it is time to see a genius.

babarnette said:

I would have her reseat the ram. It is not uncommon for one dimm to come loose. Just pull both sticks out and put them back in. If that does not fix it then I would try an OS reinstall. If it still does not work then it is time to see a genius.

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Thanks for the help babarnette and hughvane. I will search youtube on how to take it apart so I can make it easy on her. Is there any where in this forum you can piont me to that has pics or a tutorial of what to do to get to the RAM. Or can you tell me yourself. Have never taken a look under a macbook. Hope it's easy enoough to take apart as my HP. One screw and a door and I'm there. I'll post up and let you all know how it goes. If it works then I hope this will help others that have had the same problem.

Update: I found a video it is easy enough. Remove battery and three screws. I will let her know if she wants to attempt it. Thanks again. I'll report the new back ASAP.

Any news?

She says she doesn't want to take out the ram. I've explained that it's easy and decided she should try it before I send out the CD's since the way the macbook holds the Sticks really doesn't look so secure. If I send the CD's and it is pointless cause if it is the ram sticks she can't do a reinstall anyways.

She claims she can't get a screwdriver that size. It's also pointless for her to go to a comp store unless they do this for free for her. It'll only take 2 min if she gets a screwdriver. So frustrating cause I'm wasting my money in phone calls and txts overseas to help her when she doesn't want to do the work to fix it.

I feel your pain. I guess you can't help someone that doesn't want to help themselves. It really shouldn't be hard to find a screwdriver small enough, any computer store should have one for no more than a few dollars. Oh well, let us know if she changes her mind and how it turns out.

I'm glad you feel my pain. LOL. Is that strange? In her case it'd only be a few Euro and she said that there is a shop near here that works on computers. I'm sure they sell screwdrivers there. But what can I do. Oh well I guess. I will let you know if she decides to stop being stubborn and take action.

Thanks for your help.

GreekMac said:

she said that there is a shop near here that works on computers. I'm sure they sell screwdrivers there.

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Or at a hardware store. Suitable small screwdrivers are dirt cheap.

Doesn't it water you right off when someone asks for your help and then won't accept what you offer? Your cousin's protests are a mask for lack of confidence. It's hard to deal with but be persistent, and encourage her as much as you can. In the end, if she isn't going to try the repair then she'll have to fork out some money to pay someone else to do it, simple as that. You've done your best.

Ok so after a day of her thinking about it we got somewhere. She couldn't (didn't want to find a screwdriver so I told her to just take a steak knife to it. She took the ram sticks out and put them back in. She said. Oh that's all I had to do.

Well started the comp back up and still the same thing. I'm going to send her the CD's soon. Is it possible to reinstall the OS but not lose any docs and program installs? I read something somewhere about a Archive and reinstall. Is there a repair feature when she boots from the CD that will just fix anything wrong? Don't know much about Mac's and their OS other than they are not for me.

Thanks all for the help.

GreekMac said:

She took the ram sticks out and put them back in. She said. Oh that's all I had to do.

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Okay. I'm still left to wonder if those RAM sticks are seated properly, or if something has happened to them (eg. a power spike). There are simple little applications that will test the RAM.

However, let's move to the next possibility, and that is the video card. That means taking the Macbook apart, and I wouldn't recommend that, especially as the MB is only a few months old and probably still under warranty.

I'm going to send her the CD's soon. Is it possible to reinstall the OS but not lose any docs and program installs? I read something somewhere about a Archive and reinstall.

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That's correct, Archive and Install. I've never done it myself, but I'm about to learn how when I fix my eMac's hard drive.

Is there a repair feature when she boots from the CD that will just fix anything wrong?

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Yes, it's Disk Utilities, which (from memory) can be found in the File Menu once the computer has been booted from the install CDs (dvds?). The disks MUST be the right ones for that model of Mac. DO NOT attempt to reinstall the OS until disk repair has been attempted. Repair is not guaranteed but the kernel panic, if that's what the problem is, should be fixable.

Do you and your cousin know how to boot from the installation Disk 1? If not, either search the Forum or post back. Good luck, your cousin owes you a free meal out somewhere .

Did she ever get it working?