Cannot shut down.. Any advice?

[fictionaire]

I've been using the Tiger OS on my IMac G5 for a couple of months now. Recently I've been experiencing some problems, the biggest of which are that I can neither shut down nor restart the computer. I can however put it to sleep. Also, I can't activate the Force Quit function, either via keyboard shortcut or the menu bar. Safari is operating at hardly an optimum level, constantly stalling (at almost every loading of page!).

Any tips or advice would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

 

[Fallooza]

hold the power button in, keep holding it till if shuts off.

 

[PowerBookG4]

repair permissions... and zap pram... not sure really what is stored in the pram but when you clear it, it tends to make problems go away..

 

[fictionaire]

Fallooza, at the moment that's what I'm doing (manually shutting down the computer) but I'm worried that might be doing the computer more harm than good.

PowerBook G4, repair permissions? How do I go about doing that?

Thanks guys.

 

[badmojo]

Go here:

HD > Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility.app

Select "Macintosh HD" from the left pane

Below that, click on "Repair Permissions".

Restart after it runs.

 

[fictionaire]

I did the above. Now the problem seems to have gotten worse.

In addition to the problems before, I can't open 'Applications' at all now.. Everytime I try to open it, it hangs.

Any other suggestions/possible remedies? Will reinstalling the OS help?

Thanks.

 

[schweb]

What programs do you have running when this happens? What programs automatically start when you boot up?

Have you installed any modifcations or hacks?

 

[fictionaire]

Mac Down

It has happened with a variety of programs. Word, ITunes, Safari, Finder, etc. Word is particularly problematic - I can't save any documents at all.

I haven't installed any mods or hacks. At least, not that I know of. I have noticed however that my Limewire program seems to have disappeared from my list of applications. I have not uninstalled or tried to remove the program. It just disappeared.

When the problems first surfaced, the Limewire icon in the dock had a question mark over it. I've since removed the icon from the dock.

A number of functions on the Apple menu list like 'About this Mac', 'Restart', 'Shut down', 'Force Quit, do not work at all.

I have done repair permissions using both disk utility and the Cocktail program, but nothing's changed.

Should I reformat my Mac?

Thanks and regards.

What programs do you have running when this happens? What programs automatically start when you boot up?

Have you installed any modifcations or hacks?