Cocktail and caches - FineTunedMac

I have an occasional situation where the iMac, 10.6.1, will not start. A second try will solve the problem, and that may be it for a week or more. But, it really should not happen at all. Would the running of "Cocktail" with the box for clearing system caches, be of any value in this situation? All advice appreciated, thanks. Dvae

When the computer does not start, what exactly happens? Does the spinning gear endlessly spin? Gray screen stays? Blue screen stays? Please give as much detail as possible. Also, please tell us the model Mac that you have, amount of RAM, hard drive capacity and amount of free space on the drive. Anything else that might be relevant could be informative.

Originally Posted By: RichboroDave

I have an occasional situation where the iMac, 10.6.1, will not start. A second try will solve the problem, and that may be it for a week or more. But, it really should not happen at all. Would the running of "Cocktail" with the box for clearing system caches, be of any value in this situation? All advice appreciated, thanks. Dvae

Hi, Dave,

I think you're a new member, so hi, and welcome to FineTunedMac.

Clearing caches with Cocktail won't hurt your Mac any...might even help.

First thing I'd try, though, is booting from my install disc and running Utilities>Disk Utility>Repair Disk. (DiskWarrior, TechTool Pro, and Drive Genius are all preferable to DU.)

Also, I'd follow up on DU by "Starting up in Safe Mode," which clears some caches that Cocktail may miss, etc. ((What is Safe Boot, Safe Mode?))

Please keep us up-to-date on how you're making out.

To jchuzi and artie505. The machine is a 20in. iMac, runs 10.6.1, 2 gb memory . It has the normal hard drive, 320 gb, I think, and I do not have any elaborate games or graphics, so I assume there is plenty of space on the hard drive. The situation this morning was that I hit the power button, took care of some paperwork, and then realized that I had a gray screen, with the Apple logo, but no spinning gear( it may have been spinning when I was not looking at it and the quit, but I doubt it). This machine has been VERY reliable, that is one of the reasons I have been using them (Macs) for 19 years. I have never had much trouble, hence the lack of troubleshooting expertise.On occasion it has refused to wake up from sleep mode, but avoiding sleep seems to cure that rare quirk. I tried 2 or 3 times during the day to replicate the morning problem but could not. Maybe it was a one time fluke, but I suspect it will happen again. Any additional advice accepted, Thanks Dave

Since I posted the more complete description of the Mac and the problem, I tried the Safe Mode start procedure; figured it might help and would not hurt. I will shut down for the night and see what the morning brings when I hit the magic start button.. Dave

> Since I posted the more complete description of the Mac and the problem, I tried the Safe Mode start procedure; figured it might help and would not hurt.

Smart decision...good conclusion.

But don't forget to run "Repair Disk," too!

When you say to use the "Repair Disk" function from the install disk, do you mean the last install disk I have, the one used to install Snow Leopard? Dave

Originally Posted By: RichboroDave

When you say to use the "Repair Disk" function from the install disk, do you mean the last install disk I have, the one used to install Snow Leopard? Dave

Yes, that's it. Do not use a version of Disk Utility that was not made for Snow Leopard. This article was written before SL was released but the ideas are the same. Follow the instructions for 10.5 (using the 10.6 disk instead) and you should be fine.

Jon and Artie After 2 days no start-up problem, knock on wood! I did not do the disk repair, but not because I do not appreciate your advice. After years of tinkering with old machines, a 1952 MG and 2 cycle SAABs, for example, I follow the old habit of trying one cure at a time. Then if the problem is solved, you are pretty sure you know why. If the "Safe Boot" was the cure, great! I will try the next step, Disk Rep., if the problem starts again. Dave

Quote:

I follow the old habit of trying one cure at a time. Then if the problem is solved, you are pretty sure you know why.

Thanks for reminding us of that excellent practice!

Hopefully, the problem is solved. Safe Boot does many things during the boot process (see this for a complete list) so we may never know which one worked.

Originally Posted By: RichboroDave

Jon and Artie After 2 days no start-up problem, knock on wood! I did not do the disk repair, but not because I do not appreciate your advice. After years of tinkering with old machines, a 1952 MG and 2 cycle SAABs, for example, I follow the old habit of trying one cure at a time. Then if the problem is solved, you are pretty sure you know why. If the "Safe Boot" was the cure, great! I will try the next step, Disk Rep., if the problem starts again. Dave

I can't fault your logic; attempting simultaneous cures at best leaves you up and running, but with no idea why.

Edit: Give your Mac a while, and once you're satisfied it's running OK you might consider running "Repair Disk" (It's a benign function, by the way.) as additional "juju," because while you'll know what fixed your Mac you won't know what made it need fixing.