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My log-in window has frozen and does not respond to any click.

I did a forced shutdown (holding power button) but a restart came to the same frozen log-in window.

I did another forced shutdown and unplugged the machine for a few minutes.

I did a Safe Boot and inserted my Snow Leopard disk, restarted with the 'C', and used its Disk Utility to do both Disk and Permissions repairs.

I chose to restart with a clone on an external drive and used Disk Warrior 4.2 to do a rebuild. (Curiously DW stated a wrong size for the disk (297.77 GB) when the capacity is actually 319.73 GB with 272.01 GB available)

A restart on the main drive brought me back to a frozen log-in window so I am now operating from the external drive clone.

I sure hope this is something simple like a corrupted preference file.

I recently updated to OS 10.6.2

ryck

> I did a Safe Boot [....]

Clarification, please... May we assume that the freeze persisted through the Safe Boot?

> Curiously DW stated a wrong size for the disk (297.77 GB) when the capacity is actually 319.73 GB [....]



(Note: Repairing permissions via /Apps/Utils/Disk Utility yields Apple's preferred results.)

Yes, your assumption is correct.

ryck

That's because 1 kB used to be 1024 bytes, but as of SL Apple says it's just 1000 bytes. As a GB equals 1 kB * 1 kB * 1 kB, that explains the differences given above for the same amounts of data.
Btw., it also shows a greater than expected gain in free disk space when going from Leopard to SL ;-)

I think this is symptomatic of the fact that as of 10.6, Finder treats disk capacity and usage decimally (1 GB = 1,000,000,000 bytes), whereas DiskWarrior and, apparently, Terminal (and probably other apps as well) treat them in the traditional binary fashion (1 GB = 1024 MB = 1024 x 1024 KB = 1024 x 1024 x 1024 bytes). (See How Mac OS X reports drive capacity.)

So, if DiskWarrior says 297.77 [binary] GB, then we'd expect Finder to say

297.77 x 1024 x 1024 x 1024 = 319,728,102,932.48 bytes

or, rounding to the nearest hundredth of a gigabyte, 319.73 [decimal] GB.

Update:

I have again used Disk warrior from the clone. This time I pressed the Option button at the point where you choose Rebuild, which gives a couple more choices. One of the choices is "Scavenge" which appears to be a more vigorous search for corrupted files.

The result was the following report with more 'findings' than previously and the problem got fixed. Unfortunately I'm still not sure why I had a problem.

ryck


DiskWarrior has successfully built a new optimized directory for the disk named "Macintosh HD." The new directory is ready to replace the original directory.

The original directory is damaged and it was necessary to scavenge the directory to find file and folder data.

Some files that had been lost or thrown away may have been recovered.

Comparison of the original and replacement directories indicates that there will be no changes to the number or contents of files and folders. All files and folders were compared and a total of 15,715,504 comparison tests were performed.

• All errors in the directory structure such as tree depth, header node, map nodes, node size, node counts, node links, indexes and more have been repaired.

• Critical values in the Volume Information were incorrect and were repaired.

• Volume Information had to be scavenged from the file system journal.

Disk Information:

Files: 555,728
Folders: 167,798
Free Space: 253.32 GB
Format: Mac OS Extended (Journaled)
Block Size: 4,096
Disk Sectors: 624,470,624
Media: Hitachi HDP725032GLA380
Time: 1/11/10 11:16:48 AM
DiskWarrior Version: 4.2

Getting back to your issue, I think that the easiest first step for you to take is to try moving /Users/Your short name/Library/Preferences/com.apple.loginwindow.plist to your desktop, then restart; OS X will create a new file either immediately or as needed.

If the problem is resolved, trash the original file and reset any associated preferences.

If not, restore the original file to from whence it came by overwriting the new one.

If the problem recurs in the future, that is. After using DiskWarrior's Scavenge option, ryck reported that "the problem got fixed."

How 'bout that...read right past it.

[quote=dkmarsh....ryck reported that "the problem got fixed." [/quote]

It would be good, though, to have some idea of what happened....even speculation. I'm assuming the plist that artie505 mentioned was corrupted and that DiskWarrior fixed it but it'd be good to know if it could have been prevented. Is file corruption "just one of those things"?

ryck

> I'm assuming the plist that artie505 mentioned was corrupted and that DiskWarrior fixed it [...]

I don't think that's the least bit likely. DW does not deal with corrupted plists; it rebuilds directories.

> [...] but it'd be good to know if it could have been prevented. Is file corruption "just one of those things"?

Yep! It's just one of those things.

We're not likely to ever learn what was amiss with your Mac.

Actually, DiskWarrior 4 does include finding corrupted .plists as one of its Other Features, but I imagine one has to invoke that task specifically.

It may be we're still not quite at "was" amiss. A few moments ago when I pressed the power button, it gave a brief bit of that whoosh sound that it makes when power is first applied but it did not start. A second application of power generated the same result.

I physically unplugged the power cord and waited about 30 seconds. This time, with the application of power, it started. The log-in window was fine and here I am.

However, this aberrant behaviour is a bit worrisome and I now wonder if there is a different problem and the original "window freeze" was just an indicator.

I will be selecting the external drive as my Start-up disk....just in case. I will also first insert my Snow Leopard install disk so that it's ready to go just in case a "C" start ends up being necessary.

ryck

As the nature of the problem appears to have changed (strange result when applying power) should I be starting a separate, differently titled thread?

ryck

The new startup problem, you just described, does not sound like a problem related to the drive you are booting from. It sounds more indicative of a hardware problem that in turn might have been the cause of some corruption of the volume structure that was the initial problem and subsequently corrected by Diskwarrior.

If I were you, I would boot from the original OS X install DVD that came with the computer while holding down the "D" key to boot into Apple Hardware Test and run the full suite of extended tests. That may or may not successfully detect an intermittent hardware problem but it is about the best you can do until the situation reliably repeats itself.

I cannot get the disc to boot into the Apple Hardware Test.

All external devices were disconnected, except the keyboard with mouse attached to it. I tried by holding down the "D" key just after the starting chime. When that didn't work I restarted and held down the "D" prior to the chime. Still no test suite.

The disc is a Family Pack V10.5.1

Update: The 'ding' you heard was the sound of the penny dropping - my Leopard was an upgrade from Tiger so may not have the Hardware Suite. Unfortunately, that realization didn't boil any more beans.

I can't get my machine to boot from the original Tiger discs (V10.4.6). If I select Startup Disc from System Preferences, the machine does not recognize the disc. It does not appear in the window.

If I do a restart holding down the "D" key, the machine ignores that instruction and simple goes to the login window for the main drive. I tried that with both Disc 1 and Disc 2.

Update 2: The second sound you heard was the gong when I hit the side of my empty head with a stick. After going through all this I realized I should be using the original grey discs that came with the machine. I located them and ran the extended text. It stated "No problems found".

Question: Does it necessarily follow that this hardware problem is associated with the machine itself, or could it be from something attached to it? I ask because I recall once having a problem that turned out to be a faulty iPod cable.

I presently have a Firewire to my external drive and a second drive running from it. The USBs are Elgato TV and keyboard c/w mouse directly into the machine. Indirect USBs are the printer, trackball, iPod and still camera through an older Belkin hub.

ryck

Yes, it does find corrupted plists, but only in the sense that plutil finds them, i.e. it finds "bad" xml code; yes, the task must be specifically invoked: and no, it does not "fix" corrupted plists, which is what ryck asked about.

Edit: OK, I just reread what I wrote, and DW does "deal with corrupted plists"...in a sense, anyhow.

> The second sound you heard was the gong when I hit the side of my empty head with a stick. After going through all this I realized I should be using the original grey discs that came with the machine. I located them and ran the extended text. It stated "No problems found".

You can run AHT in "loop mode" by depressing control-L before you start; sometimes a problem takes "pushing" before it rears its ugly head. (Give it at least 5 loops.)

> Question: Does it necessarily follow that this hardware problem is associated with the machine itself, or could it be from something attached to it? I ask because I recall once having a problem that turned out to be a faulty iPod cable.

I presently have a Firewire to my external drive and a second drive running from it. The USBs are Elgato TV and keyboard c/w mouse directly into the machine. Indirect USBs are the printer, trackball, iPod and still camera through an older Belkin hub.

Try disconnecting whatever is connected and see what happens; if something changes, reconnect stuff one item at a time until you find the bad-guy.

External devices can sometimes cause strange problems but that should be easy to check. Simply disconnect the external device and see if the problem persists.

After 6 loops and about 1/3 of the 7th, nothing was indicated. For now I am running only with my Firewire (External Drives) and minimal USB directly plugged in (i.e. no Belkin Hub), and will add/subtract as I go.

ryck

can you clarify "frozen"?

I get this all the time. It can mean so many different things pointing to different issues. Here's the rough list for those that don't volunteer the right info:

- can you see the mouse
- can you move the mouse
- is it an arrow or a pinwheel? is the pinwheel spinning or not
- if its a pinwheel, does it continue to pinwheel even if you attempt to change frontmost app
- when you type does it do anything
- is there a flashing cursor where the focus should be
- does the capslock light toggle the light on the keyboard
- does it respond in any way to pressing the power button (prompt for sleep/shutdown, or go to sleep)
- do the volume up/down metakeys work
- have you tried a different keyboard, mouse, usb port (is there a red light on your mouse)

if logged in,

- does the seconds on the clock on the menubar tick? (always a good idea to leave Show Seconds enabled)

Frozen is defined as: the log-in window does not respond to stimuli.

- can you see the mouse

Yes, and it is connected through the side of the keyboard. The keyboard is, in turn, is directly connected to a USB port on the machine.
Note: I never use a mouse. In this case it was attached just to provide another pointer/clicker.

The normal device is a Kensington trackball which is connected through the Belkin hub to a machine USB. Sharing the hub are printer, iPod and an Olympus still camera.

- can you move the mouse

Yes, both the mouse and the Kensington point and click but don't get any response from the log-in window.

- is it an arrow or a pinwheel? is the pinwheel spinning or not

Arrow for both.

- if its a pinwheel, does it continue to pinwheel even if you attempt to change frontmost app

N/A

- when you type does it do anything

No.

- is there a flashing cursor where the focus should be

No.

- does the capslock light toggle the light on the keyboard

Don't know.

- does it respond in any way to pressing the power button (prompt for sleep/shutdown, or go to sleep)

I can make it sleep but, on waking up, the log-in window remains unresponsive. I can also do a forced shutdown.

- do the volume up/down metakeys work

Don't know about volume. Don't know what metakeys are.

- have you tried a different keyboard, mouse, usb port (is there a red light on your mouse)

Re: Other devices, see above. Re: red light. I don't know but assume so as it did move.

if logged in,

- does the seconds on the clock on the menubar tick?

I can't say I actually noticed but it seems to me that ticking seconds are always visible.

(always a good idea to leave Show Seconds enabled)

This is the setting I use in 24 Hour Clock mode.

ryck

ok a few more...

is there a flashing cursor? (where)

does the focus (cursor) move when you hit tab several times? it's possible to login without using a mouse at all but may involve knowing some unintuitive keystrokes.

are you sure the kensington button is ok? try a different mouse.

meta keys... usually the F keys, on my mbp f10,11,12 are volume control. newer desktop keyboards also have those.

you can test without another mouse by holding option on boot to get the boot picker, and from there try to use the mouse to click and select things. but you said you did an archive and install without mouse issues?