Hi Tim,
Thanks for the good advice and suggestions. I realize that I should
have clarified that my laptop is set up for password entry when I
boot up rather than automatically starting in my account. One reason
is that I create a second account for test purposes to help trouble-
shoot, so that I can check whether problems are due to installed
applications or simply due to bad preferences settings in my user
account. I also keep this as a way to log into my laptop in case I
ever manage to corrupt my startup or password. (This hasn't
happened, but I'd prefer not to have to rely on the install discs for
recovery.)
In the example I outlined, when safe boot completes, I'm at the login
window. When VoiceOver starts up, even though I can't hear it, I can
move to the buttons for sleep or reboot or power off and press my
selection. Or, I can hold down the power button.
I forgot that many people have their laptops set to automatically log
into their accounts when they finish booting.
Cheers,
Esther
On Aug 6, 2008, at 1:41 PM, Tim Kilburn wrote:
Hi Esther,
Just a quick note to add to your information below. When in Safe
Mode, you can use the ctrl-eject on an iMac or a quick push of the
power button on a laptop to bring up the "Shutdown" dialog. This
dialog brings up four choices, Shutdown, Restart, Sleep and
Cancel. As VO does not speak while in Safe Mode, simply press the
letter "r" to activate the Restart button, "s" to activate the
Sleep button, return to Shutdown and ESC to Cancel. This gives you
a better set of options compared to the Forced shutdown method.
Later...
On 6-Aug-08, at 2:32 PM, Esther wrote:
Dear Simon, Richie, and Others,
Just an addendum to my directions about safe boot mode, in
response to the question that Richie posted to the list. In
answer to Simon's question, VoiceOver does not run in safe mode.
Well, it does run, but the audio input and output gets cut off.
You can log in or restart using the key actions, but you won't
hear VoiceOver speak. On my laptop I can feel the disk action as
it goes through the directory check, and when it stops, I can use
Fn-Command-F5 to turn on VoiceOver, then VO-keys-right arrow to
the login, or VO-keys-right arrow three times to the restart
button and issue the key press (VO-keys-shift-space). Or, I can
hold down the power button to restart. I just won't hear anything
in Safe Boot mode.
To give an idea of times, it takes about five and a half minutes
for my Power PC laptop (a 4-year old PowerBook) to go through a
safe boot. I'm told I can stop holding down the Shift key about
45 seconds into that process. You should figure that it takes at
least as long as it would take you to run a Repair Disk with disk
utility on your system, since that is just one of the actions that
happens when you boot into Safe Mode.
Finally, as a general recommendation, if you have problems with
your machine, and you just recently did a system update or
security update, go check out the MacFixIt page at:
www.macfixit.com
for reports about what problems other users encountered with their
updates and what solutions, if any, they found that worked. This
is really what I did when i read Richie's question, apart from
looking up whether there were any Apple Support documents about
the remedy (i.e., using Safe Boot mode).
Cheers,
Esther
On Aug 6, 2008, at 6:58 AM, Simon Cavendish wrote:
Dear Esther,
I've just received this e-mail directed to Richie. Did you send
it to me by mistake? I thought I'd lett you know in case you
thought you had sent it to Richie.
I do however find the content of great help. May I ask whether
Voiceover will run in safe mode?
With best wishes
Simon
On 6 Aug 2008, at 14:08, Esther wrote:
Hi Richie,
Some quick questions: Did the problem restarting your Mac Mini
begin when you applied the recent Security Update (2008-005)?
Try restarting your machine in Safe Mode by holding down the
Shift key when you reboot. If you haven't booted into safe mode
before, be advised that you may have to hold down the Shift key
for a LONG time before you hear your machine is booting up --
maybe a minute or more. When your computer starts up in Safe
Mode a number of checks are done and caches cleaned out during
the startup, including a directory check (like running Disk
Utility's repair disk) and by-passing caches that speed your
startup. On my laptop, AirPort is disabled when I start up in
Safe Mode and various cleaned out files are put into the trash
(in Tiger). Sometimes just restarting in Safe Mode and then
restarting regularly can fix problems.
Here are the Apple Support Documents:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1455
(Starting Up in Safe Mode)
<begin excerpt>
To start up into Safe Mode (to "Safe Boot"), do this:
1. Be sure the computer is shut down.
2. Press the power button.
3. Immediately after you hear the startup tone, press and hold
the Shift key.
Tip: The Shift key should be held as soon as possible after the
startup tone but not before.
4. Release the Shift key when you see the gray Apple and
progress indicator (looks like a spinning gear).
During the startup in Mac OS X 10.2 through 10.3.9, you will see
"Safe Boot" on the Mac OS X startup screen.
During the startup in Mac OS X 10.4 or later, you will see "Safe
Boot" on the login window, which appears even if you normally
log in automatically.
To leave Safe Mode in any version of Mac OS X, restart the
computer normally, without holding any keys during startup.
<end excerpt>
and here is the Apple Support Document about Safe Mode:
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1564
(What is Safe Boot, Safe Mode?)
<begin excerpt>
Summary
Safe Boot is a special way to start Mac OS X 10.2 or later when
troubleshooting. Safe Mode is the state Mac OS X is in after a
Safe Boot.
Starting up into Safe Mode does three things to simplify the
startup and operation of your computer:
• It forces a directory check of the startup volume.
• It loads only required kernel extensions (some of the items
in /System/Library/Extensions).
• In Mac OS X 10.3.9 or earlier, it runs only Apple-installed
startup items (some of the items in /Library/StartupItems and /
System/Library/StartupItems - and different than login items).
• Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger only: It disables all fonts other than
those in /System/Library/Fonts .
• Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger only: It moves to the Trash all font
caches normally stored in /Library/Caches/com.apple.ATS/(uid)/ ,
where (uid) is a user ID number such as 501.
• Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger only: It disables all startup items and
any Login Items.
Taken together, these changes can work around issues caused by
software or directory damage on the startup volume.
Some features don't work in Safe Mode
Safe Mode can be useful for troubleshooting. However, certain
Mac OS X features do not work when you are started up in Safe
Mode. For example, you can't use DVD Player, capture video in
iMovie, use an AirPort card, use audio input or output devices,
or use an internal or external USB modem.
Additional Information
For additional information, please see these related articles:
107393: Mac OS X: Starting up in Safe Mode
106464: Your Mac won't start up in Mac OS X
<end excerpt>
If starting in safe mode and then restarting doesn't work, then
try deleting special startup items and startup programs, and
clearing out caches and disconnecting external devices. Startup
failures after a security update can be related to third party
programs or installs that you run that have been caught up in
the security update. If all else fails, you can resinstall from
your system install discs.
HTH.
Cheers,
Esther
On Aug 6, 2008, at 2:27 AM, Richie Gardenhire wrote:
Thank you. I may just reinstall everything with the CD I
bought last year, shortly after Lwopard's release. I probably
need to do a clean install on it anyway, since I have a lot of
things just sitting there, and my philosophy in life is, if I
haven't used it in two years or more, and it's just sitting
there, get rid of it; that goes for software, for me.
Richie Gardenhire, Anchorage, Alaska.
On Aug 6, 2008, at 4:23 AM, David Poehlman wrote:
Hi Richie,
ou need to put in your install disk and repair permissions.
Beyond that, I
don' know what might fix the issue.
----- Original Message -----
From: "Richie Gardenhire" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Cc: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Wednesday, August 06, 2008 8:07 AM
Subject: Problem with Mac Mini
Hello, I have a two-year-old Mac Mini that, when I start the
machine,
it keeps restarting. I have checked all connections; they are
fine.
I checked all outlets; they seem to be working. I even did a
firmware
update by holding down the on/off switch, till I hear the
beep. Short
of reinstalling the software, is there anything else I have
missed?
It was working two days ago, so I don't know what happened;
I'm very
careful around the work area.
Richie Gardenhire, Anchorage, Alaska.
Tim Kilburn
& Carter the Canine
Fort McMurray, AB Canada
