tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post4227126317514278406..comments2024-03-18T21:26:34.716-05:00Comments on TYWKIWDBI ("Tai-Wiki-Widbee"): TYWKIWDBI is down - again (updated) [returning Friday, see Addendum]Minnesotastanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01382888179579245181noreply@blogger.comBlogger67125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-4703750131369507452018-04-20T20:04:39.037-05:002018-04-20T20:04:39.037-05:00BTW, if you're the same anon who offered advic...BTW, if you're the same anon who offered advice and encouragement during "the troubles," I'm greatly appreciative of that support.Minnesotastanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01382888179579245181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-1484978306554967642018-04-20T20:03:47.291-05:002018-04-20T20:03:47.291-05:00Interesting link about 10.13.4
My Time Machine is...Interesting link about 10.13.4<br /><br />My Time Machine is backing up a file entitled System>Library>about a gazillion folders. But apparently it isn't backing up the operating system itself? I think Charlie suggested I should save a copy of OSX 10.13.4 to the same terabyte external disc where Time Machine saves my files, to be used for future restorations if needed. But it seems at least this time I was able to download a fresh operating system with no problems.Minnesotastanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01382888179579245181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-60642293411477832882018-04-20T19:32:58.763-05:002018-04-20T19:32:58.763-05:00Time Machine is backing up User Files versus syste...Time Machine is backing up User Files versus system files so, outside of a startup item (which it will backup) you are good. I would do an updated Time Machine backup now that you have deleted those startup entries and you should be golden--as long a 10.13.4 is OK itself. Apparently there is an issue with the install ITSELF:<br /><br />https://apple.slashdot.org/story/18/04/20/196203/users-complain-about-installation-issues-with-macos-10134<br /><br />This might be the real rub. Either way, glad to hear it works--again ;)Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-60282155567752447282018-04-20T10:37:56.952-05:002018-04-20T10:37:56.952-05:00glad I could be of any help. keep up the good work...glad I could be of any help. keep up the good work.charliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11911321005558820134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-62613589532935589542018-04-19T21:29:00.249-05:002018-04-19T21:29:00.249-05:00Thank you, Charlie. I think I'm encouraged by...Thank you, Charlie. I think I'm encouraged by your comment (and the computer is new, purchased in Sept 2017). Your guidance pulled me through a very anxious time during this past week.<br />Minnesotastanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01382888179579245181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-19237605706941780362018-04-19T20:48:47.253-05:002018-04-19T20:48:47.253-05:00"verified" is what you want. (Sorry, I ..."verified" is what you want. (Sorry, I forgot the exact phrase since it doesn't exist on my solid state drive. ). So that's really good news. Chances are really good you have some nasty kext. (kernel extension) which means your problem is curable if annoying to diagnose. ( I'm guessing your computer is vintage 2014 or newer because you have a terrabyte drive, so youre past the era of Graphics card problems. ). The point where your computer was failing isn't consistent with a bad USB, but at some point if this recurs, unjack every USB device that you can possible unjack. Even the keyboard. to see if that matter. pretty sure it won't. really good chance this is a kext. While it could also be a permissions problem, the chances of that being the actual source of problem are low because you reinstalled the OS.charliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11911321005558820134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-38315268206882595052018-04-18T23:36:19.787-05:002018-04-18T23:36:19.787-05:00S.M.A.R.T. status is "verified." Is tha...S.M.A.R.T. status is "verified." Is that o.k. ?Minnesotastanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01382888179579245181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-21929668993439259842018-04-18T17:25:20.136-05:002018-04-18T17:25:20.136-05:00typo: forgot the tilde.
cp /var/log/system.log ~...typo: forgot the tilde.<br />cp /var/log/system.log ~/Downloads/Put-date-here.system.logcharliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11911321005558820134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-4816313494310385522018-04-18T17:17:48.871-05:002018-04-18T17:17:48.871-05:00Glad its working. Now a few post mortem checks mi...Glad its working. Now a few post mortem checks might be good.<br />1. open disk utility and click on the different drives listed on the left. Probably the upper most one but try others if that doesn't work. Depending on which OS you have installed you will either see something that says S.M.A.R.T status on the panel at right or you can click the "info" button in the upper right corner and scroll through the list to find the S.M.A.R.T. status. If it's anything other than good or normal then you immediately need to replace the hard drive (like really really soon).<br /><br />2. When things boot in safe mode but not regular mode it can be a hardware problem such as a graphics card that is going intermittent on you. That would be bad. Or if you are lucky it's a buggy third party Kext.<br /><br />3. Your problem isn't likely to be the startup items. those are too late in the boot process to affect things. if they were really evil you could imagine they are corrupting system files or permissions but in and of themselves they would not prevent a boot. Launch Agents and Launch Daemons happen slightly earlier in the boot cycle. The ones in /Library are safe to dispose of if need be.<br /><br />4. everytime your computer does crap out you at boot, you might want to open a terminal in safeboot and do this:<br />cp /var/log/system.log /Downloads/Put-date-here.system.log<br />where you can fill in the date as string without any spaces,colons or slashes in it.<br /><br />that will save a copy of the verbose boot record. then If this intermittent problem persists in being a problem you will be keeping a record of what it was doing when it failed and how far into the boot it got.<br /><br />5. timemachine! <br /><br />6. get another disk and install the OS on it. this will really save your behind when you need it. You probably have an SD card slot on this computer. You could use this for this secondary OS disk so you don't have to have any more annoying cables on your desk or powersupply.<br /><br />charliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11911321005558820134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-77928985846072039842018-04-18T16:49:21.643-05:002018-04-18T16:49:21.643-05:00Nice! Correct qty o' corpses at long last.Nice! Correct qty o' corpses at long last.shoggothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02683784658630872414noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-80803946265856472902018-04-18T13:04:34.921-05:002018-04-18T13:04:34.921-05:00Charlie, see my Addendum #5 in the post. I have a...Charlie, see my Addendum #5 in the post. I have a functional system now, but I may take it in to Apple later for an oil change and tire rotation.<br /><br />Your help has been invaluable in this crisis. Thanks for being a reader.Minnesotastanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01382888179579245181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-34247181174573486192018-04-18T13:02:02.099-05:002018-04-18T13:02:02.099-05:00See my Addendum #5. :-)See my Addendum #5. :-)Minnesotastanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01382888179579245181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-9044990768734400192018-04-18T12:30:26.628-05:002018-04-18T12:30:26.628-05:00See my followup addendum #5 in the body of the pos...See my followup addendum #5 in the body of the post.<br /><br />:-)Minnesotastanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01382888179579245181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-69194511718534183272018-04-18T10:28:18.381-05:002018-04-18T10:28:18.381-05:00Note it might be safer and easier for you to not u...Note it might be safer and easier for you to not use so many command line commands. You can get to these hidden folders in the finder like this:<br />Finder>Go>GoToFolder<br /><br />type in <br />/Volumes<br />navigate to /Volumes/macHDBad<br />make the folder untrustedStuff<br /><br />open a new finder window:<br />Finder>Go>GoToFolder<br />type in:<br />/Volumes/macHDBad/System/Library<br /><br />open a new finder window<br />Finder>Go>GoToFolder<br />type in:<br />/System/Library<br /><br /><br />Okay now you have open finder windows to the bad drive where you can drag the extensions to the untrustedFolder.<br />and you have open the Library of the goodHD where you can drag (copy) the Extensions from into the Library of the badHD.<br /><br />charliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11911321005558820134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-2839242903150850622018-04-18T10:20:25.337-05:002018-04-18T10:20:25.337-05:00typo: preface everything with sudo. I left it off...typo: preface everything with sudo. I left it off on one mv commandcharliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11911321005558820134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-46045703432839698672018-04-18T10:18:18.453-05:002018-04-18T10:18:18.453-05:00My advice for trouble shooting this is to get an e...My advice for trouble shooting this is to get an external disk (or USB stick) and install a virgin OS onto this. Run the software update if needed. Do Not Migrate or copy any part of your current system to this. Reboot this multiple times. Then shut the computer down. Comeback when the computer has been cold (perhaps overnight) and then reboot again. If all this checks out then you know the problem is some part of the system you have installed beyond the basic.<br /><br />Now that we know you do not have a hardeware conflict with the basic operating system the next step is to look at the kexts and launch deamons.<br /><br />Boot off the good new disk. I don't know what you called but lets suppose the good disk is called macHDGood and the bad disk is macHDBad<br /><br />first lets get rid of the launch deamons:<br />open a terminal (in applications/Utilities)<br />type:<br />sudo mkdir /Volumes/macHDBad/untrustedStuff<br />mv /Volumes/macHDBad/Library/System/Launch* /Volumes/macHDBad/untrustedStuff/<br /><br />Don't worry you can move it back later as you are not deleting it just moving it.<br /><br />try rebooting off the bad drive. It's very unlikely this solves problem but it was a safe and needed first thing to do.<br /><br />Now the kexts. the hard part here is known which ones are needed and which are not.<br /><br /><br /><br />sudo mv /Volumes/macHDBad/System/Library/Extensions /Volumes/macHDBad/untrustedStuff<br />sudo cp -a /Volumes/macHDGood/System/Library/Extensions /Volumes/macHDBad/System/Library<br /><br />Okay now you can try rebooting to the bad disk. It's very likely this will work.<br /><br />If it does the next step is to try to put things back that are not the problem.<br />you can move the launch agents back from the untrusted stuff folder. reboot a few times. All good? Now the kexts are harder. you want to move back groups of them and test till something fails. this is a pain. Or you could just live without them. it's rare that anyone is doing anything that needs a kext. and often they are where malware lurks. so bestis advice is to use your computer normally till some application complains.<br />charliehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11911321005558820134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-23900601487799329502018-04-17T19:07:14.872-05:002018-04-17T19:07:14.872-05:00(BTW, some general guesses... SMART reporter is mo...(BTW, some general guesses... SMART reporter is most likely an HD diagnostic utility, and System Events is most likely an apple-produced logging/diagnostic dealybopper. I'd guess it's one of the others (iantivirus, dropbox, MS, adobe) if any of 'em are the culprit.)shoggothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02683784658630872414noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-84870352807515967522018-04-17T19:02:55.199-05:002018-04-17T19:02:55.199-05:00That's a pretty standard slice of the wall of ... That's a pretty standard slice of the wall of text that unix systems throw up during boot.<br /><br />Stan, Re: your 'login items'... not being a mac guy (or windows guy), but being a paid-to-troubleshoot guy, yes... Turn those off. If the problem doesn't re-appear, enable one of them. Try again. If it doesn't reappear, add another. Etc. When it starts failing, you've found your culprit.<br /><br />Or it'll fail anyway with none enabled, in which case you've eliminated those as causes. Either way, you learn something, and best case, you solve something =)shoggothttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02683784658630872414noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-5210397243498162542018-04-17T18:34:00.137-05:002018-04-17T18:34:00.137-05:00I'm not a MAC guy, but on a PC this screen you...I'm not a MAC guy, but on a PC this screen you showed looks like when the BIOS is being loaded and has nothing to do with the OS. If the onboard battery for the CMOS is weak or has died, then you don't get the progress bar go all the way across. I have an older PC and had to change my battery recently and it started up just fine afterwards. If you look at Step 9, this is the battery I'm talking about. https://www.ifixit.com/Guide/First-Look/iMac-20-Inch/658/2Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-83420563936282688192018-04-17T13:23:37.496-05:002018-04-17T13:23:37.496-05:00Searched some more online. Found suggestions that...Searched some more online. Found suggestions that the frozen progress bar is caused by faulty Kernel Extensions that could be fixed by opening Terminal. I would rather try to remove my own gallbladder than try to make alterations using Terminal.<br /><br />Found another discussion saying that the progress bar frozen at the end is caused by "login or startup files not loading" and that Safe mode deactivates login items. That would fit my scenario.<br /><br />So I restarted Safe mode, got to the desktop and went to System Preferences > Users and Groups to see what my "Login items" are. There are 6 of them: System Events, iAntiVirus, Microsoft AU Daemon, Adobe Resource Synchronizer, Dropbox, and SMART reporter.<br /><br />Maybe I should turn those off? Don't know. Time for a lunch break.Minnesotastanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01382888179579245181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-13000628523635385802018-04-17T12:58:46.579-05:002018-04-17T12:58:46.579-05:00Rebooted in Diagnostics mode (D) which triggered a...Rebooted in Diagnostics mode (D) which triggered a program that reported "No issues found" and gave me the serial # and a reference code, suggesting that I restart again in Recovery mode and contact Apple support.<br /><br />Which I did. The fellow I talked to didn't know why this was happening. His suggestion was to erase everything, reinstall the operating system again without my saved backup material and see if the frozen cursor problem is still present.<br /><br />I'm reluctant. Will probably take the iMac to the Apple store to see if they can do some diagnostics on it.<br /><br />No blogging for a while.Minnesotastanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01382888179579245181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-64219489376327621522018-04-17T11:34:22.312-05:002018-04-17T11:34:22.312-05:00Side comment. This would require the MAC to be tak...Side comment. This would require the MAC to be taken apart. So bare that in mind before going forward.Clayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11486349937295709170noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-42194799574249641492018-04-17T11:33:36.338-05:002018-04-17T11:33:36.338-05:00AHA!
It booted ok just with safe mode (space ke...AHA! <br /><br />It booted ok just with safe mode (space key), to my normal desktop, with a popup saying "You shut down your computer because of a problem. If you want to open the applications that were open when you shut down, click Open."<br /><br />IIRC, that wasn't the case. I shut it down normally from the Apple menu last night after doing the taxes and the backup..<br /><br />Not sure what the implication is for the goofy start.Minnesotastanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01382888179579245181noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-67375187212307990732018-04-17T11:31:28.249-05:002018-04-17T11:31:28.249-05:00If it hasn't already been suggested, please lo...If it hasn't already been suggested, please look into Spinrite as it sounds like a hard drive is in the middle of failing.<br /><br />https://www.grc.com/sr/spinrite.htm (this won't keep the drive from going out, but could help. I would be suspect of any files you manage to recover.<br />Clayhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11486349937295709170noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4912713243046142041.post-78895984116069613632018-04-17T10:21:54.767-05:002018-04-17T10:21:54.767-05:00I'm also wondering if, when I used Time Machin...I'm also wondering if, when I used Time Machine last night to back up the system and files, I might also have saved the gremlin to the external disc.<br /><br />Should I be worried about accessing that backup using my good Mac? I don't think this is a virus at work, so I don't think it will transfer, but I sure don't want to freeze this old one.Minnesotastanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01382888179579245181noreply@blogger.com