Wierd!

[Fev79]

Hi guys, i hope someone can help as this is the first real prob i've had with my mac.
I inserted an sd card into a card reader (same card as used before with no probs), I hen went to look at a web page which was already open, the mac froze, mouse moved but nothing would open. I held down the power button to reset, upon reboot, the screen went blue and the flashing dial tried to appear but then kept dissappearing again. After a few minutes of this i rebooted again in the same way, this time it booted ok. however, the screen settings had changed (no real prob) but several icons had gone from the doc (office related) and the imovie symbol on the dock is now a ?
The mac seems to be running ok except the card reader is now playing up and the sd card (when in the card reader) seems to lock the comp again.

Any ideas on how to fix the probs with dock?

Many thanks,
Phil

p.s. running mac mini 1.42, 1Gb ram, osx 10.4.9

 

[Stanley_Beamish]

Hi Fev79,

Navigate to your Applications folder and launch iMovie from there. Once launched, go to the Dock and click on its icon and select Keep In Dock from the menu that pops up.

Next, just click on the ? and drag it from the Dock and it should go up in a puff of virtual smoke.

Do the same with any other missing app icons to restore your Dock to how you had it.

Did all this happen after the recent 10.4.9 firmware update? Can you test the card reader on another Mac? I'm sorry I can't help you anymore than that ....

 

[Fev79]

Hi Stanley, thanks for the advice, I'll try it when i get home.
The card has worked fine since the update and is ok if in another device linked to the computer but for some reason not with the reader. the reader is fine with other cards tho?!?
can i assume that all is ok other than the missing icons and if i replace them it will be back to normal?
cheers,
Phil

 

[Stanley_Beamish]

Hi Stanley, thanks for the advice, I'll try it when i get home.
The card has worked fine since the update and is ok if in another device linked to the computer but for some reason not with the reader. the reader is fine with other cards tho?!?
can i assume that all is ok other than the missing icons and if i replace them it will be back to normal?
cheers,
Phil

Hi Phil,

That is very strange! I can't understand exactly what happened to your Mac between it freezing and you being able to reboot it properly again....

The main thing is that your mac appears to be working again and that the card and reader also work but how weird is it that the card reader won't read the card without your mac freezing up all over again???

Regarding your Dock icons ..... If you add them back to the Dock and they launch their respective apps properly, then you will be fine there.

Do you have a maintenance app installed? Does the Card Reader require software to be installed before you use it? I have never used one so I had to ask.

 

[Fev79]

No maintenance apps installed as far as i know and the card reader doesn't need a driver so I have no ideas. I have replaced the word, excel, powerpoint icons on the dock but imovie does nothing so I assume that after dragging it in again from apps folder it should be ok.

Thanks again

Phil

 

[Stanley_Beamish]

No maintenance apps installed as far as i know and the card reader doesn't need a driver so I have no ideas. I have replaced the word, excel, powerpoint icons on the dock but imovie does nothing so I assume that after dragging it in again from apps folder it should be ok.

Thanks again

Phil

Can I suggest you download and run a maintenance app? There are several, but I personally use OnyX(Click on link).

OnyX will clean out your caches, repair Permissions, optimise your HD and generally gives your Mac a good going over and helps keep your Mac running Tip-Top.

I click on the Cleaning tab first, then just run the default options. Then I go to the Maintenance tab and do the same. The only change I make is I select "Optimise the whole System" or something similiar, you'll see where I mean.

You are occaisionally asked to restart your Mac. Do so when asked, I think it's a couple of times throughout the cleaning operation. Make sure you note where you are up to so you can continue from where you left off. If you're asked for an Admin Username & Password, this is normal behaviour as you wouldn't want just anyone having access to this powerful app.

Let us know how things go.

 

[Fev79]

Hi, installed onyX and it tells me my startup needs repairing (boot from disk, use utilities etc... To get to this i must hold down the option button on startup, which button is this?

Many thanks,
Phil

 

[Fev79]

ok, time for an update, I've found the option button but when i boot from the disk i get 3 options, mac hd, install osx and hardware check.
I've run the hardware check and have been given the following error code:

2MEM/104/4: DIMMO/J11

I cannot find the disk utilities section tho, where is it?

 

[Fev79]

HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
found disk utilities, repaired disk, booted mac, all ok for 5 mins, osx then shut down on it's own and when trying to reboot, I got a folder with a ?

Tried repair again to find that mac hd was now DiskOs3 and was completely buggered, tried 3 times but wouldn't repair, tried again and this time it repaired but wouldn't boot. Repair again, this time, called mac hd again but now mounted at /volumes/macintosh hd.
repaired succesfully but now sticks at white screen with apple logo and rotating circle of lines.

Please help, i am completely stuck.

Thanks,
Phil

 

[Kyomii]

Are you trying to boot with the card reader connected with a card in it?

It sounds very much like the Mac is trying to boot from the card and the card is corrupt (and hence why it is causing your mac to freeze)

Disconnect the card read and then boot up your Mac holding down the x key on your keyboard (keep it pressed until you begin to see everything load)

This may take a few tries, so be patient. Let us know how you go on.

 

[Stanley_Beamish]

Phil, have you recently upgraded your RAM? I'm just wondering about that 2MEM/104/4: DIMMO/J11 error the Hardware Test tossed up... But first let's see what Kyomii's recommendations uncover...

 

[Kyomii]

I missed the error code sorry! Yes, as Stanley says, memory is certainly part of the issue, but please ensure you plug out any peripherals while running the test.

This includes your memory card/reader, printers, etc, the only thing that should be plugged in is the mouse and keyboard and nothing else

 

[Fev79]

Hi guys, there was nothing connected to the mac, just thje osx disk in the drive. I have now got it to boot by reinstalling the osx 10.4 update disk. However, I now cannot install my modem, the driver says it has successfully installed but the light on the modem stays red and the comp thinks it is trying to connect via an ethernet connection. (fortunately I was able to keep all my files, music etc... in a restore folder in users) I have put all the files/folders back but 4gb seems to have dissappeared, is this due to the reinstall? if so how do i free it back up?


Thanks for all the help guys you are priceless.
Phil


edit:
The memory was upgraded about 9 months ago and I haven't had any probs with it till now.

 

[Stanley_Beamish]

That's great Phil. Can you run the Hardware test again? Just to see if that RAM error comes up again.

I don't know where that 4gbs went but there is an app called WhatSize (Linky) that you can download and run to determine the size of files on your HD.

 

[Fev79]

I haven't run onyx yet but the verify on utilities says that all is now fine. Will try again tonight before setting off for oz tomorrow (yay)

 

[Ric]

...just to be on the safe side, please ensure your 'important stuff' is backed up before running any Disk Maintenance software.

regards

Ric

 

[Stanley_Beamish]

Great advice...I can't stress how important it is not to mess with an app like OnyX. It's a brilliant maintenance app but I generally only use the Cleaning and Maintenance Tabs and then I just usually click on the 'Execute' button.

Backing up your important data is crucial and one of these days I'm going to invest in the likes of SuperDuper (linky).

 

[Fev79]

Yeah, it took me ages to find the files/folders that the install had saved so i understand the need for back up, only problem is I saved a few quid when buying the mini and didn't get a superdrive (DOH).

ps.

where in oz are you stanley, we set off for brissie tomorrow to look at places to live!

 

[Stanley_Beamish]

You're moving to Brissie permanent? From where Phil? I'm at the opposite end of the eastern seaboard ... Tassie.

~Marty~

 

[Fev79]

Hopefully, visa application is in to get me out of the uk, heading over to visit family and friends on saturday to find the area we want to move to and to look into teaching jobs. Can't wait, at least if we move i'll have a decent national footy team to support lol.