os x 10.4 start up problems

hi there,
i purchased this imac g5 dec 2005 and it worked perfectly for 4 month.
Machine Name: iMac G5
Machine Model: PowerMac8,2
CPU Type: PowerPC G5 (3.0)
Number Of CPUs: 1
CPU Speed: 2 GHz
L2 Cache (per CPU): 512 KB
Memory: 512 MB
Bus Speed: 667 MHz
Boot ROM Version: 5.2.5f1

about 2 weeks ago i started experiencing mainly start up and occasionlally switch of problems.
during start up I will get to grey screen with apple logo and then the start up wheel turning eternally. i've tried the different ways of start ups ( safe mode etc) but none of them will work.
mac starts with install disc. volume/permissions repairs (although not always necessary) don't solve the problem.
the only way to get it fixed is to reinstall os x. it then will work for a while but eventually it will happen again.
typical scenario: itunes or iphoto runs and all of a sudden a command will bring up the coloured spinning wheel. application can't be shut then via forced shut. wheel will disappear after a while and application will continue working. but next start up will end up in problem mentioned above. or twice switch off problem: icons disappear after switch off but background screens stays and mac will not switch off.

problem started with os x 10.4.3. mac is running on 10.4 now because its the version on my start up disc. at somme stage i installed mac os x from scratch without securing previous settings. after that i've been using only disc software. external devices: ipod nano and speaker system logitech Z4(added recently).

hardware test: passed
neverhteless problem occured again.

is it a software problem or could it be a hardware problem?

every kind of help or suggestions highly appreciated

cheers

rudi

[yellow]

Hardware problem. Your HD is failing. Get it replaced through AppleCare.

Hardware problem. Your HD is failing. Get it replaced through AppleCare.

thanks for reply yellow.

hardware, you reckon.

must be a temporaray problem then, because it can work for hours / sometimes days.

is that possible?

suppose i have to drag the box to an apple shop!

cheers from sydney

rudi

[yellow]

You should not have to continually reinstall the OS. The symptoms you describe are indicitive of a failing HD. Particularlly the spinning wheel at the Grey Apple screen. During this time the OS attempts to check the file system on the disk. If it takes a verty long time or simply never passes this "test" then 9 times out of 10, it's a problem with the HD. You should check the SMART status of the HD next time you boot from the installer DVD and run Disk Utility. If it says anything except "verified", back up your data asap.

You should not have to continually reinstall the OS. The symptoms you describe are indicitive of a failing HD. Particularlly the spinning wheel at the Grey Apple screen. During this time the OS attempts to check the file system on the disk. If it takes a verty long time or simply never passes this "test" then 9 times out of 10, it's a problem with the HD. You should check the SMART status of the HD next time you boot from the installer DVD and run Disk Utility. If it says anything except "verified", back up your data asap.

thanks once more.
data is safe

as you can imagine i've used the installer and disk utility a lot recently and smart was always verified.

nevertheless i do think its a hardware issue now and will follow your advice. just didn't want to exclude any other options right from the start.

all the best

rudi

[yellow]

You may be correct that it's not the HD if it's verified.. but it's definitely hardware realated, and you're still well within your warranty period, so taking it to a Certified Apple Repair Center is definitely the way to go.

[redage]

ever heard of applejack?

[yellow]

Yes.. don't need it.

[paidea]

I've had a similar problem - occured while using Os X.4 - after transferring some data over firewire, my computer crashed...then every time I started it up, it would start to work, spinning dile at the bottom, then switch to blue screen, then grey screen, then freeze...any thoughts?

I can start it off of install disk or in safe mode and it is totally stable. Have tried disk utuility and fsk. I bought it a new battery...I tried a new hard drive...same thing with a newly installed system. tried updating firmware...no go.

Any thoughts please.

Paidea

[yellow]

Are you using autologin? Sounds like you are and it's crapping out before it logs you in, which means (most likely) that you can boot in safe mode and move the ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.loginwindow.plist to your Desktop and restart. It should then (hopefully) log you in as normal.

[paidea]

Tried It, didn't work...thanks...I think the problem is before that...the blue screen on which the big "Mac OS X" sign with the filling time bar pops up for a fraction of a second, then disappears and goes back grey. When I sign in in Safe Mode, the login is after the 10 seconds of blue screen...

Any more thoughts?

Thanks,

Are you using autologin? Sounds like you are and it's crapping out before it logs you in, which means (most likely) that you can boot in safe mode and move the ~/Library/Preferences/com.apple.loginwindow.plist to your Desktop and restart. It should then (hopefully) log you in as normal.

[yellow]

You still didn't say if you're using AutoLogin. Anyway, there's a system wide login screen pref file at /Library/Preferences/com.apple.loginwindow.plist, you could try moving that and then restarting.

Also, you should look at the (system) logs via the Console.app to see if there is any relevant error info when you try (and fail) to boot up normally.