No desktop after failed Mac software update

April 2, 2006 11:28 AM

Help me solve my iBook/OS X mini-disaster. No desktop after failed software update.

Last night I encountered a problem running an Apple recommended software update on my G3 iBook running Panther. In the middle of the update, I experienced a problem is similar to this one that I posted here a couple months ago. Essentially, in the middle of the prebinding step of the software update (I think it was the most recent Security update), my system lost the ability to generate new processes. The progress meter showed no measurable activity for several minutes, and I was unable to start any new programs which might have helped me diagnose what was going on. Wisely or not I held the power button down for several seconds to force a power reset and waited for a the reboot.

The machine came right back, but timed out generating the login screen. I reset again, and got the login screen, which accepted my password, but past that point, I get only the system wallpaper and a pointer. My desktop never appears. I have one other account configured on this machine, and so I attempted to log into this account, but got no better results.

I'm able to bring the machine up in single user console mode by holding down the Cmd-S keys during boot-up. Things look pretty healthy at the console level. All the Unix stuff I tried worked without a hitch, and the file system looks OK. For instance, I can navigate my home directory hierarchy, and everything I've seen there look OK.

It seems clear that things were left in unstable state by the failure to complete all the steps of the software update, and I'm wondering if there is some way to force that step to complete manually

Do any OS X gurus out there know how to deal with a problem like this?

posted by hwestiii to computers & internet (4 comments total)

The safest and most thorough fix is to do an Archive & Install over your existing system. This will preserve your 3rd party apps, settings, home folder, etc. You can then update back to 10.3.9 and the security updates.
posted by nathan_teske at 11:34 AM on April 2, 2006

If prebinding is indeed the issue, you can run this command to redo all prebindings:

sudo update_prebinding -root /

Alternatively, if you still have the installer for the security update, you could try reinstalling it via the command line:

sudo installer -pkg /path/to/SecurityUpdate.pkg -target /

(more info in the man page for "installer")

Otherwise, reinstalling the OS is always an option, if not a happy one.
posted by disarray at 11:42 AM on April 2, 2006

Essentially, in the middle of the prebinding step of the software update (I think it was the most recent Security update)

I doubt that the machine was actually prebinding when you stopped it. Most of the installation happens at reboot time with these restart-required installs; my guess is that your old bug cropped up, and then your forced-reset after rebooting, while waiting for the login screen, may have interrupted the install.

My best suggestion at this point: reinstall the entire OS from CD. Archive and install has the benefit of not wiping your HD, but it will require a few gigs of free space.
posted by ikkyu2 at 12:51 PM on April 2, 2006

...or use this as the perfect opportunity to obtain Tiger (10.4).
posted by armoured-ant at 1:30 PM on April 2, 2006