I am absolutely Mac-retarded. My girlfriend’s sisters iMac just suddenly stopped booting up completely. It goes to the Open Firmware gray screen and just says DEFAULT CATCH!, Code=1800 and then some codes and shit. This just continues to scroll down the screen and I can’t type anything at all/
The most I found online was that it could possibly be the motherboard, but that seems pretty vague and I don’t even know if that could be it. I also don’t know anyone personally that knows Macs that well, and of course you have to pay Apple for phone support.
you can use some key combos at the boot screen to try to watch for the fault.
Bypass startup drive and boot from external (or CD)… CMD-OPT-SHIFT-DELETE
Boot from CD (Most late model Apples) … C
Boot from a specific SCSI ID #.(#=SCSI ID number)… CMD-OPT-SHIFT-DELETE-#
Zap PRAM … CMD-OPT-P-R
Disable Extensions … SHIFT
Rebuild Desktop … CMD-OPT
Close finder windows.(hold just before finder starts)… OPT
Boot with Virtual Memory off… CMD
Trigger extension manager at boot-up… SPACE
Force Quadra av machines to use TV as a monitor… CMD-OPT-T-V
Boot from ROM (Mac Classic only)… CMD-OPT-X-O
Force PowerBooks to reset the screen… R
Force an AV monitor to be recognized as one… CMD-OPT-A-V
Eject Boot Floppy… Hold Down Mouse Button
Select volume to start from… OPT
Start in Firewire drive mode… T
Startup in OSX if OS9 and OXS in boot partition… X or CMD-X
Hold down until the 2nd chime, will boot into 9?.. CMD-OPT
OSX: Watch the status of the system load… CMD-V
OSX: Enter single-user mode (shell-level mode)… CMD-S
how old is it(What version of osx)? Some macs come with hardware test disks you can boot into and have it test all the hardware for errors. The disk is seperate from the OS install disc. Not sure if you can download them off the site anymore.
how old is it(What version of osx), and what model mac? Some macs come with hardware test disks you can boot into and have it test all the hardware for errors. The disk is separate from the OS install disc. Not sure if you can download them off the site anymore.
Yeah put the hardware test disk in it. If that doesnt work, take the hard drive out get an external enclosure and back your stuff up if you havent already. Then try reinstalling the operating system.
macs are made to need ‘fixed’ every two years. to ‘fix’ a mac, you go to your nearest mac store and purchase a new mac. most of the people who i know with macs have had a major issue around the two year mark.
I really don’t have issue with mac. I’ve used them all the plenty times before.
try and disconnect all extra devices from your mac, everything except the keyboard and mouse… if they are on a USB hub, remove the hub and put them directly in.
I’m not a professional and I’m not certified to give you any advice, but after googling i would suggest perhaps trying this if my prior suggestion does not work:
esetting PRAM and NVRAM
-Shut down the computer.
-Locate the following keys on the keyboard: Command, Option, P, and R. You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously in step 4.
-Turn on the computer.
-Press and hold the Command-Option-P-R keys. You must press this key combination before the gray screen appears.
-Hold the keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the startup sound for the second time.
-Release the keys.
If the message still appears after you reset PRAM, reset the Open Firmware settings:
-Instead of typing “mac-boot” at the Open Firmware prompt, type: reset-nvram
-Press Return.
-At the Open Firmware prompt, type: reset-all
-Press Return.
If the problem continues (or not), it would be best to replace the 3.6v battery on the logic board.
ummm OK?? I had a volkswagen for 4 years that never broke down, so none do right? :squint:
why don’t you guys with macs without issue help the dude that has one? I posted the key combos and to watch it boot… the Original Poster needs to run through some of the steps before anyone is going to be able to help.
I have a laptop with xp pro, no antivirus, no spyware, and it is 4 years old.
I guess that means that no manufacturer has any problems since our computers all work great?
Your mac POS is no faster or better than a pc. If more than 5 people in the country liked macs, people would write virus’s for them. They are machines that will break, but the problem is noone wants to work on them to fix it.
Post the same question for a pc and 30 people will chime in and provide a helpful answer. Mac’s are fucking stupid.
Your an asshat. If you never used a mac don’t chime in on this. Who cares about the mac vs pc debate. They both are good for certain things. The guy needs to try the things we offered up. If that doesnt work we can suggest other things. Dude needs help not a high jacked post by someone who doesnt know shit about macs.
Thanks for the help on the key combos Sonny… I messed with it a little bit and didn’t come up with much. They ended up deciding to take it to the Apple Store, I dunno what happened with it since then…
To the rest of the posters who provided help it is greatly appreciated. I know trhe debate goes on and on about PC vs. Mac and it’s basically this… Yeah PCs break down more but are much easier for the every day Joe to mess around with and fix. When Macs break, it’s a lot harder to get help and the help is more expensive, but neither one is bulletproof.
Putting words in my mouth?(im sure this isn’t the only thing you would like to put in my mouth fruit loops)
Oh and you never had to reformat that, Congrats! (Highly unlikely)
Thank you for pointing out ONE of the reasons why there’s less virus’s for Mac. All though maybe a idiotic point, a point none the less.
Again, thanks for bringing up what I mentioned before. I being a PC person have been there done that, as most (if not all) of everyone on here (due to virus’s, spyware etc) This of course leads to why you will get ALOT (to say the least) responses form people on how to fix a PC, genius.