The parser will retry as in 10.2, but the problem should be corrected in the plist.

[zoomizebra]

1 - Did it report any unrepairable errors? Did it report that it repaired anything specifically?

Not that i noticed-I'm not sure, where would i look for a report at this point?

2 - A good sign that it's not a failing drive. Did it report that it repaired anything specifically?

same...I'm not sure, where would i look for a report at this point?

3 - Whatever the cause, you appear to have lost data on your drive. With luck, it's going to have been mostly pref's files and perhaps a few data files like your address book database file.

well, i can find my address book in apllication support, i'm just not sure how to reload it.
as far as iphoto, i know where the photos are, i just can't get them to load in iphoto.

Try creating a new user in your Accounts preferences and see if that when you log in to that user account you have regained the ability to launch your applications.the iphoto crash report syas a lot including:
Exception: EXC_BAD_ACCESS (0x0001)
Codes: KERN_PROTECTION_FAILURE (0x0002) at 0x00000020
i did create a new user account and the applications launch but open up blank.

4 - Yes, that could be a motherboard issue. Sometimes that symptom comes from a component overheating and sometimes it comes from a pinched video cable where it passes through the hinge of the LCD and sometimes it is a sign that a major component such as the motherboard is cracked from an impact or about to die from some random failure due to age.

if it is a motherboard issue, can i keep using my powerbook until the motherboard dies, as long as i back up?

ok, thx for the feeback!

[zoomizebra]

i also was able to install the combo update and now i cant get online! every time i attempt to enter the wep password or simply launch "internet connect", it crashes. what to do?

i ran disk utility again (repair permissions).

thx

[anonymouse1]

Just stop! You keep doing stuff randomly, and all you're doing is creating more confusion.

Why ON EARTH did you install the combo update?

You're making it really, really hard to help you.

[zoomizebra]

Excuse me? i find your email quite rude.

Why on earth do you bother answering with this tone? i have been following your colleague's recommendations and it has worked up to a point.

I would say it is best for you to stay out of it if you don't have the patience to deal with this situation.

;-)

[MacMagus]

Whatever his tone, anonymouse1 is right.

Why did you install the combo update? There are some things that installing a combo update can fix, but it does not seem to have been called for in your situation. Installing new software when you're already having seemingly random data loss is not smart. It makes it difficult to tell what problems stem from the initial source and what problems stem from the combo update.

I think that at this point you need to have your Mac looked at by an expert at an Apple service provider or Apple Store -- and be prepared for a "nuke and pave" recommendation (erase and install a clean OS). Backup your important files.

[zoomizebra]

Actually, installing the combo update was recommended by a Mac expert, and according to him, related to the fact that the major problems seem to occur when I hooked up an external firewire drive.

In any case, using an accusatory tone "you keep doing stuff randomly", and yelling "stop" and "ON EARTH" was uncalled for. This is no way to communicate professionally over the internet, or in any circumstance for that matter.

What if I had called in to Apple yelling and accusing when my home started going on fire because of a faulty Apple power adapter? Anger is only a reflection of one's weaknesses.

In the end, after following your recommendations and before installing the combo update, the system made some progress (I was able to work on files in photoshop) but some of the other problems continued (addressbook empty, and iphoto crashing upon opening, for example). I was able to open internet connect and put in the wep password successfully.

[anonymouse1]

Zoomizebra is right about my tone. I apologize.

And Macmagus is right about what to do. If you follow one piece of advice from one person, and then one piece of advice from another at the same time, you will accomplish at least two things.

First, you will make it impossible to know what cause is producing what effect. You will confuse yourself and those trying to help you.

Second, you will probably frustrate those trying to help you.

What you are doing, IMHO, is like someone who is trying to make a dinner, and mixing two different recipes together, and wondering why they don't work when you have mixed the roast beef and apple pie ingredients together.

You are quite correct about the protocol of interacting. You may have something to learn, however, about the protocol of repairing a Mac and asking for assistance in repairing it. IMHO, you are not acting wisely.

I choose to withdraw from assisting you. Good luck.

[zoomizebra]

Apologies accepted.

What it comes down to, is that despite following your recommendations, the powerbook is not functioning properly, this before the combo update was installed.

When i ran fsck i got 8 lines of "overlapped extent allocation" and also a"repairing volume" line following "checking volume bitmap info". it ended with a "repaired successfully" line though I do remember that it also said that "the ...was modified", right before that.