tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37642571.post9009714824675479637..comments2024-03-20T02:30:44.457-07:00Comments on Thinking In Software: MAC OSX not booting? Make a backup from single user mode first Nestor Urquizahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12351754666722274569noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37642571.post-40219989631996157972019-08-15T13:00:06.832-07:002019-08-15T13:00:06.832-07:00Lifesaver - The graphics card in my 2011 iMac has ...Lifesaver - The graphics card in my 2011 iMac has just overheated and failed so I only have the basic integrated graphics and can't load OS X or any of the normal Recovery Tools... Thankfully single user mode works (albeit with 100s of vertical lines down the screen) using the integrated graphics so I've been able to copy my files onto an external USB before I attempt to rip this thing open to replace the graphics card!Alistairukhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07941891250632609242noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37642571.post-15848072218187540092018-03-23T18:20:03.626-07:002018-03-23T18:20:03.626-07:00@Jose if you mounted the right device it should be...@Jose if you mounted the right device it should be r/w. The command 'mount -t hfs /dev/disk2s2 /extdrive' should not be taken literally. You need to look at which device your external drives belongs to. Might be anything below /dev.Nestor Urquizahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12351754666722274569noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37642571.post-2668628151456330142018-03-21T21:04:49.727-07:002018-03-21T21:04:49.727-07:00Hello. It seems its going to work, the files are c...Hello. It seems its going to work, the files are copied but how can a external drive be mounted as read- write? Appears as read -only... thanks!!José Floreshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00210074869707943805noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37642571.post-60172455512138195862018-02-18T04:07:34.188-08:002018-02-18T04:07:34.188-08:00thank you very much for this handy guide - helped ...thank you very much for this handy guide - helped a lot recovering most files after my SSD refused to boot anymoreAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37642571.post-24627005342377488992017-11-28T03:30:53.017-08:002017-11-28T03:30:53.017-08:00Amazing, great article thanks a lot sir, my system...Amazing, great article thanks a lot sir, my system actually back up everything in one go.<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14137303832804525009noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37642571.post-70195716604607183522017-10-19T08:05:43.663-07:002017-10-19T08:05:43.663-07:00Wow, you saved my day!
Such simple commands ... I ...Wow, you saved my day!<br />Such simple commands ... I got sucked into a lot more complicated things I found online and none worked. Really grateful for this article! Thanks a millionAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37642571.post-84129574272507764782017-09-25T05:04:47.585-07:002017-09-25T05:04:47.585-07:00@Sofiane, all I can say is be patient. It will eve...@Sofiane, all I can say is be patient. It will eventually finish. Best and good luck! - NestorNestor Urquizahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12351754666722274569noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37642571.post-88195145491535011752017-09-25T04:19:39.942-07:002017-09-25T04:19:39.942-07:00hey Nestor! thanks for this very helpful post !
i ...hey Nestor! thanks for this very helpful post !<br />i decided to back up my entire user directory which has about 200go with your single user method<br />I'm at step 6 and it should be copying the content to the external drive, but:<br />how do i know when it's finished? as it doesn't display any details about the ongoing tasks?<br />thanks again !<br />Sofiane<br /><br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10460811002045739030noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37642571.post-69310987658229351312017-03-26T15:09:33.750-07:002017-03-26T15:09:33.750-07:00@Tayler,
A copy can take a long time and there wo...@Tayler,<br /><br />A copy can take a long time and there would be no feedback other than perhaps the light in the external USB drive indicating data transfer. Leave it there for as long as it takes. Try to copy smaller directories, for example:<br />cp -pr /Users/nestor/Documents/my\ directory\ number\ 1 /extdrive/<br />cp -pr /Users/nestor/Documents/my\ directory\ number\ 2 /extdrive/<br />cp -pr /Users/nestor/Documents/my\ directory\ number\ 3 /extdrive/<br />...<br /><br />Note that you need to escape spaces.<br /><br />You can try the below to restart instead (-r flag):<br />shutdown -r now<br /><br />Best,<br />- NestorNestor Urquizahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12351754666722274569noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37642571.post-59505248212623537832017-03-26T14:15:01.723-07:002017-03-26T14:15:01.723-07:00Thanks so much for your help Nestor.
How long sh...Thanks so much for your help Nestor.<br /><br /> How long should it take to transfer after you've input 'cp -pr'? It doesn't seem to respond and when I then type 'reboot' or 'shutdown -h now' nothing happens.<br /><br /> Thanks againTaylerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16837395639642500660noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37642571.post-13791637493471531542016-12-23T00:21:49.725-08:002016-12-23T00:21:49.725-08:00@Andrej, I recommend that you post your question i...@Andrej, I recommend that you post your question in stack overflow. Backing up encrypted drives from single user mode is a completely different monster that I have not had the chance to play with yet. Good luck! - NestorNestor Urquizahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12351754666722274569noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37642571.post-48312929364511379132016-12-22T16:06:44.006-08:002016-12-22T16:06:44.006-08:00Hi Nestor,
I have a Mac OS X El Captain and it wo...Hi Nestor,<br /><br />I have a Mac OS X El Captain and it won't boot after inputing the user password it stops the progress at nearly the end and doesn't allow me to enter the OS and save my files. <br />I have entered single user mode and tried to copy the files to an external hdd but i get that the disk is encrypted. My question is how to get the drive un encrypted throw single user mode?<br /><br />Thanks,Andrejhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13805997298996258065noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37642571.post-58571917938576757132016-11-26T12:45:50.030-08:002016-11-26T12:45:50.030-08:00@ArgonKen my pleasure. I am si glad to hear this h...@ArgonKen my pleasure. I am si glad to hear this helped you. Cheers! - NestorNestor Urquizahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12351754666722274569noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37642571.post-73629317514571885842016-11-26T09:36:46.442-08:002016-11-26T09:36:46.442-08:00Hi Nestor! You deserve a Nobel Prize for this post...Hi Nestor! You deserve a Nobel Prize for this post. I used to have Time Machine backing up my computer, but my external HD died and I never replaced it. And setting up a cloud backup never made it past my "I'll Get to It" list. Looks like my video card is going bad (or just doesn't like Mavericks), and after about 45 minutes of running, the computer reboots itself and it enters an endless boot loop. I bought a new external drive, but it's kind of hard to back up files in 45-minute increments (separated by several hours of cool-down time). Single User Mode bypasses the GPU, so the computer can run all night on it without initiating the boot loop. I followed your directions and safely got all our photos and other important documents backed up. You've saved me a lot of pain and anguish. Thank you so much for posting this!!!Ken Crookerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11075266505143084013noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37642571.post-6878975167399580692016-10-24T11:04:35.565-07:002016-10-24T11:04:35.565-07:00Hi Alex, glad that it helped.
- NestorHi Alex, glad that it helped.<br />- NestorNestor Urquizahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12351754666722274569noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37642571.post-8261240562426983192016-10-24T10:08:07.631-07:002016-10-24T10:08:07.631-07:00Good sir this article has saved my bacon and then ...Good sir this article has saved my bacon and then some<br />Thank youAlexhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14405974735602743004noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37642571.post-87431688505415780672016-10-11T15:05:03.990-07:002016-10-11T15:05:03.990-07:00Hi Thomas, Just use quotes:
# cp -pr "/User/...Hi Thomas, Just use quotes:<br /><br /># cp -pr "/User/John Doe Johnson/Pictures" /extdrive/ Nestor Urquizahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12351754666722274569noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37642571.post-48581878211154108532016-10-11T11:50:45.948-07:002016-10-11T11:50:45.948-07:00Hi Nestor.
What if a username contains space betw...Hi Nestor.<br /><br />What if a username contains space between, ie. first name last name? <br /><br />How does the # cp -pr /User/John Doe Johnson/Pictures /extdrive/ work with space in-between the first middle and last name?Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08978672109361403831noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37642571.post-45471048316455590152015-11-01T15:30:01.071-08:002015-11-01T15:30:01.071-08:00@Miles Thanks. Updated.@Miles Thanks. Updated.Nestor Urquizahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12351754666722274569noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37642571.post-42355028879782263072015-11-01T11:08:43.099-08:002015-11-01T11:08:43.099-08:00Hi Nestor,
You may want to include the -p option ...Hi Nestor,<br /><br />You may want to include the <b>-p</b> option in your <b>cp</b> command. It "preserve(s) the following attributes of each source file in the copy: modification time, access time, file flags, file mode, user ID, and group ID, as allowed by permissions. Access Control Lists (ACLs) and Extended Attributes (EAs), including resource forks, will also be preserved."<br /><br />Aloha,<br /><br />MilesMiles Wolbehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06088869267885343322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37642571.post-86827057804814359622015-10-29T14:11:13.311-07:002015-10-29T14:11:13.311-07:00Hi Greg, some people like me just download and wor...Hi Greg, some people like me just download and work directly on the Downloads directory which means I also clean it up frequently. But you are right that most of the time it is not necessary to backup that directory so go ahead and skip it. After you have your backup then just wipe out the OS from the bootable USB and reinstall the OS.Nestor Urquizahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12351754666722274569noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-37642571.post-12559141730806609782015-10-29T13:20:50.548-07:002015-10-29T13:20:50.548-07:00I tried this and everything worked nicely until I ...I tried this and everything worked nicely until I got to my Downloads directory. I forgot the exact line but it was something about running out of room. Perhaps some of my download files were too big? Why do you backup downloads when most things can be re-downloaded later.<br /><br />Side note: I have the grey/white screen of death (27 inch iMac circa January 2012). After the Apple logo and spinner appears, I get the white screen. I tried all the options I read about online (Command R and also the method to go wireless) and nothing works. But hard drive seems fine as I have been able to access everything so far.NeoTribalisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05330271604074350722noreply@blogger.com