I just bought Mac OS X Leopard and did the upgrade. Before doing so, I backed up my very important files but not my photos. After the upgrade, when the computer boots, it hits the login screen and after a few seconds, the busy beachball replaces the cursor and I can’t log in. Nothing responds to clicking; the password field doesn’t appear; I can still sleep the computer and toggle the CAPS Lock. I’ve tried using the disk repair utility which finds no errors. I’ve tried re-installing using the option to backup systems files and preserve user files and preferences. No change. I was going to use my Tiger disk to try to reinstall Tiger, but I no longer have the option to perserve user files. I intend to to a clean install of Leopard, and failing that a clean install of Tiger, but before I do that, I’d really like to rescue my photos. Do you have any suggestions? I’ve considered booting into Ubuntu using the Live CD which I could acquire from a friend, but I’m not sure how I would access my files once I do so. Thanks!
Michael, Ottawa, ON
You’re running a program that’s incompatible with Leopard – most likely a haxie from Unsanity.The good news is that the archive and install option will work just fine. There’s no need to format your drive or delete your photos. Reboot the Mac while pressing C to boot to the Install disc then choose the Archive and Install option.
Sean’s note: All Macs can be booted into “Target” mode by holding down the T key after you press the power button. After you do so, the FireWire logo will appear on the screen of your computer — after that you can use your Mac as if it was an external hard drive by plugging a FireWire cable into your Mac and then plugging the other end of the computer into another computer with a FireWire port. You should then be able to copy your files from your computer to the other computer.
