OSX not starting Please Help

Hi I did possibly the most dumb thing you can do to a mac. I deleted The main Library folder (with the core files) to the trash can on accident. When i was trying to transfer it back things started disappearing(dock, clock,etc) and eventually got the spinning wheel. When i tried restarting i got the typical grey screen only now it flashes the apple logo and a circle with a line through it. At this point I would have just re-installed mac osx but my cd drive does not work. So my question is : Is there a way to access the trash to transfer it back? Can I re-install mac osx by purchasing an external cd drive (or does externals only work once booted up?)


FYI : This is a white13'' macbook running leopard

Also I can still access all the files via firewire by setting it as a target drive through my roommates macbook.

I really appreciate any help that anyone can give.thanks in Advance.

There are a few ways I can suggest working this, but I think the easiest way would be to boot to single user mode and use the CLI (Command Line Interface) to manually copy the entire folder from the trash to the root.

I can't remember if you need to use sudo in single user mode, but if you do, just add it to the begining of the command.

here is what the commands will look like:

cp /Users/user_name/.Trash/Library /

sudo cp /Users/user_name/.Trash/Library /

Where user_name is short for your username

To get to SUM (Single User Mode) hit the "S" key on boot.

This should fix your problem, let me know how it turns out.

Taking the deleted Library folder out of your trash bin to your desktop, then drag the contents of the Library folder on your desktop into the new Library folder that was recreated. This should restore your settings.

or reinstall hears how
http://www.dummies.com/how-to/conten...x-panther.html.

He can't boot to the OS anymore. He needs to run the commands, or completely reinstall.

Thank you TheDoctor, of course you probably right, the chances of recovering the folder and data in it, are, shall we say, very slim now, as the work he has already carried out trying to recover it will most likely have been over written by now. And his best course of action would probably be as you say, do a clean reinstall, hence the simple reinstall instructions. He could save any data he wishes to keep through his friends computer, then could must likely boot up with the installer disc from his friends machine, erase the hard disc and re-journal it and install the new OS X.
But this is only a suggestion, other may come up with simpler and better ideas.

That's not true, in a Unix file system there is no such thing as "Re-Writable" marked sections of a disk after removal. If it's in the trash, the data is still recoverable, as long as he hasn't permanently deleted it. As long as he follows my above steps, he will be fine.

As you say then Doc, I'm wrong.