iMac start up problem

[thatchie]

Hi all. Have an iMac mid-2011, w. two volumes, Snow Leopard and El Capitain. Up until now could boot into either using Option key, Now I get a "NO" symbol (circle w. slash) trying to start up with Snow Leopard (El Cap boot up is fine).

I tried: started up from 10.6.8 cd successfully, w. Disk Util ran all repairs, permissions, the Hard Drive and both volumes were GOOD. Also I could successfully boot up into Safe Mode.

I'm now really stumped. I strongly suspect problem is Keychain related (I saw one alert about it), but I don't know what to do next. I really need to work in Snow Leopard as most of my apps and data live $#£there.

Would greatly appreciate any solutions, comments.

Thanks! Bob B

 

[Cory Cooper]

Hello and welcome.

You could try to startup in El Capitan, then use the Startup Disk preference pane to select the Snow Leopard partition. See if that allows it to start from SL.

Do you remember what the Keychain alert stated by any chance?

C

 

[thatchie]

Hi Cory. I've tried the prefs route many times before, and now, with no success.

I believe the Keychain alert had 3 options: Create New Keychain, update or fix or repair or something option, and continue/proceed, login or something similar.

Thanking you for your help!
Bob

 

[thatchie]

RE: the alert, I pressed 'continue' to get out of the box as I have no clue about working the keychain.

But I did attempt to open the Keychain Access app on SL (v 4.1.1) and got an alert:
"Keychain Access cannot be opened because of a problem" also, "You may need to re-install the application"

I'd like to try this option but I'm not sure if it's possible to install only one application from the SL cd without having to do a clean install and all the hassles that may entail.

An comments or suggestions?

Thank You!
Bob B

 

[Cory Cooper]

OK, thanks.

You could try creating a new keychain at the prompt. NOTE: You will lose all your stored passwords by doing this, but it may solve the issue.

It's not possible to only install one application like Keychain Access using the SL install disc. You can install SL over the top of your current SL OS, without performing an erase and clean install. You will still have your data intact, but it probably won't solve the corrupted keychain issue.

If creating a new keychain doesn't solve the issue, let us know.

C

 

[thatchie]

sorry for the lapse... Here's what I did. Booted up in SL in Safe Mode, opened Keychain Access app., chose 'create new keychain' (app named this bobb.keychain), then it appears among the other keychain items; login, system, et al, and that's about it!

I just didn't feel it would have any impact as it felt simply like 'create new folder'. And upon reboot, yes nothing changed, could not log in directly into my 10.6.8. I feel something MORE has to be done; is it saved in the right place, does it need to be 'activated', do other keychains need to be deleted?

I admit I know about the mechanics of keychains, and know I've always been afraid of messing them up (moving, deleting, renaming, etc.)

So now, I still want very much to freely access my essential stuff on my beloved old Mac!

Still looking for a solution, thanks to C. and all.
Bob

 

[Cory Cooper]

Hello,

Since your login keychain is corrupted, you need to create a new one a the prompt it was giving you. The method you used simply created a new keychain called bobb.keychain, and left the corrupted login.keychain in place.

Startup normally, without holding the Shift key, and choose Create New Keychain. That will replace the corrupted login.keychain and should restore things back to normal. As I mentioned previously, you will lose all of your stored passwords.

C