Stopping a Bomb at Startup

Dan Knight - March 1998

I just installed a new program or upgraded an old program. Now my Mac bombs on startup.

First, boot with extensions off. You do that by holding down the shift key until the happy Mac goes away. If your computer boots without extensions, you have a conflict somewhere in your System Folder.

The most likely culprit is something left behind by the software installer. Open the System Folder and view by name. At or near the top you may see an extension and a folder with names like "Installer Temp." If so, drag them to the Trash and restart. (Don't empty the Trash until you know the system boots properly.)

The problem is that the installer left behind an extension that was supposed to clean up after itself, but instead that extension is somehow incompatible with your system. So, instead of quietly deleting old files, it crashes your computer.

For other possibilities, read What Works, What Doesn't.

Troubleshooting Your Mac Articles

Recent Content on Low End Mac

Major League Baseball and the Macintosh: Has the magic faded?, Charles Moore, Miscellaneous Ramblings, 03.31. Good business decisions show MLB and Apple for what they are, and there's no magic to business.
It's not the iPod's fault, Frank Fox, Stop the Noiz, 03.31. Don't blame Apple because it doesn't support moving your music library from your iPod to your computer. Apple never claimed it could do that.
Best iBook G4 deals, 03.31. Used 12" 800 MHz Combo, $379; 1.2, $437; 1.33, $625; 14" 1 GHz, $580; 1.33, $600; SuperDrive, $631; 1.42 $680.
Best Xserve deals, 03.31. Used 2.0 GHz dual G5, $1,100; refurb 2.0 dual-core Xeon, $1,999; 2.66, $2,799; 3.0, $3,499; new 2.8 GHz quad, $2,849; 8-core, $3,349; 3.0, $4,188.
Best Mac OS X 10.5 'Leopard' deals, 03.31. Mac OS X 10.5.1 single user, $99; 5 users, $139; 10.5 Server, 10 users, $450; unlimited, $899.
Mar. 31 in LEM history. 96: Apple shuts down eWorld - 00: The carpenter's trade in the computer age - 03: Quill gripless ergonomic mouse - Angry about OS X, upgrade pricing - 04: Is Apple up or down these days? - Upgraded Pismo or 14" iBook? - 05: Risk of meteorite impact for your Mac - 06: Thanks for 30 strange years - Class action madness - MacBook beefs - Many G3 Macs now considered vintage
Mac sales up while PCs decline, college students flock to Mac, Mac mini mount, and more, Mac News Review, 03.28. Also picking the right Mac, creative uses for a Mac mini, Time Capsule reviewed, updates for Leopard, Time Capsule, and AirPort, and more.
First 320 GB 7200 rpm notebook drive, USB ports inside MacBook Air, Modbook impressive, and more, The 'Book Review, 03.28. Also Vista on MacBook Air, 256 GB SSD you can't afford, new BTO MacBook Pro 18 percent faster, MacBook impressive, solar laptop bag, bargain 'Books from $150 to $2,699, and more.
Can iPhone replace desktops?, medical use for iPhone, 3G iPhone on order?, and more, iNews Review, 03.28. Also tactile feedback for the iPhone, 45 second jailbreak, iPod touch Apple's sleeper device, Apple TV now a true multimedia device, and more.
Designing a better laptop: Look to the past, John Hatchett, Recycled Computing, 02.27. Modern Apple notebooks have less expansion and upgrade options than G3 PowerBooks from a decade ago
PowerBook 150 still a winner, Carl Nygren, My Turn, 03.27. An ancient PowerBook can be a great portable for word processing and email - and it can even browse the Web.
Lean word processing, PowerBook 150 drawbacks, Mac ethernet issues, and more, Dan Knight, Low End Mac Mailbag, 03.27. Also thoughts on WordPerfect, Microsoft Word, MacWrite, ClarisWorks, WriteNow, and Bean, and FireWire with modern iPods.
Best online iPod nano deals, 03.27. Refurbished 3G iPod nano, 4 GB, $129; new, $138; refurb 8 GB, $169; new, $180.
Best online 15" MacBook Pro deals, 03.27. Used 1.83 GHz Core Duo, $1,100; 2.0, $1,155; refurb, 2.2 Core2, $1,449; 2.4, $1,649; new 2.2, $1,525 a/r; 2.4, $1,744 a/r; 2.5, $2,319 a/r.
Best online iMac G4 deals, 03.27. Used 15" 700 MHz Combo, $299; 800, $320; SuperDrive, $380; 1 GHz Combo, $399; SD, $475; 17" 1.25 GHz, $509; 20", $709.

Go to the Troubleshooting Your Mac index.

About LEM | Support | Usage | Privacy | Contacts

Entire Low End Mac website copyright ©1997-2009 by Cobweb Publishing, Inc., unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. Advice presented in good faith, but what works for one may not work for all. Please report errors to .
LINKS: We allow and encourage links to any public page as long as the linked page does not appear within a frame that prevents bookmarking it.
Access our RSS news feed at http://lowendmac.com/feed.xml.
Email may be published at our discretion; email addresses will not be published without permission, and we will encrypt them in hopes of avoiding spammers. If you prefer your message not be published, mark it "not for publication." Letters may be edited for length, context, and to match house style.
PRIVACY: We don't collect personal information unless you explicitly provide it. For more details, see our Terms of Use.
Low End Mac is an independent publication and has not been authorized, sponsored, or otherwise approved by Apple Inc. Apple, the Apple logo, Macintosh, iBook, iMac, eMac, iPod, iPhone, PowerBook, MacBook, MagSafe, Mac Pro, Apple TV, and AirPort are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. Additional company and product names may be trademarks or registered trademarks and are hereby acknowledged.