Won't boot after deleting preferences

[colemonster]

I have a hackintosh I built using a tutorial I found here. Its been working great for over a year and I keep it up to date. However after upgrading to Yosemite I noticed that iMessage wasn't working. I followed a tutorial that told me to add some module to the extras folder, delete some preferences in the library, and reboot. Upon reboot my computer crashed at the yosemite startup screen- my screen just went black when the progress bar was about 50%. I then realized that I couldn't access BIOS at startup either, F12, DEL, etc didn't do anything although I know the keyboard was working because I can type commands once Chimera loads. After Chimera loads I can access startup options but my Unibeast drive and a Time Machine backup also won't get me through a startup successfully.

Can I save this wreck somehow or do I need to do a clean install? Can I even do a clean install if I can't access BIOS? I could really use some help, kinda freaking out because I need this computer for work.

 

[P1LGRIM]

I have a hackintosh I built using a tutorial I found here. Its been working great for over a year and I keep it up to date. However after upgrading to Yosemite I noticed that iMessage wasn't working. I followed a tutorial that told me to add some module to the extras folder, delete some preferences in the library, and reboot. Upon reboot my computer crashed at the yosemite startup screen- my screen just went black when the progress bar was about 50%. I then realized that I couldn't access BIOS at startup either, F12, DEL, etc didn't do anything although I know the keyboard was working because I can type commands once Chimera loads. After Chimera loads I can access startup options but my Unibeast drive and a Time Machine backup also won't get me through a startup successfully.

Can I save this wreck somehow or do I need to do a clean install? Can I even do a clean install if I can't access BIOS? I could really use some help, kinda freaking out because I need this computer for work.

Please read the Rules :

Profiles need to contain at least your primary system to assist others with helping you

Thanks in anticipation

 

[colemonster]

Hey Pilgrim, updated my profile. Any help would be most welcome. Needed a computer so broke down and bought a Macbook air but I'd really like to get my hackintosh back up and running. Any fixes would be welcome, one thing I was thinking might work is if I start up my hackintosh as target drive connected to my mac air. I could just erase my startup disk and do a clean install that way right? A method that doesn't involve wiping it would be preferable though if anyone can think of one.

 

[P1LGRIM]

Hey Pilgrim, updated my profile. Any help would be most welcome. Needed a computer so broke down and bought a Macbook air but I'd really like to get my hackintosh back up and running. Any fixes would be welcome, one thing I was thinking might work is if I start up my hackintosh as target drive connected to my mac air. I could just erase my startup disk and do a clean install that way right? A method that doesn't involve wiping it would be preferable though if anyone can think of one.

Try an operating system install from USB but don't format your hard drive, that way it should preserve your existing settings.

The procedure is like this :
http://www.tonymacx86.com/yosemite-desktop-guides/143917-guide-update-os-x-mavericks-os-x-yosemite-using-unibeast-multibeast.html

 

[neilhart]

Hey Pilgrim, updated my profile. Any help would be most welcome. Needed a computer so broke down and bought a Macbook air but I'd really like to get my hackintosh back up and running. Any fixes would be welcome, one thing I was thinking might work is if I start up my hackintosh as target drive connected to my mac air. I could just erase my startup disk and do a clean install that way right? A method that doesn't involve wiping it would be preferable though if anyone can think of one.

colemonster it sounds as though you have set the BIOS to not look at the keyboard by setting Fast Boot or some such setting.

If you can not get into the BIOS using the Delete key at startup, you will need to reset the CMOS memory… you can find the details to this process in the motherboard user manual…

Then reset the BIOS Optimized default settings.

You should then be able to use the F12 key to select the USB install to boot from.

Good modding,
neil

 

[colemonster]

Thank you for the help!

Cleared the CMOS and was able to get back into BIOS and force boot from the thumb drive. That brings up an apple loading page but then about halfway through the progress bar it flips to a grey screen with a white square in the middle, the center of which is a circle with a slash through it.

This is the same thumb drive that I updated with when things worked fine with the same unibeast/yosemite on it. Ideas? I don't know what that error screen means

 

[colemonster]

Just created a fresh USB unibeast installer stick incase I had somehow messed up the original one (that had previously worked) but it didn't work. still getting the circle with a slash error. What would be causing this crash when the USB is the starting disk and how do I get around it?

 

[P1LGRIM]

Just created a fresh USB unibeast installer stick incase I had somehow messed up the original one (that had previously worked) but it didn't work. still getting the circle with a slash error. What would be causing this crash when the USB is the starting disk and how do I get around it?

First you need to know what is causing the error.

Boot with -v and post a picture of the screen when it stops.

 

[colemonster]

I get the "still waiting for root device" error when I try to start up from USB using -v

The USB stick works fine as a startup disk on other computers so there is something that is making the USB stick not work on this specific machine. I'm thinking to solve this I could reinstall yosemite on the hackintosh startup drive while its in target disk mode attached to my macbook air? Would this work? I could also just put that drive in target disk mode and replace the extras/library folders with the original ones before I deleted the preference files that screwed everything up.

 

[colemonster]

Do you think the solution I suggest in post #9 will work? I figure I need to do that or buy a new startup drive and then transfer my data from the old drive over to it.