Hi Pat,
Could you clarify what you mean by “had no effect? As I see it there are 3 possible outcomes here: The diagnostics do not run. The diagnostics run and report a problem or problems. The diagnostics run and report no hardware problems. Each of these outcomes point to very different problems and therefore different approaches to resolve them. If you are correct in your assumption that the problem is the botched changes to the security panel then I would probably expect outcome 3) above. To help us identify your problem(s) and to suggest ways to fix it/them - could you: Confirm exactly what happened when you ran the diagnostics – ie which of the 3 outcomes above (or something else that I didn’t imagine) If outcome 2) – what were the diagnostic results reported. What kind of backups do you have – Time Machine, bootable clone, both – and how recent are these. Also, you said that you tried starting in safe mode but that did not work – which is perhaps not unexpected if something is messed up at the basic OS level – but did you try booting in Recovery mode? This special mode boots from a separate recovery partition on your boot drive, which macOS creates at the time of installation. If you are correct in your assumption that the problem is the botched changes to the security panel then booting into recovery mode should let you re-install MacOS without having to wipe the disk completely and start over from scratch. In fact, macOS can make an effort to reinstall only the system files, replacing any corrupted or damaged system files and, hopefully, returning your system to a working state. If you give us the info requested above then it will help guide us as to whether this approach will work and I can point you to more detailed articles/instructions about the process. Like many others on this list, I am quite happy to work with others on their problems – we have all been helped by the list ourselves and, at least for me, my ageing brain probably needs the challenge ;o) Cheers Neil -- Neil R. Houghton Albany, Western Australia Tel: +61 8 9841 6063 Email: n...@possumology.com From: <wamug.org.au-wamug-boun...@lists.wamug.org.au> on behalf of Patricia Scott <clamsh...@iinet.net.au> Reply-To: WAMUG <wamug@wamug.org.au> Date: Friday, 16 August 2019 at 12:27 To: WAMUG <wamug@wamug.org.au> Subject: Re: Serious problem Hi, Neil, I have now tried the diagnostics test as you suggested, but sadly, that also had no effect. (My ‘puter is a late 2013 Mac Pro.) I do appreciate your time and effort to help, and I thank you very much. Cheers, Pat On 15 Aug 2019, at 6:26 pm, Neil Houghton <n...@possumology.com> wrote: Hi Pat, OK maybe I hadn’t explained the hardware test/diagnostics properly - the Apple and the progress bar should not come into it. The first step is to switch the computer completely OFF – preferably using the power button or, if all else fails, by turning off at the power socket. Then, following the instructions on the relevant Apple support articles, the hardware test/diagnostics is invoked BEFORE the computer can get to the Apple and the progress bar stage. However, I guess I am probably more comfortable with all this – so I quite understand that you may be more comfortable just leaving it to an expert like Daniel. Cheers Neil -- Neil R. Houghton Albany, Western Australia Tel: +61 8 9841 6063 Email: n...@possumology.com From: <wamug.org.au-wamug-boun...@lists.wamug.org.au> on behalf of Patricia Scott <clamsh...@iinet.net.au> Reply-To: WAMUG <wamug@wamug.org.au> Date: Thursday, 15 August 2019 at 15:47 To: WAMUG <wamug@wamug.org.au> Subject: Re: Serious problem Hi, Neil, The simple constraint is that the only items showing on the monitor are the Apple and the progress bar — absolutely nothing to click or see. At least, it is rigorously protecting the computer. I just now have written to Daniel. Again, thanks — WAMUG rocks! Cheers, Pat On 15 Aug 2019, at 3:12 pm, Neil Houghton <n...@possumology.com> wrote: Hi Pat, When you say “it didn’t work” are you saying that following the instructions for the hardware test/diagnostics failed to initiate the hardware tests (ie the hardware tests did not run) – or are you saying that they ran OK but did not indicate any problem? You may be right when you say the problem is the botched changes to the security panel – but in that case I would expect that, while the problem might prevent the computer from booting up, the hardware test should run OK. If the hardware test does not even run I would have thought it suggests other problems. But maybe you do need someone with more experience to look at it – maybe try Daniel? Just my thoughts. Please let us know how it all turns out. Cheers Neil -- Neil R. Houghton Albany, Western Australia Tel: +61 8 9841 6063 Email: n...@possumology.com From: <wamug.org.au-wamug-boun...@lists.wamug.org.au> on behalf of Patricia Scott <clamsh...@iinet.net.au> Reply-To: WAMUG <wamug@wamug.org.au> Date: Thursday, 15 August 2019 at 13:58 To: WAMUG <wamug@wamug.org.au> Subject: Re: Serious problem Hi, Neil, Thank you for this information, it’s a good thing to know. I tried it, but it didn’t work, at least for this kind of situation. I am pretty sure that the problem is the botched changes to the security panel: it has locked down the whole computer and will need the attention of a trained person. Thanks,again, Pat On 15 Aug 2019, at 1:19 pm, Neil Houghton <n...@possumology.com> wrote: Hi Pat, If it was me, I would first try and ascertain whether it was a hardware problem or just the OSX installation which had got messed up. I am assuming that you don’t have a bootable clone of the Mac that predates your problem? If you did you could just try booting up from the clone and if it was just the OSX installation which had got messed up then the Mac should boot up OK from the clone. If that was the case you could just clone the clone back to the main HD and, in effect, rewind your system to the pre-problem status. However, assuming you don’t have that option then the fact that the screen gets as far as the white Apple shows that the hardware is working on some level - but does not rule out hardware problems. Apple computers include high-level hardware test/diagnostics routines which you can run BEFORE the computer tries to load up the OS. Depending on the age of your Mac this may be called Apple Hardware Test (for pre June 2013 machines) or Apple Diagnostics (for machines introduced after June 2013). The basic procedure is the same in both cases - disconnect external device, shut down the Mac and then switch on and hold down the D key. You should first read the Apple support articles here: How to use Apple Hardware Test on your Mac https://support.apple.com/en-au/HT201257 How to use Apple Diagnostics on your Mac https://support.apple.com/en-au/HT202731 Be aware that the tests can take some time to complete – so don’t worry if it seems “stuck” for a while. If the Mac passes this test, you should probably look at reinstalling the system – but the best approach will depend on what sort of backups/clones you have. Hopefully, this should give you a much clearer picture of just where your problem lies. HTH Cheers Neil -- Neil R. Houghton Albany, Western Australia Tel: +61 8 9841 6063 Email: n...@possumology.com From: <wamug.org.au-wamug-boun...@lists.wamug.org.au> on behalf of Patricia Scott <clamsh...@iinet.net.au> Reply-To: WAMUG <wamug@wamug.org.au> Date: Thursday, 15 August 2019 at 09:58 To: WAMUG <wamug@wamug.org.au> Subject: Re: Serious problem Hi,Ronni, Thank you very much for the information. Unfortunately, it didn’t work. The same black screen with just a white Apple is all that is visible. I read all the rest of the support information, and I think the only option is to take it in to a repair shop and hope for the best. Again, many thanks, Pat On 15 Aug 2019, at 6:37 am, Ronni Brown <ro...@mac.com> wrote: Hello Pat, You could try: Shut down your Mac, then turn it on and immediately press and hold these four keys together: Option, Command, P, and R. You can release the keys after about 20 seconds, during which your Mac might appear to restart. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204063 Kind Regards, Ronni Ronni Brown’s iPad Pro 12.9-inch 256GB On 14 Aug 2019, at 3:56 pm, Patricia Scott <clamsh...@iinet.net.au> wrote: I have a Wacom pen tablet. Yesterday a message came up on the computer that the firmware for the tablet needed to be updated because in the new Mojave update Apple neglected to classify Wacom as safe software, and it was necessary for users to modify items in the Security Preferences panel. So I read the instructions and followed them (I thought). Unfortunately, I think I omitted a step and then tried boot the computer. The result was that the monitor now shows only the white Apple and the stalled progress bar. I did a Safe boot, but it didn’t work. I hope the really savvy members might know how this can be remedied. 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