[ConnoNewbie]

Hi,
i originally had 9.2 andd upgraded to 10.2. i was running out of room on hard drive so i started deleting system files. now 10.2 wont boot kernel panic i think, it keeps saying need to restart computer and when going into verbose mode it says panic: holding here.
i want to either repair this and continue deleting files to continue using this but i no longer have any discs.
when i restart and hold option(alt) it gives 2 icons: "macintosh hd" and "protools hd"
when i go into machintosh hard drive it freezes
but when i go into protools hd it seems to load 9.2
on the desktop it says "protools hd" and "machintosh hd" are these literally 2 seperate hard drives? or 2 partitions? how do i see how big my hard drives are and how theyre partitioned?
if i cant fix 10.2 im going to install tiger, should i keep each hard drive or partition?
i have microsoft office 2001 that "seems" to be on protools hd, e.g. when i click on protools hd thats where its listed. i want to be able to keep office as i dont have the disks for it.
any help would be greatly appreciated!
as i am an extreme newbie to mac please give DETAILED instructions as i have seen forums i dont understand when they say "open system window".

its a powerbook g4, thats as detailed info i can give at the mo as i dont know how to access other info that might be needed. if you need any just explain how to get it and ill repost.
thanks
andy

[Randman]

Why did you delete system files?

Your best bet is to do a clean install. Upgrade if you don't have the restore discs. And you can do a custom install and save more than 2 GB of space that way (in Tiger)

[Philip J. Fry]

Originally Posted by ConnoNewbie

Hi,
i originally had 9.2 andd upgraded to 10.2. i was running out of room on hard drive so i started deleting system files. now 10.2 wont boot kernel panic i think, it keeps saying need to restart computer and when going into verbose mode it says panic: holding here.

Never EVER delete system files. If you can, back up everything and then do a clean install of Tiger if that's the next step.

[P]

I seriously hope that this is a troll. If it's not, though: You have two options.

1) Reformat the drive. Reinstall everything from the start. Just grab your documents and any programs you want to keep and wipe the whole thing. You should NOT attempt to upgrade, or restore, or antyhing like that. You will not get a working system if you have deleted random files, because you do not know which files the system will assume is already there. If you're low on space, make sure that you deselect the extra language sets and printer drivers that Apple insists on including in the main installation.

2) Give the Powerbook back to Apple and go use a pen, paper and a calculator. Or give it to me, I could use one for surfing from the couch.

And do not ever again delete files you do not know what they are. This is not some OS X thing, or a UNIX thing: you could not do that in OS 9 either, nor in Windows. Just don't.

Wow, I got through that without calling him an idiot even once. I'm proud of myself.

[ConnoNewbie]

Hi,
I know im an idiot! but i did not know that these were system files e.g they were files that were added after i had bought it so i assumed that it would still work without them.
im gonna reformat and reinstall but how do i save files and especially ms office?
"Just grab your documents and any programs you want to keep" how?

p.s. whats a troll?

[Boochie]

Burn the files/folders you need to CD or DVD, depending on what type of optical drive you have.

Originally Posted by ConnoNewbie

Hi,
I know im an idiot! but i did not know that these were system files e.g they were files that were added after i had bought it so i assumed that it would still work without them.
im gonna reformat and reinstall but how do i save files and especially ms office?
"Just grab your documents and any programs you want to keep" how?

p.s. whats a troll?

[P]

OK, then.

MS Office is usually installed in the folder "Applications". It is in a folder called "Microsoft Office 2001". Copy that folder to some other disk. As Boochie suggests, you can burn it to a CD or a DVD if you have a burner. If you have an extra harddrive, you can copy it to that one. You can also copy it to another Mac by using "Firewire Target disk mode". Set up "target disk mode" by turning one of the computers off, connecting a Firewire cable between them and holding the button "T" on the second computer while starting it.

Your documents should be easier. On the harddrive, there is often one folder called "Documents". Copy it the same way you did with the Office folder before. There is also a folder called "Users". Open it and find your user from OS X. You can copy your files from that user, including that desktop, as well.

If you cannot use any of these ways to copy anything, come back.

And a troll is someone who is faking odd questions or opinions to see what sort of answers he gets.