[juusan]

we have a dual 500 G4 here that we just reinstalled panther on from the original disks, and it doesn't want to install the updates (10.3.*) from the software update, so we've opted to download the files and install them that way. things were going swimingly until update 10.3.7, when suddenly it only boots to the console.

I want to run the 10.3.8 update to see if it will fix this problem. how do I start X from the console? where's the command?

[juusan]

fyi, 10.3.9 hangs the machine, which is why we're updating previous versions.

[chris v]

Have you tried booting from the CD and running Disk Utility on it? A friend of mine borked his permissions the other day, and he could only log into the console until he repaired the, This doesn't seem like that, but it's some kind of stab in the dark.

You could also try repairing permissions from the console. When you get the console prompt, log in using your admin name and password, and type

diskutil repairPermissions /

(I learned that here last week, in a really nasty thread that got locked because I was accused of being a dumbass for not knowing that, so I'm not linking to that thread.)

[juusan]

thanks just tried your suggestion, to no avail. do you know how to launch X from the command line?

[chris v]

type exit?

[juusan]

the problem is that the login window won't start. when you type exit, it shows you the startup screen, and then dumps you back in the console.

[chris v]

Okay, I'm stumped. Neeext?

Maybe archive and install, then run the 10.3.9 combo updater?