Chris, Did your friend by chance have a password login enabled on startup?
A few users (including myself) have had ML not speak at startup despite the option being ticked in system preferences. I had to actually hit command + F5 at the login screen to activate it and untick and tick the box a couple of times in system preferences. Seems a tad buggy, but worked on my iMac ok, just had issues on Macbook Pro. Chris On 27 Jul 2012, at 08:02, Christopher-Mark Gilland <clgillan...@gmail.com> wrote: >> OK, so, if this isn't totally bizarre, I don't know what is! >> >> My best friend, who like me, is an Avid primary Mac user decided to install >> Mountain Lion yesterday. So, he went to the app store with my help, and we >> bought and downloaded ML with his Apple ID. >> >> All went perfectly, from what we could see at first. I should add before we >> go any further that he has identically the same model macbook that I have... >> the mid 2010 stocked white 13 inch. This system is not a macbook pro. >> Beware. It is just the standard mid 2010 white 13 inch. >> >> Anyhow, he went through the install window, and the system restarted as >> expected to finish the installation. We hear the startup chime, and think >> all is well. We give it a few minutes, then hit command+F5. Sure enough, >> Voiceover came up with the Fred voice talking perfectly. We were quite >> satisfied so far. The progress indicator looked perfect, and was moving >> along just fine. Once it reached 100%, the system restarted as expected. I >> told him get ready, here comes ML! You're gonna love this. Huhho! Boy? oh, >> boy? was I? wrong! I should a said: Get ready! Here comes disaster! >> >> We hear the chime, and wait? and wait, and wait some more? and continue >> waiting? and more waiting? and, oh, by the freaking way, did I by chance >> mention, waited? LOL! So now, great as I am, not just at the mac, but in >> general with trouble shooting technology, I'm going, well? sh**! Um? Like, >> uh, hmm! what the! Heck? So here I am, trying to figure out, what in the >> God blessid heck happened, as I swear! we didn't do anything! out of the >> ordinary from anyone else. So, I had him shut down, and simply restart by >> holding his power button down. I know, bad? move, but what else were we >> gonna do!? He was hung! We kind a had no other choice of the matter. It >> was either do that, or sit here and watch the perty apple whilst singing: I >> haven't gotta clue, I don't know what to say, what the bird is wrong with >> it, all the do dah day. LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL! So, it reboots, we hear the >> chime, and again, we wait for all eternity. Nothing happens. Just that >> stupid little apple on the grey background that shows it's loading. You >> know, kind a the Darwin boot loader, I guess you'd call it, ish. No error >> messages that I know a, just the blasted thing not booting. It's totally >> weird, as it said! it installed correctly. >> >> So, the next thing I had 'em do, was to go into the hidden recovery >> partition by hitting command+R once he heard the startup chime. That worked >> absolutely flawlessly. He did hit the ML, not the Lion, Recovery Partition >> with no issue at all. So I'm going: Sh'sh'shewwwww! At least? that >> worked! So, only cause I didn't feel like having him fetch an ethernet cord >> from the back of his desktop windows machine out in the living room, which >> would a waken his folks up, plus is way back in a cavinet which, yeah, good >> luck trying to get that tower pulled out to get back there with all the >> cords in the way... LOL! So, at my disgression, I had him go up to the >> airport icon in the menu bar instead, and connect to his wifi network. That >> worked again, perfectly. Once connected, I had him try to reinstall from >> the recovery partition. That worked again perfectly. Then the system >> restarted, but here's the weird thing. Then, it went again through this >> stupid progression thing again. It's almost like it repeated the >> installation. it didn't sho anything different it was doing. The extra >> components it had to download did go through successfully, so it's not like >> it got hung there. Trust me. We both watched the screen with Voiceover >> very closely. >> >> Once this all was done, the system restarted a second time. just as we >> thought he would be good to go, we hear the chime, lots of hard disk >> activity for about maybe 10 minutes, then no activity, and just regular fan >> noise, nothing unusual sounding. It's not like his processor was over >> heating, as there wasn't any fan noise out of the ordinary. I'd think the >> EFI would a kicked in causing the fan to rev up to cool down had there been >> an issue. OK, yeah, there is the possibility he has a bad EFI, but it's >> real unlikely. Especially being what I'm gonna tell you all we did here in >> just a second that proves that not to be the case. >> >> So, you can imagine, by this point, I'm pulling my hair out trying to figure >> out what the hel., parden the language, is going on! >> >> Finally it dawned on me, maybe, just? maybe, it's the PRam having issues. >> Again, it's really doubtful, I completely agree with you all, but at this >> point, we really had nothing to lose. If you're wonderring, well D*** it, >> Chris? why didn't you think to have him go to disk utility and run a >> disk/permission verification and repair the disk/permissions, if needed. The >> only reason I didn't have him yet do that, is because not even a week ago >> literally! not even 7 days ago literally speaking, I myself had his macbook >> literally in my hand, as he came down here for 3 weeks to visit with me, and >> I ran a disk repair/permission repair at that point, as his finder kept >> saying busy busy busy almost constantly, and so we thought maybe something >> with the drive was screwed. Sure enough, it was, and I repaired, and >> according to the log, it was fixed 100% of the way. So, I didn't really >> think yet to have him try that, as why! He only just did it and fixed >> things not even a week before. So, it just kind a seemed thus, pointless. >> >> I did however finally have him do this, and nothing at all came back with >> errors. The drive appears to be completely 100% fine. >> >> Finally, in disk utility, I had him go to the macintosh HD volume, not? the >> actual disk, but just? the partition/volume. Then on the erase tab, I had >> him erase the disk entirely. I don't mean erase free space, I mean just the >> full erase. Once done, I had him quite disk utility. Obviously, we were >> doing this from the ML recovery partition. >> >> I had him do it this way, and not literally set the partition scheme from >> current back to 1 partition, as for one thing, I knew if we did that, it >> wouldn't a worked, as files were in use from the hidden recovery partition, >> which we were currently booted into, so even had! we done it, it wouldn't a >> worked. Plus, hypothetically, had! it been technically possible, I knew it >> would a been a real stupid move, as that! would a not only! wiped his >> macintosh hd volume with the supposedly installed OS, it also would a licked >> his hidden recovery partition clean, so, yeah, that was out of the question. >> >> What my goal ultimately was, was to have 'em erase the macintosh hd, and >> reformat it, just in case something really was going totally wackid. Once >> he did this, I had him try, without first restarting to reinstall. At this >> point, he did get the option to not only reinstall, but to install a new >> copy, which we didn't see before. He clicked it, but then the install >> button was dimmed. I had him reclick the new copy just in case we'd some >> how toggled that option off. Still, no good. >> >> I wondered if it had somehow again decided to be a thing, so I had him >> restart. Worst? choice, I ever? could a haddem make! Once that happened, >> we hear the chime, he holds command+R down, and no? dice! It didn't even >> let 'em go into recovery any longer! I'm going, what the blue flying >> blankity blank! I didn't even touch! his hidden partition! I couldn't! >> it's so hidden, even had I wanted to! I couldn't. I didn't have him wipe >> the partition scheme, and again, even had I, it wouldn't a worked since >> that partition was mounted, as was in use running the recovery, to start >> with. >> >> So, I had him plug his external Seagate go flex USB 500gb drive in which has >> a Super Dooper backup on it of his Lion install which was quite recent. I >> had him boot, while holding down the option key, to see if we could boot to >> it. No good. >> >> Finally, right as he said he was going to take the b***ard into the Apple >> Store in his area, I told him to try in despiration one? last thing. I had >> him leave the drive plugged in, and reboot, this time, without! holding down >> the option key. Guess what folks!? Boom! Drive wirreled up, we waited >> about a minute or two, and boom! Voiceover came right the heck up talking >> with his Lion bootted Super Doop drive from the Go Flex drive. I had him >> doop it back over to the macintosh hd. >> >> That too, worked perfectly. I had him then shut down, then remove, only! >> then, the go flex drive from the USB port, then restart. >> >> Guess what? Again: Boom! it booted like gold! Flawlessly! >> >> So, what in the cotton blessed heavens gives here! I am beside myself! This >> is totally! killing me! I hardly ever stump at this kind a thing, but I'm >> totally cluelessly baffled! When we called Apple today, he spoke to a >> senior advisor, who was pretty well just, if not more, as stumped as I am! >> >> He set up a mac genious appointment at 10 tomorrow Arizona time to have them >> look at the thing and try to install it themselves, but I'd still! love to >> know if you all know what in the heck! caused this! >> >> This is totally perplexing the heck outta me! >> >> Chris. > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "MacVisionaries" group. > To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries?hl=en. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MacVisionaries" group. To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. 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