Ok, im relatively a luddite when it comes to computers, but here's my dilemma:

Im using a G4 desktop computer. (about 8-9 years old). I decided to update my quicktime through the software update program. After downloading, I was then prompted to restart the computer. Instead, I chose to shut down. While shut down, I decided to attach a Skydata box to my tower, for additional memory on my computer. I then booted up, and I saw the apple icon as usual, then when I finally got to my desktop, I recieved an error message stating i needed to hold the power button down to restart. Now every time I boot up, this statement appears. So,

1.) Is there a way around this problem?
2.) If not, I would like to empty out my computer, and start from scratch again, ie. reinstalling OS. How do I do this?

Your help is greatly appreciated.

So you are getting a greyed out screen which tells you in several languages to shutdown your computer? That's a kernel panic.


Not sure what a Skydata box is. Is it an external harddrive? I'm assuming you've disconnected the skybox and that isn't the problem.

1) You are probably going to have to restart in safe mode to diagnose the source of the problem.

What is Safe Boot, Safe Mode? (Mac OS X) (http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107392)

Mac OS X: Starting up in Safe Mode (http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=107393)

2) Worst case scenario is to restart from your install disk (or your most current OSX disk) and do an archive and install. Then you can start over and pick through the pieces.

Ok, thanks for your help. Ill try that when I get back home from work.

Once in safe mode, where can I find out the problem? Will the problem be apparent to me right away? If not, where do I look for the problem?