Mac Bootup Problem

[squidg]

My friend was running updates on her laptop and she had to go so she held down the button and turned it off. Now when she turns on the computer she gets an error screen that asks her to shut down or restart the computer.

Is it possible to fix the problem without a format?

I also dont think she has a Mac cd but i think her version is 10.4

 

[ora]

That was a very very bad move. You might try http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1492 to get into single user mode, and fsck http://support.apple.com/kb/TS1417

Other than that you have to have an OS X disk, and boot from that. Not having one is like going out on a boat without a life jacket in mac world.

if the single user/fsck route fails you can try and boot the mac in Target mode http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1661 with a firewire cable and at least salvage your files before you format and reinstall.