How can I resolve Leopard panics, after an incomplete software update?

Question

I am using an Intel-based MacBook. While I was installing the regular updates received from Apple, the installation halted for some reason. (I don't know what would be the reason, but the installation process stopped at 42% and was not moving further.) Hence I did a forced shutdown.

Whenever I restart my MacBook now, I see the following message on my screen:

Panic(cpu 0 caller 0x001ABCD4):Kernel trap at 0x00000000, type 14=page fault, registers: CR0: 08001003b, CR2: 0x00000000, CR3: 0x00d00000, CR4: 0x00000660
.....
like some more message.

Mac OS version:
Not Yet set.

Please help me to restore my system back since it has most of my important data.

Answer 1

Try to boot into Safe Mode, by holding down Shift while starting your Mac. From Mac OS X: What is Safe Boot, Safe Mode?:

Safe Boot is a special way to start up in Mac OS X 10.2 or later when troubleshooting. Safe Mode is the state Mac OS X is in after a Safe Boot. To perform a Safe Boot, hold the Shift key as your Mac starts up.

Starting up into Safe Mode does several things:

• [..]
• Mac OS X 10.5.6 or later: A Safe Boot deletes the dynamic loader shared cache at (/var/db/dyld/). A cache with issues may cause a blue screen on startup, particularly after a Software Update. Restarting normally recreates this cache.

If Safe Mode works, then first backup your data. Note however:

• Safe Mode in Mac OS X 10.6 or later also disables File Sharing access. This means you will not be able to mount Time Capsule disks or volumes being served by other computers running Mac OS X.

Next, try to boot normally to see what happens then.

Answer 2

The solution would probably be to grab your data and reinstall Mac OS. Since the drive is likely physically intact, you might as well clone the data to another drive, then copy it back after your reinstallation. Steps:

1. Get an external drive of the same size as your MacBook hard drive or larger.
2. Boot your computer using your Leopard disc.
3. Use Disk Utility to clone your MacBook hard drive to the external (under the Restore tab).
4. Disconnect the external.
5. Reinstall Mac OS X from your disc onto your MacBook.
6. Reboot into your fresh OS, connect your external, and grab what you need.

I'll admit this is extreme. Hopefully someone else can help diagnose the kernel panic and perhaps help you revert to your pre-update state, but these steps will at least help you get your data.