PowerPC :: Booting Powerbook G4 - Drive C On Start Up?
Jan 24, 2010
Here's the rundown: my uncle gave me a pristine Powerbook G4 Titanium edition. Good computer, 15.5" screen, definitely worth keeping. He wiped the thing clean before giving it to me. The problem is the internal CD drive is super flaky and won't take an bootable CD well. It took my Tiger bootable once or twice and bonked out during the installation. Now, I can't get anything. BUT, I have a nice external firewire 400 CD/DVD drive. I hit option and can see the disc, but the PB won't take it. Also, of course I hit C on startup to try and load from the CD. Hasn't taken since the first few tries.
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Jan 26, 2007
My G4 powerbook has been saying recently that the start up disk is full, so i tried to empty some stuff off it. But not long after this when i tried booting it up the normal happens at first ie the t'ing' start up sound and the apple sign with the little timer going round but it does nothing else, it just carries on going round. I have tried re setting it and looked on help sites like this to try and override it etc but nothing seems to work!
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Nov 25, 2009
I'm a new Mac user for about 6 months now. I bought a used PowerBook G4 15" 1.25 ghz notebook that was in good condition. It was well cared for by the previous owner. Only thing she had done was update the ram to 2 gigs.Recently I began to notice it running slower, programs were freezing and Garage Band couldn't run as many tracks. I installed recommended software updates before it started to get slower and I thought maybe that was the problem.So I attempted to do a fresh swipe of the hard drive and start from nothing. I saved some files and then tried to run the software installation cd. It didn't really help at all. I can't remember the error but it wouldn't let me reinstall OS X even when I held "c" when starting up. At one point I must have clicked run in target mode because I booted it up and it showed an unfamiliar screen. Then I restarted it once again and saw on Disk Utility that S.M.A.R.T. said something about hard drive failure.
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Nov 24, 2008
Hi I have a problem with my PowerBook
It boots to BSD (Command Line Interface) instead of OS X (GUI Aqua)
This Video shows more
[URL]
Please note that the screen on the PowerBook is broke so I can only use it connected to an external monitor
When I try to reinstall the system, the picture does not get pushed across to the external monitor meaning I can not see what I am doing and thus can not reinstall
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Dec 5, 2008
I'm having a problem with my Powerbook G4. I kind of screwed up my drivers because I was an idiot and tried to get some Intel drivers to work on the computer through some cheat thing and now my computer won't boot up. I have an install disk but when I try to reinstall it keeps saying that I need Mac OSX Install Disk 2. I never had to use disk 2 before and I never had one to begin with.
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Mar 28, 2009
I know very very little about computer parts and things like that, but I hope to have provided enough information. When I boot up, both plugged into the power cord, and on battery, the powerbook will reach a white screen with an apple logo in the center. There also is a rotating disk below the apple logo. It will then shortly power down. I made a visit to the genius bar, and they told me something was wrong. I was like DUH!!! They said for $320 it would all be fixed, but I was hoping to be able to find out what was going wrong with it. Sadly I don't have the start-up disk that came with the laptop .
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Jul 2, 2010
I am trying to do a clean install of OSX 10.5 on my old powerbook G4 15". I am using a 10.5 image file on my external. I partitioned the external using GUID, and restored the image file onto the external. (this method works when installing on intel macs). Unfortunately, I cannot boot 10.5 using this method on my powerbook. Is it because i am using a firewire 800 cable? Should I be booting it using a firewire 400? I know that PPC macs cannot boot using usb, so i am stumped.
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Dec 2, 2006
during startup, my powerbook will shutdown during the gray screen I've tried booting from an external drive. It goes to a gray screen without an apple logo.I've tried putting it in Target disk mode (to get my files off). But it won't mount on my desktop.Also tried resseting the pram as apple's troubleshooting suggested. nothing differen
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Mar 20, 2008
I've got a Powerbook G4 that has a booting issue. I will hear the startup "dong" a whirl of the drive, then it doesn't go to the grey screen with the Apple. It just sits there with a black screen.If I wait a few hours and try it, sometimes it starts up fine, or sometimes it will sit on the grey screen with the Apple symbol and do nothing.If it does boot correctly, none of the USB ports work. Any ideas on if its worth trying to repair since its 2 and a half years old and I didn't get the Apple Extended Service plan?
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Sep 17, 2007
My powerbook doesn't always make the tadah sound when booting up, why is that?
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Jun 29, 2009
I recently purchased a sort of beat up 1.5GHz 12" PowerBook G4, top of the line, and it arrived today. It boots up normally when the apple appears, then it shows the blue screen and then the mouse turns into a spinning wheel. Also, when I move the cursor, a second cursor from the same spot stays in the top-left corner. The PowerBook will only work normally as a headless server (powers on, lid closed), unless booted in safe mode. Another issue is the screen. The seller said there were lines going up and down the screen, but it varies depending on what is displayed on the screen. If the screen is grey or in target-disk mode, they do not appear, but on the 10.5 standard desktop pic, it changes pattern. The lines can be seen here: [URL]
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Jul 6, 2007
I've had my iBook for about a year and a half now, haven't had any trouble with it until now. For some reason it won't start up. It's plugged in and the green light is on but it's just not booting up. why my iBook isn't working all of the sudden?
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Aug 12, 2009
I bought a powerbook off ebay, it worked but on startup occasionally a folder icon would appear. I rebooted from the original discs which seemed to do the trick. However the original discs are too old for many of my apps, so I bought some newer install discs (osx 10.5) I put the install disk in and got the panic message 'panic: Im hanging here'
The answer seems to be to run a disk repair (am i right?) However to do that I need to eject the install disc, I can't get the install disk out and of course it keeps tripping up everytime I start it. There is no secret little button to eject the disk manually. I have tried holding down apple and S but the install disk over rides everything and trips the mac up. I think ill be okay if I can just get this disk out.
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Oct 15, 2010
A friend was just given a PowerBook G4 in perfect condition (seemingly). It has just been sitting on a shelf for several years and worked fine before it was shelved.
Now when she plugs it in, the orange light on the cord lights up orange, but when she tries to boot the machine, nothing happens. I mean nothing.
Is there something simple that this could be? Wondering if there is a little battery inside that is needed that could have gone dead over the years of idle sitting, or something like that. I just don't know PowerBooks very well.
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Jul 19, 2008
I have a problem...my 12" Powerbook G4 doesn't start up properly at the moment. I turn it on, I can hear the chime, and the screen goes grey but then does nothing...I've tried holding down C while starting up too, but still nothing happens, just the grey screen.
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Jun 15, 2010
I have this powerbook from 2005 and no problems up to now..ohhh no!
A couple of days ago started to occasionally make a clank clank noise and getting stacked on the spinning colour circle, only manual restart would do it.
Thought it might be the hard disk as it is a bit old and i never replaced anything on it, shacked it and a noise of something loose would happen, so i thought of opening it up and see if i could reattach anything loose....anyway i started unscrewing following instructions, couldn't get memory out...every screw seems different and so i gave up, put it all back together, praying that the screws are all in their right places and hey, now it wont even start, not a loose sound when shaken though, but not a bip not a light, black screen, nothing...only sign of life is the green light under the num block key and the capitals arrow also starts light
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Aug 10, 2008
i have an ibook g4, and was using it just fine the other night, then when i came back to it a few minutes later it had shut off completely. now when i boot up, the computer freezes at the spinning gear startup screen or at the blank blue screen immediately after the spinning gear. it will boot in single user mode, but it won't boot up with my os x install disc. does anyone know any unix i could try to use to get my mac up and running again, or has anyone had this same problem and knows a fix for it?
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Dec 30, 2008
A friend of mine brought over his 14" iBook G4, 1.33GHz, 60GB HDD and 1.25 GB RAM. The problem with it is that upon start-up, the grey screen with the apple/turning gear comes up, then after a few moments a blue screen will appear, though no box showing the start-up process. I've run a few basic diagnostics on this, including the lovely disk utility (which did nothing), I've run fsck, zapped the PRAM, etc, no success as of yet. At one point, I received a screen with alternating folders, one showing the smiley mac face, the other folder with a flashing "?". I cannot replicate this for the life of me. I have attempted to acquire files via TDM, though am not able to see the hard drive despite using 2 different laptops. Possibly the firewire cable itself is spent, though it's brand new! Here is where I become increasingly frustrated: I ask my friend for the boot disks as the ones for my own 12" iBook don't work (for whatever reason). He tells me that he loaded Leopard this summer (currently running 10.5.2, no updates loaded since), then proceeds to bring over boot discs for a MacBook...:headdesk: To begin with, it seemed like the HDD was fried, however, after running disk utility (and not hearing any negative sounds), it does appear that the HDD is fine. I'm thinking a kernel panic, though not sure how to resolve these.
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Jul 13, 2007
I put my PowerBook to sleep and left home with it about an hour ago. I just opened it and it woke up but the screen was black. I turned it off and back on. The white screen with the apple and progress wheel came on for a normal period of time, but then the screen went all white and there were several uneven horizontal lines across the middle and froze there. I forced a restart and the same thing happened but this time I got the semi transparent window that says need to restart. I did that and I got the same screen without the message.
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Aug 31, 2009
I was just using my powerbook G4 12" when it "clicked", the screen went black and it will not respond. the power cable light is on, and I've tried another battery, but it does not turn on! the little light on the latch button that glows usually, is not on. What has happened to my Powerbook????! I don't have applecare but I imagine I will be calling Apple this morning unless someone can help here
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Oct 5, 2007
So I've got my mothers aluminium 12" Powerbook here because there were some troubles with it, it was freezing, made strange clicking noises on the left side (like 20 times every time she tried to restart) and eventually wouldn't start up anymore. So I guess there must be something wrong with the harddrive .
What is the best strategy to try to save as much data as possible? I have the original OS X 10.3.4 installation disks, I have an external hard drive to write the users data folder to. Do I just slide in the install disk while starting up (I mean I can't slide in the disk while it's off can I?) and will I be able to attach the external drive in order to copy the files?
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Apr 15, 2008
I received an old powerbook from a friend today and i plugged it all in and everything and the power adapter in the back and the ring lit up orange but when i went to turn it on nothing happened at all i didnt hear anything inside, it just didnt turn on. i really want to find the problem and/or fix it up.... I dont want to part with it as i need an extra laptop...
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Jan 21, 2009
I went to turn on my Powerbook G4 (Aluminum 1.67GHz Low Res) today and when I plugged it in, I noticied a kind of crackling or popping noise. I unplugged the power adapter and tried again. I knew that my battery was dying before this (could only get about 30 min on a charge). But now I cannot start my Powerbook. Whenever I plug in my power adaptor, there is no green/orange light. However, when I take the battery out, I hear the Powerbook trying to start up (hard drive spin). But then there is nothing but my fans on full blast! They will not stop and there is nothing on the screen. I left it there for a good 5 min and nothing changed!
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Dec 16, 2006
So, recently (as of thursday or so) my PBG4 has been making weird buzzing noises, usually only when it was working hard (or watching things online). Eventually, as it got closer to the weekend, the noise started to get louder whenever it would come on, so I'd just turn off my computer for an hour or so and let it cool. Finally, today, I turn it off again and now whenever I turn it back on, all I get is the gray start up screen, sans spinner. Sometimes I even get a little folder with the mac face on it. What's wrong?
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Apr 8, 2010
I want to put my old 15" PowerBook hard drive into an external case. I pulled the hard drive out of the PowerBook. And I purchased a NexStar CS 2.5" SATA to USB 2.0 external case. But the connections don't match. What do I need to do? Do I need to buy some sort of adaptor? Hard drive is a Hitachi 120GB 5400RPM (model # HTS541612J9AT00) 2.5" Sorry, these photos are blurry as hell. Picture of hard drive pins:
Pins are in the following configuration (1's represent pins):...............
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Apr 11, 2010
My newly acquired "ibook G4 1.33ghz 12 inch" is having problems booting just after recently insatlling a brand new WD Scorpio Blue 160GB hard-drive. I installed myself with the very useful [URL] tutorial which ran through the process quite simply. Basically the background story here is, I was given the ibook by a friend of mine who didn't want it as she didn't have the patience, money and time to invest into having it fixed. Some three years ago she dropped it from her coffee table and since then the hard-drive started failing, getting louder and slower to eventually one day not switching on at all. She took the ibook to an Apple Genius bar in LA where they ran diagnostics and resulted it with having a failed hard-drive.
She never had it repaired and has since been keeping it stored away as a spare. She was kind enough to gift it to me, I was well up for the challenge to repair it so here I am!! So, I bought a new hard-drive, successfully installed it and then the moment of truth, the ibook DID switch on, this itself was good news. But ever since I haven't been able to progress any further, as when I switch the ibook on it makes the apple start-up sound then goes to a white screen and says this:
Invalid memory access at SRR0: ff8486a4 SRR1: 00003030
Apple PowerBook6, 7 4.9.3f0 BootROM built on 07/05/05 at 11:14:11
Copyright etc.
Then says:
To continue booting, type "mac-boot" and press return
To shut down, type "shut-down" and press return
Reducing system power
So if I type "mac-boot" it goes to a grey screen with a folder icon in the middle containing a little 'finder' face and a flashing question mark, and then if left for about 5 minutes or so it just switches itself off. Of course it occurred to me that there is nothing on the new hard-drive so it can't boot from anything, I tried using my intel mac's start up disk which has OSX tiger on it, but this doesn't give any better results, I start-up holding C and I here the disk being read but it can't boot from it, it still goes back to the OpenFirmware screen as above.
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Apr 28, 2009
Wirelessly posted (Mozilla/5.0 (iPod; U; CPU iPhone OS 3_0 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/528.18 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.1.1 Mobile/7A280f Safari/525.20)
My Intel MacBook is in the shop, and I swapped out my hard drive before I sent it in and put it in a USB enclosure. I was able to boot my friend's MacBook Pro from the drive, but my G4 Mac Mini is not seeing it as an option (upon startup or otherwise). I can read files from it, but I really need to boot from the drive for some other things (cookies, passwords, and especially the ability to sync my iPod touch).
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Mar 9, 2009
I just set up an old G4 Mac Mini with a 1.5 GHz PPC chip and 64 MB VRAM as an HTPC with the intent to use it to watch Hulu and ABC.com and other sites where you can stream TV shows online. However, Hulu is very very choppy. The audio's fine but the video is pretty disappointing. In full screen it's really just a series of still pictures. I know Flash on the mini is supposed to not be that great, but is there anything I can do?
Is there any way to change the video settings of the g4 or of the TV to improve the streaming video playback? I'm playing it on a 40" Samsung LCD connected via DVI--> HDMI.
I'm booting off an external firewire drive through Firewire 400 and my concern is that perhaps this is the problem - the slowdown is not coming from the processor or the VRAM but rather from the Firewire. Can anyone with a similar setup let me know if this works for them. Is there anyway to speed up the I/O between the G4 and the Firewire drive? it's a LaCie 250GB D2 Hard Drive Extreme with Triple Interface.
According to the Activity Monitor, Safari's using 72% of the CPU to play from Hulu. According to Hulu's support page, the Mac Mini meets the system requirements. I'm just trying to watch the SD videos, not the HD. I have Flash 10 and Safari 3.1.2.
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Dec 26, 2006
I have trided to upgrade the hard drive on my G4 15" powerbook. The ribon conector from the drive to the board has come free from the board and I don't know how to refasten it.
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Jan 24, 2007
I have a powerbook 12' 867 mghz, I know I would rather have a new one, but not ready to give up on this old gal yet! Anywhoo I thought the logic board was fried but after letting the powerbook "rest" I came back months later and sometimes it will boot but as soon as I try to do anything it freezes, so maybe the harddrive is fried? How do you get it to ignore the internal drive so it will boot from an external?
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