fjipp30

Q: My iBook g3 powers up but does not let me go past password screen. After I type in my password the screen remains on background but the desktop does not show up. The arrow moves around fine and the iBook stays on. Please help

My Ibook g3 powers up but does not allow me to get past the password screen. I type in password, it says logging in, and then the screen stays blank with only the background screen and arrow. The arrow moves around fine. The iBook stays powered on fine, it just does not load the desktop. Please help.

iBook, Mac OS X (10.4.11), iBook G3 500mz

Posted on Jun 10, 2012 4:03 PM

Close

Q: My iBook g3 powers up but does not let me go past password screen. After I type in my password the screen remains on background bu ... more

  • All replies
  • Helpful answers

  • by fjipp30,

    fjipp30 fjipp30 Jun 10, 2012 4:08 PM in response to fjipp30
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 10, 2012 4:08 PM in response to fjipp30

    IMG-20120610-00045.jpg

     

    I added this picture to be crystal clear about my problem. Thanks.

  • by Knucklesmac,

    Knucklesmac Knucklesmac Jun 11, 2012 12:30 AM in response to fjipp30
    Level 4 (2,225 points)
    Jun 11, 2012 12:30 AM in response to fjipp30

    Hello and welcome to the support community

     

    It looks to me like finder is not launching correctly. I would boot into safe mode and then shut down and restart. See if that has any effect. Else you may need to repair permissions of the disk drive  when your in safe mode.

    You can access safe mode  by doing the following:

     

    • Be sure your Mac is shut down.
    • Press the power button.
    • Immediately after you hear the startup tone, hold the Shift key. The Shift key should be held as soon as possible after the startup tone, but not before the tone.
    • Release the Shift key when you see the gray Apple icon and the progress indicator (looks like a spinning gear).

    During startup in Mac OS X v10.4 through Mac OS X v10.6.8, you will see "Safe Boot" on the login window, which appears even if you normally log in automatically. During startup in Mac OS X v10.2 through v10.3.9, you will see "Safe Boot" on the Mac OS X startup screen.

    To leave Safe Mode, restart the computer normally, without holding any keys during startup.

     

    Best of luck

  • by Ronda Wilson,

    Ronda Wilson Ronda Wilson Jun 11, 2012 1:04 AM in response to Knucklesmac
    Level 8 (41,547 points)
    Jun 11, 2012 1:04 AM in response to Knucklesmac

    The advice I have always read is to repair permissions after starting up normally after the Safe Boot has been accomplished. Of course, in this instance, if booting into Safe Mode is accomplished, but it does not change the ability to start up normally, then repairing permissions while in Safe Mode may be the only way to do it.

  • by fjipp30,

    fjipp30 fjipp30 Jun 11, 2012 6:39 AM in response to Ronda Wilson
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 11, 2012 6:39 AM in response to Ronda Wilson

    I followed the instructions for safe mode and logged in but got the same result as my picture above. Is there something I need to do after I log in under safe mode? Hope to hear from you soon.

  • by Ronda Wilson,Solvedanswer

    Ronda Wilson Ronda Wilson Jun 11, 2012 9:09 AM in response to fjipp30
    Level 8 (41,547 points)
    Jun 11, 2012 9:09 AM in response to fjipp30

    Are you able to start up from the Mac OS X 10.4 Install disc by inserting the disc and holding down the c key as the startup chime is ending?

  • by fjipp30,

    fjipp30 fjipp30 Jun 11, 2012 10:00 AM in response to Ronda Wilson
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 11, 2012 10:00 AM in response to Ronda Wilson

    Hi Ms. Wilson,

    I probably would be able to if I had the install disc. Do you know anyway/where I would be able to get my hands on one? The crazy thing is that the computer seems to be working fine, the desktop will just not show up!

     

    Thanks for taking time out of you day to answer my questions and for trying to find a solution to my problem. I really appreciate it.

  • by Ronda Wilson,

    Ronda Wilson Ronda Wilson Jun 11, 2012 10:18 AM in response to fjipp30
    Level 8 (41,547 points)
    Jun 11, 2012 10:18 AM in response to fjipp30

    I was afraid that you didn't have the disc.

     

    They can be expensive.

     

    Did you buy the iBook used or have you had it since it was new?

     

    If you bought it used, has it ever worked for you, and were any software discs included in your purchase?

     

    Do you know for sure which exact model iBook it is? The iBook 500 MHz came with every type of optical drive you can think of (except a SuperDrive which allows you to write DVDs).

     

    Does this one have a CD-ROM drive (reads CDs), a CD-RW drive (reads and writes CDs), a DVD drive (reads both CDs and DVDs), or a Combo drive (reads and writes CDs and reads DVDs)?

     

    It came with either 64 MB of RAM or 128 MB of RAM soldered to the logic board. If it has never worked properly, the seller may have installed Mac OS X 10.4 (which requires 256 MB of RAM) while the iBook was equipped with enough RAM, and then removed the extra RAM from the one user-accessible RAM slot, leaving it in a non-working state. If you bought it on eBay, some sellers buy a bunch of them from school auctions and load them with Mac OS X 10.4 this way. A Mac should never be sold without the original software discs that came with it when it was new and any upgrade disc(s) for a newer version of the software to which it has been upgraded. That said, it happens quite a lot, and people are left very disappointed. It often costs more to buy the system software and/or RAM to get it working than what it cost to begin with.

     

    If you can let us know a little more about which model you have, we can maybe figure something out.

  • by fjipp30,

    fjipp30 fjipp30 Jun 11, 2012 10:51 AM in response to Ronda Wilson
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 11, 2012 10:51 AM in response to Ronda Wilson

    Hi Ms. Wilson and thanks again for replying,

     

    The iBook is a G3 500mhz, 384 RAM, 10 GB hard drive, and CD-ROM. I bought it used on Ebay, but the laptop was fully functional. I used it just like the '08 MacBook I am typing on right now for about 2 weeks before this problem.

     

    It came with a stick of 256 mb of RAM from Crucial.com. I bought a 512 mb stick of RAM to speed up the computer and it did act up a few hours after I installed the RAM. I do not know if that matters, but I thought I'd include everything.

     

    I also bought a new battery for it which improved the battery life functionality to greater than my MacBook! The sad thing is that right when I got the computer running up to good speed it began to have this startup problem.

     

    Hope to hear from you soon.

  • by Ronda Wilson,

    Ronda Wilson Ronda Wilson Jun 11, 2012 9:27 PM in response to fjipp30
    Level 8 (41,547 points)
    Jun 11, 2012 9:27 PM in response to fjipp30

    I would put the 256 RAM stick back in it and see if it works. Most RAM is covered by a lifetime warranty. If it works again with the 256 module, I'd ask the vendor of the 512 MB RAM chip to replace the module.

  • by fjipp30,

    fjipp30 fjipp30 Jun 28, 2012 6:46 PM in response to Ronda Wilson
    Level 1 (0 points)
    Jun 28, 2012 6:46 PM in response to Ronda Wilson

    Hi Ms. Wilson,

     

    I ordered the OS X start up disks from Apple and successfully reinstalled OS X 10. 4. Now it is running very smoothly and actually better than it did when I got it! Thanks for all of your help.

     

    Frank Ippolito

  • by Ronda Wilson,

    Ronda Wilson Ronda Wilson Jun 28, 2012 7:55 PM in response to fjipp30
    Level 8 (41,547 points)
    Jun 28, 2012 7:55 PM in response to fjipp30

    That's GREAT!

     

    /___sbsstatic___/migration-images/187/18776054-1.png