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HELP! I can't get my Powerbook to boot up!

Hi Everyone. Just a slight catastrophe... my 12 G4 powerbook won't boot up! I see the grey screen with the apple in the center and it just freezes there. The only thing I did differently before this happened was to connect the computer to my TV and I added the display icon in the toolbar. After that, the system would freeze up when I was playing the new music that I downloaded from Itunes and since my hard disk was getting a bit full, I transferred some stuff to an external hard drive. The internal hard drive seemed to make a slightly louder noise and started to freeze up but only, and this is weird, when I was playing the new music I had just downloaded (The Essential Bob Dylan). I also turned the computer off while it was frozen because I couldn't force quit or anything.
Now she won't even boot up!!! Any advice would be MOST welcome...
Thanks all,
Cara

Mac OS X (10.3.9)

Posted on Sep 11, 2007 12:44 AM

Reply
5 replies

Sep 11, 2007 6:01 PM in response to caradish

Cara:

Try this:

1. Shut down the computer.
2. Locate the following keys on the keyboard: Command, Option, P, and R. You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously in step 4.
3. Turn on the computer.
4. Press and hold the Command-Option-P-R keys. You must press this key combination before the gray screen appears.
5. Hold the keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the startup sound for the third time.
6. Release the keys after third chime and immediately hold down "Shift" key to allow compupter to start up in Safe Mode.
7. Log in.
8. Go to Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility and launch Disk Utility
9. Repair Disk Permissions:
Select your HDD (manufacturer ID) in left column and First Aid in main column.
Click Repair Disk Permissions at bottom left.
10. Restart computer normally and log in.

If you run into any difficulties in completing this procedure, please note exactly what happens and at what point.

Good luck.

cornelius

Sep 12, 2007 11:54 AM in response to caradish

Hi Cara!

If the PowerBook is still connected to the TV, disconnect it.
How full was the HD, and are you sure the files were removed, when you transferred them?

I suggest that you also run Repair Disk.

THESE ARE THE STEPS FOR USING DISK UTILITY TO REPAIR YOUR HD

1.Insert the System Install disk, Mac OS X CD-ROM disk, or Restore DVD disk, then restart the computer while holding the C key. Use the System disk, of the OS, that is currently installed.
2.Once started up from CD or DVD, on the Menubar at the top of the screen, choose Disk Utility from the Installer contextual menu
Important: Do not click Continue in the first screen of the Installer. If you do, you must restart from disc to access Disk Utility.
3.Click the First Aid tab.
4.Click the disclosure triangle to the left of the hard drive icon to display the names of your hard disk volumes and partitions.
5.Select your Mac OS X volume, if necessary.
6.Click Repair. If DU reports errors it has fixed, re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported.
7.Repeat steps 5 & 6, but select the Hard Drive this time. It's usually the first listed with the manufacturer's model number. Make note of the S.M.A.R.T. status.
8.When finished, select Quit Disk Utility from the Installer menu.
9.Select Quit Installer from the Installer menu.
10.In the resulting pop-up window, choose restart.
11.After the computer has restarted, you can eject the CD.

ali b

Sep 17, 2007 2:40 AM in response to caradish

Hi Guys,
Thanks so much for the help. I ended up trying these and could not get it to boot. I sent it back to the States and when my brother turned it on, it booted right up!!! He took it to the Mac store to get it checked out and was told later that the hard drive completely failed and they weren't able to recover the data! I have a somewhat recent back-up on my external drive so I'm not going to invest in a specialist to recover the data but I am somewhat disappointed that they were able to boot it up and not copy the data.
Anyway, thanks for the help!
Cara

HELP! I can't get my Powerbook to boot up!

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