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Has Leopard killed Powerbook G4?

I have just attempted to load Leopard onto my Powerbook G4.
I was informed that due to an unknown error it could not installed and to restart.
However my computer will not restart back to normal - it starts to load then just goes blank as if it has turned it self off.

Tried restarting from the Leopard DVD / tried restarting from original OSX start up.

Does anybody has a method to over come this issue?

Poerbook G4, Mac OS X (10.4.10)

Posted on Nov 8, 2007 4:59 AM

Reply
20 replies

Nov 8, 2007 6:55 AM in response to CrispinMR

Nothing should be attached to your laptop when you hold down the T key. Attach the cable after the Firewire icon appears on your screen. If you have anything in your PCMCIA slot, that should be removed as well.

If it still doesn't come up, it suggests your clock battery (an internal battery separate from the main battery) needs replacing.

Nov 8, 2007 7:34 AM in response to CrispinMR

Sorry, friend. I wish you had seen the warnings before you attempted to install. Same thing happened to me. My data is GONE. Without a backup, you are sunk. You will eventually get a base install of Leopard, but that is small consolation if you had anything of personal value on your HD.

Leopard is a mess - especially for G4 laptops.

Nov 8, 2007 7:43 AM in response to Faema1969

You may still be able to restore your data with Prosoft Data Rescue, or Subrosasoft's Filesalvage. The sooner you attempt to do so, the better a chance you'll have. Do NOT erase your hard drive if you have an improper install. This will only reduce your chances of recovery! Data recovery firms such as http://www.drivesavers.com/ sometimes are able to recover from an erased drive, but don't count on it!

Nov 8, 2007 8:54 AM in response to CrispinMR

If you can't boot up from an installer DVD (Leopard, Tiger, or the original restore DVD that came with your PowerBook), then it sounds like a hardware failure, possibly the logic board. The other possibility is a dead battery and a loose connection on the power adapter. (That's happened to me.)

The data on the hard drive is probably still fine if the Leopard install failed to start.

What are the specs of your PowerBook? I assume it meets the minimum system requirements, but many older G4 PowerBooks do not.

Nov 8, 2007 9:05 AM in response to Faema1969

Faema, there is almost always a way to recover data. The only exception is if you zero the hard drive or the data has been significantly overwritten. The cost of recovery is really the biggest question, and how much the drive was overwritten. A lot of it can have been prevented if a user doesn't do something silly like disconnect while moving their data from one drive to another. If they simply copied it, the bug will not surface.

A move as any knowledgeable user will tell you actually does in fact erase from the source, and copy to the destination. It is always safer to copy than move.

Message was edited by: a brody

Nov 8, 2007 9:17 AM in response to a brody

Possible that a data recovery service could handle this one. I am reluctant to say that it is absolutely gone. The point is that all the advice and highly technical techniques available to an end user have failed to produce any positive results. Reading the AppleInsider article, it seems plausible that a system level issue is causing an irreversible data failure which clearly mimics my experience.

Leopard did this.

Nov 8, 2007 9:21 AM in response to Faema1969

And if you are so sure that Leopard did this, why isn't it doing it to my system? Have I somehow constructed some sort of immune computer? I don't think so. No my friend, you need to consider that the only logical alternative is that there is some contributing factor that neither Apple, nor Appleinsider might have considered. Instead of blaming it on Apple, or their operating system, start seeking out what the contributing factor might be. These computers are complicated beasts, and just pinning the blame on just one system is too widespread. You need to consider contributing factors.

Nov 8, 2007 9:47 AM in response to a brody

You are seeing the issues, I see you have responded to many of them. There are clear trends developing. I agree that many are getting good installs - I am typing from the Powerbook that lost everything. My iMac install went ok once I figured out which .apps the OS forgot to upgrade.

I suspect that during a perfect storm of "common" circumstances, the OS contributes to a massive failure of data. I say this perfect storm is happening often enough to indicate a failure in the OS install and not some congenital hardware defect which only manifests itself from the time the disk is inserted to point when one realizes that all is lost.

Has Leopard killed Powerbook G4?

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