After using my toshiba flash drive to save some info, my laptop would not reboot and come back on anymore. I have tried the various suggestions from MAC support, but I have yet to get my computer to start back up. I believe the only thing left to do is to reset the unit, but if I do I'm afraid I will lose all of of my documents and programs that are on the computer. When I turn on the computer it gets all the way to just before the login screen before it stops. I don't use a log-in password so I'm confused why it stops here. At that point it just continues to run not going on to the next step. Also I don't have the CD's that came with the computer. If I bought another set on start-up CD's doe you think this will help?
powerbook G4,,
Mac OS X (10.3.x),
G4 desktop power computer running OS X 10.2.8
You could try and see if the computer would boot from the OS X (10.3?) installer
disc used to put Panther into it; by holding the C key down on startup and just
after the chime sound, and keep holding the key down until you get a screen
with the Installer. Then, do not install the OS; check into the main menubar in
the window you should get after the computer starts from the OS disc, and
choose Disk Utility in the drop-down menu beneath the main one in the header.
Chose that, and run 'repair disk' from the options in First Aid in Disk Utility;
if there is an error message, try and repair it again to see if you get a clear
report. Then, if you like, see what happens if you choose 'repair disk permi-
ssions'; and wait for awhile for that to say it is doing this or that. These
reports from 'repair disk permissions' are not critical, so ignore them, here.
When the 'repair disk' is done, note if there were any errors and codes of
things it did or could not do. If Disk Utility found something it could not
repair, you may need to get a third party disk utility & see if it can be fixed.
{You may also see if resetting the PMU (power management unit) could help.
I'd try something as basic as resetting the PRAM and NVRAM first; check
for these in Apple Support search, for details on how to perform each...}
The hard disk drive may have some corruption, and also if the computer is
getting old (or has been used alot) the drive may be needing a replacement.
When you restart from Disk Utility (quit it first) you can choose from the
Installer's menu to find Startup Disk, and select the computer's hard drive
OSX version to startup from.
If you chose this, and also, once it tries to restart, hold down the Shift key,
the computer will try to start in SafeBoot. It will try to repair other things on
the hard disk drive (but not physical damage) and so this takes a long bit
of time; maybe as long as 4 minutes of holding the shift key down while it
is booting from the internal hard disk drive where the computer's OS resides.
If the computer starts up and you get the SafeBoot screen, you may (or not)
have to login. {If you never had a user password, an Admin account with a
password is recommended, and you can set a new password through use of
the Installer disc... This is a menu option in the same area where Disk Utility
was chosen, only it says reset password, or some such.} It may not ask for
a password to get past the SafeBoot screen; so if that's the case, and you
get a desktop, use GO in the Finder's menubar and choose Utilities Folder;
then look for and launch Disk Utility from the computer's own OS X.
Choose 'repair disk permissions' from the computer's own Disk Utility version;
and then quit Disk Utility, and restart the computer normally. It should work.
If it does not, there would have been indications of something amiss in the
'disk repair' report back when the computer was booted from the Installer disc
and it was running on that system to use Disk Utility.
You may be able to save some files, of your work on that computer, to another
Mac or suitably equipped computer with FireWire ports (software depending) by
using FireWire Target Disk Mode; where one can start a computer up and have
it seen as an external firewire enclosed hard disk drive. This can work when a
computer's hard disk drive won't start the computer; and it will be readable by
use of the Target Disk Mode, then with the other computer, personal files and
data can be retrieved and perhaps saved to recordable CD media for later use.
With the Panther 10.3.x retail installer disc, an all new system could be installed
on the computer, and the content of the hard disk drive completely erases; there
are options in that bootable installer disc in Disk Utility that can not only erase
the drive, but also randomly over-write the contents at a low-level with zeros;
then a reformat with the same Disk Utility to HFS+, and it would be ready for
an all new OSX 10.3.x installation. Then it should have its permissions repaired
from the computer's installed version of Disk Utility; then the OS X upgraded
from wherever the Panther installer left the computer, to the last Combo version,
OS X 10.3.9; and any security updates found online could be downloaded and
installed. This would not restore any applications, however.
You may be able to repair the hard disk drive without erasing and reformatting,
but any fragmentation and low-level issues may persist. An archive and install
could give you a new system folder, but that won't repair resource or data forks
in the OS, should they be damaged and cause the computer to not start right.
This will require some time and troubleshooting; and if some things don't work,
to find and try other things. A bootable third-party disk utility could be handy;
but I can't recommend one, I usually use Apple's Disk Utility and also make
bootable clones of the complete hard disk drive, to restore to if things go odd.
You could try and see if the computer would boot from the OS X (10.3?) installer
disc used to put Panther into it; by holding the C key down on startup and just
after the chime sound, and keep holding the key down until you get a screen
with the Installer. Then, do not install the OS; check into the main menubar in
the window you should get after the computer starts from the OS disc, and
choose Disk Utility in the drop-down menu beneath the main one in the header.
Chose that, and run 'repair disk' from the options in First Aid in Disk Utility;
if there is an error message, try and repair it again to see if you get a clear
report. Then, if you like, see what happens if you choose 'repair disk permi-
ssions'; and wait for awhile for that to say it is doing this or that. These
reports from 'repair disk permissions' are not critical, so ignore them, here.
When the 'repair disk' is done, note if there were any errors and codes of
things it did or could not do. If Disk Utility found something it could not
repair, you may need to get a third party disk utility & see if it can be fixed.
{You may also see if resetting the PMU (power management unit) could help.
I'd try something as basic as resetting the PRAM and NVRAM first; check
for these in Apple Support search, for details on how to perform each...}
The hard disk drive may have some corruption, and also if the computer is
getting old (or has been used alot) the drive may be needing a replacement.
When you restart from Disk Utility (quit it first) you can choose from the
Installer's menu to find Startup Disk, and select the computer's hard drive
OSX version to startup from.
If you chose this, and also, once it tries to restart, hold down the Shift key,
the computer will try to start in SafeBoot. It will try to repair other things on
the hard disk drive (but not physical damage) and so this takes a long bit
of time; maybe as long as 4 minutes of holding the shift key down while it
is booting from the internal hard disk drive where the computer's OS resides.
If the computer starts up and you get the SafeBoot screen, you may (or not)
have to login. {If you never had a user password, an Admin account with a
password is recommended, and you can set a new password through use of
the Installer disc... This is a menu option in the same area where Disk Utility
was chosen, only it says reset password, or some such.} It may not ask for
a password to get past the SafeBoot screen; so if that's the case, and you
get a desktop, use GO in the Finder's menubar and choose Utilities Folder;
then look for and launch Disk Utility from the computer's own OS X.
Choose 'repair disk permissions' from the computer's own Disk Utility version;
and then quit Disk Utility, and restart the computer normally. It should work.
If it does not, there would have been indications of something amiss in the
'disk repair' report back when the computer was booted from the Installer disc
and it was running on that system to use Disk Utility.
You may be able to save some files, of your work on that computer, to another
Mac or suitably equipped computer with FireWire ports (software depending) by
using FireWire Target Disk Mode; where one can start a computer up and have
it seen as an external firewire enclosed hard disk drive. This can work when a
computer's hard disk drive won't start the computer; and it will be readable by
use of the Target Disk Mode, then with the other computer, personal files and
data can be retrieved and perhaps saved to recordable CD media for later use.
With the Panther 10.3.x retail installer disc, an all new system could be installed
on the computer, and the content of the hard disk drive completely erases; there
are options in that bootable installer disc in Disk Utility that can not only erase
the drive, but also randomly over-write the contents at a low-level with zeros;
then a reformat with the same Disk Utility to HFS+, and it would be ready for
an all new OSX 10.3.x installation. Then it should have its permissions repaired
from the computer's installed version of Disk Utility; then the OS X upgraded
from wherever the Panther installer left the computer, to the last Combo version,
OS X 10.3.9; and any security updates found online could be downloaded and
installed. This would not restore any applications, however.
You may be able to repair the hard disk drive without erasing and reformatting,
but any fragmentation and low-level issues may persist. An archive and install
could give you a new system folder, but that won't repair resource or data forks
in the OS, should they be damaged and cause the computer to not start right.
This will require some time and troubleshooting; and if some things don't work,
to find and try other things. A bootable third-party disk utility could be handy;
but I can't recommend one, I usually use Apple's Disk Utility and also make
bootable clones of the complete hard disk drive, to restore to if things go odd.
I don't have the orginal cd's that came with the computer. Do you know if I bought another set if they would work? Because that's what I'm thinking about doing.
Since you no longer have the original installer disc set
for the computer, if you want these you may have to
inquire as to the availability of them from Apple, since
the Apple Hardware Test and other series or machine
specific things are on those and not on a retail box set.
An older replacement set of original discs may be hard
to come by; but Apple sales support or some other
direct entity may be able to get them for a fee.
You could get a Tiger retail install set (shipped on DVD)
getting this system on installer CD was through a program
which now does not exist. There are some retail install sets
available through resellers online. These will not restore
the stuff your computer came with originally; so if you had
to erase your computer's hard drive, they would not be there.
The Restore disc or Applications disc that came with
your Mac would have things such as AppleWorks, and
other stuff. A retail installer won't have those nor would
it have the computer-specific Hardware Test, etc.
With the original installer disc set, you could cull some
of the apps if they have separate installers, and put
them on the computer after upgrading to Tiger, since
Tiger comes on bootable installers. If your computer
can only use CD media, the 4 disc CD set may be
harder to come by; and disc one is the boot-disc.
So, you can install a newer system from a retail disc
set; and also the disc 1 of the set can boot the Mac.
Just don't get a disc set for another computer, since
generally those do not work. This is where used discs
can be a problem.
You originally said, "I have tried the various suggestions from MAC support, but I have yet to get my computer to start back up" but you did not state exactly what steps you tried or whether you tried the suggestion made by K Shaffer to try booting into Safe Mode and what happened when you did.
Instructions for booting to Safe Mode can be found
HERE. Be sure to read all the accompaning links with that article as they may help.
