HD "--" capacity?! and copying to external HD problems
Dear Common Wisdom:
My iBook G4 is not showing me the Capacity or Available space on my HD. Instead it just gives me "--".
Any ideas?
Also, I have problems copying to my USB clip and external HD. I keep getting memory errors when I know there is plenty of space on them. What gives? Why isn't it correctly calculating space?
*"My iBook G4 is not showing me the Capacity or Available space on my HD. Instead it just gives me "--"."* Your iBook hard drive is failing, sorry to say.
Have you tried booting from the restore disk and checking the hard disk for errors?
If not, shut down the iBook. Now, press the power button, hold down the C key, and insert the restore disk all at the same time. Keep holding down the C key until you see the Apple logo. An Installer window will open but DO NOT proceed with any installations, instead from the Menu Bar, select Utilities/Disk Utility. In the DU window, select MacintoshHD in the panel on the left, select the FirstAid tab and click: Verify If DU reports errors, click Repair. When it's finished, from the Menu Bar select Utilities/Startup Disk and select MacintoshHD 10.x.x and click Restart.
Check your hard disk’s S.M.A.R.T. status: Open Disk Utility, in the Utilities folder in the Applications folder.Select the disk in the list at the left, and look at the bottom of the window for a field named “S.M.A.R.T. Status.” If it doesn't say: Verified The hard disk is failing or has failed completely.
If you don't have your original machine specific disks that came with your iBook, you could try diagnosing problems booting in Safe Mode:
Starting up in “safe mode” may help you to diagnose problems you’re having with your computer.
To start up in safe mode:
Shut down your computer and wait 10 seconds.
Press the power button.
Immediately after you hear the startup tone, hold down the Shift key.
You should press the Shift key as soon as possible after your hear the startup tone, but not before.
Release the Shift key when you see the gray Apple logo and progress indicator (spinning gear).
To leave safe mode, restart the computer normally without holding down any keys during startup.
*"My iBook G4 is not showing me the Capacity or Available space on my HD. Instead it just gives me "--"."* Your iBook hard drive is failing, sorry to say.
Have you tried booting from the restore disk and checking the hard disk for errors?
If not, shut down the iBook. Now, press the power button, hold down the C key, and insert the restore disk all at the same time. Keep holding down the C key until you see the Apple logo. An Installer window will open but DO NOT proceed with any installations, instead from the Menu Bar, select Utilities/Disk Utility. In the DU window, select MacintoshHD in the panel on the left, select the FirstAid tab and click: Verify If DU reports errors, click Repair. When it's finished, from the Menu Bar select Utilities/Startup Disk and select MacintoshHD 10.x.x and click Restart.
Check your hard disk’s S.M.A.R.T. status: Open Disk Utility, in the Utilities folder in the Applications folder.Select the disk in the list at the left, and look at the bottom of the window for a field named “S.M.A.R.T. Status.” If it doesn't say: Verified The hard disk is failing or has failed completely.
If you don't have your original machine specific disks that came with your iBook, you could try diagnosing problems booting in Safe Mode:
Starting up in “safe mode” may help you to diagnose problems you’re having with your computer.
To start up in safe mode:
Shut down your computer and wait 10 seconds.
Press the power button.
Immediately after you hear the startup tone, hold down the Shift key.
You should press the Shift key as soon as possible after your hear the startup tone, but not before.
Release the Shift key when you see the gray Apple logo and progress indicator (spinning gear).
To leave safe mode, restart the computer normally without holding down any keys during startup.
