My Laptop Won't Start Up All The Way Anymore

Anthony:

Welcome to Apple Discussions.

To reiterate what have always been told, it is very unlikely that it is a virus. There are no known viruses for Mac OS X in the wild.

Next, I don't think the software you downloaded is responsible for what you are experiencing.

First, try this:
• Shut down the computer.
• Locate the following keys: Command, Option, P, and R. You will need to hold these keys down simultaneously later.
• Turn on the computer.
• Press and hold the Command + Option + P + R keys immediately after the startup chime.
• Hold keys down until you hear the startup chime for the third time.
• Release the keys and immediately hold down Shift key to start up in Safe Mode.
• Log in and empty Trash.
• Restart normally and log in.

If that does not help try Repair Disk
Insert Installer disk and Restart, holding down the "C" key until grey Apple appears.
Go to Installer menu (Panther and earlier) or Utilities menu (Tiger) and launch Disk Utility.
Select your HDD (manufacturer ID) in the left panel.
Select First Aid in the Main panel.
(Check S.M.A.R.T Status of HDD at the bottom of right panel, and report if it says anything but Verified)
Click Repair Disk on the bottom right.
If DU reports disk does not need repairs quit DU and restart.
If DU reports errors Repair again and again until DU reports disk is repaired.
If DU reports errors it cannot repair you will need to use a utility like Tech Tool Pro or Disk Warrior

A few questions:
You have an iBook G4. What is the processor speed?
How much RAM do you have installed?
What is the total capacity of your internal HDD?
How much available capacity/free space do you have?
Is your internal HDD the one that shipped originally with the computer?
Do you have an up-to-date backup?
Do you have the original install disks?


😉 cornelius

Your first method didn't work, since my Trash was already empty.

It wouldn't matter if the Trash is empty. That is not the point of the procedure. Were you able to Reset the PRAM, and were you able to boot in Safe Mode? Please post back with your response to this.

I don't have any OS or Repair discs.

That is a pity. You are not able to reinstall, run Repair Disk or run the Apple Hardware Test as you would if you had the disks. In addition, you are in technical violation of the Apple Software License Agreement. I suggest that you purchase install disks for your computer. Or you could call Apple Customer Service and ask for a set of the original software. You will need the computer serial number when you call.

Try the procedure set out in the article Resolve startup issues and perform disk maintenance with Disk Utility and fsck.

😉 cornelius

Anthony:

I tried the procedure in the link you gave me. It didn't work. It just came back saying "The volume Macintosh HD appears to be OK."

It did work. It ran Repair Disk and found there were no errors to repair. In other words, the file system/directory checked out as OK.

I did everything you said to. After the 3rd chime I held shift and it did start in safe mode.

Which means that you were able to successfully reset the PRAM and get it to boot in Safe Mode.

it still starts as I described above; no icons and no menu bar at the top of the screen, and nothing will load.

That's the puzzlement. The directory checks out fine, you are able to boot in Safe Mode but the Finder is having difficulties. Are you able to access anything on the computer when it is in that state? If you can we can try a few things to see if we can correct the Finder issue.

I had always thought if someone gave you a laptop, it didn't matter if you got the discs, because it was all paid for either way.

The software that came with the computer is supposed to be installed on one computer at a time, and you are supposed to have install disks for the system installed. There are a lot of folk who post here who do not have install disks for one reason or other. Apart from the legality, and I mention it only to inform you of the requirement, it makes it difficult to do much else by way of testing and, certainly, reinstalling. If you can get new disks that will be helpful.

So, let us know if you can work on the computer one you have it started up and we will see where to go next.

😉 cornelius

Anthony:

At this point I am not sure where to go. If you had install disks I would suggest that you completely reformat your drive and reinstall. I suspect that you may have a failing Hard Disk Drive. However, it is difficult to test that without being able to boot the computer. The average life of a HDD is 3 to 5 years. Your iBook G4 was introduced in October 2004, which puts it in the outer limits of its expected lifespan. Your best bet may be to make an appointment online at the Genius Bar and have them take a look. There is no charge for them having a look.

😉 cornelius

Hi cornelius,

I was just wondering if there would be any benefit of the OP trying to boot into OS 9 using the option boot method. Could the OP even do that? Could they then perhaps troubleshoot once in OS9?

Probably not possible but just wanted to offer as a suggestion.

regards,

LS 🙂

either purchase them, or call Apple Customer Service and ask for a set of the original software. What's the difference between these two options? And either way, I'd be buying them, right? Is one option cheaper than the other?

The original disk set from Apple, if they are available, will give you Panther install disks, as well as the Apple Hardware Test disks. The service charge for these, the last I heard, was around $60. If you purchase Panther disks say, on eBay, it will cost somewhere in the same range, but since you will want to get the Full Retail Version and not computer specific installers, it will not include iLife, nor the Apple Hardware Test disk. Purchasing will be a good option if you could get either Tiger or Leopard for a reasonable price. If they are available from Apple, it would cost around $130. On the open after-market, however, the prices are prohibitive.

I am still puzzled as to what is going on. Getting the disks will not be a waste in the sense that you could use them again. However, I am concerned about the viability of your internal HDD, although not being able to get a read on it makes it difficult to say with any degree of certainty.

😉 cornelius

LS:

It's ages since I worked in OS 9. However, Option booting into OS 9 would require that OS 9 be installed on a separate volume/partition, to the best of my recollection. If it is on the OS X volume it will not show up, is that not so? Then once booted into OS 9, what would one do? If the OP has OS 9 disks he could run Disk First Aid, or whatever it was called, but that would check the OS 9 volume, wouldn't it? The OP has run fsck and it came back as OK, meaning the OS X directory is OK. If the directory is OK, what's left but a hardware issue? Since the HDD is likely the original, it is a candidate for showing signs of aging. At least, that is where my head is at. Any thoughts you can offer would be welcome.

😉 cornelius

Hi again cornelius,

I was thinking that if the OP could boot into OS 9 they might be able to trash the finder .plist from the Users folder to help troubleshoot. I was assuming that you were able to select OS9 when option booting but I think you might be right that it would have to be installed on a separate volume to show up to select that way. Not like using the startup disk from System Preferences.

That just shows how little I know about switching back and forth between OS's 😉 And here I thought I was being helpful....another 😉

If the OP can't access a Finder window by opening from the Dock icon of the Finder then I'm not sure what other options are available other than what you have previously have advised above. Also, if they cannot chose option + click the Finder icon in the Dock to select "Relaunch" that would be the only other attempt at troubleshooting the problem from what they have.

best,

LS 🙂

LS:

That is why I asked about whether anything could be accessed at all. The idea would have been to Trash the Finder .plist. Not having a Finder. The only other option, at this point, would be to work with the Command line in Single User Mode. However, I am not a command line person and am not of much help there. However that might be something that could be tried. Maybe we can get the OP to create a new account in Single User Mode and see if the issue persists there. Let me do that now.

Thanks for the idea.

😉 cornelius

Anthony:

One last thing to try. For some reason we can't access the Finder, and we are not able to get into the computer do try to fix that. The procedure outlined in the link I am about to post will get the computer to bring back the setup Assistant. You can then create a new Admin Account and we will see if that makes the Finder available. Type the commands exactly as they are written including the spaces. Don't worry about the note about the BSD system as your system is practically useless as it is. Here is the link: Making the Setup Assistant reappear.

😉 cornelius