Flashing question mark on powerbook G4 I screwed up! Tried to get into original state on Tiger 10.4.11 and wound up coming up with 9.2.2 for a short time and now just flashing question mark?

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Flashing question mark on powerbook G4 I screwed up! Tried to get into original state on Tiger 10.4.11 and wound up coming up with 9.2.2 for a short time and now just flashing question mark?

This was stupid of me. I have tried everything to get back to the basic OS. There is no worry about what is on the hard disk, because I wanted everything erased anyway. My original disk has 9.2.2 and 10.3 on it. I understand that the problem is that it was running on 10.4.11 great and then the system got confused when I installed the older system disk. i have tried everything what the support community suggested to me on-line and hopefully someone can help me to get the system reset.

I have been to the Apple Genius bar, however they told me that the system was to old and they lack the tools. this Powerbook does not have a firewire port and I guess this constitutes one of the problems. I applied the original to two other Mac Books - newer vintages - and it worked OK.

Posted on Mar 13, 2012 11:38 AM

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Answer 1

Kappy

Level 10

361,709 points

Mar 13, 2012 11:47 AM in response to pogo63

You will have to resintall your OS. You will need your Tiger installer DVD to reinstall Tiger. If you have not already erased the drive (still have the old Tiger system on it:)

How to Perform an Archive and Install

An Archive and Install will NOT erase your hard drive, but you must have sufficient free space for a second OS X installation which could be from 3-9 GBs depending upon the version of OS X and selected installation options. The free space requirement is over and above normal free space requirements which should be at least 6-10 GBs. Read all the linked references carefully before proceeding.

1. Be sure to use Disk Utility first to repair the disk before performing the Archive and Install.

Repairing the Hard Drive and Permissions

Boot from your OS X Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Installer menu (Utilities menu for Tiger, Leopard or Snow Leopard.) After DU loads select your hard drive entry (mfgr.'s ID and drive size) from the the left side list. In the DU status area you will see an entry for the S.M.A.R.T. status of the hard drive. If it does not say "Verified" then the hard drive is failing or failed. (SMART status is not reported on external Firewire or USB drives.) If the drive is "Verified" then select your OS X volume from the list on the left (sub-entry below the drive entry,) click on the First Aid tab, then click on the Repair Disk button. If DU reports any errors that have been fixed, then re-run Repair Disk until no errors are reported. If no errors are reported click on the Repair Permissions button. Wait until the operation completes, then quit DU and return to the installer. Now restart normally.

If DU reports errors it cannot fix, then you will need Disk Warrior and/or Tech Tool Pro to repair the drive. If you don't have either of them or if neither of them can fix the drive, then you will need to reformat the drive and reinstall OS X.

2. Do not proceed with an Archive and Install if DU reports errors it cannot fix. In that case use Disk Warrior and/or TechTool Pro to repair the hard drive. If neither can repair the drive, then you will have to erase the drive and reinstall from scratch.

3. Boot from your OS X Installer disc. After the installer loads select your language and click on the Continue button. When you reach the screen to select a destination drive click once on the destination drive then click on the Option button. Select the Archive and Install option. You have an option to preserve users and network preferences. Only select this option if you are sure you have no corrupted files in your user accounts. Otherwise leave this option unchecked. Click on the OK button and continue with the OS X Installation.

4. Upon completion of the Archive and Install you will have a Previous System Folder in the root directory. You should retain the PSF until you are sure you do not need to manually transfer any items from the PSF to your newly installed system.

5. After moving any items you want to keep from the PSF you should delete it. You can back it up if you prefer, but you must delete it from the hard drive.

6. You can now download a Combo Updater directly from Apple's download site to update your new system to the desired version as well as install any security or other updates. You can also do this using Software Update.

If you do not have your Tiger DVD then you will have to reinstall 10.3, but to do that you will have to erase the hard drive first.

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Answer 2

pogo63 Author

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Mar 20, 2012 8:45 AM in response to Kappy

Hi Kappy,

thanks for the suggestions you provided to me. Unfortunately, it did not help. You see my system will always go into the flashing mode, whether I hold down the C key or not. The only exception is when I insert hard ware test CD and hold down the option key. On my desk top I see the return icon and to the right there is a box with a right arrow. In between I see a box with an Apple HW test icon. When I enter on this box, the system performs some kind of test based on the noise I hear. After about 4 minutes the H/W Test box appears and nothing has happened. Otherwise, it will not recognize the initial boot disk nor a later Tiger install disk a friend gave me.

I also noted that the G4 has a firewire port. Is it possible to use a target install procedure with another computer?

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Answer 3

Kappy

Level 10

361,709 points

Mar 20, 2012 10:00 AM in response to pogo63

Yes, as long as the other computer is a PPC model: Transferring files between two computers using FireWire

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Answer 4

pogo63 Author

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Mar 20, 2012 10:07 AM in response to pogo63

Addendum! Encouraged by seeing the H/W test disc on my desktop, I reinserted the original start up disk. Then I started the computer holding down the option key. The computer after about 3 minutes came up with MAC OSX disc showing similarly to the H/W icon.

I selected this box and the computer showed immediately disc activity and then the Apple icon came up with timer indicator spinning. However, after about 10 seconds the disc activity stopped and then the "Interdit" icon replaced the apple icon. The timer was still spinning, but there was no disc activity. It is still spinning after about 15 minutes. It seems whatever the computer found on the disc it did not like it. At least it saw something, huh?

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Answer 5

pogo63 Author

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Mar 20, 2012 10:22 AM in response to pogo63

Hi Kappy, thanks for the replies. You had mentioned in an earlier post that I probably should just erase my hard drive and then reinstall 10.3 (see below)

If you do not have your Tiger DVD then you will have to reinstall 10.3, but to do that you will have to erase the hard drive first.

How can I perform this task if i don't have control over the computer?
Also I don't have ready access to another Apple compute

At this point I don't care what happens to the data, I would just like to have a chance to reinstall 10.3 residing on the original start up disk.

Thank you very much.

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Answer 6

Kappy

Level 10

361,709 points

Mar 20, 2012 10:28 AM in response to pogo63

The only way to erase the drive is to be able to boot from an installer disc which apparently you aren't able to do. That being the case there's not much I can suggest you try other than taking it in for repair. You cannot erase the drive unless you can get the computer to boot from an installer disc.

You can continue trying to get the computer to start from the installer disc either by the normal method:

Booting From An OS X Installer Disc

1. Insert OS X Installer Disc into the optical drive.

2. Restart the computer.

3. Immediately after the chime press and hold down the "C" key.

4. Release the key when the spinning gear below the dark gray Apple logo appears.

5. Wait for installer to finish loading.

Or you can try the OPTION boot method.

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Answer 7

pogo63 Author

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Mar 21, 2012 7:16 AM in response to Kappy

Hi Kappy,

Thank you for the prompt reply and the willingness to assist further. It looks like that I have created a very expensive door stop in the form of the laptop.

Nothing works, except the option method and then when it looks like the computer responds and sees the starting disk it "flames out". I have tried to give it to the Apple repair folks, but they said they could not work on it, because they lacked the proper tools. That is why I came to this board, hoping to find an expert in the older technology who can still help.

I just can't believe that there is nobody in the Apple community who has not encountered such a problem. I am scheduled to drop off the computer to the local University. The IT guru said there is probably nothing he can't do for me, but he will look it over as a favor.

Thank you very much, pogo

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Answer 8

dalstott

Level 4

2,639 points

Mar 21, 2012 12:06 PM in response to pogo63

After all the things you have tried that do not help I believe you have a serious (hard dive, RAM, board etc) hardware problem. On a PowerBook G4 you have to realize that if you can't do the work yourself it can cost more to troubleshoot and repair than to find a good used one as a replacement.

Apple is not to blame as they have no responsibility beyond the warranty or AppleCare terms. There are private Mac Shops that can take a look for a fee. Check with a local Mac User Group for recommendations.

http://www.apple.com/usergroups/

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Answer 9

pogo63 Author

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Mar 22, 2012 8:38 PM in response to dalstott

Hi Dalstott, thank you for your input. I did not blame Apple at any time, although I did bemoan the fact in general that large companies drop support for legacy type equipment rather quickly. However, this problem I created on my own! I recognize now that I should not have assumed just because I could reinitialize the startup disk with a couple of 10.4.11 Mac Books it would also work with the older vintage Power Book. Or if the strategy worked in countless PC type computers.

Having created an expensive door stop with the current Power Book, I did buy an enclosure to see if I can get the hard drive to work in another Power Book. Or at least to see if I can erase the disc. Has anyone tried that procedure before?

I don't think the hardware or Ram is broken as the system seems to recognize my Command+option + pr key command. In addition, it tries to boot up from the "option key" with the startup disk and after hearing the disc crank up and seeing the apple icon, albeit for just 10 seconds it seems to encounter a corruption. Surely, someone has encountered this before.

I may also be in a position to acquire a Power Book with a bad hard drive and thought I would swap out my hard drive and see if it boots up, but not before trying to erase the data with enclosure first. What does the community think about that step?

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