no volume on my mac os x vers 10.5.8

What do you mean by 'volume'? Sound, disk volumes or something else?

If you want us to help you we need to understand the issue & steps that got you to this state, please explain more.

If audio, have you tried an accessory to test the headphone or audio port to see if by

inserting then removing the accessory, if the speakers work again? There also is a

way to Mute the sound including startup tones, etc, in the System Preferences panel.

Also, the System Profiler shows hardware and software, so you may be able to see

if the audio segment of the system hardware appears to be recognized by your Mac.

To be clear, there are several kinds of issues that can befall a computer, so to detail

them and what you were doing (or trying) at the time you discovered the problem, it

is wise to state the history, for those of us who happen late on the scene & can't tell

what's going on.

Sometimes a reset of the PRAM (aka NVRAM in later Macs) may help speaker volume:

• How to Reset NVRAM - PRAM on your Mac - Apple Support

With a PowerPC (not Intel-based) Mac, you could attempt to reset the PMU or power

management unit, to see if that helps allow audio or other expected items to resume.

Be sure to locate the model and version information that best matches your Portable:

• Resetting PowerBook and iBook Power Management Unit (PMU) - Apple Support

Good luck in any event...! 😉