Cannot erase iBook 30 gb drive OSX 10.4

Question

Level 1

8 points

Cannot erase iBook 30 gb drive OSX 10.4

This is really stumping me. I want to re-install the OS and give the machine away.

When I attempt to "install" the OS, the machine reads the disk, get right up to the point of initializing the disk but the "gas gauge" stays stuck at 0%.

So I rebooted and (from the DVD) ran disk utilities, it sees the drive and I attempt to erase it and again, no progress, just the spinning beach ball.

Even after all these attempts to wipe the drive, the machine will still boot right back up of the internal hard drive.

Specs:

iBook G4 (12 inch model)

512 + 256 RAM
30 GB HD

iBook, Mac OS X (10.4.1)

Posted on Jul 25, 2016 3:25 PM

Reply

Answer 1

Kappy

Level 10

362,023 points

Jul 25, 2016 3:42 PM in response to BCTurb

Before Selling or Giving Away Your Pre-Lion Mac

Follow these instructions until you get to Step 5:

What to do before selling or giving away your Mac - Apple Support

At Step 5 you will need the installer disc that came with the computer.

Boot the computer using the Installer Disc or the Disc 1 that came with your computer. Insert the disc into the optical drive and restart the computer. After the chime press and hold down the "C" key. Release the key when you see a small spinning gear appear below the dark gray Apple logo.
After the installer loads, select your language and click on the Continue button. When the menu bar appears select Disk Utility from the Utilities menu. After Disk Utility loads select the hard drive entry (out-dented entry) from the left side list (mfgr.'s ID and drive size.) Click on the Partition tab in the Disk Utility main window. Set the number of partitions to one (1) from the Partitions drop down menu, click on Options button and select GUID, click on OK, then set the format type to MacOS Extended (Journaled), then click on the Apply button.
When the formatting has finished quit Disk Utility. Proceed with the OS X installation and follow the directions included with the installer.
If you are planning to sell or give your computer away, then do the following: After you reformat your hard drive and reinstall OS X, the computer restarts to a Welcome screen and asks you to choose a country or region. If you want to leave the Mac in an out-of-box state, don't continue with the setup of your system. Instead, press Command-Q to shut down the Mac. When the new owner turns on the Mac, the Setup Assistant will guide them through the setup process.

Reply

Answer 2

BCTurb Author

Level 1

8 points

Jul 25, 2016 5:26 PM in response to Kappy

Hi and thanks for the reply. Ok tried everything you mentioned but the "click on Options button and select GUID, click on OK," option is not available. The bottom of the screen shows read/write but does not show if it is GUID (or that other one, I forgot, it's been a while).

Reply

Answer 3

Kappy

Level 10

362,023 points

Jul 25, 2016 6:05 PM in response to BCTurb

Oh, right. You have an iBook, so the partition option is actually for APR, not GUID.

Reply

Answer 4

BCTurb Author

Level 1

8 points

Jul 25, 2016 6:28 PM in response to Kappy

Right! I think that is an intel thing now that I think about it. Anyhow, the partitioning is not working. Beach ball. I waited about an hour, rebooted and sure enough the old system happily fires up. I checked out how to replace the HD but holy cow that seems like quite the operation.

Reply

Answer 5

Kappy

Level 10

362,023 points

Jul 25, 2016 8:57 PM in response to BCTurb

Have you tried just erasing the drive? Skip over the partitioning. Select the indented entry (usually, Macintosh HD), select the Erase option and set the format for Mac OS Extended, Journaled, then click on the Erase button.

If that fails, then the drive may be failing. It is quite the operation to get an iBook apart, but I seem to remember that the drive is in the battery compartment.

Reply