Stuck on blue screen and flashing--- Please HELP

Hi, Kristin. Welcome to Apple Discussions.

First, try resetting the PMU.

Next, try booting into Safe Mode. This will take quite awhile longer than a normal startup because it does a file check and repair of the hard disk.

If this works you will see your normal desktop. Once completely started up in Safe Mode, try to restart normally, and go to Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility. Click on the top hard drive icon in the left sidebar and note the S.M.A.R.T. status at the bottom right of the pane. What does it say?

Select the named boot volume in the left sidebar, ("Macintosh HD" unless you've renamed it). What is the hard drive capacity and how much space remains available on it? Repair permissions on it.

See if you are able to do a little hard drive maintenance to help things out.

I'm not so sure resetting the Power Management Unit would help this issue;
and it is starting to sound more like a logic issue or hardware failure.

To properly reset the "PMU" a procedure is enacted and certain models of
Apple portables have a specific procedure to do this; and a power manage-
ment unit reset is seldom necessary, and if done correctly, only do it once.

Resetting PowerBook and iBook Power Management Unit (PMU)

One of the procedures suggests removal of the battery and at a specific
interval in the instructions, to press the power button; as part of a PMU.
Whether or not this would even apply to your exact machine would involve
reading the instructions for your machine, not for other models.

[Holding the shift key on startup engages SafeBoot; if you get
there, you can also run Disk Utility from the utilities folder, see
GO in the main Finder menu bar to go to Utilities folder. Repair
disk permissions, and see if it will restart normally.]

Or, the hard drive and/or its startup sectors may be corrupted or bad.

IF for some reason, the startup information on the computer's hard drive
is corrupted, that may cause a partial startup and then a failure. So, if
you can start the computer from the bootable installer disc it shipped with
(or if a new version OSX retail was installed, use that boot/install DVD)
and hold the C key on startup to see if it may eventually boot the iBook
from the small OSX segment on this Installer disc. This can take a long
time to get a machine to run from the optical installer disc, even if OK.

On the Installer's menu bar once this booted volume is loaded to desktop
and you see it isn't OSX startup, you can click on the Installer name in
the main menubar, to see Disk Utility and other options beneath this
installer; you access tools and utilities from here, do not launch the main
Installer since it won't fix anything. Disk Utility can be selected if you get
this far in attempting to boot from the installer disc#1 and choose from
the two drive-like icons on the left side in Disk Utility's first window; you
should click on the one called Macintosh HD (or if you renamed the HD,
the volume may have a name you gave it) and then another window will
appear; you can choose to "repair disk" and "repair disk permissions."
Try the repair disk at least twice; it should give a good report if a repair
was done to the hard disk drive by this Disk Utility by the second or
third repair. If it does not get that far, click on the other hard drive icon
and see if the SMART status indicates a Failure notice. If so, you need
to have the hard drive replaced with a new one; a service tech job.

If the computer has an AppleCare protection plan in effect, they should
be able to help you in getting it repaired under warranty. You may have
to call and talk to an Applecare representative to see what they say; and
they may also have you try to check the hard drive by booting from this
same system installer disc. If you have tried ahead of time, you will
know the drill; and if you got a bad report before you call in, say so.

[You could also see if the computer can start from the system
installer boot disc and run an Apple Hardware Test from there,
this involves holding the Option key on startup to get that to go.]

There may be an Apple Store with genius and product specialists on hand
near you. If so, call the store ahead and ask if you need an appointment
to talk to someone there about your iBook problem. Best of luck to you.

[If this or any reply-post is of help to you, you can award those posts
with a star; only the individual who posted the question can.]

No iBook G4 has a physical reset button for resetting the PMU. You must use the key combination to accomplish it. For an iBook G4, follow these specific instructions (as per the Apple Knowledge Base article):

1. If the computer is on, turn it off.
2. Reset the power manager by simultaneously pressing and then releasing Shift-Control-Option-Power on the keyboard. Do not press the fn (Function) key while using this combination of keystrokes.
3. Wait 5 seconds.
4. Press the Power button to restart the iBook computer.
   

Resetting the PMU can correct some specific types of hardware failure, which is why I recommended it.

I was asking for Kristin to try a Safe Boot before going on to starting up from the Install disc, taking the easiest step first. If Safe Mode hadn't worked, my next suggestion would have been starting up from the Mac OS X Tiger Install Disc by inserting the disc and restarting your computer, holding down the C key as the startup chime is ending. Then click 'Next' at the language screen and choose Utilities > Disk Utility and select the hard drive in the left column. Choose the First Aid tab. Click Repair Disk to test and repair the hard drive.

Once the hard drive has been repaired with either Safe Mode or the Install disc's Disk Utility, then start up normally and repair permissions from Disk Utility in the Utilities folder on the hard drive.

By all means, if the computer is covered under AppleCare, call them and have them give you the instructions step-by-step over the phone.

If the iBook is not covered under AppleCare, but is still eligible for coverage (i.e., you bought it less than one year ago), I would recommend buying AppleCare so that it is covered.

Good luck.

Resetting the Power Management Unit corrects NO hardware failures; per se.

It can delete a corrupted power management chip's data and force it to
reset to defaults. In the course of hardware/software troubleshooting, it
is good to try a few known things; and I am aware of what and how these
things can be done.

But I am not here to argue; nor am I here to try and delete all my posts
as a reaction to your disapproval of my conduct. Many of the things I
suggest here (some with Apple Support links or other proven sites) are
things I have tried myself. I am no longer cutting edge and cannot afford
to beta test new hardware and system software as I once did, but I do
know how to repair and restore Apple Macintosh computer's functionality.

If these things presented as troubleshooting tips cannot help actually
resolve a corruption or temporary logical error, there may need to be
a hardware (parts replacement) cure to resolve it. Sure, a full hard drive
can be the cause of data corruption and damage to the actual drive may
result; so checking to see how full or near capacity the drive is may have
a practical result in determining a cause of startup failure or data issues
which could be cause by the OS and drive damage due to overwriting.

Ultimately unless the user is technically sufficient and self-sufficient to
resolve these matters, the machine will need to go to a repair service;
especially given the nature of design in compact portable computers
such as the iBook series; though some people have fixed their own.

There is no reset button, but the procedure to reset the PMU varies
between models of portable Macintosh computers; and so the link
provided says which one to use for what series. My older G3 white
dualUSB had a reset button; others have different required steps.
I did not suggest a button simplification of procedure; but this user
had seen or been told of a partial procedure that would be used in
a PowerBookG4 to reset PMU; not in an iBookG4. so the reference
to the AppleSupport PMU Reset was given as a guide to facts.
And I had started posting my reply quite some time ahead of yours.

Hopefully this individual has access to an Apple genius and a service
center; I have neither; and historically as such, I have learned how to
do many things, including repair and restore several older Macintoshes.
Which I later donated to charities within a 70 mile radius of "here."
Sure, "here" is nowhere, but some people know where I am, nonetheless.

To be clear. Procedures and some great troubleshooting information exist
in the Apple Support documents and manuals; directing intelligent people
to them could be alot easier. And for those less inclined to tweek or fix
their computers, urban areas in larger populated areas have technicians.
For me, I'd rather see more technical data available; as I am more remote.

I registered here more than three years ago, and had three questions,
not one of them was answered concerning my under AppleCare iMacG4
issues; I decided to totally troubleshoot my own issues and present
evidence to the only service provider in my region so they could tell
Apple to send me a logic board; finally after 3,000 miles of hauling my
computer back and forth (3,000 more mile with my car computerless)
and 14 months of AppleCare and ownership behind me, I solved the
issue and eventually two logic board replacements "fixed" this issue.

I was reluctant to attempt anything on my current computers because
they are both under AppleCare extended protection plans; but I have to
because there is no regional Apple support here at all. My previous
experiences in repairing, restoring and redistributing over 100 Macs has
some value to me; and a few people I come across who know.

Even if you don't appreciate the journey. And if others do not, I can stop
trying to help people here, too. (I am pulling posts at this moment on
another Mac user tech forum, since they seem to think opinions are just
the same as facts and experience.) I don't need to waste my time in
explaining the results of hard work here; so I am done. When people
don't know it is a courtesy to say thanks or note the validity of other
posted and helpful answers, all you have is a post count. I don't need it.

Instead of trying to sound like a know-it-all, I self depreciated
and repeated the poster's own PMU reset experience; and
then deferred to the actual Apple Support link. Did you see this?

Sorry for this long reply; but consider the time behind the effort, and
the length of a 20 hour day. Best wishes, and safe passages.

It is just that Kristen has said that she is "stressed out" about this. In such cases, I have found that simple, direct advice is best, and is best given one or two steps at a time so as not to overwhelm someone who is already feeling a bit overwhelmed.

I guess I consider a corrupted power management unit to be a hardware failure of a sort. It can cause operational anomalies, and since Kristen had reset the PRAM already, it seemed like a logical first step.

It's a good thing you're not here to try to delete your posts because, as far as I know, there is no way for a contributor to do that.

If a hard drive is determined to be failing by reading the S.M.A.R.T. status report, or if it is determined to be full to the point of causing problems by checking, there are further steps that can be recommended.

I have been helping users "fix their own" iBooks for well over three years, now. Some can; some can't. Users are here asking for a chance. I try my best to give them that chance. Maybe it's not good enough lots of times, but I try.

I don't "disapprove of your conduct." You're welcome to conduct yourself in whatever manner you see fit. I wouldn't have posted further at all except that you were talking about a physical reset button in connection with an iBook G4, and I just did happen to know (from years spent in the iBook G3 Dual USB Forum and having to differentiate between models that do and do not have the reset button) that none of the iBook G4's have a reset button. For clarity, I posted the specific instructions from the Apple Knowledge Base article.

I, too, live in a remote area. The closest Apple Authorized Service Provider is an hour and a half's drive away (not Alaska, but not a pleasant journey, all the same). I like to do what I can for myself. What I've learned here helps and I'd like to think I can help someone else now and then.

To be clear. Procedures and some great troubleshooting information exist
in the Apple Support documents and manuals; directing intelligent people
to them could be alot easier.

I find this statement anything but clear (but it is undoubtedly my own denseness). Do you mean that directing people to the documents and manuals could be easier than giving them advice directly? Or do you mean that you find it difficult to direct people to Apple Support documents and manuals and that the process of directing them to those documents could be easier?

Instead of trying to sound like a know-it-all…

Well, I guess that means you think I was trying to sound like a know-it-all? That was not what I intended. I referenced the Apple support link, too, however with the talk of the reset button in your post, I decided in my second post to spell out the directions. If this has offended you, I apologize. No offense was intended. The directions for the PMU reset were intended for Kristen.

Best wishes to you, too.