IBook G4 - Black screen in open firmware

Hi, i have a strange problem with my iBook G4.
When switched on it chimes and starts loading but the screen is completely black (not no backlight but completely black). In otherwords it does not show the grey screen or apple logo.
Once the OS boots the blue screen comes up and everything works perfectly.
So the problem is that anything before the actual OS loads is black. That means the grey screen with apple logo, open firmware and the drive selection screen (if you boot holding ALT/OPT) are all black.
I have tried resetting the PMU, Pram and blindly (with black screen) in open firmware did reset-nram and reset-all but nothing changed.
It is a late 2004 iBook G4 1.2Ghz with 512MB ram, 30GB HD and OSX Leopard 10.5.8.

This is a strange one, isn't it?
I'd count my lucky stars that it will boot into the OS, and I'd be saving up for a new MacBook Pro (or used MacBook).
I'm going to kick this one around with some of the gang in the Lounge and see if any of them have any ideas about what may be causing this.
Good luck with it.

Similar Messages

  • Start-up problems, black screen or open firmware

    My iBook G4 1.33GHz Dual USB, with 1 gb RAM memory has been troublesome lately. It's installed with the latest version of OS 10.4.9
    When starting up the ibook, it will sometimes only show a black screen after the boot chime. Repeated force restart sometimes makes it boot up the open firmware (white screen).
    Then I see the error message:
    "Illegal instructions at: %SRR0:ff85e778 %SRR1:00081000"
    When I continue on with "mac-boot", I get the blue screen with a question marked box. So it can't find the startup disk.
    This usually only happens when I'm done working for the day and close the lid on my ibook without manually clicking on the sleep mode when I put in in my drawer,. I've seen several times that the screen is still on when I close the lid, so it will continue to burn battery time.
    I've managed to get the ibook to boot properly after removing the battery and letting it "cool-down" for 15-20 min. Also, zapping pram, vram sometimes works, but I don't know how much that actually helped. It worked once when I typed in the reset-nvram in the open firmware screen too.
    I'd rather not have this happen at all! Any suggestions? Is this the much-talked about RAM memory failure?
    Any suggestions would be very appreciated.
    Message was edited by: antony chen

    HI,
    *"I get the blue screen with a question marked box."*
    That can mean several things. One, the drive is failing. Two, your iBook can't find a System Folder to boot from. Try booting while holding down the Option key which will prompt the Startup Manager window.
    MemTest
    Boot from your install disk and check the hard disk for errors.
    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 later) 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. It should say: 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.
    When you are finished with DU, from the Menu Bar, select Utilities/Startup Manager.
    Select your start up disk and click Restart
    While you have the Disk Utility window open, look at the bottom of the window where you see Capacity and Available. Make sure there is always 15% free disk space. Not enough disk space can cause directory corruption.
    If you cannot boot from your install disk, try booting in Safe Mode
    A flashing question mark appears when you start your Mac
    Carolyn

  • I am having a Startup problem. Someone comes on the screen with Open Firmware to Startup. How can I reset the PRAM myself to solve this problem?

    I am having a Startup problem. Someone comes on the screen with Open Firmware to Startup. How can I reset the PRAM myself to solve this problem?

    Read these.
    http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1431
    http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-13727_7-10330118-263.html

  • Black screen when opening in .pdf

    I'm having problems with opening the C5-project in .pdf. Some people get a black screen when opening the .pdf file (version 9 or higher), most of the time it goes well, but 1 out of 10 times it doesn't work. I have know idea what could be the cause of the black screen (use of laptop?).
    Now it is impossible to send this project to our stakeholders, because I don't know whether it works or not.
    Does anyone recognize this and knows why this happens, and how to solve this?

    There was a recent patch released by Adobe for Captivate 5 that addressed a similar black screen issue in Captivate SWFs.
    You can get the patch here: http://www.adobe.com/support/captivate/downloads.html
    It may turn out to fix your issue as well.

  • HT1937 I have installed an app : Birdfield guide in my iPhone 4. But the app is not working after installation. It shows black screen when opened

    I have installed an app : Birdfield guide in my iPhone 4. But the app is not working after installation. It shows black screen when opened. I need suggestions to make it work or the reasons for not working.

    Yes TeeKnows, try deleting it and download it again. After finished installation if still shows black screen delete it out off 'running apps' by double tapping the home button and swipe it off. If still shows black screen then try fully turning off your iPad (holding the sleep button) and turn back on again.
    I hope I helped
    thanks
    Lydia

  • Macbook Air (mid-2013) Black Screen Upon Opening Screen

    Hi Everyone,
    I have a mid-2013 Macbook Air (bought in August)  that I updated to OS X 10.9 a few weeks ago.  Recently I've been noticing that when I flip the screen up it'll work fine, but if I do so consecutively for two times (ie. opening it once, closing it, then opening it again), the screen goes black (sometimes a half-black that's still lit up, othertimes it's completely black as if it were off).  This also happens when I put it in sleep mode by pressing the power button once.  If I do it twice, the black screen appears as well.  Nothing I press on the keyboard will cause the screen to come back on.  The only thing I can do is to force it shut down and then reboot.  I reset the SMC and PRAM and neither has helped. Apple told me that I need to take it into a store but I have several essays due in the next week and finals after that.  I can't be without a laptop so I can't send it in for repair until at least mid-December.  I'm hoping it's not a hardware issue (since other people have posted about this as well) and it'll be solved by an update.  Any suggestions? 
    Thanks for the help!

    1. Reset SMC.     http://support.apple.com/kb/HT3964
        Choose the method for:
        "Resetting SMC on portables with a battery you should not remove on your own"
    2.Reset PRAM. http://support.apple.com/kb/PH4405
    3.  http://support.apple.com/kb/PH10930
    If this does not help, contact Apple as soon as possible.
    Best.

  • HP Recovery Manager only shows a black screen when opened on dv6t

    I just recently got a HP Pavilion dv6t-6c00 notebook and I tried to create my set of recovery discs, which I've already been having trouble with because I don't have the right brand of DVDs. I still haven't completed the process of making all 5 recovery discs. When I try to open the HP Recovery Manager to continue the process, it opens but only a black screen comes up that says "Welcome to HP Recovery Manager. Use this tool to get your computer back up and running if it ever stops running as usual." It won't let continue making the recovery discs, or do anything for that matter. I've tried running in safe mode and starting the program, but the same thing happens.

    Hello msorr21. Before I can thoroughly assist you, I need to ask a few questions:
    What is the exact model number of the computer? If you are unsure, reference this link to show you how to find it: http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?cc=us&lc=en&dlc=en&docname=c00033108
    What Operating System do you have?
    Could you give a little more detail on the issue you are experiencing?
    Please respond as soon as possible. I'm only here to help!
    Mario
    I worked on behalf of HP.

  • Getting black screen while opening compounf PDFs in Redhat Linux 64bit & adobe reader 9.5.1

    Hi All,
    I am unable to open compound PDF files in adobe reader 9.5.1 in Redhat Linux 64 bit. all I get is a black screen. Does anyone have a fix for this?
    Regards,
    Gary.

    Hi All,
    I got the solution to view compound PDFs \ PDF portfolios in Redhat Linux.
    Use the native PDF viewer (Evince - Document Viweer). In the left panel, where it usually shows 'thumbnails' - select 'attachments' from the drop down menu. This will show you all the embeded PDF files. Just double click to view.
    Regards,
    Gary.

  • Ipod camera black screen when opened and sync prob HELP!!!

    hello i just went to open the camera on my ipod touch 4g and it just went black just a black screen when i press the home button it goes straight to the home screen everything else is fine i just open the camera and a black screen appears, it is working fine now but just wondering if it is faulty or somthing.
    some times it does not sync i will plug it into the computes usb port and it wont charge i takes about 3 to 6 tries to get it to work any help thanks 

    Same thing just happened to me, found another solution though. 
    Plug the USB cable into your PC/base of iPod Touch.
    Turn off the iPod completely.
    Wait 10 seconds and re-power the iPod.
    Now load up the camera; and the screen should be back to normal.
    I have similar screen freeze issue with my Sony Erricson K700i Mobile phone, and plugging in the 'power' cable always resolves it, so it would seem to be of the same method used to resolve this iPod issue!!
    Strange thing as you've posted, all other apps etc still work.  Maybe support will get around to resolving this bug!! 

  • How to stop the black screen when opening firefox

    When I open a Firefox page it is just a black screen, no URL bar no Back, Forward or Home button nothing appears. After a couple minutes I can mouse over some stuff (mostly the blank spaces where you can enter text) and it will appear, but still can't see the "buttons" or menus (i.e.Internet options). Need to access the internet options to choose no proxy but I can't.

    May need to reinstall

  • Black screen when opening a jpg file

    Dear all,
    When opening a jpg file with Quicktime Pro, I get a black screen of the dimensions of the picture instead of the picture itself.
    Any idea how to fix this ?
    Thanks !
    Laurent

    Issue resolved by reinstalling Mac OS (or refreshing using the DVD)

  • Black screen when opening an exe or pdf

    When trying to open either a PDF or an EXE that I've exported from Captivate 5. When I try to open it, I get a black screen. I know the file itself is OK as others can open it without any issues.
    I have removed and reinstalled Adobe reader and flash several times etc. Any ideas on what could be the issue? I've not installed anything new on my system so do not know why it suddenly will not work. All was working fine last week...
    Thanks

    Can you follow the steps mentioned in this blog post and see if that helps.
    There was an issue with Cp5 SWF having text animation on latest flash player and the issue is resolved. Blog link : http://blogs.adobe.com/captivate/2010/11/solution-for-cp5-content-not-working-with-the-lat est-flash-player-version.html
    -Ashwin Bharghav B
    Adobe Captivate Team

  • A 2nd copy of firefox opens with a black screen when opening Firefox

    After Firefox loads with the home pages, a second copy of Firefox also opens with one black screen. The black screen has the same url as the 1st tab in the 1st copy of Firefox, with one addition as follows:
    1st copy, 1st tab url: www.newsmax.com
    2nd copy (no tabs) url: www.newsmax.com/mainpop.htm
    I'm using Windows XP, sp3, and Firefox version 10.0.1.
    It does the same on another desktop with Windows 7, same Firefox version(10.0.1).

    It is possible that there is a problem with the files sessionstore.js and sessionstore.bak in the Firefox Profile Folder.
    Delete the sessionstore.js [2] file and possible sessionstore-##.js [3] files with a number and sessionstore.bak in the Firefox Profile Folder.
    *Help > Troubleshooting Information > Profile Directory: Open Containing Folder
    *http://kb.mozillazine.org/Profile_folder_-_Firefox
    Deleting sessionstore.js will cause App Tabs and Tab Groups and open and closed (undo) tabs to get lost, so you will have to create them again (make a note or bookmark them).
    See also:
    *[1] http://kb.mozillazine.org/Session_Restore
    *[2] http://kb.mozillazine.org/sessionstore.js
    *[3] http://kb.mozillazine.org/Multiple_profile_files_created
    Start Firefox in <u>[[Safe Mode]]</u> to check if one of the extensions or if hardware acceleration is causing the problem (switch to the DEFAULT theme: Firefox/Tools > Add-ons > Appearance/Themes).
    *Don't make any changes on the Safe mode start window.
    *https://support.mozilla.org/kb/Safe+Mode

  • In FF33, still have the black screen when opening FF inside Kaspersky's "safe money" feature. How to fix?

    Already fixed FF33 black screen issue in regular browsing by unchecking "use hardware acceleration" in options using safe mode, but issue still exists when using Kaspersky's sandboxing feature, "safe money." (It opens FF in private window (at least, I'm guessing that's how they do it).) Any suggestions on how to still use this feature?

    hello VBro, please update your intel graphics driver through this link (then it also should be possible to turn on hardware acceleration again): https://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?DwnldID=23764

  • Black screen when opening email

    Hi, for some reason, all of a sudden, i have a blkack screen everytime i open my email. You can hear it downloading the mail etc, but i cant see anything...
    My little boy was playing with my phone the other day, mmmmmmm
    Anyway, i have tried pressing the screen, tapping it, moving etc, but i can not get rid of this black screen.
    Any ideas

    Try resetting your iPhone by pressing the home and sleep buttons until you see the Apple logo, ignoring the slider. Takes about 5-15 secs of button holding and you won't lose any data or settings.

Maybe you are looking for

  • How to disable Runtime.exec method ?

    i want to disable some method in java like Runtime.getRuntime().exec() and Runtime.getRuntime().totalMemory() can i implement it by change java.policy file ,and how to do it?

  • Picture gallery

    Hi all, I'm trying to set up a picture gallery in DW8 but the option isn't there for me to "Insert a Rollover Image". I would like to put back a forward buttons aswell. Can someone guide me on what to do please. thanks, banawaz

  • Calling program for a BADI

    Hi experts, I had created an implementation for a BADI. How do i link this implementation to the calling program. In the first place can you please tell me how do i find the calling program using a BADI in general. Will appreciate your help.

  • Most useful SAP courses within SAP NetWeaver area

    Hi! I am certified SAP Basis consultant (SAP NetWeaver´04 - SAP Web AS for ORACLE) and would like to extend my knowledge. What are the most useful SAP courses (from practical point of view) that you could recommend? Thank you very much! regards Thom

  • Spinning gear appears and I won't connect to home from the Creative Cloud Desktop.

    Spinning gear appears and I won't connect to home from the Creative Cloud Desktop.