Booting Error: Flashing Question Mark

Question

I was working with iWeb today and then it beachballed like crazy... So I force quit but then that beachballed too. So I just forced a shut down. Let it rest. Turned it back on and then it came up in gray screen. Then with the OS 9 smiley logo and the folder with a flashing question mark. I followed all those steps, did the disk utility, it said it found an error with the Tree Nodes so it repaired them fine. Then I tried to restart, still nothing. I tried the Startup Manager, all it found was the CD, no hard drive... I tried PRAM. I tried it all. I am very annoyed and now frustrated that all my work on iWeb and all my files are going to have to go bye bye if I have to do an Erase and Complete REinstall. Does anyone think that my computer can be "Target Mode" mounted on my other comp. and I can drag the important files over? Help!
PS. even tried, lifting the keyboard latches and pressed the reset button.
Nada...

Answer 1

To save myself time, I'm going to try to answer both your recent posts in this single post:
1. You wrote: "There are two hard drives on the left column of the Disk Utility... "If we're talking about your PowerBook herre, then I think you are confusing hard drives with volumes on hard drives. Let's clarify that first:
In case you do not understand the difference between hard drives and volumes on hard drives, here's an example illustrating the difference (note that a similar example is shown as a screen shot in my previously cited "Resolving Disk, Permission, and Cache Corruption" FAQ):
In the column on the left in Disk Utility, you might see something like this:<pre>38.2 GB IBM-DTLA-307045
Macintosh HD</pre>The first line ("38.2 GB..." whatever) is the disk, the actual hard drive itself, aka the device.
The second, indented line (Macintosh HD) would be your Mac OS X startup disk, aka your boot volume.
Volumes — partitions on a disk — appear indented below the disk on which they reside in Disk Utility.
In Disk Utility, you can select either a volume or a hard drive for verification or repair of either the disk or permissions. However, Repair Permissions can only be used on volumes on which Mac OS X is installed. If you select a drive (vs. a volume) and use Repair Disk on such, it will attempt to repair all volumes (partitions) on that drive.
If your LaCie FireWire drive is not connected and what you are seeing is akin to<pre>xx.xx GB FUJITSU...
No Name item you described</pre>Where the "No Name" item is indented and directly below the Fujitsu line, I suspect that No Name line should read "Macintosh HD" and, as a result of either directory corruption or disk damage, not even the name of the volume can be read.
2. Now, as to the specific errors you are citing: the "Invalid B Tree error" will require "stronger medicine" than Disk Utility. See the "Disk Utility cannot repair the disk" section of my — again — previously cited "Resolving Disk, Permission, and Cache Corruption" FAQ.
3. You wrote: "Will the Archive and Install erase my iWeb files, my iCal files, my TextEdit documents? I need those the most. "If you read my previously-cited "General advice on performing an Archive and Install" FAQ, then you would know that — assuming you follow the steps in the FAQ — that none of your personal data would be lost by performing an Archive and Install. I post links to my FAQs presuming you will read them thoroughly.
However, if the Fujitsu hard drive is the only drive in the affected Mac — and if this problem is with your PowerBook you should only have one drive installed inside the computer —  then you cannot perform an Archive and Instal at this time as the directory on the drive is corrupted. The "Invalid B Tree" errors must to be fixed before you attempt to perform an Archive and Install on that drive. Furthermore, it is possible that the directory corruption could have damaged some of your personal files, but you won't know that until you repair the directory, if possible.
4. Later you wrote: "I went to the Apple store at the local mall. The "genius" took a look at my Powerbook and told me that my Logic board has malfunctioned and that it would cost me $400 to fix it."That's entirely possible given the errors you described and the fact that the drive could not be seen even in Target Disk mode. You may have a combination of problems, i.e. bad logic board which also lead to the corrupted drive directory. If the logic board problem is intermittent, one pass of the Apple Hardware Test might not catch it. Running the hardware test in Loop Mode overnight, again as stated in my previously-cited "Apple Hardware Test" FAQ is a good way to check for intermittent problems.
I don't regard the price you were quoted as unreasonable for a new logic board, and certainly cheaper than a new Mac. You may be able to shop around for a lower price, but then there's the time vs. money tradeoff in doing so.
I can neither confirm nor deny as to if the advice given at the "Genius Bar" was correct: they were able to examine your computer, whereas I can only provide advise based on what you report.
5. Then you wrote: "is there a way for me to take out my hard drive and put it in a G5 or another computer or ext. HD that way I can transfer all my data? Any suggestions?"Yes. You will probably find instructions for removing the hard drive on the Apple Do-It-Yourself Parts & Service page. You will need to know the specific model of your PB G4 15-Inch Titanium. The AppleCare Knowledge Base document "PowerBook G4 Computers: How to Identify Different Models" can help you identify the specific model of PowerBook G4 you have. Knowing the processor type in your PowerBook would also help.
You'd also need a FireWire enclosure for the type of drive in your PowerBook, again assuming that's the computer in question here (you mentioned a G5). AFAIK, most laptops have 2.5" hard drives vs. the 3.5" drives normally found in desktops: those are the dimensions of the platters within the drive, not the drive itself. Based on what I read here, which I believe would apply to your Mac, you'd probably need a FireWire enclosure for a 2.5" drive such as shown here. You should confirm that before purchasing an enclosure: I don't have a PowerBook.
I've bought both FireWire drives and enclosures from OWC and have always been pleased with their products. Assuming a 2.5-inch enclosure is correct, I'd recommend one of their "On The Go" products.
However, you're still going to be faced with the issue of attempting to repair the directory on the drive, as discussed in point 2 above. If the directory cannot be repaired, then you are going to have to resort to data recovery options, as discussed in my "Data Recovery" FAQ.
Good luck!
Dr. Smoke
Author: Troubleshooting Mac® OS X
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